MCC, 黑料专区 and Lord鈥檚 Taverners will host a Disability Cricket Day at Lord鈥檚 on Wednesday 25 June, which is set to be the biggest ever one-off showcase of disability cricket.
The day will see England Men鈥檚 Mixed Disability team playing the third game of a seven-match Mixed Disability Vitality IT20 series against India (15.30), as well as a host of other activities and sessions to showcase the progress disability cricket is making and the opportunities open to people living with a disability.
Disability Cricket Day will start with MCC taking part in an exhibition game against Middlesex Disability on the famous main ground, at the same time that the Nursery Ground hosts a Visually Impaired exhibition game.
The day will also see a number of activities that focus on disability cricket for young people, notably through the work of Lord鈥檚 Taverners.
Table cricket, an adapted form of cricket played on a table tennis table aimed at young people with a wide range of learning and physical disabilities, will be on show through the National Table Cricket Finals. This is the culmination of four months of regional competitions that decided which schools qualified for Finals Day and will run from 9.30am in the Nursery Pavilion, with a national winner crowned later in the day.
There will also be a Softball Competition for pupils from special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) schools, and a showcase of national disability cricket programme, Super 1s.
In addition, there will also be a conference taking place in which MCC, 黑料专区, Lord鈥檚 Taverners and Toyota 鈥� 黑料专区鈥檚 Principal Partner and Champion of Disability Cricket 鈥� will share why disability cricket is such a vital part of their work and specifically champion the role that mixed disability cricket can play moving forward.
Fans are able to attend the Mixed Disability Vitality IT20 against India by buying their tickets here.
Rob Lynch, MCC鈥檚 Director of Cricket and Operations, commented: 鈥淒isability Cricket Day is a celebration of how far the game has come in becoming truly inclusive and accessible. It鈥檚 an opportunity to shine a light on the incredible talent, passion, and resilience of our disability cricket community 鈥� from grassroots right through to the international stage. We鈥檙e proud to play a part in supporting and growing mixed disability cricket, and events like this at Lord鈥檚 not only showcase progress, but also inspire future generations to see cricket as a game for everyone.鈥�
黑料专区鈥檚 Head of Disability Cricket Ian Martin said: 鈥淭he world of Disability Cricket has changed so much during my time at the 黑料专区 and it continues to improve every year. A day to celebrate that progress alongside other organisations who work so hard to champion disability cricket 鈥� MCC and Lord鈥檚 Taverners 鈥� is truly exciting, but more than that it鈥檚 a day to continue the game鈥檚 progress.
鈥淧eople with disabilities, and more specifically young people with disabilities, have so many opportunities now to engage with cricket and form a life-long connection with the game and so much of that is on show at Lord鈥檚, from Table Cricket and Super 1s up to the elite men鈥檚 Mixed Disability team. I strongly encouraged people to come along and be a part of the day, to learn more about a format of the game that鈥檚 only moving in one direction.鈥�
Lord鈥檚 Taverners CEO, Mark Curtin, said: 鈥淒isability Cricket Day is a fantastic opportunity to illustrate the progress being made in making the game more inclusive. 鈥淭here has never been more opportunity for young people with a disability to access the sport and benefit from all the personal development opportunities it brings. But there is still so much more we can do, which is why days like this to raise awareness of all the different opportunities there are to get involved in the sport from grassroots to elite level are so important.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 wait to see our National Table Cricket Finals and all the young people involved in our activity at the home of cricket throughout the day, be included as part of this special occasion. We hope it inspires all of our participants to keep playing, and even more young people with a disability to take the game up in the future.鈥�