Historic day for disability cricket at Lord’s - courtesy of Lord's Taverners

Surrey Super 1s participant, Rosina, who is experiencing an ECB internship in the national governing body’s communications team through the Greater London Authority’s Sporting Internship Programme, covered a historic day for disability cricket.

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend the first disability cricket day at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Organised by Marylebone Cricket Club and the England and Wales Cricket Board, in collaboration with the Lord’s Taverners, the event saw the inaugural elite disability cricket match played on the main pitch and showcased their collective efforts to provide inclusive and impactful cricket programmes, empowering young people with disabilities to see cricket as a sport for them.

This historic event featured top-class matches, taster sessions for different forms of disability cricket and special guests, which included England men’s wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, Australia men’s international Nathan Lyon, and TV comedian Adam Hills.

The highlight of the day for me was meeting these legends – I even had the privilege of getting a photograph with The Last Leg legend himself, Adam Hills, as well as Foakes!

The big day offered people with a disability the opportunity to showcase their talents, determination and resilience on the field. Youngsters were invited along to play table cricket inside the famous pavilion and on the nursery ground at Lord’s. The players and volunteers were given the opportunity to find out what it was like to play visually impaired (VI) cricket by using specially made VI goggles that restrict vision to simulate the experience of visually impaired players. I even had a go at this myself – I think it’s really important to try to put yourself in other people’s shoes in sport. 

As a sport enthusiast and a Super 1s participant myself, my relentless competitive spirit shone through as I took part in this challenge, and I felt like I gave the professionals a run for their money… I even played blindfolded! At the end of the over, I got a pat on the back from Hills, Foakes and Lyon and was congratulated by members of staff from Lord’s Taverners and MCC!

Meanwhile, there was intense competition on the main ground inside the stadium where a visually impaired match contested by current and former England VI internationals took place in the morning, followed by the ECB Chair’s Disability XI, which featured the best players from across the England physical disability, learning disability and deaf sides, against MCC in the afternoon, which they won in a well-contested game.

Overall, the whole day was a success, and it allowed young people with a disability, professional players, and spectators to experience the camaraderie and sheer joy of cricket.

Disability cricket not only breaks down barriers but also celebrates the diverse abilities of athletes, proving that passion and skill know no bounds. With the ECB, Lord’s Taverners, and MCC at the forefront, the disability cricket movement stands as a testament to the idea that with the right opportunities, every individual can enjoy and achieve in the game while inspiring others to follow in their footsteps along the way.

The GLA’s Sporting Internship Programme was created to give young Londoners from underserved communities an opportunity to work in sport. The ECB and other sporting governing bodies and organisations partnered with the GLA to offer these opportunities for the first time this year, following a smaller pilot in 2023. Rosina applied for the programme back in January and started her internship with the ECB in April. She will move to her next placement at Surrey County Cricket Club from October, still supported by the ECB.

To find out how you can get involved in disability cricket, please click here.