Sam Dalling on the scope and significance of this summer’s historic Mixed Disability Series between England and India
Of the various scheduled series taking place between England and India this summer, the one that will attract the least attention is the most groundbreaking. Disability cricket, as it stands, lacks the prestige afforded to other areas of the game. But the hope is that a maiden international Mixed Disability Series will usher in a brighter future.
Across a dozen late June and early July days, two newly formed sides will play seven T20 internationals at Taunton, Wormsley, Worcester, Bristol and, most eye-catchingly, Lord’s in the inaugural Mixed Disability Series. Results are important, of course, but not paramount.
“The success of the series isn’t based on whether England win or not,” Ian Martin, the ECB’s head of disability cricket, tells WCM. This might sound an odd statement from a senior representative of a governing body, but the primary goal for this septet of matches is about making disability cricket sustainable at the top level.
Currently, it is played internationally across four impairment categories: Deaf, Physical Disability (PD), Learning Disability (LD) and Visually Impaired (VI). In the new set-up, VI cricket will continue to run separately, but England’s other teams are being amalgamated.
In early 2025, an 18-strong training squad was selected. Following an April trip to the Desert Springs facility in Spain, the final 15 were chosen. Callum Flynn, long-term captain of England PD, will lead the team and his response is instantaneous when asked if this will be the pinnacle of his career.
“Definitely,” he says. “And I think that’ll be painful for some of the PD lads to hear because being their skipper was always the biggest dream and the biggest achievement for me. I love all the lads in that squad, but with the scope of this tour, how big it sounds – the management are saying it’s going to feel like our first proper home tour because of how much has been invested in it – and with my family coming down, it’s going to feel a bit more special.”
On the field, England face a difficult challenge. Both their PD and Deaf sides have lost series to India in the past 12 months, although they have an advantage in that their opponents did not have an existing LD team. The games will be played under rules largely adopted from the ECB’s flagship disability tournament, the Disability Premier League (DPL).
Each 11 must contain at least three Deaf, PD and LD players, while there must also be one batter from each group in the top four. Likewise, at least one powerplay over must be bowled by a member of each impairment category. It was Martin who pushed for the idea of transferring the format to the international stage. Having won the support of Richard Gould, the ECB’s CEO, the pair then approached the International Cricket Council. While the ICC does not currently fund disability cricket, it has formally approved the England versus India series as a trial.
Martin’s long-term goal is to “formulate a structure in global disability cricket that other countries can buy into. Currently, it’s so disjointed amongst the different impairment groups.” Take LD cricket, which was introduced 20 years ago by England, Australia and South Africa. Those three remain the only nations playing in that impairment category. PD cricket, on the other hand, is played by England but otherwise played primarily on the subcontinent.
As is generally the case when changes are afoot, there are concerns. A by-product of merging teams is that, while the overall standard is raised, there are fewer opportunities for fewer people. Integration between the impairment groups is also a potential obstacle. Martin is sympathetic to these concerns. To combat the latter, the ECB is ensuring that advocates are available to the LD players, while several sign language interpreters will assist Deaf squad members.
While Martin appreciates that some would prefer to maintain the status quo, he believes that “makes no sense. One of the definitions of madness is expecting something to change while carrying on doing the same thing. We’ve got to try something different.”
While the Lord’s fixture is set to be the pinnacle of the bilateral series, June 25 at the Home of Cricket will be about more much than a single cricket match. After the success of last summer’s inaugural Disability Cricket Day, where a VI exhibition game took place on the main ground before an ECB Chair’s XI beat the MCC in a 40-over clash, Martin hopes this year’s edition will be bigger, better and bolder. The finals of the Lord’s Taverners’ Table Cricket tournament will be staged in the Nursery Ground pavilion, while the day will also feature demonstrations of VI and Super 1s cricket. On the main pitch, Middlesex will play the MCC before England face India.
Perhaps most crucial, though, will be the conference hosted in the Warner Stand’s Pelham’s restaurant. Representatives from Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa, Ireland Cricket and the Pakistan Cricket Board will be present to hear the ECB highlight the importance of disability cricket.
“They’re coming over to look at mixed disability cricket, see how it works, and hopefully be impressed by what they see,” Martin explains. Meanwhile, Toyota, the ECB’s new principal partner, will be attending to discuss their history of supporting disability sport, which now extends to the DPL.
What happens beyond this summer is unknown; the England v India series is a pilot and player feedback will be crucial. But to have a coordinated, well-funded and commercially viable format for disability cricket at international level, all housed under the ICC’s umbrella, would be a giant leap forward for the game.
