KEVIN MAKES ENGLAND APPEARANCE

 Kevin Cooper recently made his debut for the England Pan Disability team against Worcester University.

Opening the batting, Kevin top-scored with 42 off 62 balls, hitting seven fours.

The full scorecard can be found here -  England Disability (play-cricket.com)
 

The Isle of Wight has a great tradition in offering cricket to individuals with disabilities and has had great successes on the pitch over the years, including being 2023 Regional Champions in the Super 9s competition.

Working with partners such as the ECB, Lord’s Taverners and Chance to Shine we have developed a programme of cricketing opportunities to make the game more accessible.

One of those opportunities is table cricket, which is an adapted version of cricket, played on a table tennis table and specially designed to give young people with a disability the chance to play and compete in the sport we all love. The game is taken into Island schools and community settings and we host an annual competition.

The game is played by young people with both learning and physical disabilities. It enables young people to understand tactics, draw the best out of team players and to build a social life.

We also train young volunteers to coach and umpire table cricket, helping them to develop self-confidence, leadership skills and enhance their future employment prospects.

The Island has a county team that plays in the ECB’s Super 9 competition, which is a soft ball offering, and is a 9-a-side traditional format of cricket against other county teams. The team also plays in the Island’s indoor leagues through the winter.

The Island has one ECB Disability Champion Club presently, which is Newclose CC. They support by offering free membership to the club and access to playing and training facilities. The Islands Super 9s team also uses Newclose as its training base in the summer months as well as using the venue to hosting the Island’s table cricket competitions. 

Enhancing the cricketing offer to individuals with disabilities is a key objective of the Isle of Wight’s Cricket Boards strategic plan over the next 4 years.