2024 Sussex Disability Cricket Round-up

2024 Sussex Disability Cricket Round-Up

It has been yet another ground-breaking year for Disability Cricket in Sussex, with so many highlights, initiatives and performances to be proud of. Read all about the successes of the players, volunteers and staff who make it all possible, from Sussex Cricket's Disability Cricket Manager, Tom Belcher. 

It has been another excellent year for Disability Cricket at Sussex Cricket; we thank all staff, volunteers and clubs, who support the development and delivery of our programmes and wider performance pathways. 

We would also like to thank Webtrends Optimize for their continued commitment and sponsorship of the Sussex Disability Pathway and DIScoverABILITY event. 

Their support has provided players with increased training opportunities, matchday support and team kit. Their continued commitment to this year’s DIScoverABILITY Day, saw record breaking numbers of Children Young People (CYP) and Adults with SEND - a wonderful day of cricket and sporting opportunities.

SEND Schools Cricket continued to grow this year, reaching over forty schools - a twenty one percent increase. With over one hundred and seventy places for table cricket competition, in our regional table cricket festival, held at The 1st Central County Ground, over three days in February 2024. 

Another excellent year across our Super1s Hubs. With over one hundred and twenty, CYP, accessing our county wide offer, with the further development of a newly formed Visually Impaired (VI) Hub and welcomed partnership with Arundel Castle Cricket Club, housing our ‘Arundel’ Super1s Hub, commencing October 2024.

We saw a growth across our network of ‘Disability Champion Clubs’ with eight confirmed hubs, providing opportunities to train, play and socialise within a club environment, supporting the development of players accessing our Sussex Disability Pathway, across the recreational cricket leagues. 

This is well above the national average of three and a half clubs per county across the country.

A wonderful start to pre-season in January; Tom Alsop supporting the Disability Pathway teams, with specialist group and one-to-one coaching sessions, throughout the winter.

We expanded our D40 offer this season, with the entry to both the ECB Quest and Pursuit leagues, welcoming over seventy players this season with a further increase of over eighty players, as we enter 2025. An increase of twenty five percent.

The D40 Quest team had a great season – sadly, several games were abandoned due to weather. We played four, won two, and went on to secure 4th place in the table. Playing games at Arundel Castle, The Oval and the 1st Central County Ground, this season.

The D40 Pursuit team entered the Pursuit League for the first time this season, and although faced with some tough challenges, the team played exceptionally well against some excellent and highly experienced teams and players. 

The Super9s Challenge Squad played at several competitive pairs cricket festivals across the South of England - Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Hampshire. Providing opportunities for both our established pathway and Super1s Development Players.

2024 has been another excellent year for the VI Sharks, after an early win in the league, the Sharks played Northants at the 1st Central County Ground, on the 11th May, in the final of the oldest disability sport competition in the world – the Heindrich Swanepoel Cup. 

The Sharks re-wrote the history books scoring 362 for 3 in 30 overs, with Skipper Dan fields scoring 154 off 73, the highest ever individual score. Northants were skittled for 93.

The Sharks run in the T20, saw the team stroll to finals day, then it went horribly wrong to a west country side, in the semi-final.

The Sharks made the 2024 final against Northants but sadly an injury ravaged side, came up short this time. However, the team went on to win National League Division 1 by just a single point - Sussex VI Sharks are the best in the country!

Sussex Cricket’s  ‘End of Season Awards Night’ welcomed the wider club, ‘Disability’ and ‘Women and Girls’ squads. A truly momentous occasion and a first in the club’s history.

A huge celebration for our award winners and wider successes of our Disability Pathway.  Sussex Cricket ‘first’ Women & Girls DPL player – Meg Loveland. 

The wider successes of our Male DPL players – Alfie Pyle, Owen Piper, Fred Bridges, Liam O’Brian and Daniel Gee. Further celebrating the successes of our international players, Alfie Pyle (LD), Fred Bridges (PD), Liam O’Brian (PD) and Jake Vosloo (PD) – who has been invited to train with the England PD squad.

Discoverability Weekend saw three days of disability cricket brought to the County Ground, starting with DIScoverABILITY Day on the 10th May 2024. We say over 750 CYP and adults attend a superb day of cricket activation, alongside golf, football and wheelchair rugby. Thanks to Jolf, Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation and Brighton Buccaneers, for attending. 

Saturday 11th May welcomed the ‘2023’ VI Heindrich Swanepoel VI Cup Final. 

Sunday 12th May welcomed the D40 Quest fixture ‘Sussex vs Lancashire’ Sussex winning by nine wickets. 

This coincided with our national leading campaign #disabilitycricketmonth, celebrating the success of our community programmes and county disability pathway players and teams, including captains’ interviews with ex-international blind cricketers – Dan Field and Mark Bond and D40 Quest Captain – James Bunday.

Looking ahead

2025 will see a continued growth in Disability Cricket across the country and Sussex will continue to lead the way and ‘Inspire and Generation’ of players, developing opportunities for CYP and adults, to again equal opportunity and access to the game. 

With increased funding for both our Lord’s Taverners SEND and Super1s programmes, our SEND programme will continue to provide softball and table cricket to over fifty schools, with an increase in schools competition across both formats. 

The Super1s programme will see the provision of ten Super1s Hubs across Sussex, whilst continuing to provide a direct pathway into our VI Sharks team, through our Super1s VI Hub. 

We will continue to support the development of our Super1s participants through life skills and employability workshops, work experience opportunities and Super1s cricket festivals, for all participants. 

Finally, as players continue their development in disability cricket, our team of coaches will be working hard across the county to provide both opportunities to play cricket and signpost players to the appropriate pathway for development. 

This will include the development of our D40 Under 25s (hardball)squad, Super9s (softball) regional team entry and the development of a Women & Girls D40 (hardball) squad.