County Disability Cricket Awards 2023

The County Disability Cricket Awards took place on Thursday 28th September at The 1st Central County Ground to celebrate their achievements of all three squads - Sussex Visually Impaired (VI) Sharks, Sussex D40 and the Super 9s Development squad.

The evening was attended by 80 guests including players, family members, coaches, sponsors and the CEO and Chair of Sussex Cricket.

The event was hosted by Disability Cricket Manager, Aroop Tanna who kicked things off with the Super 9s Development Squad awards. The squad played three festivals this season and, for the first time, a combined Super 9s/D40 friendly fixture hosted by Pevensey CC. The Super 9s award winners were:

• Super 9s Most Improved Player 2023 – Sam Holden, presented by Tom Alsop
• Super 9s Player of the Year 2023 – Eddie Spence, presented by Tom Alsop

James Bunday, D40 captain, then provided a short review of the D40 season, which despite the cancellation of two fixtures due to the weather, saw the squad secure their highest position (4th) in the D40 Quest League.

James highlighted the first ever wins over Hampshire and Lancashire. The Lancashire win being particularly notable as not only did it prevent them from winning the league, but it also saw the squad secure their first ever away win following a somewhat chastening defeat at Lancashire last year. Head coach, Paul Francis, then announced the D40 award winners:

• D40 Batting Award 2023 – Owen Piper, presented by Charlie Tear
• D40 Bowling Award 2023 – Jake Vosloo, presented by Archie Lenham
• D40 Club Award 2023 – Sam Webster, presented by Paul Farbrace

Dan Field, Sussex VI Sharks skipper provided an entertaining review of the squad’s outstanding season. The VI Sharks were in the running for all three Blind Cricket England & Wales (BCEW) trophies this year.

Sussex picked up the T20 trophy and have made to the final of the one-day cup competition, which has been delayed to next season. Sadly, the weather and train strikes frustrated the VI Sharks from pursuing the treble as they finished runners-up in the BCEW National League, but the double is still very much on.

Steve Andrews, VI Sharks Chair, then announced the award winners starting off with a very special award, B1 (Totally Blind) Player of the Decade. Steve and Ian Morris provided a fitting tribute to Dave Daniels, who has represented the VI Sharks for the last 10 seasons without missing a single game – an outstanding achievement. Dave received his award from Rob Andrew. The other award winners were:

• Sussex VI Sharks Partially-Sighted Player of the Year 2023 – Mark Bond - unable to attend, collected by Dan Field, presented by Rob Andrew
• Sussex VI Sharks Most Improved Player 2023 – Ali Worsley, presented by Jon Filby
• Sussex VI Sharks Club Award 2023 – Matt Greenhough, presented by Matt Smith, Webtrends Optimize CEO
• Sussex VI Sharks Chairperson’s Award 2023 – Jon Elsom, presented by Paul Farbrace

There followed a few special awards for individuals who have played an instrumental role in building Sussex’s highly regarded County Disability pathway. Aroop Tanna presented awards to Steve Andrews and Ian Morris for their leadership of the Sussex VI Sharks through the recent, immensely successful period.

He then paid tribute to the outstanding contributions of Paul Francis (D40 Head Coach) and Richard Wolff (Volunteer County Disability Squad Manager) who have both decided to step back from their roles after several years of selfless service to Sussex.

The awards concluded with Aroop Tanna announcing his impending retirement from Sussex Cricket after 7 years in post. Tributes for the contribution Aroop has made to building Sussex Cricket’s nationally recognised County Disability Cricket programme were provided by Steve Andrews and Gary Wallis-Tayler (Community Cricket Director) and he was awarded his Sussex cap by Rob Andrew.

Gary Wallis-Tayler, Community Cricket Director commented on the celebration: “It’s always a special and inspiring occasion to bring all our County Disability Teams together to celebrate their individual and team successes.

“Disability Cricket in Sussex is extremely important to us. We have had another successful season, topped off by our VI team winning the T20 cup and reaching the 30 over final.

“Special thanks go to Aroop Tanna and his team for their incredible work in making us the best County in the Country and to our sponsors, who without their support wouldn’t make these achievements possible.”

Swipe through our gallery of images from the evening: