Historic DIScoverABILITY Day delivers again

Historic DIScoverABILITY Day Delivers Again

The Sussex Cricket Foundation once again held its show-stopping disability cricket inclusion event – DIScoverABILITY Day – on Friday 10th May at The 1st Central County Ground, with 850 participants and volunteers taking to the pitch at Hove for an afternoon of action-packed fun and games. 

The spectacular event, sponsored by Webtrends Optimize, saw over 700 participants joined by 150 volunteers in beautiful Sussex sunshine to take part in a wide range of different ball games at the famous home of the Sussex Cricket professional team.

Sports leaders from local secondary schools across the city escorted participants around different zones across the pitch, providing activities such as table cricket, football, wheelchair rugby, mini-golf and Sid the Shark’s Big Hit Challenge. 

Sid and Sandy themselves made an appearance, along with Sussex stars Tymal Mills, Brad Currie, Bertie Foreman and Archie Lenham.

Raquel Oliveria, Optimisation Consultant at Webtrends Optimize, the sponsors of the event, said: “This is the third time now that I and the Webtrends Optimize team have helped at DIScoverABILITY Day and it’s such an amazing experience. 

“It’s so rewarding to see how just much the kids all love the various games and being able to play on the Sussex Cricket pitch - and it’s so much fun for us too. Can’t wait for next year!”

Maria Cook, Chairperson of Crawley Autism Support and mother of Super 1s participant, Ryan, added: “What more could a cricket fan ask for than three consecutive days of fun in the sun celebrating the wonders of disability cricket?!

“The annual DIScoverABILITY Day saw hundred of people with significant difficulties and their carers/teachers/classroom assistants participate in lots of excellent activities on the outfield.

“I was lucky enough to take Ryan once again and he had such a fantastic day.”

DIScoverABILITY Day also preceded back-to-back disability cricket fixtures at The 1st Central County Ground, with both the Sussex Sharks VI and Sussex Sharks D40 teams competing on the hallowed turf at Hove over the weekend. This is the first time any county has staged a weekend dedicated to disability cricket.

It was a resounding success for both sides, with the Sussex Sharks VI team beating Northants Steelbacks in a rescheduled 2023 cup final to lift the BCEW Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Cup, whilst the Sussex Sharks D40 team beat Lancashire by 9 wickets in their D40 Quest league fixture. 

Sussex Head Coach, Paul Farbrace gave congratulations to all involved across the weekend: “Many congratulations on a fantastic festival of cricket, it shows that we really are one team one club and that if you want to be involved in this great, and at times frustrating game, then Sussex is the place to be. 

“There are so many good things happening around the club, and so many amazing people making a brilliant contribution to the enjoyment of so many.”

The Sussex Cricket Foundation would like to thank Webtrends Optimize for sponsoring the event, and for their continued support to our County Disability Cricket teams.

To find out more about disability cricket in Sussex, please contact Tom Belcher (Disability Cricket Manager) at tom.belcher@sussexcricket.co.uk or visit https://sussexcricket.co.uk/disability-cricket