Sunday saw the opening fixtures of the Disability Premier League (DPL), a new competition featuring some of the country’s best Disability cricketers.
What is it?
This is the first edition of the DPL, with hopes to expand the competition in the coming seasons. There are four squads, which are made up of players from the England National Physical Disability, Learning Disability, and Deaf squads, as well as those players who have been in the Lions set up for those impairment groups. Those players are joined by the best performing players in the domestic competitions to provide opportunity for those players to test themselves against the best in the country.
Middlesex representation
Middlesex Cricket are proud to have 13 representatives from the Middlesex Disability squad, which reflects the exceptional work that has been done by the players alongside Head Coach Michael Wilson, supported by coaches Alex Hughes, Mikey Thompson and Quentin Benningfield. Below are the names to look out for:
Black Cats
Mohammad Farooq, Moazzam Rashid, Zac Spears, Umesh Valjee
Hawks
Elliot Brown, George Greenway, Ben Mason, Jake Oakes, Kester Sainsbury
Tridents
Jaidev Charan, Martin Henderson, Sam Kumar
Pirates
James Nordin
Player watch and fixtures
22 August – Cheshire
Black Cats beat Pirates by 9 wickets
Mohammad Farooq, Moazzam Rashid and Umesh Valjee all played for the Black Cats, coming up against Middlesex team-mate James Nordin. Farooq and Rashid both took a wicket – the latter bowling Nordin after an impressive 26 runs from just 16 balls. All three Black Cats players were not needed to bat, as they completed a 9-wicket victory.
Tridents beat Hawks by 9 runs
Sam Kumar (Tridents) faced up against a Hawks side featuring Elliot Brown, George Greenway, Jake Oakes and Kester Sainsbury in their opening game. Tridents batted first, with Kumar not required. Greenway was the pick of the bowlers, with 1-14 from 4 overs, with Oakes also claiming a wicket. Brown was busy behind the stumps with a stumping and a run out next to his name. The Hawks were 9 runs short in reply, with Greenway (4) and Oakes (3*) featuring with the bat. Brown and Sainsbury did not bat, whilst Kumar took 1 wicket in his four economical overs.
Hawks lost to Black Cats by 7 wickets
Greenway, Oakes and Sainsbury featured for the Hawks, as they came up against Farooq, Rashid and Valjee in the Black Cats’ side for the second game of the day. Farooq bowled 4 overs taking 2 wickets for just 14 runs, as Greenway fell early with Oakes and Sainsbury not required to bat. Valjee scored 24 in response before he was bowled by Greenway (1-14), as the Black Cats claimed their second victory of the day.
Pirates lost to Tridents by 9 wickets
Nordin and Kumar faced each other in the afternoon as the Pirates took on the Tridents. Both Middlesex men were not needed to bat, as Kumar bowled two overs for the Tridents in the first innings. Nordin (1-21) then claimed the only wicket of the Tridents reply, who completed two 9-wicket victories in the day.
Upcoming fixtures:
5 September – Surrey
Hawks v Pirates
Black Cats v Tridents
1st v 2nd
3rd v 4th
12 September – Loughborough
Tridents v Pirates
Black Cats v Hawks
Find all the scorecards on the DPL Play Cricket site.
