Disability cricket hits the heights

For the past four years, the Wembley National Stadium Trust has been delighted to support the Lord’s Taverners Disability Cricket Championships in London.  This partnership has been a great opportunity for both of us and the programme has delivered far beyond the original expectations.

In 2013, at the outset of our involvement, the plan was to run a pilot project involving four inner London local authority areas, to see what was possible.  In 2018, the programme will include representation from every London borough. A fantastic achievement!

This expansion has been possible in no small part to the very generous support from our fellow funders, the Berkeley Foundation and Sport England. The commitment of the county cricket boards covering the capital has also been critical to the overall success of the initiative.

Since the programme started, hundreds of young disabled people have had the chance to receive professional cricket coaching and the opportunity to play competitive cricket against teams from other boroughs.  The ultimate prize is the chance to compete in the finals day, held at the indoor cricket school at either Lord’s or The Oval – a chance not afforded to many people.

The Lord’s Taverners recently published a review of the programme, highlighting its many achievements and looking forward to where the scheme might be in the future.  A copy of the report can be found HERE (needs hyperlink to report).

The Disability Cricket Championships have delivered everything we could have hoped for and more, offering disabled Londoners the chance to get involved in sport. Everyone involved in the design, planning and delivery of the programme is to be congratulated and we wish it every success in the future.