Dropped catches costly for D40s
Cricket Shropshire’s Disability D40 side were left to rue dropped catches which cost them the chance of victory over Yorkshire at Norton-in-Hales.
Join Shropshire’s Disability sides – with the chance of an England call!
Cricket Shropshire’s Disability D40 side are looking for new recruits from league cricket in the county to help them in their 2025 campaign.
And it could lead players to an appearance in a prestigious national competition featured on Sky Sports and England recognition.
It’s an exciting time to get involved in disability sport which has become increasingly popular since the London Olympics in 2012 across a range of disciplines.
This year Shropshire’s D40s are competing in the Northern section of the Quest competition and are up against First Class counties such as Lancashire and Yorkshire.
“It’s not about what’s different. It’s about what’s possible.”
Coach Graham Furber said: “This really is top class competition in one of the best leagues in the country.
“We’re up against cricketers who are regulars in the Disability Premier League and also England players – so the standard is really high.
“We feel there are players out there playing regularly in the top divisions of the Shropshire League who may be eligible to play for us in the D40s.
“So we are encouraging them to get in touch and we can have a chat about them getting involved in the games which are competitive but played in a friendly environment.
“It really is a high standard of cricket – and could result in them being selected to play in the Disability Premier League, the final of which is televised live on Sky each season.
“And, of course, that ultimately could lead to England recognition.”
The county’s disability set up is also looking to recruit new players for their S9 side.
Shropshire has a great record of producing players who have gone on to play in both the Disability Premier League and have also had England recognition in recent years.
Shaun Rigby, Adam Marshall and Kev Baker have all played in the DPL, while Shropshire’s James Wojda has also been involved in the competition in a coaching capacity.
Kev was part of the winning team two years ago and took a spectacular catch in the televised final on Sky Sports at the County Ground at Derby – it also went viral on social media.
Teenager Oli Harrison is a member of the England and Wales Transplant cricket squad, while Matty Bailey is a regular in England’s Deaf squad.
Cricket Shropshire Lead Officer Steve Reese said: “The ECB and Cricket Shropshire are committed to increase the profile of disability cricket, with England Disability looking forward to a seven match IT20 mixed disability series against India this Summer.
“It will bring together players with learning disability, physical disability and hearing impaired.
The highlight will be on Wednesday 25th June where on MCC’s Disability Day, England and India will play at Lord’s where the hosts will be seeking revenge following defeat in the Physical Disability Champions Trophy Final in January against India.”
Anyone interested in getting involved can fill in the form HERE.
Or they can contact Cricket Shropshire via info@cricketshropshire.co.uk
Mersey mission for Disability D40 side
Cricket Shropshire’s Disability D40 side found themselves up against one of the best teams in the country when they travelled to Lancashire for their opening game of the 2025 season.
A league reorganisation has seen them ‘promoted’ to the Northern section of the Quest competition – one of the two strongest leagues in Disability cricket.
On Sunday at Ashton-on-Mersey CC they found themselves up against a Lancashire team including a number of England and DPL standard players.
They slipped to defeat but put in a determined display despite a number of absences that pleased the coaches Graham Furber and Jonathan Caldecott.
Graham said: “We are going to need our strongest side out to be competitive but the unfortunately four of our top six batsmen from last season were unavailable including our talismanic captain Shaun Rigby.
“This, combined with a later cry-off due to ill-health, meant our side featured six players from last year’s S9s side – and one of the youngest we have ever fielded.”
New skipper Adam Marshall won the toss and asked the hosts to bat, and they then built an imposing opening stand of 220.
They eventually finished on 375-5 with Kris Collinge hitting a magnificent 168. Teenager Oli Harrison was the pick of the bowlers with 3-40 – all his wickets coming in an impressive second spell.
In the reply, skipper Marshall hit a composed 28 as Shropshire were reduced to 66-3 at one point.
But then an unbeaten stand of 126 between Evan Pickford (30) and Cally Rigby (99 not out) saw Shropshire to a respectable 192-3 at the end of their innings.
Graham added: “If ever an innings deserved a century, it was Cally’s with his 15 boundaries and 4 maximums performing at his most belligerent best, even taking 22 from one over.
“He was on 97 with one ball to go and I don’t think even our opponents would have begrudged him the magic three figures.
“Congratulations to Lancs Disability CDO John Hughes and his squad for the competitive but respectful way in which the game was played, a real credit to disability cricket.
“Ashton-on-Mersey is a very hospitable club with a huge playing area, a lightning fast outfield and situated right on the banks of the Mersey River. This was their first occasion of hosting a Disabilty game and their hospitality was excellent.
“We still feel that we are missing league cricketers with a disability who would be of a huge benefit to our squad and we will continue to work with the Board to try to find additional players to develop the squad.
“The standard of this league is very high and a number of Premier League cricketers take part.
“To their enormous credit, our team never gave up in adversity, and were a real credit to themselves and to the Board but the difference in quality was very noticeable.”
Shropshire’s next game is on Sunday 25th May when they entertain Yorkshire at Norton-in- Hales CC.
If there are any cricketers interested in getting involved in the D40 side, they can contact Graham via email graham.furber@yahoo.com to discuss eligibility.
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Disability awards in spotlight
Three members of the Cricket Shropshire Disability community were in the spotlight during the Presentation Evening held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.
The three awards were handed out as Coach Graham Furber reflected on a mixed season for the county’s Disability sides – the D40s and the S9s – presented by Lead Coach Jonathan Caldecott.
He said: “It’s fair to say that the Disability squads have had a difficult season. The S9s finished bottom of their group without a win, but the weather did disadvantage us on two occasions and adversely influence the result.
“The D40s finished third in a their group, despite being top after the first two games – a similar situation to last year.
“Our main problem has been unavailability, with three regulars being unavailable for the whole season due to illness and injury, and a further one due to international call-ups.
“We need to recruit to bolster our aging squads, with both youngsters and established players.
“We will be working closely with Cricket Shropshire to raise the profile of disability cricket in the county in the coming months – if you know of anyone in your club that would be eligible to join our squads, please get in touch.”
Successes:
- Youngster Oli Harrison debuted for the England and Wales Transplant Team.
- Youngster Tom Wallace took 5-17 in four overs against Yorkshire D40s at home, when the game looked lost.
- Congratulations to Dave Hassall, our S9 Squad Manager for winning one of the Cricket Shropshire Volunteer of the Month Awards (part of ECB Grassroots Awards).
- The Disability Premier League was held again this summer – Pirates beat Tridents in a Sky televised game at Sofia Gardens
- Kev Baker played for Black Cats, James Wojda coached Hawks, Matty Bailey played for Tridents.
- Matty Bailey couldn’t play for us this season because he was always representing England Deaf in a series with India (India won series 5-2). Hopefully he will be available to us next summer.
S9 Player of the Season – Ewan Woodhouse
Graham said: “Ewan who has been with us for a couple of years, but who couldn’t start the season with us because of taking his GCSEs. Once available, he represented both the S9 and D40 squads and contributed something in every game he played.
“For the S9s, he made 38 v Warwickshire away in the pouring rain (4x4s and 3x6s!) and took 3-19 against Staffordshire away. For the D40s he took 3-17 v Warwickshire at home.”
D40 Player of the Season – Adam Marshall
Graham said: “Adam is unable to be at the awards because he is spending the Winter playing cricket in Australia. He returned to play for Shropshire this Summer, after taking a year away with Yorkshire. In five innings he scored 205 runs at an average of 68.33 with a top score of 75 not out at Yorkshire.
“Bowling he took 2-8 against Yorkshire away and 3-33 against Warwickshire at home.
“In this latter match, he also had kept wicket for the first 20 overs of the innings due to illness of our regular ‘keeper, Kev Baker.”
Disability Champion of the Year – Ellen Hassell
Disability Coach Tyler Ibbotson said: “Ellen has shown remarkable dedication and commitment over several years, particularly in scoring for the Super 9s and D40 games.
“Her consistent hard work and passion have made a significant impact, ensuring that every game runsmoothly and that all players feel valued and supported. Her behind-the-scenes contributions often go unnoticed and they have been asset to our community.
“Ellen, your dedication is truly inspiring. Thank you and congratulations!”
If anyone would like a high-resolution digital version of any of these pictures, we can supply them for £5, half of which will be donated to the chosen charity of the evening MIND. If you wish to order three pictures it will be £10, five for £15 or 10 for £20.
S9s beaten in final game of season
Cricket Shropshire’s S9 squad rounded off their ECB programme for 2024 with a defeat against Staffordshire at Betley CC.