Durham’s Iain Nairn will once again lead out the national side at this summer’s Physical Disability Cricket World Series which takes place in Worcester in August.
The T20 competition which gets underway on August 5 at Kidderminster Cricket Club will feature England, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who will all compete for the world trophy.
Nairn has a wealth of experience on the international stage having guided England to a world title in Bangladesh back in 2015 and is excited for this summer’s competition.
“To captain England at the World Series is a huge privilege, I can’t wait to get going,” Nairn said.
“I am lucky that I have seen some great examples over the years of disability players representing England.
“We won the competition in 2015 in Bangladesh so it would be great to win the competition again this summer and go one step above again.”
Games will be played at venues across Worcester and Nairn is looking forward to the competition being played in England.
“The opportunity to play on home soil is really good, it is great to have our family watching on in the crowd and makes it even more special I would say.
“We are having an exciting summer in England and Wales, with the World Cup and men and women’s Ashes so hopefully we can continue the positive celebrations going on in cricket at the moment.
“I would say at the moment we are probably second to Pakistan, they have won the most recent competitions and are in top form. India will be strong, Bangladesh pushed us close last year and Afghanistan will be a bit unknown, so we expect a tough test from all games.
“It would be amazing for us to win and that is what we are aiming for, Pakistan won the last Vitality IT20 tri-series last year and the support they received from their board since winning was exceptional – we are all just looking forward to getting started now.”
Sussex duo Liam O’Brien and Fred Bridges are also featured in the 15-man squad, which is coached by former England spinner Ian Salisbury. O’Brien enjoyed a breakthrough debut in 2018, in which he was named the Lord’s Taverners’ Disability Player of the Year. He almost guided England over the line in last year’s Tri-Series final, smashing 75 from 40 balls and taking two for 32 with the ball.
Ian Martin, ECB’s Head of Disability Cricket, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming some of the best disability cricketers in the world to Worcester in August for what promises to be a highly competitive series.
“Our England side have lost to Pakistan in our last two finals but with this squad we’re confident of taking that next step to win another major trophy.
“The standard of disability cricket around the world has increased a great deal in recent years, which is great for the game and a multi-nation series like this and we can expect a high standard of cricket to be played this summer.
“We hope this World Series will inspire more people, both disabled and able-bodied, to pick up a bat and ball and discover that cricket is a game for them.”
The World Series begins on August 5 at Kidderminster Cricket Club, with the final taking place at Blackfinch New Road on 13 August.