Four new pathways fuel England dreams for disability players.

Disability cricket has been given a major boost with the opening of four new regional talent development centres and the announcement of ECB coaching appointments to support the national disability squads.

Funded by Sport England, the four regional talent development centres will provide coaching for cricketers with all types of disabilities who have been identified as having the potential to play at international level.

The project was announced by the ECB in March, and the centres are the first in the world to specialise in handicapped cricket. Two of the centres will be based within Lancashire CCC and Northamptonshire CCC’s academies with a third centre to be based at Whitgift School in Surrey. A south-west venue for the fourth centre will be confirmed shortly and is expected to open before the end of the year.

Each centre will be headed by an ECB Level Three coach, known as a regional talent development manager and supported by four coaches specialising in each of the specific disability groups that lead to England recognition; Blind, Deaf, Physical Disability and Learning Disability.

In addition to cricket coaching, the players at each centre will receive nutritional support from an MSc student from Loughborough University and fitness advice from an exercise scientist.

The ECB disability cricket manager Ian Martin said: "These are the first centres anywhere in the world that are aimed solely at enabling deaf and disabled cricketers to fulfil their potential as international cricketers, and we are hugely grateful to both Lancashire and Northamptonshire and Whitgift School for supporting this project."

"The vast majority of our players currently go straight from recreational cricket to playing at international level which is a significant jump to make. So as well as improving technical skills, the centres will aim to provide lifestyle support, nutritional advice and fitness regimes to better prepare them for the challenge of playing the game at the highest level."

New coaching appointments have been made at two of the national disability cricket squads. Following Bobby Denning’s decision to step down as head coach to the England Deaf team, former ICC Europe development manager and Level Four coach Philip Hudson has been appointed to lead the squad and build on their successful tour of South Africa last month. Assisting Hudson in the role of assistant coach will be Pete Williams, who has worked with the squad as performance analyst for the last three years.

Qasim Ali has been appointed assistant coach of the England physical disability squad. A Level Three coach, he is also the regional disability cricket talent development manager for the North region and the lead coach at Lancashire’s indoor centre at Old Trafford. He succeeds Will Kitchen in the post and will work closely with the squad’s head coach Chris Ellison.

England’s Visually Impaired team recently returned from a four-day warm weather training camp at the La Manga Club in Spain as the first ECB representative side to experience the five-star sports and leisure facilities there. They worked on all aspects of the game under the scrutiny of head coach Ross Hunter.

They used La Manga’s facilities to practise batting, bowling and fielding, and the 20-player group made the most of their time in the sun to play a full 40-over match under one-day international rules.

Hunter said the trip had been valuable and enjoyable on and off the field. "The squad were really positive about their experience and felt it added value to their games. I would definitely recommend the facilities for other squads."