A first for Lord's

The MCC and the England Cricket Association for the Deaf will play on Friday.

The first ever fixture between MCC and the England Cricket Association for the Deaf (ECAD) will take place on the Nursery Ground at Lord’s on Friday.

The 50 over match will provide preparation for ECAD ahead of the forthcoming Deaf Ashes series which starts on July 8 when captain Umesh Valjee will lead his side out for the first Test in Southport.

Ian Martin, ECB National Disability Manager, is looking forward to the match.

"The England players have been competing against each other on a regional basis as a warm-up but this is the first major warm-up match they have played as a team," he said.

"It will give the team both valuable competition but also playing MCC will boost not just deaf cricket’s profile, but the profile of disabled cricket as a whole."

The rules for deaf cricket are exactly the same as hearing cricket, the main nuance being the occasional need for an interpreter to explain umpires’ decisions. To qualify players must have less than 55 decibels of hearing in their better ear and must take out hearing aids when they play.

MCC Head of Cricket John Stephenson says the game will benefit both parties.

"MCC is committed to bringing cricket to all audiences and we are delighted to be hosting ECAD for their first ever match at Lord’s.

"We believe this will be a mutually beneficial match – great practice for ECAD ahead of their fight to regain the Ashes urn and an excellent way to increase MCC’s understanding of deaf cricket. We’ve hosted the British Blind Sport Knockout Cup for many years and we are keen to develop that support to embrace deaf cricket.”

ECB National Disability Manager Ian Martin says the game is an Ashes warm-up

The number of hearing-impaired people playing cricket can be difficult to calculate because many play for mainstream clubs. The England team is picked from an elite squad of about 30 players, and each season the number of players embracing deaf cricket increases as it is promoted with training camps around parts of the country with substantial deaf populations such as Nottingham, Bath and Hove.

"Deaf players have got communicating on the field down to a tee," said ECAD Team Manager Jeff Levick.

"Runs are called for by eye contact and head movement, players are trained to keep a constant eye on the captain for fielding changes, and, often unbeknown to the umpires, a healthy amount of sign language banter goes on.”

The Ashes series will comprise two Tests – at Southport and in Colwyn Bay – one Twenty20 at Colwyn Bay and four One Day Internationals at Walmley, Worcester and Milton Keynes (twice). Although Australia currently hold the Deaf Ashes, England won the last time the two countries met in the semi-final of the 2006 World Cup.