This year’s Disability Premier League starts in August and I’m so excited about what’s to come. We’re being very deliberate in our growth journey, and we’re keen to make the DPL the pinnacle of domestic cricket. So we’ve concentrated heavily on making sure the product is something people want to be part of, want to come to watch, and are generally inquisitive about. That’s really important to us.
But it’s not just about how things look: it’s about the standard of play, too. What we witnessed last year in the DPL was phenomenal. I’ve been in and around disability cricket for more than 20 years and the standard in 2022 was unbelievable. In fact, when some of our early rounds were broadcast on the ECB YouTube channel, the professional commentators involved said they’d have thought it was just another game of first-class cricket. That’s a real motivator. It excites me to know we’re going in the right direction.
This year, we’ve made four tweaks to the DPL that will make it unique.
- We’re introducing an Explosion Over, giving the batting side the chance to choose when it plays its sixth Power Play over anytime between the sixth and 20th
- At the request of our England Deaf coaches, deaf players will be required to remove any hearing aids or cochlea implants – just like at international level.
- All three impairment groups – deaf, physical, and learning – must bowl at least 20% of their team’s overs.
- And, finally, every player in a DPL squad must play at least two fixtures.
We’re also starting to attract commercial sponsorship. We’ve got a new trophy and we’re going to be only the third competition, behind The Hundred and the IPL, to wear coloured helmets specially designed and provided by Masuri. So our status is starting to grow.
Another indicator of that is that we’re thrilled this year to again have the DPL Final shown live on Sky Sports. It’s a huge event for our calendar and it was a landmark moment last year. As the organisers, we’re proud of making history like this. To have that exposure for our game is fantastic and this year we’ve got a much bigger window of opportunity to get the message out there.
Without a doubt, disability cricket in the UK is in its strongest ever position. The whole pathway, from Lord’s Taverners Super 1s all the way through to the DPL, has seen an increase in the number of players coming into the game. We’ve also recorded a 25% increase in the number of women and girls involved in disability cricket, and we’re very keen to create a women’s DPL. The county game is mixed gender and some of the women who’ve come in have been fantastic. One thing’s for sure: we won’t drop the baton. We’ll keep doing this and I’m determined we’ll get this going.
When I compare where we’ve been to where we are now, it’s a quantum leap – certainly over the last 10 years or so. Fifteen years ago, our county competition had six teams. In 2023, we’ve got 51. The potential of disability cricket is massive. We can definitely grow the game even further and we continue to do so year on year, even through COVID-19.
Looking forward, there’s lots of scope for us to bring in different impairment groups. Our competitions have been developed and designed to be completely scalable, so we’re ready for the growth when it comes. It’s an exciting time for the sport and I can’t wait to see what happens over the short, medium, and long term.