Rain washed out hopes of a Toyota Disability Premier League final day in the sun at Cardiff, but the outlook for Pirates and Tridents skippers Anthony Clapham and Liam O’Brien remained positive ahead of tomorrow’s revised showdown.
Shrugging off the disappointment of a final that was abandoned before the toss, the erstwhile England Physical Disability team-mates spoke to their respective teams, packed their bags, and headed home to redraw battle plans for the reserve day at Loughborough’s National Cricket Performance Centre.
The glare of the Sky Sports cameras – a final fixture these past four years – will be absent when the first delivery goes down in the East Midlands at 2pm, but the focus for those involved will be no less intense.
As Clapham explained, 2025 has been another step change for a tournament now in its fourth iteration and expanding year-on-year as the pinnacle of the domestic disability game.
“It’s been superb – the grounds have been very different, offering different challenges,” he said of the group-stage games.
“And the kits, with Toyota coming on board as sponsors this year, have been great, too. Obviously, it’s a real shame we haven’t been able to play (at Cardiff), but it’s been a brilliantly organised tournament, and another amazing summer of disability cricket – a tour for the PD lads at the start of the year, a mixed-disability series with India.”
A relatively late recruit to the disability game – learning of it through watching England’s Hugo Hammond as a contestant on Love Island – Clapham, who plays his club cricket for Wokingham CC – has watched the landscape evolve quickly since his involvement with the first DPL.
“Every summer just gets better and better, which is really exciting,” he added. “Hopefully Pirates can continue our unbeaten record and win on Sunday – and we’ll see what the winter holds – a few of our squad will hopefully be on the plane to India with England in January.”
Clapham’s views were echoed by Liam O’Brien, whose Tridents side had the weather to thank for their place at Cardiff. It was O’Brien’s six that won them a critical group-stage victory over Hawks, sneaking past their DLS target before rain intervened.
“Like Anthony, I’m really disappointed that rain got in the way, but we have a great chance to replay the fixture on Sunday – and hopefully this year, we can come out on top,” he said.
Combative all-rounder O’Brien – England’s player of the series in this summer’s thumping win over India, shining with bat and ball – is another huge advocate of the Toyota DPL’s potential reach.
“It’s helped shine a real spotlight on the disability game,” he said. “And, in turn, that makes it attractive for those out there who want to be part of it in the future. We’re seeing young players starting to emerge through the county set-ups as more word gets round.”
After all the anticipation of Wednesday it will be fascinating to see who holds their nerve this weekend.
There’s competition history at stake, too. Both teams – Tridents inaugural winners in 2022, and Pirates defending champions and unbeaten since losing 2023’s final – are striving to become the first to win the trophy twice.
And, if the unthinkable should happen on Sunday, and a bowl out is required to separate them – there’s no better place for it than England’s indoor nets.
“That could be interesting,” Clapham laughs. “It’ll be a test for the seamers to hit those stumps – there’s some good bounce in there.”
You can follow Sunday’s action from 2pm via ECB’s YouTube channel.