Warks disability XI v ecad midlands
©ECAD
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England Cricket Association for the Deaf to open world class national cricket centre
England Cricket Association for the Deaf (ECAD) is opening its ground-breaking National Deaf Cricket Centre in Birmingham.
The ECAD National Deaf Cricket Centre opens on 2nd October 2021 and will provide opportunities for the charity’s members to meet regularly throughout the winter, as well as receive specialist coaching, which they can’t receive elsewhere.
The centre will also be a training hub for the 1st XI squad, Academy players aged 13-18 and a brand-new Women & Girls section.
ECAD was launched in 2002 and supports players from a wide range of backgrounds. The charity works closely with the ECB to promote Deaf cricket across the UK and has produced players for England’s Deaf national teams.
Players are eligible at the bottom end for anyone who requires one hearing aid, right up to profoundly Deaf BSL users.
At the top end of ECAD’s pathway there are three regional teams, North, Midlands and South. All three teams play friendly matches in the summer with a match against each other at the end of the summer.
There is also an ECAD Academy team for younger players.
Darren Talbot, CEO of England Cricket Association for the Deaf, said: “Deaf people are twice as likely to suffer from mental health issues and so the social side of the game is critical, especially over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic which left many of our members socially isolated.
“This is why we are excited to open our national Deaf cricket centre as it will provide our members with the opportunity to play cricket on a regular basis all year round, keeping them active and more importantly helping them socialise with teammates.
“The centre also provides fantastic training facilities which will allow our players to work on their games in a Deaf aware environment and hone their skills in order to continue to raise the already high standard of Deaf cricket.
“We would like to thank all of those who have supported us throughout this project, particularly our hosts University of Birmingham School.”
To find out more about ECAD visit https://www.englanddeafcricket.co.uk/
©Cricket World 2021
