(Pictured above at a pre-season friendly at Harrow Town earlier this year are members of the 2016 Middlesex Disability Squad with Coaches Raj Nath and Michael Wilson, top left and top right respectively.)
MIDDLESEX DISABILITY SQUAD CROWNED 2016 D40 HARDBALL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Middlesex County Cricket Club’s Disability side have today been crowned league champions of the BACD D40 Hardball Development League.
The side were due to head into a crucial match this afternoon at Osterley Cricket Club against Gloucestershire, which had they won, would have seen them finish their 2016 campaign unbeaten and crowned champions. With Gloucestershire unable to travel and fulfil the fixture however, Middlesex have duly been awarded the match and the points they needed to secure the title.
Middlesex’s league winning squad will be at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Thursday 28th July, at the NatWest T20 Blast match between Middlesex and Essex, when they’ll not only be welcoming the players onto the field with a guard of honour, but they’ll also be presented with their league champions trophy by Richard Hill, Disability Cricket Support Officer of the ECB.
Middlesex’s Chief Executive, Richard Goatley, said of their achievement...
“We are incredibly proud of the team’s achievement in gaining promotion to the South Division of the BACD League in just our fourth season for performance disability cricket in Middlesex.
“This success is a reflection of our players’ hard work and commitment, our coaches’ passion to push boundaries and the dedicated support from the parents, careers and volunteers.
“A huge thanks also goes to our sponsors Lanes Group Plc for their ongoing support to the disability performance squads. Their support has enabled us to expand our training and support programmes for our players and improve match day experiences for the teams.
“Congratulations to all involved with the Middlesex disability performance teams, I'm sure this is the first of many future achievements.”
On achieving promotion, Michael Wilson, Middlesex’s Disability/Inclusion Coach and Head of Disability Cricket, commented...
"This season we have had two new coaches and eighteen new players over the two squads, but each of the players who have come into the D40 squad have hit the ground running and have come through every challenge the opposition have put in front of them. They remain unbeaten all season and the success they’ve achieved is testament to the hard work everyone involved has put in, be that the players, coaches or the parents!
“With the backing of the whole of Middlesex Cricket this season we have closed the gap on the squads in the league above us and we really look forward to the challenges ahead of us next year. I'd personally like to thank all the parents for getting the players to training and to the games, to the coaches for passing on their knowledge to all of our players and to Lanes Group Plc for the invaluable sponsorship they have provided over the past two seasons."
