Disability Premier League Final to be held as double header with England Men’s T20I

The England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) trailblazing Disability Premier League is back and bigger than ever for its third edition this summer.

The competition’s final will be held at Sophia Gardens for the very first time, ahead of England Men’s second T20I with Australia on September 13, 2024. Once again it will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

The Disability Premier League (DPL) is the first tournament of its kind, encompassing players across three different impairment groups, Physical Disability (PD), Learning Disability (LD) and Deaf, all potentially being in the same starting 11.

The Black Cats, Hawks, Pirates and The Tridents will all be fighting for a spot in the final across 12 matches from August 25 to September 8. The battle began on Tuesday with the DPL Draft, where the sides picked their squads for the summer.

Each team had the opportunity to retain six players from last year, leaving 10 spots available to fill heading into the Draft.

The talent pool is full to brim with stars like England PD captain Callum Flynn and Disability Player of the Year 2023 Alfie Pyles, both being picked up by the Hawks this summer.

Other favourites from across the disability game include Dan Hamm who recently retired from international cricket after an illustrious 14-year career in an England shirt. Hamm will be back on the field with the Black Cats.

Excitement comes with the ‘unknown element’ of fresh faces in the competition too who have risen through the ranks in the domestic game, several of whom have the ability to take the limelight.

DPL Tournament Director, Richard Hill MBE, said: “The 2024 DPL promises to be the best yet with the introduction of 12 new players into the competition from our ever-growing domestic disability competitions. It really reflects the raising standards in those competitions as well.

“The complexities of creating equal squads in terms of tier rankings alongside impairment specific intelligence, places the DPL draft in a unique place in comparison to other player drafts that take place and we are very proud of that.

“Sticking with the four-franchise team structure, with the final taking place as a double header with England men v Australia at Sophia Gardens in September, this year promises to bring the domestic disability cricket season to a climatic end.”