Putting Cricket On The Table: LCCC Mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities

In honour of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we take a look at one of our most popular disability offerings, Table Cricket, and how it’s powering our aim to make cricket inclusive for everyone.

Its History:

An innovative take on the sport, Table Cricket was invented by Doug Williamson via Project Adapted at Nottingham Trent University in 1990 and then developed at the British Sports Association for the Disabled (BSAD) Mini Games at Stoke Mandeville.

It was later adopted by the ECB during the 1999 Cricket World Cup and developed on a more extensive scale by the Lord’s Taverners since 2003 - with more than 8,000 young people with disabilities participating every year in the National Table Cricket Competition.

How It Works:

Table Cricket was initially designed for people with physical disabilities, but is now open to all types of disabilities. The game is played by two teams comprising six players each and follows a format very similar to traditional cricket. Each game consists of two innings of six overs, with the batters aiming to score points by hitting the green side of the table between fielders.

Each team starts with 200 runs. Batters face one over each, and can either score a 1, 2, 4 or 6 by hitting different areas of the green boundary walls. Fielders can prevent runs being scored by sliding their panels across the green boundary and are awarded a dot ball by hitting the white area, and can get a batter out by hitting the smaller red section.

If a batter is given out, they lose five runs, but can complete their over. After six deliveries, a new batter and bowler begin the next over.

What We’re Doing:

At Leicestershire CCC, our Foundation delivers Table Cricket to students aged 8-25 in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools, as well as schools with a Designated Specialist Provision unit (DSP).

The 22/23 academic year was our first year running the programme, with sessions delivered to 14 schools across Leicestershire and Rutland. Each school received half a term of delivery (on average 6 weeks) with a focus on progressing into the county competitions.

During the inaugural year, the Foundation delivered to 45 classes across the 14 schools, bringing the joys of Table Cricket to more than 400 students. 80 of those students later attended the Table Cricket County Finals Day at Ellesmere College in March. 12 teams took part, with county finals winners, Ashfield Academy, going on to represent Leicestershire in the regional finals.

The day was supported by four of Leicestershire Men’s players, Roman Walker, Tom Scriven, Scott Steel and Nick Welch; as well as CEO, Sean Jarvis, Community & EDI Director, Namita Patel; our Community Team; and not to forget, Charlie Fox.

Building on the success of the showpiece event, Table Cricket was also featured on Schools’ Day during our County Championship fixture against Durham in June, allowing more than 1,300 pupils from primary, secondary and SEND schools to sample the game.

The Future:

Heading into the programme’s second full year, we will be expanding our offer to reach 20 schools across the county, and will be increasing the amount of Table Cricket competitions we host to three - with a day for city based schools, a day for county based schools, and a county-wide finals to be held just before the Easter Break.

The Foundation has also recently appointed a Disability Cricket Apprentice to help increase the frequency of, and enhance the quality of, our Table Cricket sessions in the current academic year.

Table Cricket’s Importance:

Ashleigh Passant, Disability Cricket Development Officer for the Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation, joined the Club in 2022 and has been tasked with implementing the delivery of Table Cricket sessions across the county. Reflecting on the past year, she said:

“Table Cricket has proven incredibly popular and has been really well received by the schools. It is so important for both the Club and the game to be as inclusive as possible, and we pride ourselves on offering opportunities like this.

“We reach students and young adults that otherwise wouldn’t think that cricket could be a sport for them. Our disability sessions are more than cricket - we use them as a vehicle to help break down barriers, improve social skills “ such as teamwork and leadership - and build confidence in a safe and welcoming environment.

“I’m very excited to see what the next year brings. The opportunity to bring cricket into hundreds of children’s lives last year was incredibly enriching, as was seeing those students develop a love of playing and supporting the game. Now, it’s our mission to grow that love as the years go by.”