England's Physical Disability squad departed for a fourteen-day tour to the United Arab Emirates yesterday, where they will play three Twenty20 Internationals and three One Day Internationals against the Pakistan Disability team.
All six matches will be played at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai, and in a historic first the three T20s on March 21 and 22 will be streamed live around the world on the ECB's YouTube channel.
Speaking about the live video stream, ECB's Head of Disability Cricket, Ian Martin, said: "The live streaming of the T20 Internationals between the physically disabled teams of England and Pakistan is a first for the ECB and will take disability cricket to a whole new audience both at home and hopefully across the world.
"Cricket is one of the most popular team sports globally yet its profile as a sport for disabled people is not so strong. ECB have been leading the way in the development of the sport for people with all types of disabilities for a number of years and this is further evidence of our commitment to take the game to a new level.
"Viewers will get to see cricketers with different types of physical impairment, who have all met eligibility criteria, from two proud cricketing nations playing at one of the best facilities in world cricket. I'm very much looking forward to a competitive series."
England Physical Disability captain Jimmy Williams added: "It is brilliant news that our three T20 Internationals against Pakistan in Dubai will be live streamed exclusively on the ECB website and YouTube channel. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase physical disability cricket to a new audience, and I cannot wait to get onto the field, and show everyone what we can do. I encourage cricket fans from across the world to get online and watch for themselves."
The tour to the UAE will be the second time that England's Physical Disability team has contested an official international series against their counterparts from Pakistan, following the team's inaugural tour to the UAE in 2012. On that occasion Pakistan proved to be too strong, as Williams' England side went down 2-0 in the T20 series and subsequently lost the ODIs 2-1.