Surrey Deaf won the inaugural England Cricket Association for the Deaf T20 Cup at Rokeby School in Surrey on Sunday.
The tournament started with the first county-versus-county deaf match, between Surrey and Lancashire. Put into bat, Surrey scored 137 for two thanks in the main to an opening stand of 114 between captain Mike O’Mahony and England Deaf squad member Simon Lycett, who made fifties. In reply, Lancashire fell 33 runs short despite a half-century from Derek Grabham.
Lancashire fielded a very young side, including three very promising under-14 players who more than held their own against more experienced opposition. Chris Flynn, 13, in particular stood out, removing O’Mahony and picking up the young player of the tournament.
The ECAD Development XI easily pushed aside Lancashire in the middle match, by eight wickets, leaving the final game of the day as the decider.
But Surrey proved far too strong, scoring 180 for three with another half-century from player of the tournament O’Mahony and 51 not out from David Baker. In reply, ECAD Development XI ended on 107 for six.
Surrey Deaf manager and tournament organiser Darren Talbot said: “More important than the win for Surrey, this tournament has been a major stepping stone in the progress of deaf cricket in England and Wales. To see three such excellent young players taking part from Lancashire was a clear indication that the future of deaf cricket is very bright indeed.”
Significant work is planned over the close season to engage more counties with deaf cricket, with the aim of at least one more county side to be active by the summer of 2015.
The next ECAD national event will be the annual indoor tournament in early 2015.