Physical Disability T20 championship in Dubai hailed a roaring success

Dubai Sport City’s International Cricket Council Academy (ICCA) recently played host to the Physical Disability T20 Championships, where teams from England, Bangladesh and Pakistan went head to head.

The tournament, which was the first of its kind to be held in the UAE, has been hailed as a roaring success by Head of Physical Disability England Cricket Team, Ian Martin, and Hon. Secretary of Pakistan's Disabled Cricket Association, Amir Uddin Ansari.

Commenting on the event itself Amir Ansari said, "On behalf of Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Disability Association me, my team and my officials are very, very happy with the organisation of this event, especially with the final match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, it’s really a dream for our cricketers and we are very thankful to the ICC Academy, who made this happen.

"The facilities at Dubai Sports City are marvellous, especially the pitch which is a help for everyone during this tournament. All three teams played top quality cricket, our own selection process for the tournament was hard, so we were very competitive and it was great to see the quality of cricket on display here."

Ian Martin also praised the quality of cricket on show by saying, "Since we were here in 2014 we have taken part in the first World Cup for cricketers with physical disabilities which was staged in Bangladesh in 2015 and we were good enough to win that tournament so we came to this tournament as World Champions and it’s been brilliant to see how much Pakistan and Bangladesh have improved over the last 12 months."

The final match between England and Pakistan, which was held at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, saw Pakistan win by 3 wickets. Batting first, England scored 137 for the loss of 5 wickets in their 20 overs. Pakistan chased the score down with 4 balls remaining. Pakistan’s Hasnain Alam also took home title of man of the match.

Martin went on to say, "Clearly we have a little bit of work to do after losing out to Pakistan today but it just shows what standard physical disability cricket is being played at and how it’s been improving year on year.

"I hope that we can come out to Dubai in the near future because I think the facilities that are on offer here at the Dubai Sports City and the ICC Academy are second to none compared to anywhere in the world, so it’s a fantastic place to come and play cricket.