Kent stars light up day for 170 disabled children playing cricket

Kent County Cricket Club and Kent Cricket Board welcomed 170 children from special needs schools across Kent to this year's Disability Kwik Cricket Competition in Kings Hill last Friday.

The event has grown in recent years and this is the first year it has been held as part of the Sainsbury's Kent School Games.

15 special needs schools arrived ready for a day of Kwik Cricket matches and were given the full Kent Cricket experience with Victa the mascot on hand to greet the children and also run a group warm up before the action got underway.

After a day of matches, Kent players Matt Hunn and Calum Haggett joined Kent Women's player Jenni Jackson to present the awards to all the children. Bower Grove (Maidstone) were crowned the Primary age group winners, with Bradfields (Medway) contesting a close secondary age group final with eventual winners Orchard (Canterbury).

Matt Hunn who presented the awards commented “It has been a pleasure to come and be part of this fantastic day giving so many disabled children the chance to play competitive cricket against other children. The smiles on everyone's faces are great to see!"

Chairman of Kent Cricket Board and Kent Cricket CEO, Jamie Clifford commented on the success of the day; “This year's Disability Kwik Cricket Competition has been a huge success. Welcoming so many special needs schools to an event demonstrates how powerful cricket is as a sport in the development of key social and life skills of children with disabilities. The Kent Cricket team are out in the community delivering a range of programmes for disabled children and our aim is to show how inclusive the game is by giving all members of our Kent communities the chance to experience the game.”

For more information about Kent Cricket's Disability programmes including how to get involved as a player or how to support as a partner, please contact Alex Farmer via alex.farmer.kent@ecb.co.uk