The England Men’s & Women’s VI Cricket teams take part in the 2023 IBSA World Blind Games starting on Saturday 19th August.
The IBSA World Blind Games are taking place in the UK for the first time & for cricket this is the first time the sport has been included in the programme. The Games as a whole run from 18th to 27th August & take place in Birmingham. Around 1900 athletes from 67 countries are set to take part in this edition of the biggest international multi-sport competition for visually impaired people.
The event also includes World Championships in three sports & Paralympic qualifying tournaments in three sports.
The cricket tournaments are neither World Cups or Paralympic qualifiers, but the Men’s tournament is the biggest international VI cricket competition ever held in this country, whilst the Women’s event is the first ever international Women’s VI cricket competition featuring more than two teams.
Both the England sides are captained by Somerset VICC players, Ed Hossell for the Men and Kathryn Jelfs-White for the Women. Both squads contain 15 players.
In the Men’s squad there are four uncapped players, David Howells, Sam Hoskin, Mo Ghalib & Moshfique Ahmed, the latter two having progressed from the international trial organised last October by BCEW & the ECB. More than half of the Women’s squad are currently uncapped and for all 15 members of that squad it will be a first chance to play a competitive international match in the UK.
As is appropriate in a cricketing summer dominated by the able-bodied men’s and women’s Ashes series’s the tournament opens with England Women facing Australia Women on Saturday, with the first match of the Men’s tournament taking place the following day, also between England and Australia.
In the Women’s competition the three teams play each other twice, meaning every team will play four group stage matches. The top two will then progress to the final.
In the Men’s tournament teams will also play four group stage matches, facing each other once each. The group winners go straight through to the final whilst second and third will play on Friday in the semi final.
Live scores, results & stats will be available during the tournament via these links:
England Squads for the 2023 IBSA World Blind Games
England Men
Ed Hossell (Captain, Somerset VICC)
Moshfique Ahmed (Berkshire Stags)
Asif Ali (Northants Steelbacks)
Matt Dean (London Metro)
Nathan Foy (Former Warwickshire Bears)
Mo Ghalib (London Metro)
Sam Hoskin (Berkshire Stags & London Metro)
Rory Hossell (Somerset VICC)
David Howells (Northants Steelbacks)
Nathan Jameson (Durham VICC)
Gareth Jones (London Metro)
Mo Khatri (Former Warwickshire Bears)
Matt Page (Former London Metro)
Luke Sugg (Former Warwickshire Bears)
Mark Turnham (Northants Steelbacks)
England Women
Kathryn Jelfs-White (Captain, Somerset VICC)
Minerva Ainsworth (Surrey VICC)
Atia Aslam (Surrey VICC)
Sayma Begum (No domestic Team)
Laura Brooks (No domestic Team)
Camile Elliott-Kamara (Berkshire Stags)
Leanne Harvey (Surrey VICC)
Alison Heasman (Kent Spitfires)
Helen Lawson (Yorkshire Vikings)
Heidi Linegar (Somerset VICC)
Jess Lowe (Yorkshire Vikings)
Reanne Raktoo (Yorkshire Vikings)
Georgie Ridgway (Yorkshire Vikings)
Theresa Robberts (Surrey VICC)
Hannah Young (Berkshire Stags)
IBSA World Blind Games 2023
VI Cricket Fixtures
All fixtures are Twenty20, meaning 20 overs per side.
Group Stage Matches
Saturday 19th August
Women
England v Australia (1pm, King Edward’s School)
Sunday 20th August
Men
England v Australia (11am, King Edward’s School)
India v Pakistan (3pm, King Edward’s School)
Women
Australia v India (1pm, King Edward’s School Pitch 2)
Monday 21st August
Men
England v Bangladesh (11am, King Edward’s School)
India v Australia (3pm, King Edward’s School)
Women
India v England (1pm, Tally Ho Cricket Club)
Tuesday 22nd August
Men
England v India (11am, Tally Ho Cricket Club)
Pakistan v Bangladesh (3pm, Tally Ho Cricket Club)
Women
England v Australia (1pm, King Edward’s School)
Wednesday 23rd August
Men
Australia v Pakistan (10.30am, King Edward’s School)
India v Bangladesh (3pm, King Edward’s School)
Women
Australia v India (1pm, King Edward’s School Pitch 2)
Thursday 24th August
Men
England v Pakistan (10.30am, King Edward’s School)
Australia v Bangladesh (3pm, King Edward’s School)
Women
India v England (1pm, Tally Ho Cricket Club)
Knockout Phase
Friday 25th August
Men’s Semi Final
Group Stage Runner Up v Group Stage Third Place (1pm, Tally Ho Cricket Club)
Saturday 26th August
Finals, at Edgbaston
Women’s Final (11AM)
Men’s Final (3.30pm)
Tickets
Tickets for all cricket at the World Games are free, ticket information for the cricket group stage & for the rest of the sports can be found by clicking here.
Tickets for both cricket finals at Edgbaston are free too, but must be purchased in advance by clicking here.
Spectator Guide
No matter what event you are going to see at the World Games it’s worth checking out The Spectator Guide, which includes schedules, results & other useful information for anyone attending the Games.