Young cricketers from a disabled club in Hillingdon had a day to remember after being crowned national champions at the Lord’s Taverners Super 1s finals at the Home of Cricket. 

Teams from Hillingdon, Bexley, Kingston, Newham, Redbridge and Hackney battled it out at the finals at Lord’s for the right to call themselves national champions, with Hillingdon retaining their title after topping the table. 

The Super 1s programme gives young people with disabilities aged 12-25 the chance to play cricket regularly, as well as the opportunity to take part in a year-round competition structure, which culminated in the finals at cricket’s most iconic venue.  

The players and coaches alike were blown away when Australian cricket legend Shane Warne emerged to present the winning Hillingdon team with the trophy. 

For Super 1s Programme Manager Mark Bond, there is no better feeling than seeing the youngsters involved playing cricket with a smile on their face at the country’s home of the sport.  

“The competition aspect is vital for the young people involved in our programmes,” said Bond. 

“There’s a lot of disability sport programmes that give you a chance to try it and have a go, but there’s rarely a pathway for people to engage with it regularly. 

“The incentive of playing cricket at Lord’s is of course, pretty big which is really important for our students. 

“Many of these young people have often been excluded from sport and were not given the tools to engage in sport at school so to be playing cricket at somewhere like Lord’s is amazing. 

“It proves to them that anything is possible, and their disability doesn’t have to define what they can and can’t do.” 

Launched in 2013, Super 1s was initially introduced in four London boroughs and is now delivered in all 32 as well as across multiple counties across the UK.

The programme is set to give thousands more youngsters the opportunity to play cricket thanks to a new four-year £800,000 partnership between the charity and the Berkeley Foundation.

By creating community cricket hubs, delivered weekly by the county cricket boards, the Super 1s programme gives disabled young people the chance to compete against their peers, enjoy the benefits of sport and live an active life. 

The sessions are free to attend, fun, played with a softer ball and teach the basics of cricket.  

For many young people with disabilities, opportunities to take part in regular competitive sport are limited, but Super 1s has created the ideal pathway for disabled young people to play the game.  

Robbie Armstrong, a JP Morgan employee who volunteered at the finals, said the Super 1s programme is not only an opportunity for the players involved to learn, but also something others can benefit too.

“Volunteering at Lords Taverners is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” said Armstrong.

“As much as you’re here to give the kids something, they give us just as much. Watching them achieve something, it makes my day.

“It’s fantastic that they get to play here at Lord’s, even when you see them hit the ball, the smile on their faces when they catch it or stop it.

“The enjoyment and excitement that they have, it’s like nothing else they’ve ever experienced. It’s fantastic.”

The Lord’s Taverners and the Berkeley Foundation have announced a new four-year £800,000 partnership to support the continued growth of the Super 1s Disability Cricket programme – allowing thousands of young people with disabilities the chance play regular cricket,  enjoy the benefits of playing sport and empowering young people to realise what they can achieve, regardless of their disability. For more information visit www.lordstaverners.org