THE 8th of June marks the first Inclusion Series Ashes game since Australia lost in 2019, with the series played at the Australian Cricket Campus over two and a half weeks.
Intellectual disability team coach Nathan Dodd said the team will be very different this year, giving them a better shot at winning the Ashes back from England.
“We’ve got a bit of a different squad this year as well with some new players that have come in, some new younger players,” he said.
“We are really looking forward to seeing how they perform, hopefully we can win a few games.”
There will be three disability teams competing for Australia – intellectual disability, blind and deaf – and each team will play five T20 games and three international one-day games.
The team convened on June 2 for orientation and got into training for the following days after leading up to the first match.
The orientation will be crucial for the team to get to know each other.
“We’ve got basically a week together before that first game so that allows us some time to reconnect and get some plans in place to how we are going to play before that first game,” he said.
“I think when everyone is there tomorrow is when it’ll sink in and there will be a lot of excitement around the guys just being back together and being able to play the game that they love playing.”
As for players such as Hayden Brumm and Lachlan MacRae, who coach Dodd is excited to see play, Nathan said they are excited to represent Australia while playing cricket, no matter their differences.
“Our guys always talk about ability over disability, cricket is a sport for all,” he said.
“To be able to have these opportunities for these guys to play at an international level and represent their country, it means as much to them as it does to Pat Cummins or Alyssa Healy.”