The power of Super 1s disability cricket with Shakil Manir

Shakil Manir smiles back at me over Zoom, while snow carpets the garden and we discuss disability cricket.

As the Yorkshire Cricket Board’s Disability Development Manager, Shakil has his finger on the pulse when it comes to current programmes and what’s coming up in 2024.

Disability cricket in Yorkshire includes table cricket as well as Super 1s, both funded by the Lord’s Taverners and delivered here by the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB).

I’ve written about Super 1s before on the website, hearing from Kian and his grandma Pauline about the York Hub and its impact on their lives.

Super 1s

Super 1s gives those aged 12-25 with disabilities the chance to play cricket regularly and competitively to increase their confidence, socialise and enjoy the game.

Shakil tells me that there are six Super 1s Hubs in Yorkshire at present: Sheffield, Hull, Halifax, Leeds, Barnsley and York.

These are community-based hubs that provide the opportunity for participants to socialise and learn new cricket skills outside school hours.

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“The aim has always been to positively impact the lives of young people who face the challenges of inequality.”

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Something that many of us take for granted is the opportunity to play cricket; if you have a disability, there can be significant barriers and there are times when they can be unquestionably amplified.

Thanks to the YCB, Lord’s Taverners and other partners working together, there are ways to take part in cricket, although the benefits are both physical and mental wellbeing.

Shakil said: “The feedback I got was that participants felt they were never a part of any sporting activity that takes place at school and Super 1s was the first to make them feel included. It gives that sense of belonging.”

Shakil’s background is as a fan first inspired by the 1981 Ashes and Botham’s Headingley heroics before playing as a teen in what was the old Halifax and District Amateur Cricket Association for a club called Wesley.

It was after a move to playing for Kings Cross in the Central Yorkshire League that coaching followed. He has since coached on Yorkshire pathways and county age groups but it was when Shakil was asked by the YCB if he’d help with Super 1s sessions in Barnsley and Halifax that he had his eureka moment.

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“It was absolutely amazing to see some of the skills on show and how much everyone enjoyed the sessions. They’d always ask: ‘Are you here next week?’ “

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He subsequently became SEND Development Officer for the YCB and visited 30 schools across West Yorkshire, delivering the Lord’s Taverners SEND programme.

The total number of SEND schools the Yorkshire Cricket Board delivered cricket in 64 SEND Schools across Yorkshire last year.

There’s always more to be done and that ambition comes across loud and clear: “It’s absolutely essential we carry on the good work that’s been done and work with schools and more young people’s organisations.”

It’s not all about the nuts and bolts of delivering cricket with Super 1s either. There are workshops for attendees on anything from employability to other crucial life skills.

The environment encourages learning and development and there’s an extra benefit too in that some end up being role models, which is what I came across when I interviewed Kian about the York Super 1s Hub.

COVID-19 halted disability cricket in its tracks and while we all gradually got back to normal as clubs and leagues returned, it took far longer for those with disabilities to have the environment and opportunity to play again.

Thankfully, momentum in recreational cricket is now soaring, buoyed by the successes at international level, including the England Men’s Physical & Learning Disability teams, as well as England Deaf squad.

There’s also the profile of pan-disability domestic fixtures with the National Disabled Cricket League, split into D40 Quest, D40 Pursuit and S9 competitions.

Yorkshire also has visually impaired cricket teams, at county level, who also go into schools to support pupils and spread awareness about the game.

It’s been noticeable, to me at least, how much the profile of disability cricket has been enhanced in recent years. Yorkshire County Cricket Club now regularly feature interviews and performances of disabled cricketers, alongside news of Joe Root or Katie Levick.

You can read about the latest on Yorkshire’s county disability cricket ambitions from Owen Jervis for 2024.

It’s this parity that, for all kinds of reasons, was once missing more broadly across the game but there is now strategic emphasis and funding for disability cricket.

All of these elements are part of a broader vision to make cricket the most inclusive team sport in England and Wales.

Disability Cricket Champion Clubs

There is a role for cricket clubs to play with disability cricket too.

The ECB’s Disability Cricket Champion Clubs initiative (delivered in Yorkshire by the YCB) is to support clubs with equipment, funding and guidance so they can put on disability cricket sessions.

If your cricket club wants to consider life-changing work in becoming a Disability Cricket Champion Club then contact Shakil Manir on [email protected] for more information.

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Creating a pathway from table cricket and Super 1s into clubs and where appropriate, onto county level, is the vision and the pieces are gradually falling into place.

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However, with the size of Yorkshire, the more opportunities there can be in a club environment, ultimately the more people of all ages and backgrounds who get to play the game.

There are four Disability Cricket Champion Clubs in Yorkshire – Meanwood Cricket Club team up with Sunshine & Smiles (Leeds Down Syndrome Network) to deliver sessions, helped by the YCB.

Skipton, Copley and Higham are the others with the YCB keen to help cricket clubs to partner with local organisations and facilitate safe and fun disability cricket sessions.

Thanks to Shakil for his knowledge and sharing his story and I look forward to sharing more disability cricket news across the year.

This is a sponsored article on behalf of Yorkshire Cricket Board – if the mood takes you, click to read Cricket Yorkshire’s policy on sponsored content.