Yorkshire D40 Pursuit coach Darren Spooner says his first summer of being involved in Disability Cricket has left him amazed by the quality on offer within the structure.

Spooner’s son Jasper (cover photo) plays for the county and Darren agreed to lead the second of three county teams.

Yorkshire’s Quest team plays in the National D40 first-tier league, while the Pursuit side play regional D40 North cricket and the S9 softball team also play in a regional league.

The county’s first team, champions in 2023, finished fifth of eight teams in 2024, winning two of seven matches. 

Spooner’s Pursuit team won three and lost three and finished second, while  the S9 side also finished second in their competition with three wins from six. All leagues have completed for 2024, with ECB’s Disability Premier League to start shortly. 

That pits the best disability players across the country against each other in a franchise style competition.

“My first impressions are amazement and wonderment,” said Spooner. 

“Just watching what some of the players can do is unbelievable. The ones you notice most are the Physical Disability lads.

Darren Spooner

Picture courtesy of Darren Spooner. Yorkshire’s D40 Pursuit coach Darren Spooner.

“Look, it has the tag of Disability Cricket, but it’s just a game of cricket. 

“There’s a lot of really good players who excel in league cricket.

“I understand that it’s always going to have the tag, it has to I guess. But they play for Yorkshire. If you turned up at a game and watched and didn’t know, you wouldn’t think anything different.”

“I’ve played cricket since I was nine, at school, and I’m mid-to-late-forties now. 

“I’ve played in the Bassetlaw League and the Notts Premier League. 

“It was only the last year that I officially met Owen and Alex Jervis, who rejoined the club where I am with Jasper, Clumber Park. 

“Alex approached me because he’d heard about Jasper being on the Autistic Spectrum. He wanted some extra players at Yorkshire.

“We said, ‘Yeah, yeah, let’s get it sorted’.

Jasper Spooner

Picture courtesy of Darren Spooner. Yorkshire player Jasper Spooner.

“And my character is that if I’m there, I will always get involved. I’ve run football teams and stuff like that. I’ve helped out with teams without it being anything official, and it was only last March that I got my Level Two qualification.

“My wife and sister-in-law played, so I’d get involved in the women’s and girls stuff at Clumber as well.

“Owen asked would I be interested in coaching the Pursuit team, which I was more than happy to.”

Owen Jervis, Yorkshire’s Quest team manager, said at the start of the season that their title-defence season would see a concentration on progression rather than performance. The main aim was to blood a number of talented youngsters.

With that in mind, Spooner agrees with suggestion that it has been a progressive summer across the structure.

“I definitely think so, yeah,” he said.

“Last year, we probably went above expectations with the Quest title. All the stars aligned. 

“This year, I don’t think they’ve ever had their strongest team out. But the good thing is the blooding of youngsters.

Darren and Jasper Spooner.

Picture courtesy of Darren Spooner. Father and son Darren and Jasper Spooner.

“Some of the youngsters who’ve come in as new players have jumped straight into the Quest team and never looked back. Curtis Sugden’s the obvious example who has made himself one of the first picks regardless of who’s available. 

“The Pursuit side has had a bit of a reliance on lads coming down from the Quest team, the likes of Matt Bateman. But the great thing this year is that there have been a couple of games when Matt’s not been available and we’ve done well.

“On Sunday, in our defeat to our group winners Cheshire, we only fielded two played above 20. 

“Another year on and other players become available, a few join, and there’s no reason why we can’t have a really good season next year.”

This year has been the second of Yorkshire fielding two D40 sides, with Spooner adding of the Pursuit side: “It’s been a brilliant addition.

“It works really well to get players more game time coming down from the Quest and helps develop those who want to progress up.

“It gives an opportunity for the S9 players to progress somewhere.

“They need that next step. They’re not going to jump straight from S9 to Quest. So to have that middle ground where they can find their feet under no pressure. Everyone wants to win – it’s sport at the end of the day – but it’s not the be all and end all.

Darren Spooner

Picture courtesy of Darren Spooner. Jasper Spooner bowls for Yorkshire.

“It’s been a pleasure working with this group of young players this season.

“We’ve watched them come together, and we’ve seen new friendships blossom. The wins we’ve had are just the cherry on top of what has been a very nice cake.”

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