By Marios Papaloizou

Head coach Ross Hunter believes Welling’s one day international captain Matt Dean will be a man on a mission when the England visually impaired cricket team take on world champions India this month.

Somewhat of a veteran when it comes to England having been involved for the last 11 years, 32-year-old Dean will skipper the side for three ODIs as well as playing his part in three further T20s against India.

The first of those encounters takes place on May 24, with England determined to build on a promising semi-final appearance at last year’s Blind World Cup.

Dean racked up a total of 247 runs during that tournament in South Africa, in the process picking up the batsman of the year award in the B2 category.

But such is his high standards, the skipper was left feeling there could have been even more runs in the offering, something Hunter believes will act as motivation this time around.

“He came away from the World Cup slightly disappointed that he didn’t get as many runs as he would have liked even though he came home as the leading run scorer as a B2 which is a great accolade for anyone coming home from a World Cup,” he said.

“But actually there were some tough situations when he had to bat and he moved around in the order.

“He showed what a great captain he is by being happy to do that and put the team first.

“He is the epitome of England visually impaired cricket. He captains the side with real strength and real leadership.

“He provides very astute captaincy and is a really good leader of men, a fantastic talker in the group.”

India will arrive in England with a strong pedigree in all formats of the game and backed by a large pool of talent from across the country.

The number of visually impaired players in England in comparison is drastically less but Hunter believes the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the world champions, including during one T20 game under the lights at the Oval, will only benefit the growth of the sport.

“We go in with humility because we know we have a lot to learn from them because they are a great cricketing nation,” he added.

“With India and Pakistan the numbers are hugely in their favour because they have got 2,000 people playing the game.

“We have got about 25 playing the game domestically so the odds are stacked against us.

“But being an underdog is not a bad place to be. We want more people playing this game and get experience about what it is like so to have a home series gives people those opportunities.”

Support the England Visually Impaired team by attending a match, every match is free entry.

Alternatively follow the team at ecb.co.uk and on ECB Twitter and Facebook sites.

The ECB is an inclusive organisation providing support and a pathway for disability cricket from grassroots to elite.

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