By Joanna Pendleton

Bromley’s Daniel Levey believes his England learning disabilities cricket team thrived under the pressure after comfortably seeing off Australia.

Levey was part of a 15-man squad which returned home from Down Under with a 5-1 series victory over their rivals in the INAS international cricket Australia v England series last month.

The Three Lions went 2-0 up in the series before Australia pulled one back in the sides’ third meeting.

But Levey and his colleagues bounced back in style with a dominant performance in the fourth game, taking the series to 3-1 before a 148-run triumph put the result beyond any doubt.

A convincing victory in the sixth game completed the rout and Levey believes his side’s fitness was the reason behind their convincing victory out in Melbourne.

“Initially we felt a little rusty because they’ve just finished their season over there while we’re just about to get started,” the Bromley Town CC ace said.

“But that was the difference on the tour – we were the fresher side and that put us in a good position to win.

“We were just fitter and could stay switched on for far longer than they could.

“I knew that I had to cope with the pressure of representing my country and make sure we got the right results out there.

“England cricket teams have had some bad results against Australia in the past so it was important that we did our bit out there.”

Despite being aged just 20, Levey was actually one of the more experienced members of the squad which travelled Down Under.

And the former Torridon School pupil admitted his previous experience of playing abroad gave him the confidence to take on England’s fiercest rivals.

“I had been on a previous tour to South Africa so I knew what to expect but it was my first time in Australia ever,” he added.

“Everyone had been saying how unbelievable Australia was so it was great to be able to see that for myself. It lived up to my expectations.

“Because it was my second tour I felt a lot more experienced.

“But the biggest games for England are always when we play Australia, it’s the ultimate game.

“That’s why we were so pleased to win, because we’ve been working on the same things for the past two years and it’s amazing to see it all come off at the right time.”

If you are interested in getting involved in cricket for people with learning disabilities, your county cricket board is currently running a disability cricket programme that you can get involved in.

There is also a county cricket championship which will get underway from May this year involving over 30 teams with spaces still available.

Email disabilitycricket@ecb.co.uk to find out more.

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