By Joanna Pendleton

Having spent more than a decade in the England visually impaired cricket team set-up, Welling’s Matt Dean is fully aware he is nearing the end of his international adventure.

And this means the Three Lions captain is all the more determined to show India what he is made of as the world champions arrive next month.

London Metro star Dean has been in the England set up for 11 years, most recently leading the side at the blind World Cup in South Africa at the back end of 2014 where they reached the semi-finals, losing out to Pakistan.

Pakistan went on to lose out to India in the final and it is these world champions who will arrive in England for three ODIs and three T20s next month, the first game taking place on May 24.

And with the first of the T20 clashes taking place under the lights at the Oval, 32-year-old Dean admits he is champing at the bit to get going.

“It's really exciting and the fact we have a game at the Oval is going to be absolutely amazing and hopefully there will be a big turnout,” said Dean, who has retinitis pigmentosa.

“We have had good and loyal support but if we can get 500 people watching a blind cricket game in the UK it will be incredible.

“It's going to be an amazing series, India are obviously world champions and are a very exciting team with some amazing players.

“The cricket they play is incredible and they have people who can do things that make you wonder how they have done it.

“It makes it tough for us because we have to stop that but we are up for it and saw in the World Cup little creaks in their game.

“If we can get in there and make them pay for their mistakes then anything is possible, especially in the T20 matches.”

But whatever happens when India arrive next month, Dean is adamant that the future of England visually impaired cricket is in safe hands.

“It was a really good performance at the Blind World Cup and I think it was a learning curve for us all and we have come back better,” he added.

“I've been involved for 11 years now and I've seen a lot of ups and downs and right now we are on an upward curve.

“I'm on the latter part of my career and it's good to see we have the potential to be successful for a number of years and we can do something special on the world stage.”

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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