The 2016 British Blind Sport Primary Club Heindrich Swanepoel Memorial Cup Final will take place at Wormsley, the Getty family’s Estate in Buckinghamshire, on Saturday 20th August. The tournament, which is the world’s longest running annual disability cricket competition, was first held in 1979 with previous final hosts including The Nursery Ground at Lords, Edgbaston, The Ageas Bowl in Southampton and the County grounds in Northampton and Bristol.
Wormsley, hosting blind cricket for the first time, is regarded as one of the most picturesque grounds in England. As well as hosting the BBS Primary Club Cup Final, the weekend will include a celebration of the lives of two of blind cricket’s most high profile supporters, legendary cricket commentator Brian Johnston and well respected Test Match Special scorer Bill Frindall, who were both a major part of cricket at Wormsley before they passed away.
The ground, lovingly created by the late Sir Paul Getty, was opened in 1992 with the first match attended by many well known people including the Queen Mother, the then Prime Minister John Major and acting legend Sir Michael Caine. Many famous cricketers have played at the venue including Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Sir Viv Richards, Michael Atherton, Andrew Flintoff, Imran Khan and Mike Gatting.
The 2015 final, played at BroadHalfPenny Down, refered to as the cradle of cricket, saw Warwickshire Bears edge out London Metro by just 2 runs in the highest scoring final in the competition’s 37 year history.
Dave Gavrilovic, Vice Chairman of British Blind Sport and Competitions Secretary of the charity’s cricket section commented,
“It is a great privilege to get the chance to stage our knockout cup final at such a beautiful ground where so many famous faces have enjoyed playing and watching cricket over the past 25 years. I first spoke to Tim Munton about the possibility of playing our final at Wormsley in August 2014, his interest & enthusiasm for the idea has been terrific & I am very grateful to Tim & his team, including Mark Foster, for their time and effort on this project.”
Tim Munton, Managing Director of Wormsley Cricket Ground added,
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to host the final of the domestic Blind Cricket competition at Wormsley this summer. It’s a great addition to our cricket calendar during August which includes hosting an England under 19’s ODI against Sri Lanka and the finals of the Minor Counties Championship four-day competition and one-day knockout Trophy. We look forward to hosting a special day with supporters of Blind Cricket, our members and the local cricket community.”