Tridents beat Pirates by eight wickets with 52 balls to spare as they chase down target of 83; DPL debuted this year after successful trial in 2021, with the competition bringing together deaf players alongside those with physical and learning disabilities
Thursday 15 September 2022 16:05, UK
The Tridents comfortably beat the Pirates by eight wickets to win the inaugural Disability Premier League.
The groundbreaking 20-over competition - which brought together deaf players alongside those with physical and learning disabilities - debuted this year after a successful trial in 2021 and the final saw the Pirates aiming to repeat their group stage win over the Tridents.
But while the Pirates won the toss and batted first, they were limited to 83 runs - with Liam Thomas their top scorer with 23 and Ben Sutton the pick of the bowlers (3-13) with his left-arm spin.
In response, the Tridents started fast and did not slow down.
While Farooq Mohammad (2-20) dismissed Jamie Goodwin and Gregor McKenzie (both 12), Jack Perry (30 not out) and Liam O'Brien (24 not out) saw the Tridents home with 52 balls to spare with a fine partnership.
"This is just the start," said Perry about the DPL.
"Hopefully every single year we'll be able to pull out a franchise like this, and then keep moving forwards with the international stuff as well."
The DPL featured four squads of 16 players each following a draft earlier this year, with each squad featuring roughly five players from each impairment, who were also tiered to ensure each team is as evenly balanced as possible.
Each team also featured international players, which the ECB said created "something aspirational" for the domestic players.
The DPL final was the first game in a double-header on Thursday, with England's Women taking on India Women in the IT20 series decider later in the day.
