England physical disability squad stays grounded
The players and team management of England's physical disability squad are trying to keep their feet on the ground ahead of Saturday's start to their ground-breaking series against Pakistan at the ICC Global Cricket Academy (ICC GCA) at Dubai Sports City.
The series, which features three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) from 11 - 19 February, will be the first between two national teams of physically disabled players where both line-ups are recognised and endorsed by the governing body of cricket in their country.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) National Disability Cricket Manager Ian Martin said: "We're aware of the significance of the series because it is a first but everyone has been conscious of making sure that fact doesn't take over.
"The lads are obviously pretty excited and I'm sure the nerves will increase on Friday and Saturday ahead of that first match but thankfully people have been pretty focused so far and we've been working hard.
"The key for us to ensure that everyone thinks of Saturday as just a game of cricket. There is no point in thinking too much about any significance beyond that."
The first two matches of the series are T20Is, with Saturday's match beginning at 1530 and Sunday's getting underway at 1830.
The ODIs, which are 40-overs per side matches, will be played on Tuesday 14, Friday 17 and Sunday 19 February and all of them start at 1530.
Entry for all matches is free of charge.
The squads will complete their preparations at the ICC GCA on Friday with England's session starting at 1400 and Pakistan in action from 1600.
The England squad has already been practicing at the ICC GCA this week and Mr Martin said they have been delighted with the facilities on offer.
"For a disabled squad it's really important for us to be treated no differently to the way the senior sides are treated and that's exactly what we have had.
"We've had access to exactly the same facilities and have been looked after no differently to the senior teams that have already used the ICC GCA and we're delighted with what we've found.
"The facilities have been absolutely top-draw and it has allowed us to focus on our preparations as we would want."
The Pakistan squad has been practicing at home before flying in for the series and Mr Martin admitted England's opponents were something of a mystery.
"They are very much an unknown quantity to us. We have done some research on the internet but we're not really aware of their players," he said.
"From our perspective it means we have to focus on controlling the controllables. What we can do is make sure our own preparations are right and that is what we've been doing," he said.