PEMBRIDGE’S Derek Morgan believes his England Learning Disabilities cricket team produced a series of performances for the ages after taking a 5-1 series victory in Australia.

Morgan is the team’s head coach and led a 15-man squad Down Under last month to contest four one-day internationals and two T20 matches as part of the INAS International Cricket Series between Australia and England.

The Three Lions started well with a 64-run victory before Daniel Bowser’s unbeaten century – the first in English Learning Disability cricket history – gave them a 2-0 advantage.

There was a slight blip as Australia pulled one back but a dominant performance with the ball from Matt Cowdery got Morgan’s men back on course before a 148-run win put the series beyond doubt.

And 104 from skipper Chris Edwards in the final match was the icing on the cake for Morgan who was delighted with his troops.

“We go into every tour full of confidence and I don’t think this one was any different but to win the way that we did was fantastic,” said Morgan.

“There were some exceptional individual performances like Daniel Bowser hitting the first LD international century and then Chris Edwards getting another.

“But I think overall the most pleasing thing for me is that the team were beaten in one match and responded in a really positive manner.

“We were well prepared and I think that put us in a position whereby we would have felt confident against any team that we played.

“I think that the performances and the manner in which we won was a reflection of that preparation.

“For LD cricket they really set a whole new benchmark and it will be very hard for any side to live up to that.”

For Morgan the series was the culmination of years of hard work but he admits there was more than cricket at stake in Australia.

“As a coach the most satisfying thing in the world is when your players respond and you see an effect of the time spent working hard,” he added.

“For us we work in three-year cycles and we don’t have many international tests between that so this is really a culmination of years of hard work.

“They implemented the skills and plans that we had put in place and you could really see the determination in the side.

“There is always a human element to it as well and for a lot of players they got a lot more freedom than they ever do at home.

“And to see them rise to that and really flourish with that responsibility is brilliant.”

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.