England name squad for Blind World Cup

England have named a 15-man squad for the visually impaired World Cup that begins in India at the end of the month.

England, semi-finalists the last time the competition was played, in South Africa in 2014, are captained once again by allrounder Luke Sugg, while uncapped Rory Hossell joins his brother, Edward, in the squad.

The other uncapped player in the squad, Gareth Jones, is hoping to become a dual international having already played international football.

While most of the other Test nations are represented at the 10-team T20 tournament - Zimbabwe are not participating, with Nepal taking their place - few are managed or funded by the sport's national governing body. The event is also not an official ICC event, with the Cricket Association for the Blind in India stepping in as organisers.

In England and Wales, though, visually impaired cricket is administered by the ECB. With extra support staff required for the trip - it has been decided that it is impractical to take guide dogs - the entire England party will consist of 26 people and cost up to £40,000. The squad trains at Edgbaston once a month.

"The ECB has led the world in its funding of disability cricket," Ian Martin, the ECB's head of disability cricket, told ESPNcricinfo, "and all of us involved remain incredibly grateful for their support and proud of the progress we are making."

"I am incredibly excited about this group of players," England Visually Impaired Head Coach Ross Hunter said. "It is the most talented group that I've had the opportunity to be involved with.

"We know that we will need to play two of the best games that we've ever played to win the tournament and I think we have the ability within the squad to do that. I think that's a first for England Visually Impaired cricket, which is fantastic."

The round-robin competition concludes with semi-finals on February 11 and a final on February 12.