Rain fails to dampen day

WET weather forced the cancellation of the first game of the Tavs Tas Inclusion Shield yesterday, but that didn’t stop the state’s best cricketers with an intellectual disability from padding up.

The first game of the threematch shield was to be held at Soldiers Memorial Oval, but rain forced a change of plans, with a training session held at the Kingborough Indoor Cricket Centre instead.

During the session participants aimed to catch the eye of state selectors, with a Tasmanian representative team to compete at the National Cricket Inclusion Carnival in Geelong early next year.

All-rounder Justin Nilon, 22, represented Australia in the Inclusion Ashes in the UK this year.

He has played cricket since he was about eight, and said the Inclusion Shield was a great way for Tasmanian players to push their case for further honours.

“The pathway now is amazing, because there is a pathway,” Nilon said.

“It just proves that cricket is a sport for all abilities.”

New Horizons Tasmania sport and recreation co-ordinator Stuart Schultz said the benefits for participants went beyond the physical.

“Just interacting with people who are like-minded, with similar backgrounds, is a great way of [creating] social engagement,” Mr Schultz said.