BU Cricket Scholar represents England at the Visually Impaired Ashes

David Howells, a third year BSc (Hons) Sport Management student at Bournemouth University (BU) has been selected to represent England in the Visually Impaired (VI) Ashes series against Australia.

David started his cricketing career at 14 years of age when he was selected for the England Academy. He also won the national league with his county team and a national VI T20 tournament. In 2023 he represented the England team and served as Vice Captain at the IBSA World Blind Games in Birmingham competing against Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

David, who credits playing cricket from a young age as one of the reasons he plays so well today also said: "Representing England is always an honour, however representing England in an Ashes series in Australia feels more special. It was also my One Day International (ODI) debut, which I will look back on with great fondness. My ultimate goal of course is to lead out the England team as Captain one day."

In what will be the fifth Men's VI Ashes series England are set to take on Australia in a multi-format tournament which started on Sunday November 17. The teams begin with a three-match One Day International (ODI) leg in Tambourine Mountain, followed by five T20s in Palm Beach, New South Wales. England will be aiming to retain the Ashes having won the last tournament in Adelaide in 2016. Currently, Australia are one up in the series, with second game having been rained off.

On his return to Bournemouth David will continue his studies alongside playing and training regularly with the England VI Cricket team. Dr Ben Powis, Senior Lecturer in Sport at BU and expert in disability sport research, who has been supporting David with is studies, said:

"We are immensely proud that David is representing the England Visually Impaired (VI) Cricket Team in the 2024 VI Ashes. Like the sighted version, this fiercely competitive series involves some of the world's most highly skilled cricketers - it's going to be a fantastic showcase of what blind and partially sighted athletes can do in sport. We are rooting for David and the rest of the team in their attempt to retain the trophy."

All matches will be streamed on Cricket Australia's YouTube channel. The Ashes series ends on Tuesday November 25.

For further information on Sports Management courses, please visit the BU website.