Cornwall Super 9s Crowned National Disability Champions
Cornwall’s Super 9s disability side have completed a remarkable rise by being crowned national champions for the first time, capping their third competitive season with the biggest prize of all.
The Truro-based team arrived at the national finals in Kidderminster as South West champions for the second year running, a sign that their regional dominance was no fluke. This time, they turned that platform into something historic.
They first swept past Isle of Wight in the semi-final, handling the pressure of knockout cricket with the composure of a far more seasoned outfit. That set up a final against Middlesex on Sunday in Worcestershire, a clash that pitted the supposed underdogs from Cornwall against one of the traditional heavyweights of the county game.
Underdogs in name only, as it turned out.
Cornwall set the tone with the bat, piling up 176/8 from their 30 overs – a commanding score in the Super 9s format. It gave their bowlers a total to protect, but what followed went beyond mere game management. They ripped through Middlesex, dismissing them for just 79 and sealing the title with a ruthless, one-sided performance.
Head coach Dan Tonkin did not hide his emotion at the scale of the achievement, calling it a “fantastic achievement” and insisting he was “unbelievably proud” of a squad that has built success on hard work and togetherness.
They had gone into the final as outsiders on paper, but not in their own minds. “Although we went in as underdogs in the final we always believed in ourselves,” Tonkin said, underlining the inner steel that has driven their rapid ascent.
For this group, it is about more than runs and wickets. “We are a tight knit group, we aren't just cricketers we are friends,” Tonkin added, a simple line that explains why, when the pressure peaked, Cornwall didn’t just cope – they “absolutely smashed it.”
This national title already stands as a landmark moment for disability cricket in the county, yet Tonkin is treating it not as a destination, but a launchpad. The squad wants to grow, to deepen its talent pool, to use this success as a “stepping stone.”
If this is only the third season of their journey, the obvious question hangs in the air: just how far can this team go from here?
