Callum Flynn and Chris Edwards want to realise their dream in the disabled eleven at Lord’s | Cricket News

Callum Flynn: “It means everything to the sport of cricket. Away from my family, it will be the proudest and most memorable day of my life.” Chris Edwards: “It’s a huge honour to have the opportunity to represent not only the people you know, but the whole of disability cricket.”

Callum Flynn and Chris Edwards will emulate some of their heroes on Monday when they take part in the first ever disability cricket match on Lord’s main pitch.

It is now time for Flynn to play for an ECB Chair Disability XI against the MCC on the hallowed turf of the Home of Cricket, a lifelong dream come true. He had to have two titanium prosthetics fitted to his right knee after being diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg on his 14th birthday in March 2009.

Two years later, however, he opened the batting for England’s physically challenged team and is now their captain and star player, having helped the team to triumph at the 2015 World Cup.

Flynn, 29, also toured India last winter, playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest with a capacity of 132,000, but his performance at Lord’s in front of his proud father is the crowning achievement for him.

“It means everything to cricket,” Flynn said. “Apart from being away from my family, it will probably be the proudest and most memorable day of my life.”

“It will be nice to have my dad there and share this moment with him because he was always my junior coach, he got me into cricket and coached me when I was younger.

“I have been part of the England squad for 13 years and am now captain. I have seen every step of our growth. What happened with the cancer is unfortunate but it has opened up so many opportunities for me.

“To be able to say that I played at Lord’s, no matter how many World Cups we win… even if I only played one game at Lord’s, that’s the icing on the cake.”

In the months following his cancer diagnosis, Flynn underwent grueling chemotherapy, but the thought of playing cricket and watching England’s Ashes stars spurred him on.

“It was 2009 when I had my chemo, it was an Ashes year,” added Flynn.

“I used to get the cricket magazines and take the 2005 Ashes box set with me to the hospital and watch it every day. I probably knew the commentary inside out because of the highlights.

“At one point I didn’t know if I would still be here to tell the story. My only motivation was literally to get back on the cricket field, that was the key factor in the story.”

For Edwards, captain of the England learning disability team, the occasion at Lord’s will be an equally beautiful one as he will play in front of his parents and some of the players he has coached.

“It means everything because it is one of the most prestigious and historic grounds in world cricket,” he said.

“It’s such an honour to have the opportunity to represent not just the people you know, but the entire sport of disability cricket.”

Edwards, 31, first represented England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2009 and, despite his humble beginnings, has played a key role in the team being unbeaten in a series since 2010, losing just two matches.

“I made my debut at the MCG in 2009, which was pretty daunting,” he added. “We were a pretty young team going into that tournament against a very experienced Australian team. They thrashed us.”

“It opened my eyes to how unfriendly international cricket can be, but it was the start of something special.”