ENGLAND captain Callum Flynn is ready to lead a new era of collaboration for the country’s top disabled cricketers and plans to learn sign language to communicate with his new deaf team-mates.

Flynn led England’s physical disability (PD) side to a runners-up finish at last month’s Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka and has been earmarked as skipper for the first ever pan-disability international series against India this summer.

The format, which merges physically disabled players with those from the learning disability and deaf teams, was trialled successfully at domestic level last year and is seen as an opportunity to grow the sport globally.

Most of England’s PD opportunities come against Asian nations but it is hoped mixed impairment cricket could be a model to attract the likes of Australia and South Africa to the table.

And Flynn will give everything he can to get things off to a smooth start on the field.

“It’s a new challenge and a fresh motivation. I live for representing England, it’s the biggest honour I have in my life and I want to take it head on and adapt,” he told the PA news agency.