Any cricket clash between England and Australia is hotly anticipated, and it is no different for the upcoming INAS Learning Disability Tri-Series.

And Essex’s Dan Thomas is itching to play his part in an England victory, having been named among the 15-man England squad for the series, supported by NatWest, which runs from July 9-21 in Cheshire.

Thomas, 22, plays and coaches at Saffron Walden, his home town.

And the left-arm spinner, who is also a higher order batsman, is targeting more success with England after being part of the squad which won the title in Australia two years ago.

“I was one of the ones that played in the tournament in Australia in 2015,” he said.

“It’s fantastic that I’ve been picked again for the Tri-Nations and I’m absolutely thrilled about it.

“It’s been an interesting year for me, really. I’ve been doing a lot of coaching in different places and now I’m looking forward to trying to do well for England.

“We want to go out and retain the title that we won in Australia, and I think that we can do that.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

The tournament will see England take on Australia and South Africa in the 40 over and T20 format at club grounds across Cheshire, with the hosts starting their campaign against the latter at Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club on July 10.

Expectation levels with be high for the team with England having lifted the trophy on the two previous occasions in 2011 and 2015.

And the ECB’s head of disability cricket, Ian Martin, hailed the talent of the England squad as they prepare for a final run-in before the action begins.

“We’ve got to prepare for a tough tournament, they’re excited to be champions and we’ve won the last couple of series on merit,” he said.

“They deserve it, but the challenge in all series is that what’s gone has gone, you’ve got to focus on the here and now and step up to the plate each time a tournament takes place.

“The group has amazing camaraderie, and the team spirit they’ve been able to build up over the years.

“The majority of them have been together since we first won the tournament in 2011, they’ve only known success and there is a winning mentality within that group.

“The standards have been raised for people with learning disabilities, so even the new guys coming in have had to fight to get into the squad and we feel we’re in a really good place.”

To find out more about disability cricket or to follow the England Learning Disability squad’s progress during the INAS Tri-Series please visit ecb.co.uk