TAUNTON’S Ed Hossell admits he is in dreamland as he gears up to take on the world with England’s Visually Impaired Cricket team.

Hossell is part of a 17-man squad that will fly to South Africa next month looking to claim their first-ever Blind World Cup crown.

The 21-year-old, who has Stargardt disease, says playing visually impaired cricket has given him a new lease of life and couldn’t believe his luck when he found out he would be part of the World Cup squad.

And Hossell, who plays his club cricket for Somerst, says he couldn’t ask for a better group of teammates and believes they have every chance of bringing home the top prize as they bid to get off with a bang against Sri Lanka on November 27.

“Playing visually impaired cricket has been great because I wouldn’t have met anyone else who was going through the same thing as I was otherwise,” he said.

“I didn’t know that I was going to have this condition so it actually allowed me to meet like minded other people and it’s really just great to meet them.

“There’s a great bunch of guys here, I’ve been part of the squad for about a year now and to be selected for this tour is a dream. I’m really excited about it.

“I played cricket at school and then about two years ago I got involved with the Somerset visually impaired team and then after a season of that I got a call to have a go with this squad and I’ve not looked back.

“Three weeks in South Africa will be great, especially in early December I’m not missing anything back here, it’s going to be so hot, and it’s going to be lovely.”

With the likes of India and Pakistan also heading to South Africa to compete Hossell knows it’s going to be no easy feat to bring back the cup.

However, while he is wary of the opposition, he wants to make sure he brings pride to the England shirt.

“I think probably India and Pakistan are going to be really tough matches,” he added. “And then there’s the Aussies, but we’ll see how they do. It would be good to get a result against them.

“There’s definitely an on-going rivalry, they won the Ashes most recently so I think we are still hurting a little bit from that we want to get our revenge.

“To be honest we would love to win it but we would really like to get into the semi-finals and then from there we can push into the final and really give it our best.”

n ECB is an inclusive organisation providing support and a pathway for disability cricket from grassroots to elite. Follow the England Visually Impaired Squad in South Africa at www.ecb.co.uk