Beard: Crucial for current players to stay in touch

Aaron Beard has said the PCA’s Talk to Teammates campaign is “100% important” for current players, whilst reflecting on how the Essex squad has worked together to overcome the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Beard, 23, is an advocate for positive mental health in sport, and appeared in the launch video for the joint campaign between the PCA and the Professional Cricketers’ Trust which aims to combat isolation and loneliness amongst the PCA membership during lockdown.

Whilst loneliness disproportionately affects the elderly population, Beard stresses the importance of young people – and young professional cricketers in particular – taking steps to improve their own mental health.

“Some people have found lockdown hard, some people a bit easier and some have even found it relaxing to get away from cricket a bit more,” Beard says, “but I still think it’s really important for players to check in on each other.

“If someone needed someone to speak to, I wanted to be that person who was there to talk to them, which is why I was more than happy to help out with the Talk to Teammates campaign wherever I could.”

Over the course of three separate national lockdowns, the Essex squad has been proactive in looking after both their physical and mental health, with Beard often at the centre of the action.

“At Essex, I see everyone in the changing room as best friends and brothers – it’s such a close-knit family club. We go through the hard times and the good times together, picking each other up when we’re down.

“Lockdown has shown how close our friendship actually is, because everyone has been checking in on each other to see how they’re doing. We’ve been doing quiz nights, FaceTimes, all sorts of things like that to entertain ourselves in a similar way to as if we were together.

“We’ve also been challenging each other to beat our fitness scores and to see who is the leader in that respect. It’s always good to try to beat our scores and let each other know so we can keep that motivation throughout the rest of lockdown and before the season starts.

“To all be back together is something that we’re all looking forward to, and we can’t wait to get back to normality. But for now, it’s been great for us players to stick by each other and keep talking, whether it’s at Essex or at any other county.”

– #TalkToTeammates –

The Talk to Teammates campaign was created by the PCA and the Professional Cricketers’ Trust to help combat isolation and loneliness in lockdown. Play your part by reaching out to someone who may need a call at the moment, and spread the word on social media by using the hashtag #TalkToTeammates.

Finding things difficult at the moment? Reach out for support via our dedicated Confidential Helpline, available 24/7 free of charge for all PCA members.

Find out more about the Professional Cricketers’ Trust.