Kelly triumphant at 2024 Futures Awards

The 2024 PCA Futures Awards, in association with Lodders Solicitors, has been won by The Blaze batter Marie Kelly for her innovative business venture.

The Overall Winner impressed the judges through the creation of her new business that is initially focusing on sports caps designed specifically for female athletes, allowing flexibility and comfort for all hair types and styles. Founding a company named ‘Versatail’, Kelly wants to solve an issue which has persisted with her and fellow players during her cricketing career. Her aim is to see female players being comfortable on the field, enabling them to perform to their highest potential.

The 28-year-old was awarded a trophy along with a cash prize of £3,000 from the award-winning law firm. With a winner from each category, £2,000 was also awarded to former Yorkshire and Northamptonshire player Moin Ashraf for being judged the most impressive in the Community Spirit category with Nancy Harman victorious in the Academic Progression category.

Meanwhile, runner-up in the Business Impact area, former Sussex wicketkeeper Callum Jackson was the recipient of complementary accountancy services for a year from Clay GBP, the Tax / Accountancy Education Partner of the PCA.

PCA Business Club Member, Lucidica, also supported the runners-up, with James Graham-Brown awarded a free business grade laptop with a 12-month subscription to Microsoft365 in the Community Spirit category while a complementary website build up was awarded to Nottinghamshire’s Ben Martindale for being second in Academic Progression.

In a brand new format for 2024, the six finalists, that were whittled down from a shortlist of 14, presented their personal development journey across the past 12 months to each other, three judges and a room full of PCA and Lodders staff.

Following an application process, the successful finalists contested across three categories at Lodders’ new Birmingham office.

The judging panel, consisting of Lodders Managing Partner, Paul Mourton, PCA Director of Player Rights and Women’s Cricket, Emma Reid and PCA Director of Commercial, Rob Smyth were blown away by the calibre of the finalists. Each had to deliver a 10-minute presentation on their journey in their chosen category before an individual Q&A session with the judges and a roundtable chat.

The six contestants were judged on five criteria – the application standard, verbal delivery, visual aids, storytelling skills and their confidence whilst presenting.

The PCA Futures Awards, which forms part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP), aims to rewards candidates on what they have been doing outside of their playing career.

This year marked the fourth consecutive year that Lodders has partnered with the PCA’s Futures Awards, with the initiative born in 2013, initially as the Transition Awards.

Kelly has utilised her time away from cricket to the create contacts and understand complexities of invention and creating a business. Extensive market research and establishing relationships with a plethora of cap manufacturers fascinated the judging panel and showed her entrepreneurial commitment.

The right-hand batter is planning on utilising her prize money towards investing into samples and prototypes in perfecting her product for the betterment of female players.

PCA Futures Awards Overall and Business Impact winner, Marie Kelly, said: “I am in total shock to be honest, I didn’t think I would win this, I was just grateful for the opportunity to be here. I am really thrilled and excited that the panel matched my passion and enthusiasm.

“I feel lucky to be the one walking away with the trophy as they were all fantastic candidates.

“The prize money will go a long way to turning the product from concept to reality and make it perfect for female cricketers. It means I don’t have to scrimp and save, I can work closely with the fashion designer to get the perfect design for female athletes.

“The unique aspect of cricket is that you are pretty full on in the summer and it does give you the time off in the winter. That’s where the PCA has been a huge encouragement.”

Ashraf has created a scholarship scheme as part of his coaching business, The Moin Ashraf Cricket Coaching (MACC) Academy. The scholarship scheme has enabled children from low socio-economic backgrounds to chase their dreams and play the game they love in elite facilities.

PCA Futures Awards Community Spirit winner, Moin Ashraf, said: “I am passionate about the game and my community. I really want to make a positive change through my academy. If you are from a low socio-economic or from an underrepresented background, we want to help not just by getting them into the game but to provide a pathway to go on and fulfil your potential.

“The MACC Academy wants to be a catalyst for social change, whether that’s regionally or nationally through the power of cricket, because cricket is an unbelievable sport that brings so many people together. I want to be a catalyst and a game changer to help cricket break those boundaries.”

Harman’s passion towards the naval service and serving her country impressed the judges. In addition from her impressive exploits with the Royal Navy, the Hampshire batter is also working towards a master’s degree in psychology and a leadership course. Keeping further education at the forefront whilst still being a professional cricketer saw her win the Academic Progression prize this year.

PCA Futures Awards Academic Progression winner, Nancy Harman, said: “I’ve always been involved in military through cadets and an internship at university and going into cricket, I thought I was giving up on ever doing that, but the reserves has just given me a chance to do it part-time and flexibly around cricket which I love.

“Following my 16-day confirmation course, I was awarded the best-in-class award, which includes scores from the leadership task and a holistic score based on the Royal Navy’s values and how I demonstrated them.

“Lodders’ support has been brilliant. We don’t get the opportunity to come into the corporate environment very often. It’s interesting to pick their brains and share a bit of how our lives go. But at the end of the day, cricket won’t last forever but being here, it just gives you more insight into different roles.”

PCA Director of Player Rights and Women’s Cricket, Emma Reid, said: “The standard of the Futures Awards finalists was incredibly strong and it was a privilege to be part of the judging panel. We were blown away by the variety of achievements and the inspirational nature of the work they have achieved.

“There was a long deliberation over the winners and I congratulate Marie Kelly for her innovative new Versatail brand as the Overall Winner, as well as the impact of Nancy Harman and Moin Ashraf. We look forward to working with them as their careers evolve on and off the field.

“The new format had great feedback and a huge thank you to Lodders for hosting the event and being such a valued partner of the Awards, offering genuine support for all winners, finalists and shortlisted members.”

Lodders’ Managing Partner, Paul Mourton, said: “In my four years on the judging panel, 2024 has certainly been the most challenging due to the excellent standard of applications and presentations.

“Picking a winner was almost impossible but Marie edged it with an incredibly exciting idea that could transform female sportswear.

“As a company, Lodders gets a huge amount out of partnering with the PCA and the Futures Awards, it is mutually beneficial and I would say a blossoming relationship. We really value supporting past and present players and seeing their personal development grow.”

For more information on the PCA Futures Awards, click here.