Lights, camera, action for England Women

Six members of the England Women international squad travelled to MediaCityUK, Salford last month to attend a BBC taster day as part of the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s 2019 Futures Week.

The week, which runs from Monday 4 – Sunday 10 November, aims to highlight career pathways that current PCA members can go down upon retirement from the professional game. The Futures Conference, held from Wednesday 6 – Thursday 7 at St George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, forms the centrepiece of the week-long event.

Following in the footsteps of their teammate Kate Cross, who also spoke to the Association about her media work this week, Alex Hartley, Tammy Beaumont, Linsey Smith, Alice Davidson-Richards, Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley went behind the scenes in Manchester and attended a variety of workshops put on throughout the day.

The event follows a similar day put on for a number of current and former players earlier this year.

The session, hosted by the BBC gave an insight into different opportunities available to PCA members within the broadcasting company, allowed the players to witness live reporting and offered them an in-depth view of the pre and post-production activities that go on to make a day of televised sport possible.

The taster day gave a good indication of one of career pathways that PCA members can go down with the help of the Association’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP).

Although the attendees are part of the national team set-up, the average career in cricket nevertheless ends at the age of 26, and the importance of planning for the future can therefore not be underestimated.

Batter Tammy Beaumont, who has appeared over 140 times for her country, was excited to explore her options for life outside cricket:

“I thought it was a good opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to produce BBC Sport. It’s an area I’m interested in for my post-cricket career so it was good to get an insight into what goes on.

“It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but it was really good to see some of their ideas for The Hundred and also see just how many different roles there are within the BBC.

“I’ve put a little thought towards what I would do post-cricket. I feel like I’m keeping my options open and not closing too many doors before I get there. The rate that women’s cricket is growing, and where it could be in a few years when I finish, means there’s a potential for lots of new job opportunities for former women’s players, which is really exciting.

“It’s really important to have support from the PCA. They can open so many doors for you which you didn’t know about. They give you the confidence to try new things or look at different careers you hadn’t thought about.”

If you’re a PCA member and are looking to build a second career, find out more about our Personal Development and Welfare Programme or contact your designated Personal Development Manager (PDM).

Keep up-to-date with the week’s activities by following the #PCAFuturesWeek hashtag on all of the PCA’s social media accounts.