Professional Cricketers’ Trust launches

The PCA Benevolent Fund has today, Tuesday 2 October, rebranded and relaunched as the Professional Cricketers’ Trust with a fresh identity and objectives which will see the charity extend their support of past and present professional cricketers in England and Wales.

Originally established as the Cricketers’ Association Charity in 1975, the charity was officially registered in 2007 as the PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust and has developed at a rapid rate over the past 11 years.

With the well-established Confidential Helpline, revolutionary Mind Matters Series as well as Stress Free App amongst the headline developments in recent years, the charity has a redefined purpose: To provide support for PCA members and their immediate families when they need it most.

The restructure, which includes the creation of new formal objectives, will help the Professional Cricketers’ Trust to better reflect the people they help every day.

As the cricket family grows, so does their scope and ambition for new and ground-breaking projects, particularly in the fields of mental health and preventative education.

The Trust offers life-changing assistance for PCA members and their families. Relaunching The Professional Cricketers’ Trust with a modern identity will help embrace new challenges and attract the funding necessary to meet the growing responsibilities of cricket’s leading charity.

Today’s game is faster, more competitive, more public and more pressurised than ever before. Even the happiest professional career in cricket means long stretches away from home and financial uncertainty driven by short-term contracts.

The average cricket career comes to an end at the age of just 26.

Whether you play for a men’s team or women’s team, for a week or a decade, every professional cricketer in England and Wales is a life-long member of the PCA; and that means you can count on the Professional Cricketers’ Trust for support.

The 24-hour Confidential Helpline means we’re players’ first port of call, day or night. You’re never a number with the Professional Cricketers’ Trust. We’re big enough to make a difference, but small enough to offer personal guidance through turbulence and upheaval.

Keith Newell and his family are currently being supported by the Professional Cricketers’ Trust.

Gareth Roderick and his fiance are currently being supported by the Professional Cricketers’ Trust.

As professional cricket’s leading charity, we offer welfare, education and a helping hand during difficult times. We fund life-changing assistance for you and your closest family, whether your situation is related to your cricket career, or not.

From medical care and mental health counselling to preventative educational programmes and help with addiction, we’re proud to say we’re here for you when players need us most.

Since 2015, the Professional Cricketers’ Trust have granted over £1 million of support to PCA members who were in desperate need.

The Trust is solely reliant on generous donors, with no funding partner at present. The players’ charity fundraises all-year round through the PCA Commercial Programme and various charity challenges, recently highlighted by Graham Gooch’s ‘Coast 2 Coast’ walk which raised over £10,000.

This Thursday’s NatWest PCA Awards provides the biggest fundraising opportunity of the year with auctions and raffles happening at all PCA events.

In 2018 alone, the Professional Cricketers’ Trust has supported 53 PCA members with mental health problems with around half of cases from current players. Ages range from 17-year-olds to 88-year-olds and will likely surpass the 59 players who asked for help in 2017.

Since January, the Trust has also funded workshops which has seen academy and professional cricketers benefit. Almost 500 cricketers received direct education on understanding your mental health and the importance of driving safely which was the two topics being prioritised in 2018.

Over the winter, the Trust is set to embark on further gambling education to first-class academy squads to provide an insight into the risks in a move which will support academy players before they enter the professional game.

On announcing the relaunch of the Professional Cricketers’ Trust, its Chairman, David Ford said:

“Along with the PCA, we conducted some wide-ranging research into the PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust and it revealed the lack of understanding on how the two organisations worked together, many believing both operated for the same purpose.

“Visually it is now much clearer and more importantly the work carried out on updating our objectives differentiates the charity to position ourselves in the correct space alongside the PCA.”

Professional Cricketers’ Trust Director and Somerset opening batsman, Marcus Trescothick said:

“From a player’s perspective, the restructuring of the Professional Cricketers’ Trust provides clarity.

“This restructure now makes it abundantly clear the Trust is an entity in its own right and us, as players, have to protect its future.”

PCA Chief Executive and Director of the Professional Cricketers’ Trust, David Leatherdale said:

“This is a really exciting time for both the PCA and Professional Cricketers’ Trust. Identifying redefined objectives and refreshing the identity has been a long process to ensure the Trust is relatable.

For more information on the Professional Cricketers Trust, click here.