PCA PRESS RELEASE
After another action-packed summer touring the country, the PCA England Masters are delighted to announce that a staggering £230,000 has been raised from their fixtures in 2017.
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The primary aim of the Masters programme since it’s inception in 2002 has been to give recreational clubs a vehicle to raise significant funds, and this year’s total eclipses the £160,000 made in 2016. Every penny of the money raised at PCA England Masters games goes to the host clubs and is spent entirely at their discretion; often being used for facility redevelopments, investment into coaching and equipment, as well as to support local charitable causes.
“It’s a really incredible amount of money,” says PCA England Masters captain, Mark Ramprakash.
“It’s great for us as players to take part in these games knowing that not only has everyone had a fantastic day, but that the money raised will help ensure a successful future for the clubs too. It’s a really fun way for us to give something back to the grassroots clubs where all of us once started.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 04: Owais Shah with his Greene King PCA England Master Player of the Summer Award during the NatWest PCA Awards at The Roundhouse on October 4, 2017 in London, England.
This season has seen the squad, which includes over 30 former England players with over 1600 international caps between them, travel the length and breadth of the county visiting 15 clubs in total.
One of the highlights of the 2017 season was undoubtedly a trip to Ben Stokes’ childhood club, Cockermouth CC in Cumbria which you can see here. The match, funded by the England all-rounder, was aimed at helping the club continue to recover from the devastating floods of 2015, and with over £25,000 raised, it will go a long way in helping to achieve this.
The summer has also seen return visits to clubs including Banstead CC, Brentwood CC, Bromley CC, Monton CC and Retford CC who have all hosted the PCA England Masters in the past. Raising over £100,000 between them, it demonstrates that, whilst for some clubs hosting the Masters is a one-off event to mark a special occasion in a club’s history, for many it can be used a major fundraising initiative year after year.
Alongside the successes off the field, there have been some fantastic performances on it. Owais Shah pipped Alistair Brown and Alex Tudor to the title of Greene King PCA England Masters Player of the Summer, which is based on the MVP rankings and was presented on-stage at the NatWest PCA Awards. The former Middlesex, Essex and Hampshire batsman follows in the footsteps of Mal Loye and Usman Afzaal, who claimed the accolade in previous years.
Planning is currently underway for the 2018 season, with a number of clubs already holding dates to host the Masters in what is expected to be the busiest year yet. If your club or school is interested in holding a game please click here for more information or email pcamasters@thepca.co.uk.
