Seven PCA members have been recognised for their ongoing commitment to personal development away from the cricket pitch at the Association’s 2020 Futures Awards.
The winners of this year’s prizes, formerly the PCA Scholarship Awards, have been split into three categories. Glamorgan’s Andrew Salter picked up the Overall prize, Nottinghamshire’s Lyndon James the Best Newcomer award, whilst each of Chris Liddle, Geraint Jones, Michael Bates, Michael Reed and Ryan Pringle were named Bursary Winners.
One of the key aims of the PCA’s multi-faceted Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP) is to better prepare the Association’s members for life after professional cricket. Within that, the Futures Awards aims to highlight and promote some of the best examples of personal development from across the PCA membership on an annual basis.
The application process for the Futures Awards, which is open to all PCA members, invites current and ex-players to outline what personal development they have achieved over the past 12 months, why they should receive the reward and how they would invest the monetary prize.
Shortlisted candidates were then invited to Edgbaston on Monday 3 February to present to a panel consisting of the PCA’s two Lead Personal Development Managers – Charlie Mulraine and Lynsey Williams – and Martin Cropper, Personal Development Manager for the south west region of the UK.
Each was tasked with answering the question of “how can the PCA encourage more players to invest in personal development for the benefit of their playing and non-playing career?”, before going on to outline their own commitment to off-field progression.
Overall Winner – Andrew Salter (Glamorgan)
Glamorgan spinner Salter’s passion for motorcycling has led him to create Baffle Culture, a social media platform for like-minded enthusiasts, and Baffle Haus, a converted garage space which acts as a base for riding culture in Wales. The project has grown from solely being an Instagram account just three years ago, and now Salter plans on using his prize money to make improvements to the decor and functionality of Baffle Haus, which he plans to eventually convert into a cafe.
Best Newcomer – Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire)
Young bowler James is currently completing a level 3 diploma in personal training run by Premier Global, one of the UK’s leading fitness education organisations. Inspired by a long-held passion for helping people to become healthier individuals, the 21-year-old plans on purchasing gym equipment to set up his own personal training business in the near future.