Future rewards for cricket stars

Since 2020, Lodders has proudly partnered with the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), with the firm being the headline sponsor of the PCA’s Futures Award initiative since 2021.

The annual Futures Awards are part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme and aim to highlight the work of PCA members who have proactively taken steps for their personal development. The winner of each category receives £2,000 towards their personal development and Lodders provides an additional £1,000 to the overall winner.

Nine months on from the 2022 awards, we sat down with two of last year’s winners Tom Smith and Fi Morris, to find out where they are now and how winning the accolade has helped them to develop.

Pitching for change

Tom Smith was awarded the overall prize as well as winning the CSR and Community category, after impressing the judges with the impact and selflessness of his off-field activities.

The Gloucestershire spinner and coach played a vital role in advocating for critical illness cover for professional players, following the death of his wife, Laura, in 2018.

Tom wanted to make his fellow professionals aware of the importance of appropriate life cover, and his personal campaign has resulted in more than 500 PCA members across both the men’s and women’s games benefitting from the cover agreed.

Tom’s campaign doesn’t end with cricket – he is now aiming to advocate for critical illness cover for all the UK’s 17,500 professional athletes, starting with football and rugby, where he hopes to create further change for the benefit of others.

And, nine months on from the Futures Awards, Tom is preparing to further develop his leadership qualities as a player-coach at Gloucestershire having signed up for an emotional intelligence and leadership course at the University of Oxford. He is also keen to put some of his £3,000 prize towards innovative spin-tracking technology to aid his coaching ambitions.

Speaking about the Futures Awards, Tom said:

"By being proactive, and using time outside of training and playing wisely, players can focus on their personal development and life beyond being a professional cricketer. Whilst it has been a challenge balancing the advocacy work with my cricketing career and caring for two young children, it has been an incredibly worthwhile and valuable process. It is my belief that in life you’ve got to go out and help yourself and look to create positive change for others at the same time."

Reigniting love for the sport

Business Impact award winner, Fi Morris, is an all-rounder for Thunder – the women’s team representing Lancashire and the North West of England. Fi impressed the judges with her Throwing Academy initiative, the first of its kind in cricket.

Since winning the award, Fi has further developed the business, honing a speciality in shoulder injuries, and combining technique coaching with injury prevention and management support, with the ethos that she ‘only wants to see people once.’

Fi has worked with Bristol Physiotherapy Clinic to establish the business and delivers online consultations as well as face-to-face coaching. It’s not just cricketers that can benefit from the Throwing Academy’s offering, with it extending to any sport that involves throwing or overarm action from tennis and volleyball through to cross-fit and gym work.

Using her prize funds, Fi has invested in a new website for the business to help drive awareness and she also uses social media to successfully build her client base. Being very much in her sporting prime, juggling an intensive training and playing schedule with growing the business can be a challenge, but it has also played to her advantage. She explained: “Having a creative outlet allows me to relax away from cricket. Cricket’s focus on individual performance can be mentally taxing, so it’s important to find ways to take care of your mental health.

“Whilst the recent growth of the women’s game has been phenomenal, it can also mean an increase in pressure and intensity for young professionals, so a strong support network is crucial. I am glad to be contributing to this by mentoring an aspiring pro cricketer and delivering talks at schools through my work with The Mintridge Foundation, which encourages young people to form a positive relationship with sport.”

Looking ahead, Fi has plans to participate in an exchange programme with Thunder and play for a team in Australia. The future is bright, and she recognises the importance of the support she has received: “Moving to Thunder, and making plans for my career after cricket, has given me the opportunity to start loving the game again. The PCA has provided me with invaluable support, resources, and encouragement, and the Futures Awards helped me to realise the potential of my business plan and grow in confidence.”