jack bannister

david leatherdale
A New Hope
The PCA’s new Chief executive david leatherdale talks
about his new role. paul bolton asks the questions.
Q. Congratulations on your
appointment. How did it come about?
It goes back to last September when
Angus Porter announced he would be
retiring. I wasn’t actually looking to
leave Worcestershire but to have the
chance to work for and support an
organisation that is very much in my
blood and which supported me for 20
years as a player was not something I
could turn down.
I played for Worcestershire for 20
years and worked for the club in a noncricket
capacity for a further 10 years.
This is an opportunity to work for the
whole game. Hopefully some of my
expertise and cricket knowledge and the
skills that I have developed over the last
ten years at commercial level will stand
me in good stead.
The interview process began in
November which meant trips to London,
three interviews, presentations and a
very thorough recruitment process.
I was offered the job the week before
Christmas and telling Steve Taylor,
the chairman at Worcestershire, on
Christmas Eve that I would be leaving
wasn’t the most pleasant thing I have
had to do.
But Worcestershire were very
supportive and there have been some
very nice comments from board members
and other people at the club about the
progress that has been made over the
last 10 years. Hopefully I can bring
some of that expertise into the PCA.
Q. These are early days but what are
your first impressions of the PCA?
My first PCA event was the Rookie
Camp at Edgbaston which I thought
was exceptional. There was nothing
like that when I joined Worcestershire
30 years ago and I think it’s a fantastic
move forward.
The first year professionals had the
opportunity to listen and learn from
Mervyn Westfield and Chris Lewis about
the mistakes they made but the session
with Paul Buck, a compulsive gambler
who also went to prison, was engrossing.
Issues such as match fixing and
gambling were not on the radar when I
started my county career.
Q. What was the PCA like when you
first became a member?
We used to have an AGM which
was usually at Edgbaston and everyone
attended because it was planned around
a lunch or a dinner.
There were a couple of events which
revolved around Hawkestone Park Golf
Club in Shropshire which is where the
PCA offices were in those days.
But did we have a pension scheme?
No we didn’t. The clubs had a pension
set-up but it was a non-contributory
scheme so it was very much down to
the individual county as to whether
they made any contributions or not.
Was there anti-corruption
education? Was there anything to help
and support players with gambling?
No, all those things have progressed
over the last ten years, but particularly
over the last five years.
There was a Benevolent Fund but
the numbers were far less than they are
now. Players’ salaries were much lower
in the late 1980s – I remember my first
salary was £3,000 and half of that went
on rent – and we were on six month
contracts so we had to find other work
in the winter months, something that
probably helped me recognise that while
playing cricket as a living was great,
there was a life outside that as well.
Players are now on year-round
contracts and the PCA, through the
team of Personal Development and
Welfare Managers, does an outstanding
job in helping players to plan for life
after cricket.
thepca.co.uk / BtB issue 18 15