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Somerset players attend record breaking rookie camp
Ellie Anderson, Olivia Barnes, Lola Harris, Jess Hazell, Katie Jones, JT Langridge, Amelie Munday, Bex Odgers, Archie Vaughan and Erin Vukusic were all part of a historic PCA Rookie Camp recently.
The event saw the induction of a record 69 players prior to the start of the 2025 domestic season with the event including a specific welcome to the new women’s professionals.
The two-day event took place at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground and the Park Regis Hotel in Birmingham on 26-27 February 2025 and included guest speakers such as Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings and Somerset’s Sophie Luff.
For the first time since its inception in 2011, a Pre-Rookie Camp was held for women’s players due to the introduction of the new tiered system and the large influx of new female professionals in the sport.
Sessions included ‘self-awareness in professional sport’ and ‘being an elite athlete’ delivered by former footballer Leigh Nicol and current rugby player Celia Quansah, followed by an open discussion on the future of the women’s game with PCA Director of Player Rights and Women’s Cricket, Emma Reid, Director of Women’s Cricket at Lancashire David Thorley and Director of the Women’s Professional Game at the ECB, Beth Barrett-Wild.
The attendees comprised a host of players from England Women’s U19 squad who reached the semi-finals of the U19 T20 World Cup held in Malaysia earlier this year. These included captain Abi Norgrove (Hampshire), Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Jemima Spence (both Surrey) and Prisha Thanawala (The Blaze) amongst others.
Out of the male attendees on the second day, as many as 13 have represented England U19s in the last 12 months. These included the likes of Archie Vaughan (Somerset), Tazeem Ali (Warwickshire), Jack Home (Worcestershire), Harry Moore (Derbyshire), Kesh Fonseka and Rocky Flintoff (both Lancashire). The latter also went on to represent the England Lions on their recent tour to Australia.
The second day was filled with educational seminars and workshops designed to help young players transition into the professional game. It included various speakers within and outside of the PCA. Lancashire’s Jennings who attended one of the first Rookie Camps in 2013 and Somerset Women’s PCA Rep Luff shared valuable insights to the young audience on ’embracing the opportunity.’
New PCA Chair Olly Hannon-Dalby attended his first PCA event ahead of officially starting his new role from next week at the Annual General Meeting. The Warwickshire seam bowler addressed the rookies with a session on how their voices will be heard regarding any issues both on and off the field.
Rookie Camp also saw engaging sessions from B5 Consultancy on topics relevant to a younger audience like effective use of social media and maintaining healthy relationships from Nicol and former footballer Fraser Franks, alongside the awe-inspiring double amputee Shaun Whiter.
The PCA’s Official Motor Insurance Partner All Sport Insurance delivered a talk in the afternoon session along with a ‘tax made easy’ session from Official Tax/Accountancy Education Partner Clay GBP. Former footballer Scott Davies from EPIC Global Solutions also shared a lecture on gambling education.
The 15th PCA Rookie Camp was supported by the Graham Gooch Scholarship and forms part of the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme (PDWP), a personalised support service which aims to enable individuals to develop sustainable performance both within and outside of cricket.
PCA Managing Director of Member Services, Ian Thomas, said: “Having a record year with player attendance is fantastic. We started with the Pre-Rookie Camp session for the new women’s professionals and then Rookie Camp the next day with a wide raging agenda. There’s been some fantastic engagement with some great questions and we encourage the players to be inquisitive.
“The aim is always to get the players to understand what we do at the PCA and how we can help them. It’s a great education opportunity to reinforce key messages around professional behaviours and trying to protect them from the pitfalls that may face them as a professional athlete.”
England U19s captain and Somerset all-rounder, Archie Vaughan, said: “It’s been really good to get an understanding into all the benefits you receive being part of the PCA. The speakers we’ve had were all very engaging and hearing from Keaton and Sophie in the player discussion was very insightful.
“I’m often my toughest critic so something I’ll take away from here is to be nicer to yourself and looking after that time away from the game, whether you’re studying or playing golf. Keaton mentioned keeping yourself fresh away from the game so that when you come to training or playing you’re going to love it.
“It was an honour to captain England U19s and now I’ve got friends for life all around the country and it was great to see some of them here at Rookie Camp.”
Lancashire captain, Keaton Jennings, said: “I attended the third Rookie Camp in 2013 and I still remember how beneficial it was. The event has evolved a lot since then into a lot of different areas, I remember the social media section which was good fun.
“The more knowledge you have, the better you should be able to cope with professional sport. Cricket is changing very quickly and hopefully the players have taken plenty on board.
“As a professional player your job is to ensure the next generation want to play the game and hopefully this group goes on to do some amazing things in cricket and then inspire the next generation.”
Surrey wicketkeeper, Jemima Spence, said: “Rookie Camp has been very enjoyable, I’ve seen lots of friends from the England U19s. We learnt a lot about social media, managing relationships and how to behave professionally.
“The main thing I took from Rookie Camp was how to use social media effectively and safely but also how to be the best professional cricketer possible whilst maintaining a happy mental wellbeing away from the game.
“It’s been incredible to see how many women’s professionals are here and it shows just how much the women’s game is developing. This season we’ll see that in the standard and it will affect how we go out there and show the world what we can do.”
