PRESS RELEASE

Professional Cricketers’ Association Reveals Dramatic 'Ashes Effect' - 24/04/2006

England celebrate

At their annual business conference being held today at the Brit Oval, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), the representative body for past, present and future first class cricketers in England and Wales, has confirmed that last summer’s Ashes will have a dramatic and lasting effect on the game in terms of participation, spectators, television audiences and its ability to attract sponsors.

Surge Of Interest

Richard Bevan, group chief executive of the PCA, said: “The success of the England team over the summer has created a huge surge of interest in the sport. While we’re primarily in the business of ensuring the welfare of players, we also protect and promote their commercial interests and in this respect we have made enormous strides in the past 12 months.”

All-time High

Sports industry expert and managing director of Premiere Sponsorship Marketing, David Farrow said: “We’re seeing evidence that support for cricket in the UK has reached an all-time high. We believe that the game now has some 13 million die-hard fans — an increase of roughly 5 million over the past three years.”

Increased Sales

Richard Bevan concluded: “These are fans who, in preference to other sports, will actively switch their radio or TV to cricket or attend matches. We’ve witnessed directly the explosion in interest through vastly increased sales of merchandise.

“The benefits to the game are enormous, not least in attracting fresh, new talent.”