Hannon-Dalby becomes Chair at AGM

PCA members came together for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Birmingham on Tuesday 4 March 2025.

The occasion saw the official induction of Warwickshire bowler Olly Hannon-Dalby as the new PCA Chair following the conclusion of James Harris’ second term. The 35-year-old was named as the 16^th Chair of the Association after being elected by his fellow players from the PCA Players’ Committee.

Hannon-Dalby has officially commenced with his duties as the leader of the Players’ Committee and will serve in the role until the 2027 AGM.

As one of his first duties as the new Chair, Hannon-Dalby organised a session before the start of the AGM between himself, the Reps and current players in attendance to discuss the most important issues surrounding the game from their respective dressing rooms.

As part of the formal proceedings, Daryl Mitchell was welcomed as PCA’s new Chief Executive. The former Worcestershire all-rounder was appointed to the role full-time in January this year following a successful tenure as Interim CEO.

The new Chief Executive addressed the PCA Board and members to provide an update on the Association’s performance over the past 12 months and its vision heading into an important year for the game. Some of the key highlights included completing six negotiations in 2024 and bringing pay parity between male and female players by equalising the minimum salaries at £28,000.

Current players also ratified the statement to the PCA members which was approved by the PCA Management Board at their meeting on Monday.

Another agenda for the AGM included approving language amends to the constitution of the Association which was voted through by the Players’ Committee.

To conclude the AGM, the PCA Players’ Committee signed the financial reports for 2024 before receiving a commercial update.

The annual meeting was attended by 40 players – 34 in attendance at the venue with six further online. These included female players from their new professional counties ahead of the start of the Tier 1 system in the women’s game.

The AGM also welcomed new PCA Reps ahead of the start of the 2025 domestic season. Alex Lees and Ollie Robinson (both Durham), Tom Helm and Joe Cracknell (both Middlesex), Abbey Freeborn (Warwickshire) and Adam Finch (Worcestershire) will all be relaying the thoughts from their dressing rooms back to the PCA.

PCA Chair, Olly Hannon-Dalby, said: “It was great to see everyone at the AGM, having all the Reps together to discuss what the PCA has been doing and also making a plan for the year ahead is really important.

“The negotiations for the player elements of the County Partnership Agreement in 2026 are going to be key to the PCA’s success. We now have to make sure that the players are well protected and represented, especially with the increased revenue into the game through The Hundred.

“I’d like to congratulate James Harris on his tenure, from the deepest darkest depths of Covid to lead the Players’ Committee to where we are now has been marvellous.”

PCA Chief Executive, Daryl Mitchell, said: “The 2025 AGM was a great success. It’s a big part of the calendar for the PCA to facilitate those important interactions with our Players’ Committee.

“The sale of The Hundred teams remains a hot topic with the amount of money coming into the game. We had a lot of conversations with the players surrounding how the money will be spent and the benefits are to the game going forward.

“James Harris has done a great job as Chair so I want to say thank you to him for his hard work. I’m looking forward to working with Olly Hannon-Dalby and I’m sure he will represent the players to the best of his abilities and do a fantastic job.”

PCA Vice Chair and England women’s captain, Heather Knight, said: “It’s a really exciting time with the new tiered system, the transition has gone really well and the integration with the men’s teams has been good too.

“On The Hundred, it’s great to see the overall pot for the women has gone up but it looks bad when the disparity between the top men’s and women’s salaries continues to grow when it should be coming down.

“There’s a huge amount of money coming into the game so we want to see that the whole game is benefitting, it’s going to be exciting to see what the new owners of The Hundred do and I’m looking forward to seeing Yorkshire and then Glamorgan join the professional counties.”

Former PCA Chair, James Harris, said: “I’m really proud of the last four years, a lot has happened in the game.

“County men’s and women’s cricket is going to be great for the fans and to say that I’ve been part of making the women’s game better is really rewarding.

“Olly is the perfect person to lead the Association over the next two years. I’m happy to leave the PCA in good hands and I know that the players are going to be brilliantly taken care of.”