Beyond the Boundaries issue 40

October’s edition of Beyond the Boundaries, the PCA’s hub of stories, features, entertainment and exclusive content, is available now.

Issue 40 kicks off with an exclusive interview with Hampshire and England quick Sonny Baker who became his county’s first winner of the Toyota PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year trophy since its inception in 1990 at the recent PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota.

The 23-year-old bowled with raw pace this summer, earning a Test match debut against New Zealand at the Kia Oval, as well as shining on the domestic stage, taking T20 career-best figures of 5-21 against Northamptonshire in the Vitality Blast final.

Baker stated during the interview, “There’s some outstanding talent on the trophy, it’s a privilege to have my name on it.”

Also in the month’s edition, the PCA Summit took place in Portugal as players discussed important topics with PCA staff, fellow players and the ECB, led by the Players’ Committee.

The two-day event saw the PCA Reps get together and delve into the Futures Fund, standardised expenses policies and the option of playing women’s domestic cricket alongside The Hundred, as in the men’s game.

Find out all about the PCA Summit in October’s ‘In Your Corner’ which provides members with the latest news impacting professional cricketers in England and Wales from the people at the forefront of those conversations.

Former Surrey and England all-rounder and current PCA Legends player Adam Hollioake takes an entertaining journey around his former stomping ground, the Kia Oval, in a light-hearted trip down memory lane.

The 55-year-old catches up with some old friends as well as reminiscing over some impressive memorabilia he donated to the museum.

Having recently won the PCA Player of the Month award for September, Warwickshire bowler Ethan Bamber sat down with PCA Chair and teammate Olly Hannon-Dalby for this month’s ‘MVP in Focus’ to analyse Bamber’s and Warwickshire’s impressive performances.

The 27-year-old finished the season as the leading wicket-taker in the Rothesay County Championship with 69 dismissals, including a five-fer in the last game of the season, which culminated in taking the final wicket.

This month’s ‘Current Player Column’ comes from Surrey and England’s Ryana MacDonald-Gay as she talks about returning from injury setbacks, graduating university and returning to the England fold.

Former England all-rounder Phil DeFreitas pens ‘Dominica to Lord’s’ in this month’s ‘Former Player Column’ exploring his journey from the Caribbean and what advice he gives aspiring young cricketers having caught up with Beyond the Boundaries at the PCA’s ‘Cricket Meets Rugby’ event for Black History Month.

Don’t miss ‘The No-Brainer’ as Stuart van der Merwe delves into winning the Lucidica Tech Award launched by the PCA with Partner and IT company Lucidica in October’s ‘Your Benefits Unlocked’.

And England all-rounder Sam Curran delves into his 2018 Test match debut against Pakistan at Headingley as the 19-year-old joined a pace attack of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes.

PCA Chief Executive, Daryl Mitchell, said: “It’s always a great evening when we celebrate our players at the PCA Awards in partnership with Toyota, so to hear the Toyota PCA Men’s Young Player of the Year winner, Sonny Baker, speak so eloquently about winning this prestigious accolade was a delight.

“The PCA Summit is always an important occasion each year as we get the Players’ Committee together to discuss the most important topics in the men’s and women’s game. It also gives our Reps the chance to ask questions of the ECB and work on what the future holds for professional cricket in England and Wales.”