Photo Credit: Professional Cricketers’ Association
Grassroots sport fundraising exceeds £1.1 million since Greene King joined forces in 2016
- Fundraising through PCA England Legends programme and Greene King sponsorship surpasses £150,000 in 2023
- Legends played nine games and two tournaments, featuring 30 England internationals
- Ali Brown wins Greene King PCA England Legends Player of the Summer
- Legends ready to host more clubs or schools in 2024
A bumper 2023 for the PCA England Legends saw more than £150,000 raised for local clubs and schools with the help of lead sponsors, Greene King.
This season has seen the Legends compete in two tournaments and nine matches which included an end of season trip away from home to face Jersey Legends.
A packed schedule stretched from June to September and from Lancashire to the Channel Islands as 30 former England internationals helped raise vital funds for the grassroots game.
The total money raised by recreational clubs and schools has now surpassed £1.1 million since Greene King joined forces to sponsor the PCA England Legends in 2016.
A competitive season for the Legends resulted in two hotly contested tournaments and nine matches with seven wins, including a nail-biting one-run victory over Brentwood.
Before the Brentwood fixture, Ian Bell, Stuart Meaker, Monty Panesar, Paul Nixon, Adam Hollioake and Owais Shah came together to film the PCA England Legends Clubhouse Championship, made possible by Greene King IPA, which saw the players compete in a series of entertaining challenges in the pavilion. You can view the Clubhouse Championship here.
Other high profile victories came against Hadleigh and Thundersley in a six-run win and in Jersey, a game which Ali Brown scored an incredible 56-ball century as part of wider celebrations. The touring side of former England greats conducted a series of sponsor engagements, highlighted by an inspiring visit to a local school with special educational needs, in partnership with the Lord’s Taverners.
Former Surrey and England opener, Brown, was central to the appearance before he smashed 13 fours and four sixes on his way to 101 in the headline T20 match.
Brown wins Greene King PCA England Legends Player of the Summer
Following an end of season player vote, Brown has claimed the Greene King PCA England Legends Player of the Summer for his efforts this year.
Thanks to Greene King, Brown is now provided the opportunity to donate £2,000 to a cricket club of his choice alongside a personal prize of £1,000.
Brown also receives an engraved Mappin & Webb trophy, a £250 voucher from official Legends casualwear provider, Crew Clothing and a Greene King voucher.
The 53-year-old was delighted to win the award that was selected by his fellow PCA England Legends players:
“The award is great because it’s your peers that vote for you, I get on well with all the Legends, whether I played with or against them, we have a great camaraderie and I’m delighted they think I’m deserving of this award.
“It’s really nice to win the award, I won it about five years ago but as I get older it gets a bit harder. I thoroughly enjoy every game we go to and it’s nice to have got a few runs and wickets this year.
“Scoring a hundred at Jersey was a lovely way to finish but to be honest, I really enjoyed getting wickets at Eversley at the start of the year. I don’t really get to practice my batting a lot but by working at Trinity School, I do get to practice my bowling and I think that surprises a few people because they didn’t know I could bowl.
“Greene King is very important to us, some of us have been lucky enough to work with them on various projects and they ensure that we can help the clubs and the schools raise as much money as possible.”
Greene King Digital Marketing Manager, Harry Bell, said: “We’d like to offer our congratulations to Ali for his well-deserved award, it’s been a brilliant summer! We’re proud to work with The PCA and look forward to raising even more money for grassroots causes with them next year. Cheers!”
This summer, the Legends were also thankful for the support of official bat supplier Neon and official casualwear supplier Crew Clothing.
The PCA England Legends will return in 2024 for another exciting season and if you are interested in hosting the former greats of county and country, get in touch by emailing pcalegends@thepca.co.uk.
You can also find out more information on what it takes to host the Legends by clicking here.
The PCA England Legends, sponsored by Greene King IPA, gives recreational clubs and schools a vehicle to raise significant funds for their community. Find out more information here.
Name of Author: Professional Cricketers Association
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), founded in 1967 by former England fast bowler Fred Rumsey as the Cricketers’ Association, represents past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales. In the 1970s, the PCA established a standard employment contract and minimum wage for professional cricketers. It also helped create a pension scheme in 1995 and launched the magazine All Out Cricket and the ACE UK Educational Programme in 2002.
