The PCA welcomed the newest male and female professional players to Rookie Camp 2026 for a day of education, insight and connection at Edgbaston - with Caleb Falconer and Jamie Feldman representing Middlesex.
Building on the success of the last year’s recording-breaking event, Rookie Camp once again brought players together from across the country to prepare them for the realities of life as a professional cricketer on and off the pitch.
Since its inception in 2011, Rookie Camp has focussed on education, ensuring that players are informed, supported and empowered for life as a player and beyond.
The day began with the Rookies meeting and getting to know each other before an engaging Q&A session featuring former Worcestershire all-rounder Joe Leach and former Warwickshire and Durham seamer Chris Rushworth who shared their reflections on resilience, setbacks and the importance of building strong support networks whilst inspiring the next generation of cricketers.
The players then learnt how each department at their players’ union can support them from Member Services and the Cricket Department to Education Funding and the Cricketers’ Trust.
An interactive session from Alex Mills of Sporting Chance tackled the subject of substance use providing an open and safe space to explore how substances connect to performance, culture, wellbeing and how they can impact lives and careers.
The PCA’s Cricket Department then held a roleplay session on contract negotiation and the benefits of agents at different stages of their careers.
The afternoon shifted towards personal development and wellbeing, starting with a social media masterclass by Matt Himswroth of B5 Consultancy which encouraged players to take ownership of their digital presence whilst exploring the risks and benefits of different platforms and how to stay safe online.
B5 Consultancy continued with a session on healthy relationships facilitated by former footballer Fraser Franks and England Rugby sevens player Celiah Quansah that enabled players to understand respect, responsibility and boundaries.
2025 Rookie Camp attendee, England Under 19 player and Derbyshire bowler Harry Moore was joined by 2024 Rookie Camp attendee and Warwickshire all-rounder Mary Taylor to help the players make the most of opportunities available to them at the start of their careers.
The 16th PCA Rookie Camp 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.
Head of the PCA Personal Development and Welfare Programme, Lynsey Williams, said: “Rookie Camp is about giving players the strongest possible foundation at the very start of their careers. Stepping into the professional game is exciting but it also brings pressure, scrutiny and important decisions on and off the pitch. Through the Personal Development and Welfare Programme, we want every player to feel supported and well informed so that they can navigate their careers with confidence.
“Bringing together the young men’s and women’s players provides a brilliant educational opportunity as we reinforce key messages around managing transition, professional behaviours, social media, healthy relationships and more.”
England Under 19 and Middlesex all-rounder, Caleb Falconer, said: “Rookie Camp has been very insightful, we received some useful advice about agents and then with decision making we had a good session on substance use.
“Learning about all the support that we have access to through the funds we can receive and the phone calls we can make for mental health support and being a member for life is great to know. It’s important we receive this education because I learnt a lot of new things with my peers and talked to them about what we’ve learnt.”
