Professional Cricketers' Association launch partnership with Vitality

Professional Cricketers’ Association launch a new partnership with Vitality to provide critical illness cover for members of players’ union… with helmet sponsorship deal idea inspired by Gloucestershire spinner Tom Smith’s family tragedy

  • Tom Smith lost his wife Laura four years ago to chronic liver disease
  • He has campaigned for cricketers to invest more fully in insurance provisions
  • Critical illness cover will be offered to all the members of the players’ union 
  • In exchange, Vitality’s logo will be shown on male and female players’ headwear 

Tom Smith’s personal family tragedy has inspired a new helmet sponsorship deal for all domestic limited-overs cricket.

Gloucestershire spinner Smith lost his wife Laura four years ago to chronic liver disease and bile-duct cancer, and has since campaigned for fellow professional cricketers to invest more fully in insurance provisions.

It has led to the Professional Cricketers’ Association launching a new partnership with Vitality which will see critical illness cover offered as a benefit for all members of the players’ union in exchange for the health insurer’s company logo being displayed on headwear across men’s and women’s competitions.

Tom Smith’s personal family tragedy has inspired a domestic cricket helmet sponsorship deal

Smith lost his wife Laura (right) four years ago to chronic liver disease and bile-duct cancer

Father-of-two Smith, 34, said: ‘The importance of this insurance to all professional players is really vital and my family is proof of that.’

Two years ago, the ECB made a regulation change, at the request of the PCA, which enabled players to sport NHS stickers on their helmets in support of health workers during the pandemic.

It allowed sponsors’ names to be displayed for the first time. Previously, only the manufacturer’s name on the back, and a club badge on the front, were permitted.

Two years ago, the ECB allowed players to sport NHS stickers on helmets during the pandemic




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