Keeping cricket at the forefront
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior is the latest England star to grace the covers of First Class, the Professional Cricketers' Association's corporate magazine. In issue 11's revealing main feature, the highly-rated gloveman discusses his role in helping England rise to the top of the world Test rankings, while team director Andy Flower outlines his management philosophy in a fascinating article. With profiles of leading PCA commercial partners and a comprehensive diary of events for the summer, First Class continues to underline why the PCA remains so attractive to associate with for a host of stellar companies.
England's latest cricket captain Alastair Cook is the cover star of issue seven of First Class, the corporate magazine of the Professional Cricketers' Association. Themed around New England, the magazine features an exclusive interview with Cook, a man on course to break all sorts of records since establishing himself on the international stage in 2006, and showcases the attraction of English cricket to blue-chip sponsors such as adidas, Brit Insurance and Jaguar.
BowlesAssociates and the PCA have, through First Class, charted the rise in the business of cricket thanks to a successful England team and new forms of the game creating significant revenue streams.
The publication combines the very latest news and views from the PCA and its commercial partners, with exclusive in-depth interviews and features on the leading England players. Each issue has been themed around a particular topic relevant to the sport at the time, ranging from community matters through to innovation, with articles focusing on the business of cricket, including comments from key decision-makers at the very top of their profession.
Through the styling of the magazine and the planning of features and photography, we have made use of the PCA's unique access to some of the biggest stars in the game and bring them side-by-side with association sponsors, as well as profiling some of the country's most iconic event locations such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Long Room at Lord's and Europe's top golf courses.
Since its founding in 1967, the PCA has safeguarded professional cricketers' rights by working alongside the game's major stakeholders to ensure players are treated fairly and professionally, while providing for and improving the welfare of individual members.
In 2007, the organisation's CEO Richard Bevan - now head of the League Managers' Association - generated a brief for an engaging magazine to replace the annual profile brochure that would engage current and potential business partners, and the players, building on the affinity and goodwill which has become a cornerstone of the association.
Winning a stringent tendering process, thanks to our ability to produce the publication entirely in-house, our editorial team of qualified journalists and designers, supported by our photography arm, the Portrait Collective, have been working with the PCA since then on features which have seen our staff go high and low across the globe, including joining PCA commercial partners on a fundraising expedition for the PCA Benevolent Fund to Everest Base Camp in Nepal.
Just before the latest issue went to print, former First Class cover star Paul Collingwood led England to victory in the ICC World Twenty20, endorsing the theme for issue seven. Issue eight will be a glittering Awards special, with work due to commence in early July.
