PCA launches 'addictive behaviour programme'

The Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) has launched an "addictive behaviour programme" which will help players deal with problems of drug abuse, alcohol and gambling.

The programme, which has been developed along with the ECB and Performance Healthcare, will be delivered to all county academies and professional cricketers. "We are fortunate not to have widespread problems with addictive behaviour issues within the game, but there have been a few documented cases and it would be naive to think that it will never be an issue for players," Jason Ratcliffe, PCA's assistant chief executive, said.

"The PCA prides itself on being proactive on behalf of the players especially with educational issues. Ultimately, our wider personal development programme is about driving performance. We aim to de-clutter all aspects of players' lives to enable them to fulfil their maximum potential, giving players every chance to be as good as they hope to be."

The PCA will make a video available to all 18 first-class counties' first XI coaches on November 8. The video includes advice from former cricketers who suffered addictions and staged scenarios with actors portraying players who are drawn into addictive behaviour.

Ratcliffe was in the same Warwickshire dressing-room as Paul Smith, the fast bowler who revealed after his retirement in 1996 that he had used drugs throughout his career, and Keith Piper, who tested positive for cannabis in 1997 and 2005. "They were using substances but at the time I didn't know anything about it," Ratcliffe told BBC Sport. "That is one of the areas we are trying to get over in the programme.

"You might not know what's going on and the programme might educate you to see these instances and judge whether you might have a problem and what to do about it," he said. "Hopefully if someone's worrying about a colleague they will know what to do about it and hopefully we will nip the problem in the bud."

Piper talks about his drug use in the video, also available as a powerpoint presentation. Richard Doughty, the former Gloucestershire and Surrey bowler, is also featured, and he describes how addiction jeopardised his career and personal life.

The move follows the PCA's helpline set up in 2005, a service available to present and former players to assist with any problems. "In all honesty, when we set it up [the helpline] we thought it would be minimal numbers - maybe six in a year - who would call, but in two years we've had over 25 people call.

"Probably half of the calls that come in would be in relation to addictions but the demand is greater than we thought and we are sending the message out that we are here to help."