Players’ chief backs cricket health checks

DAVID LEATHERDALE says cricket “can always do more” to improve players’ safety but backed the current process, following James Taylor’s sudden retirement yesterday,

Taylor, who played 34 times for England, has had to quit the sport at the age of 26 after he was diagnosed with ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Arrhythmia), the condition that caused former Bolton footballer Fabrice Muamba to collapse on the field during an FA Cup tie at Tottenham in March 2012.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have been reviewing their screening policy, which tests players twice: when they are at academy level and again when they are above the age of 20 and considered medically “mature”.

Leatherdale, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, told Standard Sport: “We can always say we can do more, but there is a full screening programme in place for each county.

“The positive aspect of this is that five years ago that probably would not have been the case. A huge amount of work has been done regarding the health and safety of cricketers.”

As an England player, Taylor (above) had regular medical assessments to check his eyesight, his skin for potentially cancerous moles and MRI scans to pick up physical injuries.

Taylor is due to have surgery in the coming days to fit a defibrillator, which is designed to return the heartbeat to normal when required. Taylor tweeted yesterday that his world had been turned upside down but he knows he is lucky to be alive.

Taylor was feeling unwell during Notts’ game against Cambridge University last week and was taken to hospital in Nottingham by his girlfriend last Wednesday.

When Taylor starts his recovery, an early point of contact will be Matthew Wood, the former Yorkshire batsman who is the PCA’s representative for Notts, Yorkshire and Lancashire.