Who We Are
Opening Up Cricket was formed in 2014 in response to the death of Sefton Park CC wicket keeper Alex Miller and a will to promote positive mental health in our sport.
Alex took his own life in December 2012 and in the year that followed team mates supported the work of C.A.L.M to pay tribute. This has continued but as the season following his passing came to a close there was a thought to do something lasting and further reaching.
As a result, the organisation was created with the aim of speaking to local cricketers about the experience of losing Alex in the hope that more conversations about this topic could prevent further tragedies.
Now, in 2023, we have delivered over 400 sessions across the United Kingdom and Australia. The desire to get our message to the cricketing community remains as strong as ever.
We are run by unpaid volunteers with help from the National Lottery Community Fund who have provided a grant for sessions costs so that groups can receive them without charge. We also owe a lot of thanks to the support provided by clubs, leagues and partners who have supported in many ways more to allow us to go further than the grant.
Currently we are registered as a Community Interest Company but have now applied for registered charity status.
Our Team
Mark Boyns
Mark founded Opening Up Cricket in 2014 and has since ran the campaign, chairing the trustee board, alongside delivering sessions across the country. By profession he is a History & Politics teacher which he does alongside still attempting to play at Sefton Park CC.
Kate Cross
Kate has been a long term supporter of Opening Up Cricket and as a trustee wishes to continue raising awareness of mental health in the sport. An England international cricketer, she still has strong ties to her childhood club of Heywood CC.
Simon Howes
Simon was present at the very start of Opening Up Cricket through his role as Merseyside CALMzone manager and has kept involved ever since, now as a trustee. He is motivated by aiding us to grow sustainably and reach more cricketers across the country.
Jon Northcroft
Jon was a team mate of Alex and supported with the founding of Opening Up Cricket and now as a trustee. As a football journalist, he has become increasingly aware of the importance of mental health in sport and wishes to continue the conversations within cricket.
Mike Rotheram
Mike places the importance of sharing how we feel and showing vulnerability at the hear of his work as a performance psychologist, most recently with the ECB. His desire to promote this led him to join the trustees of Opening Up Cricket, prompted in part by his club Rainhill CC being near neighbours to Mark.
Paul Horton
Paul’s first class career spanned eighteen years at Lancashire and Leicestershire. Now club captain at Sefton Park CC, he is keen to use his experiences in the game to help cricketers deal with setbacks and support team mates.
Keep an eye out for his online sessions across the year.
Tara Norris
Tara is a Southern Vipers and Southern Brave all rounder who co-presented our Pre Season Wellbeing Programme, using her interest in player welfare.
She is now looking forward to developing more content to aid cricketers in looking after their mental fitness.
Charlie Roebuck
Charlie is a former England Under 19s and Yorkshire batter who seeks to share his story and what he has learned to help others in the sport.
You’ll see him doing sessions online and in person for us across a wide range of themes.
Dan Rowe
Dan is a Mental Health trainer and Andy’s Man Club facilitator. His passion for cricket has led him to speak for us with clubs across the North West of England sharing a personal and vital message.
Paul Smith
Paul is a former Warwickshire CCC all rounder with a fascinating life story.
He writes regularly for our blog, drawing from his time in the game and other parts of his life.
Tom Flowers
Tom is an ECB Level 4 coach who is looking to develop our sessions in the Leicestershire region. He has a passion for mental health and how cricket can be used to look after it.
Ethan Bamber
Ethan is a Middlesex CCC bowler and writer of our Heads In The Game feature. We’re looking forward to seeing him involved in sessions too going forward.
Fi Morris
Fi is a Western Storm and Welsh Fire all rounder with a desire to use her experiences to help others with their mental health. We are looking forward to her getting involved!
Tom Alsop
Tom is a Sussex batter with a keen interest in the mental side of cricket and life. He is eager to use what he has learned in his career to assist others.
Tim Macdonald
A former Western Australia & Tasmania bowler and assistant coach for England Women’s, now working with Western Australia. Tim hosts our ‘Hanging Up My Boots’ podcast.
Ollie Runswick
Ollie is a lecturer in Performance Psychology at King’ College London and edits our ‘The Review’ series.
Sean Terry
Based in Perth, Sean is helping us spread the word in Australia. He draws on his experience in first class and international cricket to encourage conversations about wellbeing in our sport.
Katherine Skelton
A trainee Sports Psychologist, Katherine is interested in exploring a range of topics through her blog posts.
Taking theory into practice is her focus so be sure to have a read.