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 2021, we have delivered over 350 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 are now in the process of applying for registered charity status.

An absolutely fantastic session, learning about how we can be positive and proactive with our mental health

Edinburgh University CC

What an inspiring and informative chat! Thank you Mark for taking the time to come and speak to us. We really appreciate it

Worcestershire Women’s Rapids

Brilliant and thought provoking talk last night. Some great conversations were had and we thoroughly recommend getting in touch with Mark

Toft CC

Brilliantly educational evening. Thanks so much to Mark for the session

Walton-On-Thames CC

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Fantastic session on mental health tonight with Mark. Main themes of the evening were positive mindsets, mental fitness and recognising the signs of declining mental health. The benefits of understanding mental health cannot be understated.

Backworth CC

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Our Team

Trustees

Mark Boyns

Mark founded Opening Up Cricket in 2014 and has since ran the campaign alongside delivering sessions across the country. By profession he is a History & Politics teacher which he does alongside training as a counsellor and 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. 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 at Sefton Park and supported with the founding of Opening Up Cricket. 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.