Daryl Mitchell to take up new PCA role when chairmanship ends

The Worcestershire batsman tenure as chair comes to an end on February 25 at the PCA’s annual general meeting, where he will be replaced by Middlesex seamer James Harris following the completion of second two-year term

Daryl Mitchell will remain involved with the Professional Cricketers’ Association once his chairmanship comes to an end, following the news that he will head up a new branch of the organisation.

The Worcestershire batsman tenure as chair finishes on February 25 at the PCA’s annual general meeting, where he will be replaced by Middlesex seamer James Harris following the completion of second two-year term.

He will move into a freshly created cricket department, covering the administration of the professional game, where Mitchell will become director of cricket operations. He will continue playing red-ball cricket and in the T20 Blast, but he will now step back from the 50-over format.

The department will focus on all cricket matters in the men’s and women’s professional game, including issues such as contractual and commercial rights, domestic structures, insurance and operational elements of the Team England Player Partnership and England Women’s Player Partnership. The department will also look after relationships with agents and management companies.

The story of Barney Gibson, English cricket's youngest-ever first-class player, who left the game for freedom

When Warwickshire seamer Olly Hannon-Dalby, who is also his county’s PCA rep, spoke to The Cricketer in October, he praised Mitchell for managing to find a balance between helping to run the domestic game through the pandemic, while also continuing to score consistent runs as a batsman. Last year, he scored 384 runs in five games, including a century and two fifties.

“He has negotiated that County Partnership Agreement to start with, but then to help shepherd the game and professional cricketers through this coronavirus period has been an absolutely ridiculous effort from him,” Hannon-Dalby said.

“And then, on top of that, he’s been a very good professional cricketer and has had to run the PCA chairmanship on his own. That’s crazy.

“To manage to do both things very well, he has done a phenomenal job. He’s a rock-solid cricketer and, on the flipside of that, he’s having to negotiate with the ECB and 18 counties at the same time, he’s trying to keep 18 changing rooms happy through the reps. It’s an unbelievable workload and he’s done brilliantly.”

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.