FORMER Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale returned to New Road for the first time in his Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) role.

Leatherdale, 48, officially stood down from the County hot-seat after last Wednesday’s annual general meeting.

But he was back in the Graeme Hick Pavilion yesterday as the new PCA chief executive officer.

It has been a busy week for Leatherdale, who still lives in Worcester and will split his time between London and the PCA’s Birmingham office at Edgbaston.

“I finished at New Road at the AGM last Wednesday at about 9pm before flying to India on the Thursday morning for three days for a meeting,” said Leatherdale.

“I started the new role in the office in London on Tuesday.

“Angus Porter, the present PCA chief executive, doesn’t finish until March 31 and we have been dovetailing the role, so it has been quite a manic start but an interesting one.”

The PCA represents past and present first-class cricketers in England and Wales and, among other things, offers education and advice to current players.

As part of the PCA’s education role, Worcestershire’s players were given a talk in Kidderminster by former England cricketers Chris Lewis and Graeme Fowler.

Lewis was jailed for 13 years in 2009 for smuggling liquid cocaine valued at more than £140,000 into Britain from St Lucia hidden in fruit juice tins in his cricket bag.

And Fowler has been open about his struggles with depression.

“You had a group of lads sat there and only one was over the age of 30,” said Leatherdale.

“We’ve also had an incidence where one of our lads came to the rookie camp and has now gone on to do some personal development within the space of a month.

“He saw what had happened to Chris and Graeme and understood more things need to be taken into account as a player.

“As a player, it’s a lot more than just getting out of your car, walking on to the green bit, playing your cricket, walking back and then going home.

“The education offered by the PCA is second to none and that’s the feedback we are getting from all players.”

In his new role, he will represent players’ interests in a host of areas and work closely with the counties and England and Wales Cricket Board.

But Leatherdale admitted he will miss the “family atmosphere” at New Road.

“I was at New Road for 30 years and you get engrossed and passionate about it but going to the PCA is a similar thing,” he said.

“At the PCA, you are doing things for the whole of the game and not necessarily for one county.

“It’s still within the family of cricket and hopefully my experiences and what I have done over the last 30 years as cricketer and non-cricketer will stand me in good stead.

“I am sure I will be looking at the scores from New Road when the first game of the season starts on April 10 and I will be back in the first week in May for a meeting.

“I will definitely be keeping my ties with the County. Worcestershire has been my passion but I can now extend that to the other 17 counties throughout the months and years.”