ENGLAND's under-19 cricketers are coming to the county next week to learn some vital life-saving skills delivered by a local charity. On 11 August the national under-19s team will be taking part in Joe's Mini HeartStart 4 Sports, a free training programme that teaches cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use a defibrillator. The training is one of the key priorities of the JHMT, ensuring the local sporting community is ready and equipped to deal with someone who suffers a cardiac arrest. At the session, which takes place at Loughborough University, the England under-19s cricketers and their coaches will learn how to put someone in the recovery position, CPR and what to do if someone has a cardiac arrest. They'll also be taught about how to use a defibrillator.

Dr Mike Ferguson, a critical care consultant at Leicester Royal Infirmary and medical lead for JHMT, will set the context by explaining to the group about SADS, a hidden killer. Dr Ferguson said:

"We'll be telling these young cricketers what to look out for and explaining the scale of the issue we are dealing with. Twelve young people in the UK per week die from sudden, unexplained heart death, with a definite bias towards those who engage in physical activity.

"JHMT believes that this number is unacceptable and that's why we want to ensure as many people as possible know about SADS and know what to do if someone has a cardiac arrest.

"It's particularly important that young sportspeople know what to do because if someone collapses while paying sport, they could be the first person on the scene. Every second counts when it comes to dealing with a cardiac arrest. If effective CPR is started immediately, and a defibrillator can be applied to a victim within eight minutes, then many more of these people have a chance of a survival with a good quality of life."

Steve Humphries from JHMT added:

"Having the England under-19 cricketers taking part in our training will help promote the importance of learning these skills as well as awareness of the issue of sudden cardiac death. We hope that the under-19s find the session useful and that they help us spread the word about JHMT and SADS nationally and internationally."

Tim Boon, England under-19s head coach, said:

"From my perspective I was keen to support this hugely important charity that can help save lives, and knowing the incredible amount of good work the Trust has done since the tragic loss of young Joe, I wanted the England under-19 boys to be up-skilled in CPR and support this charity."

Currently, all professional cricketers in England and Wales, as well as full-time academy players, have cardiac screening. If players or families are interested in this process, then the ECB directs interested parties to the charity CRY, which provides the screening for all England & Wales Cricket Board national programmes. All first-class county cricket clubs have CPR equipment on site and follow current UK CPR guidelines.

Former England under-19 captains include Mike Atherton, Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff.