Former Nottinghamshire and England batsman Michael Lumb hopes to be better prepared for life after cricket having attended the inaugural Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) Transition Conference at Edgbaston.

The 37-year-old, forced to retire midway through the 2017 season because of an ankle injury, was among 14 past and present county cricketers ranging in age from 21-year-old Warwickshire batsman Matt Lamb to 49-year-old former Leicestershire seamer Lloyd Tennant.

Ex-England Test players Tim Ambrose and Michael Carberry were also present at the two-day conference where attendees gained helpful advice on preparing for a second career after playing.

Former county players Kevin Sharp, Stephen Peters, David Balcombe, Kyle Hogg and Paul Nixon were among the guest presenters, who discussed their own transition from playing.

“For me, finishing the game came abruptly, so the Transition Conference is probably a good place to start when it comes to planning for the future and it has been beneficial to me and the other guys,” Lumb said.

“Although I had struggled for a long time with the injury, I didn’t expect my career to finish so abruptly. It came to a stop when I didn’t want it to, so I wasn’t that prepared for life after cricket.”

Lumb has made a promising start to starting a second career, having impressed as a Sky Sports summariser at the end of last season

He has also been appointed team manager for the Sydney Sixers in the forthcoming Big Bash League, but he has an open mind about other career options.

He added: “I have tried to stay busy. People advised me to take whatever comes my way and throw myself into it. I was very lucky to have the opportunity with Sky which has been exciting. Hopefully there is more stuff to come.

“But I’ve been networking trying to meet as many people as I can. I’ve been trying to do as many new things as I can outside of cricket. It can be a bit scary and daunting, but the more of things like this you can do to keep busy, the easier it will make that transition.”

The PCA Transition Conference included sessions on pensions, financial management presentation and networking skills.

There was also a networking lunch attended by former county cricketers Graeme Cessford (Worcestershire), Alex Gidman (Gloucestershire and Worcestershire), Chris Whelan (Middlesex and Worcestershire), Andy Miller (Warwickshire and Sussex), Stuart Eustace (Warwickshire) and Richard Grant (Glamorgan).

“We have been extremely pleased with the success of this Conference,” said Ian Thomas, PCA Director of Development and Welfare.

“It gave them the opportunity to share experience and learn from each other. It was extremely pleasing to see players attend from different ages and at different stages in their transition. A number of players attended as a proactive way of preparing for the future, even though they  are still playing and that approach has to be commended.”

For more information on the PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme visit thepca.co.uk and watch a film on the conference here.