Inspirational Lancashire cricketer who recovered from brain tumour enjoys dream night out

Thomas Jackson, who plays as a wicket keeper batter for Lancashire Cricket at County Age Group level, was honoured with the AO Recovery of the Year award last year following months of treatment for a brain tumour.

In 2020, Thomas was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumour which affects muscle coordination, balance, and movement.

His intense treatment has involved a trial period of proton beam therapy, followed by chemotherapy from January to October last year.

Thomas has received a whole host of support from the world of cricket during his battle, including teammates from club and county level, as well as video messages from famous faces such as Lancashire’s James Anderson, Jos Buttler and former England Test captain, Joe Root.

Thomas and his family were then invited as special guests to Lancashire Cricket’s End of Season Awards in October – where Thomas received a standing ovation, which lasted for several minutes, as he received his AO Recovery of the Year Award on stage from Red Rose captain, Dane Vilas.

AO, who sponsor Lancashire Cricket promised Thomas and his family ‘a night to remember’ after he scooped an award at Lancashire’s End of Season awards.

And last Friday, the 16-year-old enjoyed a special VIP experience at Hits Radio Live, which boasted an incredible line-up of pop acts including Sam Smith, Olly Murs and Craig David.

Thomas’ story has been celebrated for his courage and determination in the face of adversity.

Thomas enjoyed the night at the Hits Radio Live Event in a hospitality box, with the highlight for him being seeing his favourite YouTube star and musician, KSI.

On his experience at the AO Arena, Thomas said: “I really enjoyed our night at Hits Live and it was amazing to see all the different acts.

“I’m grateful to everyone who helped organise it.”

Paul Gerrard, Programme Director for Hits Radio said: “After hearing Thomas’ story, we were really keen to do all we could to help make his visit to Hits Live even more special.

“We hope he enjoyed his visit backstage and a very special meet and greet with one of our artists on the night, Olly Murs.

“We certainly enjoyed meeting Tom and his family.”

John Roberts, CEO and Founder of AO, said: “Thomas is an inspiration to so many people and everyone at AO is thrilled to see his recovery so far.

As proud sponsors of the AO Arena, as well as the medical team at Lancashire Cricket, we wanted to offer Thomas and his family a personal invitation to join us for a special night that he’ll hopefully remember for many years to come.”