Somerset batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore has embraced a deeply personal mission to raise awareness about cleft lips and palates, following the birth of his son, Dougie, who was born with the condition in early August. Kohler-Cadmore and his wife, Melissa Avison, discovered Dougie’s cleft lip and palate during their 20-week pregnancy scan. Since then, the cricketer has proudly displayed a sticker for CLAPA (Cleft Lip and Palate Association) on his bat during his matches in The Hundred, T20 Blast, and County Championship.

"To be able to do that and put it on the national stage has been really special," Kohler-Cadmore told BBC Points West. "I've had loads of messages from other people who are going through or had similar stories—whether it's someone with a cleft lip, or had a cleft lip as a child, or having one of their children have it—reaching out to give us support or say thank you very much for raising awareness."

A cleft lip or palate is a gap or split in the upper lip and/or roof of the mouth, present from birth. According to CLAPA, one in every 700 babies worldwide is born with this condition. Melissa initially panicked upon learning about Dougie’s condition, as she had little prior knowledge of what it entailed. "Naively, I don’t know anyone with one, so I didn’t really know what to expect," she said. "I just panicked and instantly went to Google to understand what this meant for his life."

Kohler-Cadmore, who was away on a pre-season camp in Abu Dhabi at the time, recalled, "Melissa couldn’t speak; she was just crying. I was expecting far worse from her reaction, but we quickly calmed down and realized it’s a cleft lip, which is very common. The more research we did, the more relaxed we became."

In the early weeks, the couple had to make adjustments, particularly in feeding Dougie using a special bottle. Dougie is scheduled for two operations next year on his lip and hard palate, followed by another on his soft palate and gum in the future. The couple has praised the support they’ve received from CLAPA, which provided resources, advice, and access to support groups.

"We’ve had so much help from the charities and medical staff, and it didn’t seem quite so daunting," Melissa said. "It just felt like you had support and a community around you."

Kohler-Cadmore, now back playing for Somerset, said fatherhood has given him a motivation "bigger than himself" to perform well on the field. Raising awareness for CLAPA has also become a driving force. "The more time you’re out in the middle, the more exposure there is for the charity," he said. "It’s a big motivation of mine to bat a long time and score a lot of runs because if I’m in the changing room, they’re not seeing any of the sticker."