‘IT WAS FANTASTIC TO CELEBRATE ALL ASPECTS OF CRICKET IN THE COUNTY’
STAFFORDSHIRE Cricket celebrated a superb year on and off the field at their annual awards.
More than 300 players, coaches and volunteers attended the evening at Stafford Showground to reflect on a fine 2022 for cricket in the county.
Awards were handed out for all age groups of the county structure, while Staffordshire batsman Michael Hill was presented with a momento of his historic achievement this summer.
Hill scored three successive centuries for Staffordshire’s senior team - two against Lincolnshire and one against Suffolk - the first time that has happened in the county’s history.
There were plenty of accolades handed out on the night to players - and a big focus was also on the coaches and volunteers who help to run clubs and provide opportunities.
Leycett’s Chris Hopkin was one of the main winners as he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award to mark his long service not only to his club but the local game in general.
Staffordshire Cricket’s development director Jason Britton said: “It was another fantastic evening celebrating the talent and dedication across the playing and volunteering aspects of cricket in Staffordshire.
“Bringing the performance (21 county teams represented on the night) and the grassroots volunteer awards together for a showcase celebration highlights parts of the broad range of cricket activities under the board’s umbrella but also highlights that the two worlds operate hand-in-hand to make cricket so successful across our county.
“It was fantastic that those presenting some of the performance trophies were home-grown youngsters whose games are going from strength-tostrength serving as excellent role models and the stories behind the nominations of those incredible volunteers is always incredibly humbling.
“A huge thank you not only to everyone who contributes to the evening, but to the wider game in Staffordshire.”
UNDER-10 BOYS Batting Award: Oliver Mckeown
Bowling Award: Oliver Mckeown
Fielding Award: Rory Milne
Coaches Award: Anirvin Garimella
UNDER-11 BOYS Batting Award: Joules Pritchard
Bowling Award: Sam Burrows
Fielding Award: Zain Ali Muhammad
Coaches Award: Jacob Adams
UNDER-11 GIRLS Batting Award: Ophelia Potts
Bowling Award: Madeline Davies
Fielding Award: Catherine Unsworth
Coaches Award: Isla Wilson
UNDER-12 BOYS Batting Award: Oscar Edwards
Bowling Award: Aarush Vellaturi
Fielding Award: Joel Gallimore
Coaches Award: William James
UNDER-13 GIRLS Batting Award: Malisha Tennakoon
Bowling Award: Holly Booker
Fielding Award: Sophie Warrilow
Coaches Award: Scarlett Cantrill
UNDER-13 BOYS Batting Award: Zain Shazad
Bowling Award: Conor Shrehorn
Fielding Award: Joe Walley
Coaches Award: James Lee
UNDER-14 BOYS Batting Award: Niall Mchale
Bowling Award: Rory Wood
Fielding Award: Joe Wright
Coaches Award: Jack Dimmock
UNDER-15 GIRLS Batting Award: Matilda Atherton-gater
Bowling Award: Katie Sturgess
Fielding Award: Ruby Millington
Coaches Award: Sophie Beech
UNDER-15 BOYS Batting Award: Rohan Vallabhaneni
Bowling Award: Joe Thorne
Fielding Award: Charles Worthington
Coaches Award: Spencer Grove
UNDER-16 BOYS Batting Award: Daniel Hughes
Bowling Award: Ali Latif
Fielding Award: Daniel Hughes
Coaches Award: Jack Harvey
UNDER-18 GIRLS Batting Award: Lexie Cantrill
Bowling Award: Lucy Shenton
Fielding Award: Ebony-jade Tweats
Coaches Award: Amelia Lee
SENIOR WOMEN Batting Award: Davina Perrin
Bowling Award: Stephanie Butler
Fielding Award: Ilenia Sims
Coaches Award: Lydia Perry
UNDER-18 BOYS Batting Award: James Abbotts
Bowling Award: Sam Atkinson
Fielding Award: Hasan Ahmed
Coaches Award: Edward Batchelor
VISUALLY IMPAIRED TEAM Batting Award: Brandon Little
Bowling Award: Julio Graham
Fielding Award: Gary Holmes
Coaches Award: Dave Mattox
ABILITY TEAM Batting Award: Ryan Barker
Bowling Award: Sarkib Din
Fielding Award: Alfie Crane
Coaches Award: Ryan Healey
STAFFORDSHIRE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Michael Hill.
SENIORS
Over 50s firsts: Rob Lawrence
Over 50s seconds: Richard Sharp
Over 60s firsts: Raj Parekh
Over 60s seconds: Kevin Jeffries
Over 70s: Harsh Duggal
HUGH LEIGH AWARD Under-18 County boys.
COACH OF THE YEAR Winner: Gavin Barker. Highly commended: Dave Marsh, Steve Gasser, Carl Knight.
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES Winner: Karthik Kamalakannan. Highly commended: Haroon Khan, Kamran Mushtaq, Alex Bent.
CONTRIBUTION TO DISABILITY CRICKET Winner: Mike Elphick.
CRICKET INNOVATOR Winner: Meakins Cricket Club.
YOUNG COACH OF THE YEAR Winner: Jacob Garlick.
GAME CHANGER AWARD Winner: Alfie Shenton.
GROUNDS MANAGEMENT TEAM Winner: Little Stoke Cricket Club.
GROUNDS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR Winner: Alan Coughlan. Highly commended: Robin Sumnall, Rob Meek.
INSPIRED TO PLAY Winner: Jo Connelly. Highly commended: Gareth Copeland, Paula Main.
LIFETIME ACHIEVER Winner: Chris Hopkin. Highly commended: Carole Simcock, Chris Holland, Trevor Spears, Martin Clewley, Clive Finney.
OUTSTANDING SERVICES TO COACHING Winner: Jason Britton. Highly commended: James Benstead, Nick Walker, Trevor Sellers, Matthew Bowcock, James Burton, Dave Firth.
RISING STAR Winner: Ben Baranowski.
SAFE HANDS AWARD Winner: Rachael Tonks. Highly commended: Tristan Warrilow.
UNSUNG HERO Winner: Jayne Moss. Highly commended:
Andrew Birkin, Derek Garratt, Manjit Pahal, Darren Cummings, Barry Macey, James Hopkin, Dan Blood.
GROWING THE GAME AWARD Winner: Neil Somerville.
CLUB OF THE YEAR Winner: Lichfield Cricket Club. OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO COACH DEVELOPMENT Winner: Ghazi Zaki.