Special recognition awards handed out
The final awards of the night at Cricket Shropshire Presentation Evening at the Albright Hussey Hotel went to five stalwarts of the game in the county.
Club and Pitch Advisors awards
Two clubs and the County Pitch Advisers picked up awards at the Cricket Shropshire Presentation Night held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.
Chair Adrian Collins announced the awards for Junior Club of the Year, Club of the Year and the ECB’s Cricket Collective award for Grounds.
They were presented by the Board’s Director of Recreational and Disability Cricket Dave White and Director of Community Cricket Hafeez Rehman.
Junior Club of the Year – Lilleshall CC
Adrian said: “Lilleshall contacted us at the start of 2024 with a number of concerns surrounding their facilities and playing offer. They have struggled since Covid to sustain their junior offer and their pavilion was failing to support their membership.
“Despite this, the club have had a complete turn-around thanks to their dedicated members and volunteers. Their junior section is thriving with both their Under 11 & Under 13 teams winning their respective divisions and making it to the Finals Days.
“We worked with club volunteers to arrange a Summer Camp to engage new and existing junior members. On the back of this, they ran their own Summer Camp, creating valuable relationships between the young people and their local club.
“Beyond this, the club have also forged vital links with the primary school and local community by supporting and hosting local events.
“We have continued to work closely with the club on other areas, such as their women’s softball team and hosting a girls’ taster day at their second ground, Edgmond.
“It is fantastic to see how far they have come in such a short space of time and it is all down to their brilliant and dedicated club volunteers.
“We look forward to seeing them sustain their offer and continue to grow into a well-rounded club.”
Club of the Year – Shelton CC
Adrian said: “A real story of a club coming back from the brink with a core band of dedicated volunteers keeping everything together through periods of challenge and struggle.
“Due to a major building development, Shelton saw their surroundings disappear overnight. In 1999 the nearby social club closed, which cut off the facilities for the club to function – changing rooms, toilets, meeting and social space all gone.
“They then fought off planners and developers who wanted to build up to the pitch boundary. Without any facilities for a year, what a way to begin the Millennium – having to carry everything up to the ground on match and practice day.
“In 2001 they received a Portakabin and a generator and were able to utilise a veranda for scorers.
“For 16 years this and local pubs became their home. Rather than break the club it reinforced the families who had the club at its heart.
“During this period, they maintained the same playing numbers and had success gaining promotions (and some relegations) but still offering cricket to their members and remaining financially stable.
“Fast forward 2017 and a new pavilion was converted from existing buildings and new bowling green established as a hub for the community.
“Now. with over 400 new homes as their neighbours, the club has gone from strength to strength, boasting three weekend teams, a Sunday development side and Junior teams from U11 through to U18.
“They regularly boast the highest All Stars and Dynamos numbers in the county, closing registrations within a day or so of it opening.
“A women’s section has evolved and are regulars in our all-year-round programme across hard ball and soft ball.
“They also have a Foundation arm which raises and uses funds to support local community causes. They are also a Disability Hub club and have a fine cohort of participants.
“They host finals, days, festivals, age group matches and have recently invested in four hybrid pitches and were given a grant for a non-turf pitch to assist in supporting the volume of cricket which get played at this venue.
“We are now seeing third and fourth generation family members involved.
“It would be remiss of us not to mention someone who has been the glue to hold this all together, she is the matriarch in the kindest possible way. Thank you, Jan Griffiths and congratulations, to all of the volunteers and families at Shelton.”
ECB Cricket Collective Grounds Award – The County Pitch Advisors
Adrian said: “The County Pitch Advisors are a dedicated group of volunteers and club groundskeepers who manage their own grounds and support the network.
“We feel very privileged to have such an enthusiastic team that has connected well with the network, conducting workshops, site visits, and phone consultations. They also maintain a Facebook group for groundskeepers to discuss pitch-related issues.
“Additionally, the team is proud to have their first female CPA, who has been instrumental in organising the group and introducing Pitch Power.
“Congratulations to Jason Allen, Adrian Shelley, Andy McIlroy, Ryan Dawes, Shaun Astley and Maisie Rushton.”
If anyone would like a high-resolution digital version of any of these pictures, we can supply them for £5, half of which will be donated to the chosen charity of the evening MIND. If you wish to order three pictures it will be £10, five for £15 or 10 for £20. Please email info@cricketshropshire.co.uk
Top marks for schools at awards
Schools across Shropshire were recognised for their work in promoting the game at the Presentation Night held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.
Coaches in awards focus
Three coaches received awards at the annual Presentation Night at the Albright Hussey Hotel – with former Worcestershire seamer Paul Pridgeon receiving an award for his outstanding contribution to the game.
Young Ambassadors Scheme success
The success of Cricket Shropshire’s Young Ambassadors programme was highlighted during the Presentation Evening held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.
Women & Girls awards in spotlight
The next focus for the coverage of the recent Presentation Night held at the Albright Hussey Hotel near Shrewsbury is our Women and Girls’ Awards.
Youngsters in awards spotlight
The performances of five young cricketers from Cricket Shropshire’s County Age Group Programme across the Summer were recognised at the Presentation Evening held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.
Disability awards in spotlight
Three members of the Cricket Shropshire Disability community were in the spotlight during the Presentation Evening held at the Albright Hussey Hotel.
The three awards were handed out as Coach Graham Furber reflected on a mixed season for the county’s Disability sides – the D40s and the S9s – presented by Lead Coach Jonathan Caldecott.
He said: “It’s fair to say that the Disability squads have had a difficult season. The S9s finished bottom of their group without a win, but the weather did disadvantage us on two occasions and adversely influence the result.
“The D40s finished third in a their group, despite being top after the first two games – a similar situation to last year.
“Our main problem has been unavailability, with three regulars being unavailable for the whole season due to illness and injury, and a further one due to international call-ups.
“We need to recruit to bolster our aging squads, with both youngsters and established players.
“We will be working closely with Cricket Shropshire to raise the profile of disability cricket in the county in the coming months – if you know of anyone in your club that would be eligible to join our squads, please get in touch.”
Successes:
- Youngster Oli Harrison debuted for the England and Wales Transplant Team.
- Youngster Tom Wallace took 5-17 in four overs against Yorkshire D40s at home, when the game looked lost.
- Congratulations to Dave Hassall, our S9 Squad Manager for winning one of the Cricket Shropshire Volunteer of the Month Awards (part of ECB Grassroots Awards).
- The Disability Premier League was held again this summer – Pirates beat Tridents in a Sky televised game at Sofia Gardens
- Kev Baker played for Black Cats, James Wojda coached Hawks, Matty Bailey played for Tridents.
- Matty Bailey couldn’t play for us this season because he was always representing England Deaf in a series with India (India won series 5-2). Hopefully he will be available to us next summer.
S9 Player of the Season – Ewan Woodhouse
Graham said: “Ewan who has been with us for a couple of years, but who couldn’t start the season with us because of taking his GCSEs. Once available, he represented both the S9 and D40 squads and contributed something in every game he played.
“For the S9s, he made 38 v Warwickshire away in the pouring rain (4x4s and 3x6s!) and took 3-19 against Staffordshire away. For the D40s he took 3-17 v Warwickshire at home.”
D40 Player of the Season – Adam Marshall
Graham said: “Adam is unable to be at the awards because he is spending the Winter playing cricket in Australia. He returned to play for Shropshire this Summer, after taking a year away with Yorkshire. In five innings he scored 205 runs at an average of 68.33 with a top score of 75 not out at Yorkshire.
“Bowling he took 2-8 against Yorkshire away and 3-33 against Warwickshire at home.
“In this latter match, he also had kept wicket for the first 20 overs of the innings due to illness of our regular ‘keeper, Kev Baker.”
Disability Champion of the Year – Ellen Hassell
Disability Coach Tyler Ibbotson said: “Ellen has shown remarkable dedication and commitment over several years, particularly in scoring for the Super 9s and D40 games.
“Her consistent hard work and passion have made a significant impact, ensuring that every game runsmoothly and that all players feel valued and supported. Her behind-the-scenes contributions often go unnoticed and they have been asset to our community.
“Ellen, your dedication is truly inspiring. Thank you and congratulations!”
If anyone would like a high-resolution digital version of any of these pictures, we can supply them for £5, half of which will be donated to the chosen charity of the evening MIND. If you wish to order three pictures it will be £10, five for £15 or 10 for £20.
ECB Cricket Collective Awards 2024
The Shropshire winners of the ECB Cricket Collective Awards received their trophies at the annual Presentation Evening held at the Albright Hussey Hotel near Shrewsbury.
Cricket Shropshire Awards Night in pictures
We had a brilliant night at the Cricket Shropshire 2024 Presentation Night held at the Albright Hussey Hotel near Shrewsbury with more than 30 awards handed out.