David Thomas,
Secretary, Enville Cricket Club
Nominated by: Paul Grainger (club member)
David Thomas has been a member of Enville Cricket Club
for 63 years, secretary for 54 of them, as well as holding
almost every other position within the club, including
groundsman, coach and umpire. A tireless worker, he
helped raise £225,000 for the rebuilding of the pavilion
(pictured), including redevelopment of the bar facilities,
kitchen, and dressing rooms in 2013.
David’s involvement in the game extends beyond his beloved Enville to administrative duties in the wider
local area, including active roles in the instigation of club competitions, and membership of the Steering
Committee that formed the Worcestershire County League in 1998, and is now the Chairman and Secretary
of Marketing and Social Sub-Committee for the league.
David was nominated for this award by his friend Paul Grainger, who says: “He’s 74 now and is showing no
signs of stopping, which makes my life hell because he keeps finding me jobs to do!”
Dave Prosser,
Coach and volunteer, Whitburn Cricket Club
Nominated by: Multiple parents and players (including Joan and Ray Waggott)
Dave has been involved with Whitburn Cricket Club for 24
years, dedicating the majority of this time to coaching
junior players, which he does all year round. “It was when
our son started playing cricket, I just took him to the club –
famous last words! – I’ve never left!” Joan and Ray Waggott
first took their son to Whitburn some 18 years ago after he
had decided he wanted to play cricket. “Dave was the
coach,” says Joan, “and he is just such an amazing guy. He
treats everyone he coaches as an individual.” Dave’s ethos has always been that enjoying yourself is
paramount, and winning is secondary. This even extended to his management of the club’s first XI, where he
always saw his first priority as maintaining an outstanding team spirit. It must have worked though –
Whitburn won the Durham Senior League in 2012, with no fewer than seven players who began as protégés
in their ranks.
Dave said, “I just love it, when you see kids coming to the club at a young age, and 10-15 years later, they’re
playing for the first team…it’s great to see them taking to cricket and loving it, it’s such a fantastic game.”
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Ernie Brabbins,
Chairman, Appleby Eden CC
Nominated by: Phil Brabbins (son)
Ernie Brabbins is the Chairman of Appleby Eden CC, and has
been instrumental in their survival during particularly taxing
times. From a long involvement with Appleby Eden CC as a
player, Ernie moved to Wirral for professional reasons, before
returning to Cumbria on his retirement in 2001. Jumping back
into action with Appleby Eden, Ernie ran three teams in the
club’s junior section, and has more recently coached in schools.
In 2015, however, the future of Appleby Eden was thrown into
huge doubt when the ground and clubhouse were wrecked by
Storm Desmond. Ernie’s stewardship ensured the club could
survive, finding and refurbishing an unused ground nearby to ensure the club could still host games. Ernie is
currently working hard to restore Appleby Eden CC, much easier said than done, as the ground finds itself in
a conservation area, and so the planning permission required has been made more difficult by concerns
raised by Historic England.
Now 76, Ernie has held every office in local club cricket throughout his 50+ years’ involvement in the game.
“I had such a happy time playing cricket when I was growing up. I just like think I’m putting back in the game
what I’ve got out of it.”
Julia Farman
Scorer, coach, volunteer, and gender equality lead, Cricket Without Boundaries
Nominated by: Mike Sutliff
Julia has inspired many with her boundless enthusiasm for cricket and the
quite staggering lengths to which she has taken it, not least Mike Sutliff, who
has nominated her for this award. Mike met Julia in her capacity as a scorer
at his local club, Dinton CC in Buckinghamshire, where he was blown away
for the amount of time and effort she put in, organising scoring classes for
parents to attend. “Jules just loves cricket and wants other people to be able
to do so as well,” said Mike.
As a coach, Jules became involved with Cricket Without Boundaries, with
whom she has coached cricket to children in Kenya, Rwanda and Cameroon,
raising awareness of HIV. Jules has also raised money and awareness to bring an end to FGM through
sponsored runs – a 10k run across London’s parks and an even more daunting one going from Headingly to
Old Trafford!
“I have no hesitation in recommending Jules Farman,” says Mike. “It would be excellent recognition of her
contribution. Jules is a role model for all she reaches, cricket must nurture amazing people like Jules for the
game to continue to thrive.”
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Mark Hutchinson
Chairman, Chieveley Cricket Club
Nominated by: Bob Bailkoski (committee member)
Many people’s stories begin with them joining a cricket club and then
having a long association with it. Mark Hutchinson did things a little
differently – he actually founded a club! Mark assembled a group of
seven individuals in 2010 with the idea of reviving Chieveley Cricket
Club, which had folded more than two decades previously. Seven years
later the club regularly plays a dozen games a year, including a tour of
North Devon, which Mark organises (he drives the bus so he has to stay
sober!), and holds training for 40-50 kids from Chieveley and the
surrounding area twice a week. Mark has also established relationships
with Cold Ash FC, a local football team, to encourage footballers to play
cricket and vice versa. At present Mark is in the middle of raising the
£28,000 needed to buy a new set of nets, through a variety of
fundraising ventures, such as family barbecues, auctions and themed
nights.
Mark was nominated for this award by Bob Bailkoski, one of the seven
people who he enlisted in 2010, who said, “Mark is one of those people who it is impossible to say no to.
When he comes to you, you just want to help!”
Alex Sandland
Chairman, Tattenhall Cricket Club
Nominated by Stuart Sadler (friend and 1st XI captain)
As chairman of Tattenhall CC, Alex truly put the club on the map.
From a village club of modest stature and aspirations, Tattenhall is
now not only competitive in the Cheshire County Cricket League, but
the club has also played host to a Lashings XI, which drew over 1000
spectators, a three-day minor counties game, and this summer will
be hosting games from the Learning Disabilities Tri-Series between
England, Australia and South Africa this summer.
Alex’s nomination comes courtesy of current first XI captain, Stuart
Sadler. “Alex was my first senior captain when I joined the 3rd
team,” Stuart said. “It was around this time I was struggling with school, and had little to no confidence
about myself. Alex was always at the end of the phone for me, he always knew how to instil belief in me and
now become a close friend.”
The core of the club’s success, Alex says, is creating an environment in which people just want to keep
coming back to play. “We’ve got one member who comes back from London every weekend, just to play
cricket for Tattenhall!”
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John Skinner
Coach, North Stainley Crickey Club
Nominated by: Andrew Long (club member)
John has been instrumental in the development and spread of junior cricket in North Yorkshire. When his
daughter Alexandra was young, he noticed there was no
provision for girls to get into cricket, and so he formed a
junior academy at North Stainley CC with five members. This
has now grown to in excess of 100, starting from the age of
3, training two nights a week. The academy has produced
brothers Cameron and Lewis O’Donnell, who have both
represented Yorkshire through the age groups from U14 to
U17, and Alexandra has played for Yorkshire Women’s
County 2nd XI. Described by his nominator Andrew Long as
“one of life’s enthusiasts”, John has also offered an
introduction to competitive cricket for girls in the North
Yorkshire area with his formation of the Girls Friendly League, encompassing eight teams.
John’s excellent work has been recognised by his appointment as chairman of North Yorkshire Women and
Girls Cricket and vice chairman of the Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket.
Dean Lawson
Coach, Eversholt Cricket Club
Nominated by: Karen Hannant-Lawson (wife)
Dean has spent all of his cricketing life at Eversholt in Bedfordshire, where he is at
the heart of the local community, having sat on the village hall committee and
helping run the local open-air swimming pool, but it’s cricket that is of course
dearest to him. He took over the running of the U10 age group in 2009, when
there were only eight members. As of 2016, Eversholt was fielding two teams at
U14 level, both winning their respective divisions. Dean has recently stopped
playing to devote all his time to coaching, taking on a newly formed Sunday team
at Eversholt with the express purpose of developing junior players to a level where
they will represent the senior side.
Dean’s nomination comes from his wife Karen, who we thank for the less than
flattering picture! “I’m very humbled and quite stunned to be nominated,” Dean said. “Particularly that
Karen has nominated me as she’s always moaning that I’m never home!”
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Gareth Andrews
Chairman, Vale Cricket Club
Nominated by: Carl Brooks (club member)
Becoming chairman of Vale CC in 2016, Gareth
implemented a strategy to secure the club’s viability
through placing it at the heart of the local community and
increasing participation. Through sponsorship and events,
and liaising with the local council and national sporting
bodies, funds have been raised to improve the facilities –
acquisition of all-weather nets and mobile covers and
ongoing development of the clubhouse. Gareth’s aim has
been to ensure the club is an attractive place to play, and
succeeded in recruiting a healthy number of new junior
and senior members.
Gareth’s nomination comes from team-mate Carl Brooks who said: “Gareth has pushed all of this through in
a humble and understated way, ensuring that the wide senior leadership is recognised and gets credit for the
outcomes which we are achieving.”
Barry Wood
Welfare and youth officer/coach, Bronze Cricket Club
Nominated by: Craig Wood (son)
Barry is a true allrounder at Bronze CC, of which he has been a member for more than 20
years. Currently the welfare and youth officer, Barry is also involved in junior coaching,
organising winter training sessions. He also runs regular summer sessions in conjunction
with Walsall City Council where local schools are invited for a day of Kwik cricket, which
attracts well over 100 pupils.
Keen to get other members of the club involved in these ventures, Barry organises
putting other players and club members through coaching courses, and is also known to
take up scoring and ground preparation duties on match days.
His sons Craig and Dave are among the many members of the club now in the senior teams who started
playing as kids with Barry as their coach. “I think Dad recognised the need for us to have something to look
forward to at weekends and during the summer,” said Craig. “So he always got us playing cricket and making
sure we enjoyed it, and he’s been doing it for other kids ever since.”
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Steve Bradbury
Chairman, Rodley Cricket Club
Nominated by: David Seward (club member)
Steve is chairman of Rodley CC, with whom he has been associated for the last 30
years. In such time he has held the positions of 1st XI captain, secretary, treasurer,
coach and almost every other position one could mention! The club is now
unrecognisable from when Steve took over the chairmanship in 2012. There was a
metal container in the corner with a mower in, with the changing room an
outhouse at the other end of a car park 300 yards up the road. The club is now
fully equipped, making Rodley a wonderful place for a game of cricket. Steve
presided over the development of a new clubhouse, enlisting the services of
building students from the Leeds College of Builders. Friend David Seward said, “It
gave the students a chance to actually be part of a project. The ECB has said this
should be a model for how clubs go about developments like this.” As well as its
three senior teams, Rodley has four junior teams, developed by 10 qualified
coaches, funded by the club and instigated by Steve. “At Rodley if you’re ever not sure about where to get
something or how to do something,” David said, “the answer is always ‘Ask Steve’!”
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