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The ECB Cricket Collective Awards 2024 – Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation

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The main award of the ceremony was the  Lifetime Achiever Award. Which was awarded to Len Attard for his services to Gloucestershire Seniors cricket.

As Len explained in his interview over the last two decades he’s taken seniors cricket in Gloucestershire from one over 50s team to four over 50s, four over 60s and an over 70s side, where the county also provides the captain for the England team in each of the three age categories. The over 70s captain has just led the England team to win the World Cup.

Use the following link to view see the interview Interview with Len

And this link to see the presentation Award Presentation

Ridings first team took on the touring Western Australia team, including a handful of full internationals at the traditional county ground at Harrogate on Wednesday.

Continuing his 100 % record with the coin, Zai Ali won the toss and as is customary asked the tourists to bat first on a beautiful sunny day. It was good to have the returning Nigel Kenyon available again, but after an impressive three over spell, the opposition captain Graeme Tysoe decided to take a liking to him and he finished wicketless bowling his five overs for 39. At the other end, Rich Gibson continued his masterclass in flight and drift, and claimed two victims, a smart catch from Steve Lawrence before clean bowling skipper Tysoe for a brisk 52, to claim 2 for 35 in his 9 over spell.

Mike Scothern can consider himself unlucky to concede boundaries off the edge and through fielding errors but returned to claim customary late wickets, finishing with 2 for 60 including the prized scalp of international opener Sam Davis. It was also great to welcome Mike Newhouse back after a three year break through personal circumstances, and as always his mixture of well pitched leg breaks and top spinners had the Aussie batters back in their shell, a spell of 9 overs producing 3 for 39, including the valuable wicket of John Spilsbury caught behind, and also Aussie MoM John Pearce, who had confounded all other bowlers with his ability to find the boundary with all manner of shots, rarely out of the textbook! Ali Anthony bowled as well as ever getting plenty from the wicket and finished with 1 for 43 from his 9 overs, but the remaining two bowlers Zai Ali and for the first time a solitary last over from Steve Walton suffered from the class bat of Gary Green, father of full international Cameron Green, and their combined four overs went for 50 runs. So Western Australia, who had chased down 267 on Sunday to beat Cheshire finished their innings on 273 for 8, with Green unbeaten for the second match in a row on 37 from 27 balls. The total was aided by some unusually sloppy fielding and 21 leg side wides, and one unfortunate incident when Malcolm Barraclough, having taken an impressive catch on the boundary, found that he had inadvertently stepped backwards over the rope to give the classy Spilsbury an early reprieve.

Steve Walton joined David O’Kelly to start the reply, and they were met with the unusual sight of keeper stood well back, two slips and a gully, but that didn’t put them off, and the pair constructed an excellent opening partnership of 105 in 18 overs before Walton departed to a very fine catch in the gully from the aforementioned Green for a well made 33. Mike Scothern was next to join the maestro O’Kelly, and he too played shots all around the ground, before becoming the first of Pearce’s two clean bowled victims, and he departed for 30. Ridings at this point were still well in control, but the quick wicket of Steve Lawrence out for 2 from only three balls sent a few flutters through the large crowd of partisan Yorkshire watchers. However, Ali Anthony also taking advantage of a rare outing to the middle kept the score moving well, and shepherded O’Kelly to yet another century, before Anthony fell for 31. Ridings simply needed a run a ball at this stage, but the pace had gone out of the pitch and O’Kelly was struggling with a sore back, and so just to add to the entertainment there followed a period of mayhem where first O’Kelly was run out trying to get the strike from a wicketkeeper misfield, departing for a brilliant and match winning 127. The chaos continued with overthrows but in well scripted fashion, skipper Zai Ali pierced the tight infield to score the winning runs with one ball left, finishing with 7n.o. and Alan Lees at the other end on 10n.o.

And so finished a most enjoyable cricket match played in excellent spirits, well umpired by Barry Oliver and Jane Pratt, and impeccably hosted by Harrogate ( even the cold showers seemed strangely appropriate on such a hot day!)

There followed a barbecue for teams and supporters, presentations and thanks to all involved, David O’Kelly winning a lovely plaque for his performance, and John Pearce presented with a Yorkshire Ridings cap for the Aussies. The day finally finished in the bar with the draw for the many raffle prizes in aid of Prostate Cancer, a boomerang, Jonny Lawrence book of coaching and playing memoirs, and much alcohol and chocolates among the prizes, our grateful thanks to all who donated. The final act was to present Gary Green with a strangely unclaimed 3 DVD set of the Michael Vaughn Ashes series triumph, who despite an otherwise exemplary performance had the misfortune to drop a “dolly” as the game reached its climax. Pleasingly he held on well to the box set of DVDs!!

Thanks for the massive feat of organisation throughout the day to Harrogate Cricket Club but particularly club steward Andy Hawkswell and mum Linda, who was made up when the winning raffle ticket for the box of Black Magic conveniently fell into her lap!

Vice Presidents

Scyld Berry, Henry Blofeld, Roland Butcher, Paul Farbrace, Barry Hearn OBE, Sir Tim Rice

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