Cricket
Groundsmen Honoured at Lord’s
Cricket World and Pitchcare awards recognise the high standards achieved in the recreational game
Four groundsmen were honoured at the home of cricket when they each received a Cricket World and Pitchcare Cricket Groundsman of the Year Award for 2008 The awards, now in their fifth year, recognise the hard work and high standards achieved by cricket groundsmen in the recreational game and are split into four categories - ICC Europe, Educational Establishment, Private Club and Local Authority. Treble the number of nominations were
received for this year’s awards compared to last year through Cricket World® magazine and Pitchcare. As always, this year’s Cricket
Groundsman of the Year judging was a very rewarding experience, with the opportunity to meet many dedicated groundsmen at their home venues and seeing a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience being put into practice. As usual the standards were very high;
Educational establishment (School/College) - Graeme Flett, Gordonstoun School, Elgin, Scotland
Cricket Club - Les Stephens, Lytham Cricket & Sports Club, Lancashire
In the morning, the winners took to their seats in the Executive Box to watch the Cockspur Cup Club Cricket Final between Malden Wanderers and Kibworth, and enjoyed lunch at the Lord's Tavern. Unfortunately, the weather closed in during the afternoon and the match had to be rescheduled. However, the groundsmen and guests
were taken on a behind the scenes tour of the ground facilities by Chris Wood, which was an experience of a lifetime. Alastair Symondson, Head of Media at
obviously there were issues - how do you compare a ground that has everything, with plenty of resources machinery and staff, for example, to one that is maintained by volunteers with little or no equipment?
groundsman himself; what he brings to the table in terms of commitment, enthusiasm and guile, together with the ability to get things done with the resources he has at hand. And, above all, with the skill to produce a playing surface that is both safe and consistent while, at the same time, promoting the game of cricket.
winners by Head ECB Pitch Advisor, Chris Wood, and Director of ICC Europe, Richard Holdsworth, in the presence of sponsors and invited guests. The winners in each category were:
ICC Europe - Phillip McCormick, Head Groundsman Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Local Authority - Ian Vautier, Grainville Playing Fields (States of Jersey)
Thank you to our sponsors The presentations were made to the In our opinion, it is all about the
Cricket World, the Pitchcare judge, Laurence Gale, Chris Wood and Richard Holdsworth all expressed their admiration for the winning groundsmen and thanked the sponsors whose continuing support makes the awards possible. Entries are now being invited for the 2009 awards. For further information or to make your nomination visit
www.cricketworld.com or
www.pitchcare.com.
Groundsman of the Year Winners 2008
ICC Europe: Phillip McCormick, Head Groundsman, Stormont, Belfast NI
Phillip led the groundstaff in hosting the India/South Africa triangular series in early August 2007 against Ireland at the Stormont ground, Belfast. The one outstanding achievement in relation to the hosting of the series was the preparation of five ODI pitches at the one venue within nine days.
remarkable considering the weather conditions prior to the series which would
His achievement was even more
have deterred many a groundsman from attempting to stage such an event. In recent years Phillip has overseen
massive ground developments, in addition to preparing pitches and the venue for One Day Internationals against England, West Indies and others with greatsuccess.
School and Colleges: Graeme Flett, Gordonstoun School, Elgin, Scotland
Graeme has, against considerable climatic odds, produced an outstanding ground at Gordonstoun.
Cricket Club: Les Stephens, Lytham Cricket and Sports Club, Lancashire
tennis and football. Cricket is played at ECB Premier League level. Les is profiled later on of this magazine.
Local Authority: Ian Vautier, Grainville Playing Fields, Jersey, Channel Islands
A past runner up, Ian looks after the Grainville Playing Fields which, this year, hosted a number of ICC tournaments. Ian has been employed at the ground for thirty three years and continues to raise the standard of work implemented at the ground.
Les has been groundsman at Lytham Cricket & Sports Club for twelve years. He is responsible for the upkeep of nine acres of sportsfield and surrounding woodland. Sports played are cricket,
to take the opportunity to thank all the sponsors for their support for this competition, along with the sports governing bodies, the ECB and ICC.
Pitchcare and Cricket World would like
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