THE WARWICKSHIRE OSCAs 2016 WINNERS Wednesday 21 st September, Edgbaston
Paul Williams, Corley CC, Heartbeat of the Club Paul is club captain (for 15 years now), Head Coach, Under 10s & 11s team manager, club fund-raiser and a management committee regular. He does any role when no-one else can be found, usually showing proactivity where there is need. He has massively improved the youth section, been instrumental in the development of the ground and clubhouse facilities and has mentored a number of young people and adult players into being active coaches and committed volunteers. His dedication and commitment can be evidenced at weekends and evenings when he runs one to one sessions for young players and adults spending time mentoring the person and the player. He takes the children on outings, eg the Test Match and Open Day at Edgbaston as he has an outstanding willingness to volunteer to do those extra things to inspire the children to love cricket. He is always recruiting players and helping them engage with club life developing Corley into a really healthy and sustainable club. He has recruited and helped a large cohort of young people gain L2 and CSW coaching qualifications. He is an inspirational leader and is truly the Heartbeat of the thriving Corley CC.
Dick Chase, Moseley CC and WCB, Lifetime Achievement Dick has been a volunteer at Moseley CC for over 40 years. He still is the ground secretary and was Chairman for 15 years, groundsman for a similar period and had a successful spell as 1 st team captain amongst many other roles. He was assistant Warwickshire Pitch Adviser and Chairman of the Groundsman Association for 10 successful years. During his tenure at Moseley he oversaw investments to develop 4 new nets, the extension of the second square, the acquisition of machinery, and the development of the clubhouse changing rooms, toilets, showers, function room and machinery store. Under his stewardship the youth section developed large numbers. Moseley became a hub for ECB meetings and groundsmen courses. As WGA Chairman he oversaw a comprehensive PQS assessment programme for all Warwickshire clubs in the B ham league and followed up all the assessments leaving a legacy of improved pitches and groundsmanship in Warwickshire. He built partnerships with Old Edwardians CC, Chance to Shine, Shirley CC, WCB, NatWest CricketForce and the Birmingham League. The ground is often made available to various hirers and this is due to Dick s legacy of creating a club at the heart of the community.
John Bates, Warwickshire Association of Cricket Officials John Bates has been a major contributor to cricket in Warwickshire for over 60 years. Always heavily associated with the Coventry area, John has played cricket for Bedworth CC and Coventry & North Warwickshire CC. During his National Service, John played alongside some of the greats, including Fred Trueman, and he continues to play for the Warwickshire Over 70 s side with his brother. John has always been keen to develop players and officials, coaching junior players in particular at Bedworth CC and Corley CC. He has led ECB ACO training courses for new and developing umpires for many years and is always ready to support training activities. Umpiring many games a season in the Warwickshire Cricket League, ECB & WCB age groups, ladies cricket and for Midlands public schools, John will always make himself available when the need arises. Over and above all this, John is also the Training Officer for the Warwickshire Cricket League and the County Performance Officer for Warwickshire County ACO. I believe that the breadth and longevity of contribution that John has made to Warwickshire cricket makes him a strong candidate for recognition
Bruce Morley, Weoley Hill CC, Get the Game On Weoley Hill is growing to the extent that it will have 4 Saturday teams next season and already has 3 Sunday sides, under 9s, 11s, 12s, 14s, 15s and 16s. This makes 13 teams and six years ago the number was five. This is all about young players starting and staying all the adult teams have lots of 13-18 year old graduates of the youth section Bruce has been at the heart of this development as Groundsman, play-cricket expert, scorer, statistician, club secretary, selection chair and youth committee member. On match days he is the person sorting the wicket, the stumps, balls, keys, welcoming the opposition etc. On rainy days he will be doing all he can to make the facilities playable from early in the morning and then he will stay all day to score the game, then he will go home and load it onto play-cricket into the early hours. He is a very active member of the management committee and is a key person on the disciplinary panel ensuring fairness and firmness in the dealing of indiscretions from players. He takes pride in the improvement of the ground and is a great ambassador for the club whether recruiting new players or liaising with Warwickshire CCC or league officials. He is the person who will attend the league meetings in deepest winter to ensure the club is represented time after time. He ensures his son does his fair share of volunteering as a captain and social secretary and loves to get others involved.
Stratford upon Avon CC, Get the Game On This flood in March was horribly cruel coming just a month before the start of the season and decimating machinery, the nets and of course the square and ground. But the response from the club showed true character and the resilient qualities you want to see in cricketers. They immediately found the right channels for advice and got to work meaning that hardly a ball was lost as a consequence. However, inevitably the club lost money and equipment and the flood appeal fund is still open. Events like this are extremely stressful and we hope that the fighting spirit remains in- tact. We wish to congratulate the club on its amazing achievement to rescue their season and wish them all the very best in their continuing resurgence.
Mark Dixon, Earlswood and Cotswold Hills League, Leagues Mark is secretary and youth co-ordinator for Earlswood CC and Chairman of the Cotswold Hills Youth Leagues and senior committee member. He has so many roles it s hard to find the right category for him. Earlswood play significantly more junior fixtures than any other club in the area. Much of this is down to Mark s non-stop energy and organisation. Earlswood has junior sides at every year group and most play in two and sometimes three leagues. This takes an awful lot of juggling and organisation for pitches and Mark is at the heart of it all for the club. Mark has played a key role getting more games on as the teams in the Cotswold Hills Jnr Leagues have grown from 39 to 57 in 3 years. He has championed the 8-a-side, Tuesday night U13 pairs league which is a format that it helping sides get teams out and retaining players. An under 15 girls league has also been introduced. The league understands the needs of its players and has win/lose formats seeing an increase in Senior cricket up to 77 senior teams. The league subsidises umpires and scorers courses and even pays travel expenses to candidates! Mark is at the centre of all these positive developments.
Joanne Malcolm, Kings Heath CC, Community Services Jo is a true giver who will always be the person nominating others for awards and recognition and not even think or consider her own contributions. But she is one of the greatest doers and servants of not only cricket, but also her club, community and children of all types in the locality. She has been a driving force behind girls cricket at Kings Heath CC organising countless training sessions, matches and tournaments. She is the main organiser of the club s disability cricket programme which involves weekly coaching for young cricketers with disabilities including players with visual impairments. She will always help others even when it puts her at massive inconvenience as her instinct and default is to think of others first. People respect her for all of this and therefore she is able to lead with others following making things happen. She gets her family involved and with a team approach is able to achieve a lot. Kings Heath is unique in Warwickshire for having a great youth section, girls teams and disability cricket provision and she is at the heart of this
Dave Snipe, Earlswood CC, Club Services Earlswood has a relatively small square and so it says everything about Dave s ability as a groundsman that the club is able to put as many games on as it does. The square is regularly used five, sometimes six times a week, significantly more than most other clubs. Keeping up with Mark Dixon s fixture needs is no easy business. Dave is always at the club not only keeping the ground in good shape but also ensuring that the Pavilion is cleaned and maintained. Dave is a true clubman who has served the Club as Chairman for many years and he has followed in the footsteps of his father who set up the thriving youth section.
Neil Thorne, Earlswood CC, Club Services Neil is at the heart of everything we do from fixtures and statistics to website updates and looking after the membership. Every club needs a Neil Thorne and we simply couldn t survive without him Neil is brilliant at IT and uses his talent for the benefit of Earslwood and cricket in general. But it s not just talent it s loads of time, thought and effort that he puts into the club. He does a lot for the youth section and is a dedicated player, often playing in sides with promising youngsters who he looks after and ensures get a game. He s also a lifeblood of the club social scene and his enthusiasm for the game rubs off on all around.
Qasim Farooq, Attock CC, Young Volunteer Qasim has been part of Attock Cricket Club since the age of 9 and now is a bright 16 year old who enjoys and uses his time wisely at the club. Every year the club turns to volunteers to help the run the youth section especially when it comes to match days!! Qasim has played a vital role in helping the club ensuring that all junior matches go ahead!! He would be the first one there on Sunday morning despite playing a game the day before and unlike most 16 year old who would be stuck in bed Qasim is there putting out the boundary markers, making sure the stumps are in the changing rooms are clean, the drinks are in the fridge, the list is endless After doing all this he then scores the match; all this is done voluntarily and if you were to ask him to do any task his answer would always be yes! I think that every club needs a Qasim to help them be successful and this year Attock s juniors have certainly enjoyed some success.
Dan Dixon, Earlswood CC, Young Volunteer Dan has stepped up to organise Earlswood s U10s side this year, which is extremely impressive for a 15 year old. He helps out with junior training throughout the winter and when he can in the Summer and brings initiatives of his own to the club including a Fantasy Cricket League and finding a new kit supplier for 2016. If Dan is not out there actually playing there is every likelihood that you will see him at the club umpiring, scoring, helping the juniors or getting stuck into a working party. Long may it continue!
Andy Turnbull, Tanworth-in-Arden, Young Volunteer We have received 20 nominations for Andy, mostly from parents at Tanworth in Arden CC. It is clear that he has exceptional enthusiasm and commitment not only to cricket but also to serving young people and looking out for their best interests. Andy has taken on the running of the whole youth section showing great responsibility and leadership. When something goes wrong such as wetweather or opposition cancelling matches Andy somehow manages to organise indoor sessions or alternative fixtures or practices. Come rain or shine he gets it organised. Andy has shown the initiative to run coaching clubs at a number of local primary schools so he has introduced the game to hundreds of young people and all the parents say he has had a massively positive impact on their children he s an inspiration to the kids, had Andy not started this club I think my son would be lost Andy has created a team of coaches to help run the club coaching nights, games and outings. 2 more level 2s have been qualified including his younger brother and they have been led into taking great pride in delivering high quality, maximum participation coaching sessions. Andy has taken further coaching courses run by WCB and gained appointments as a Head District coach where he has learnt further drills and approaches from the other coaches eagerly. The club had 8 kids at the start of the year and now gets 50+ coming for every session. All the children are valued and they get great coaching, matches and outings at Edgbaston. This is all down to Andy s enthusiasm and drive.