On a chilly November night, warm memories of summer and the sound of dashing blades were evoked in the Long Room at Lord’s as the traditional Walter Lawrence Trophy Presentation Dinner celebrated four deserving winners. Following a sparkling reception, courtesy of Veuve Clicquot, the former Kent captain and current President of MCC, Matthew Fleming, expertly hosted the proceedings with his usual wit and elan, while guest speaker, Ed Smith, the former Middlesex captain who played in three Tests for England and is now a member of the Test Match Special team, delivered some eloquent and enlightening thoughts on the great game.
The winner of the Walter Lawrence Trophy, now in its 82nd year and awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, was Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who scored a 43-ball hundred for Worcestershire Rapids in their 38-run victory over Durham Jets at New Road on May 20. The 22-year-old’s century, which launched the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast competition in explosive fashion, included 5 sixes and 13 fours. He went on to score 127 from 54 balls, including 8 sixes and 14 fours, the highest score for the county in 14 years of T20 cricket. Sadly, Tom was unavailable on the night as he was in Australia participating in the New South Wales Premier Cricket first grade for Penrith Panthers.
Following in the footsteps of Graeme Hick (1988) and Vikram Solanki (2009), Tom becomes only the third Worcestershire batsman to win the Trophy, which, along with prize money of £3,000, was accepted on his behalf by his father.
England opener, Tammy Beaumont, was the winner of this year’s Walter Lawrence Women’s Award for her dazzling innings of 168 not out, scored from 144 balls and including 20 fours, against Pakistan Women in the Third One-Day International at Taunton on June 27.
A proverbial thorn in the Pakistan Women’s side, the 25-year-old Kent Women opener and wicket-keeper scored 484 runs across the 6-match ODI and T20 series, after which she was voted Women’s Player of the Summer by her England team mates in the PCA Awards.
Tammy, who is a Chance to Shine Coaching Ambassador, grew up playing cricket with her father and brother for Sandwich CC, before making her debut for Kent in 2007. She made her England ODI & T20I debuts in the West Indies in 2009, before successfully captaining the England Women’s Academy team on tours to Sri Lanka in 2014 and the UAE in 2015. This year she was selected to open the batting for England in the World T20 Cup, since when she hasn’t looked back.
Tammy is in the midst of a busy winter and, following England’s series win in the West Indies, she was helping England to victory in their opening ODI against Sri Lanka on the day of the dinner. She is the fifth winner of the Walter Lawrence Women’s Award since it was introduced and her winning silver medallion and a cheque for £500 were collected on her behalf by the former England captain and ECB Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor.
Loughborough MCCU’s Robbie White picked up this year’s MCC Universities Award for his score of 174, made at Haselgrave Ground, on June 8 against Leeds/Bradford MCCU. White’s innings was scored off 219 balls, including 18 fours and 4 sixes and helped Loughborough secure the 2016 MCCU 2-day Championship.
Born in Ealing and educated at Harrow School, Robbie has represented Middlesex Second XI, U-15s and U-17s, and is in his second year at Loughborough, where he is studying psychology. The first Loughborough winner since the Award’s inception in 2006, he received a special silver medallion and prize of £500.
Tom Haines of Hurstpierpoint College is the winner of this year’s Walter Lawrence Schools Award for his innings of 187, the highest score by a school batsman against MCC. Tom’s mammoth knock on June 14 broke the Sussex school’s record for the highest score in a one-day match and helped his side post a winning total of 302 for 9.
In addition to his stellar performances for the school, the sixth-former, who has just turned 18, enjoyed an excellent summer playing for Horsham CCC in the Sussex Premier League as well as appearing regularly for Sussex 2nd XI. To cap a wonderful season, the left-handed opener made his first-class debut for Sussex against Kent in the Specsavers County Championship, Division Two match at Hove on August 31.
The sixth winner of the Schools Award, Tom received a special medallion and a Gray-Nicolls cricket bat .
The quartet of Walter Lawrence Trophy awards, supported by Veuve Clicquot, encompass four distinct areas of the game: the Walter Lawrence Trophy, for the fastest century of the season; the MCC Universities award for the highest score by a batsman from the six MCC Universities against the first-class counties or in the MCCU Championship; The Walter Lawrence Women’s Award for the batsman who makes the highest individual score in a season from the ECB Women’s One-Day Cup and all England Women’s matches played on home soil, and, finally, the Walter Lawrence Schools Award for the highest score by a school batsman against MCC.
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