8th September 2016
| Mallory Gray
The awards recognise the vital contribution that volunteers make to the game throughout Wales."Cricket simply would not exist without the volunteers in clubs, leagues, boards and the community more widely," said Cricket Wales chief executive, Peter Hybart.
"The individuals who have won this year's NatWest OSCAs represent the tip of the iceberg as far as volunteering is concerned. Cricket in Wales is fortunate to have such dedicated people who devote their time, energy and skills into the sport."
The 2016 Cricket Wales OSCAs winners received their awards at The SSE SWALEC, home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club
The winners are:
Lifetime Achiever Winner – Nick Evans
Nick is a founder member of the Pembrokeshire Association of Cricket Coaches in 1979 and is currently President Member of the Pembroke County Cricket Club Executive. He is a coach and administrator of Pembrokeshire Regional Junior teams, which have recently seen Andrew Salter and Jack Murphy progress to the Glamorgan ranks. Nick has also enjoyed a playing career that goes back to 1953 and continues to this day both locally and further afield on various annual overseas tours!
Leagues & Boards Winner – Ally Pitman (Eryri Regional Junior Development Committee)
Ally has been chair of the Eryri Regional Junior Development Committee since 2011, as well as being a coach and manager since 2011, looking after many Welsh age-group players. Stood down as Chair in 2016
Get The Game On Winner – Eric Lewis (Llangennech Cricket Club)
Eric is a groundsmen of more than 50 years experience at Llangennech CC and was active within the administration of the club while at University, during his teaching career and since retirement he has been club treasurer and statistician, as well as club umpire and scorer. He was a founder member of the South Wales Junior Cricket League in 1973 and is a member of the Rules and Grounds sub-committees of the South Wales Cricket Association
NatWest Cricket Force Winner – The Vale Cricket Club
The Vale's two day 2016 Natwest Cricketforce event. Day One secured the staffing support of Glamorgan CCC and Cricket Wales together with attendance from Alan Cairns MP and Jane Hutt AM. Day two secured support from local Tesco staff and other local businesses. Over the two days, the club developed a new patio area, erected new advertising boards, painted pavilion, refurbished caged netting and score board, developed new flower beds and generally transformed the total appearance of the club.
Officials Winner – John Davies (Felinfoel CC)
Formerly an umpire for Dafen 2nds and Scorer for Dafen 1sts John was also Regional Scorers Officer and Assistant Secretary of the former Wales Region of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorer (between 1988 and 1996). He is the current 1st Xl scorer for Felinfoel CC, Wales Senior Women and Wales 50+, embracing modern technology in all his roles. Overall he has spent more than 30 years in the administration of the game including almost every position at Dafen and Felinfoel CC’s, together with being on the Management Committee of the South Wales Junior Cricket League since 1984 and its Secretary since 2006
Young Volunteer Winner – Sameer Alyas (BME Cricket Ambassador – ‘Cricket Beyond Boundaries’)
Sameer is an outstanding young volunteer on the ‘Cricket Beyond Boundaries’ BME project ensuring that cricket is thriving and accessible to the Cardiff cricket community. He has shown great commitment beyond his role of BME Cricket Ambassador andttends and contributes to the BME Cricket Forum. He leads pop-up clubs at Riverside and Grangetown, interacts with parents and community leaders in an engaging manner and is now working towards a Sports Coaching degree at the University of South Wales
Heartbeat of the Club Winner – Ronnie Walton (Merthyr Cricket Club)
Ronnie has been involved in cricket in Merthyr as player, administrator and groundsman for over 50 years, with unstinting grounds-work at Hoovers and Hills Plymouth CC’s gaining both clubs SWCA top level accreditation