Cricket Writers Club - Sponsors Brit Insurance

Brit Insurance

YOUNG CRICKETER OF THE YEAR AWARD.

In the lead-up to the 2004 annual dinner, the Club was approached by Brit
/> Insurance with a view to whether they could make some sort of contribution
/> to an event. They wanted an active involvement with the Cricket Writers'
/> Club membership, but perhaps something other than a golf day or a drinks
function...?

The Club's dinner committee were delighted to be given the chance to come
up with a suggestion, having wondered for some time about what we could
do in and around the annual dinner that would be of added benefit both to
the Club and to the status of the dinner itself.

After discussion, it was decided that the Young Cricketer of the Year Award
was something that could be utilised. It is the Club's most prestigious
award, dating back to 1950, and it is also an award which guarantees any
sponsor some sort of mention in most newspapers and cricket journals.

Brit were suggesting a level of sponsorship they would be willing to give to
the Club, and initially it was agreed that they would come on board for three
years - in line with the initial time-span of their sponsorship of
The Brit Oval and Surrey County Cricket Club.

Given the longevity of the award, and the fact that sadly some of the
earliest winners (eg Peter May, Colin Cowdrey and Kenny Barrington) have
passed away, it was decided that the Brit sponsorship gave the Club the
perfect opportunity to honour further a good number of former winners by
inviting them back to a CWC dinner, with their wives or partners, as
special guests. We also decided to invite former winners in chronological
order, from 1950 onwards.

Brit were also delighted with this suggestion, given the association they
would then have with many famous former cricketers, as well as with the
award itself.
And so, at the 2004 dinner, the first group of former winners were duly
invited to attend as VIP guests. Mandy Ripley was appointed to act as the
Club's liaison 'officer', with both Brit and the former winners and their
wives, and Mandy worked exceptionally hard to ensure that all arrangements
were made and that the evening went smoothly.

Unfortunately, Geoff Pullar and his wife Patricia were unable to attend at
the last minute - due to Geoff feeling poorly on the morning of the dinner
and not feeling he was well enough to travel down from Lancashire - but all
the other guests duly attended and, unanimously, said they "felt like
royalty" (to quote one former winner).

Fittingly, the very first CWC Young Cricketer of the Year from 1950 -
former England and Lancashire off-spinner Roy Tattersall - was able to
present Ian Bell, the 2004 winner, with the trophy. Bell, to the added
pleasure of all the former winners, then spent quite some time chatting to
them all at the end of the dinner formalities.

Those who attended in 2004 (with former winners on one table, hosted by
Brit, and wives/partners on an adjacent table, hosted by Mandy) were: Roy
and Phyllis Tattersall, David and Joyce Allen, Bob and Yvonne Cottam, Colin
and Susan Ingleby-McKenzie, Peter and Jill Parfitt, Phil and Susan Sharpe,
Micky and Sheila Stewart, and Brian Taylor.

Brit's sponsorship allowed the Club to offer every guest full travel
expenses to and from London, accommodation at the Hotel Intercontinental,
the cost of the dinner tickets, and other out-of-pocket expenses. In
addition, Brit paid a sum (as part of their overall sponsorship)
directly to the Club as a facility fee. This helped to cover our own
expenses.

In 2005 a similar arrangement was made, with the likes of Tony Greig,
Derek Underwood, Neil Foster, Rob Bailey andPaul Parker attending
(with Greig making the award to Alastair Cook), and in 2006 both
Chris and Carole Broad were present to witness their son Stuart receiving his
Young Cricketer of the Year award from David Gower, one of the former winners
seated on the Brit table alongside Geoff Miller, David Lawrence, Norman Cowans,
Mike Gatting, Chris Old and Ian Salisbury.

From 2007, with Brit confirming a similar level of annual sponsorship of the Club,
it has been decided to use the company's continuing support in order to ensure
that a former winner is present to make the Young Cricketer of the Year award to
that year's winner (and to do all that is possible to make sure that the winner is
present at the dinner too). In addition, Brit's supporthas also enabled the Club
to invite and accommodate other award winners, or valued guests.

In 2007 Mike Hendrick was the former winner invited, and in 2008 Adil Rashid
(the 2007 winner) made the award presentation to Ravi Bopara. Both were later pictured
alongside Sir Alec Bedser, winner of the Peter Smith Award. In 2009 it was John Crawley,
the 1994 winner, who was invited in honour of his recent retirement from first-class cricket
to make the presentation of the Young Cricketer award to Leicestershire's James Taylor.

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