Hamilton-Brown Roars into the Lead

New Surrey skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown has hit the front in the charge for this season’s Walter Lawrence Trophy with a 96-ball hundred. The 22-year-old all-rounder, who returned to Surrey this season after two years at Sussex, hit 17 fours in securing his hundred in the County Championship Division Two match against Worcestershire at Whitgift School, Croydon, on April 21.

Hamilton-Brown, a former England Under-19 captain whose godfather is former England and Warwickshire opener Dennis Amiss, was brought back to the county by Cricket Manager Chris Adams and made captain despite having played in only eight first-class matches.

Now enjoying its 76th year, the Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, is open to all domestic county competitions, including the Clydesdale Bank 40 (40-over format), and Friends Provident T20 (20-over format), as well as One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals, all eligible alongside those scored in the County Championship and Test Matches in England.

Last year’s winner of the Trophy, who also collected a cheque for £5,000, was Worcestershire’s Vikram Solanki, who smote a 47-ball hundred against Glamorgan in the T20 match at New Road, Worcester.

The leader for this season’s award for the highest innings by a batsman from the six MCC Universities, scored against one of the other five MCC University Centres of Cricketing Excellence or against one of the first-class counties, is Jak Martin of Oxford MCCU, who scored an unbeaten 202 in the MCC Universities Championship game against Durham MCCU at The Racecourse Ground, Durham on April 21.

Jak, who was born in Kingston-upon-Thames and educated at Glyn Technology School, Epsom, batted all day for his double century, which was scored off 331 balls and included 14 fours, one 5 and one 6. The left-handed opener, whose score in the drawn game was threatened in the Durham innings when Luc Durandt reached 174 before being dismissed, made his first-class debut last season and has played for Surrey 2nd XI.