Vince Sprints Ahead

James Vince has set the pace in the chase for this year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, with a 71-ball century.

In the opening Yorkshire Bank 40 fixture of the season, the 22-year-old Hampshire batsman, hit 15 fours and a six in his hundred against Essex at Chelmsford on May 3. Vince finished unbeaten on 129, his third domestic one-day hundred, as Hampshire romped home by 9 wickets with 62 balls to spare.

Now in its 79th year, the Walter Lawrence Trophy is open to all domestic county competitions as well as One-Day Internationals, Twenty20 Internationals and Test Matches in England.

Essex v Hampshire scorecard

James Vince’s career statistics

Reece At The Crease

The leader in the quest for this year’s Walter Lawrence MCC Universities award is Luis Reece, who scored 114 not out for Leeds/Bradford MCCU against Leicestershire at Grace Road on April 25.

The 22-year-old Taunton-born left-hander, who skippered his team to an impressive 102-run victory against the county side, hit 15 fours and 2 sixes in his innings, which was scored off 178 balls. To complete a memorable match, he also took 6 for 67 with his left-arm medium pacers.

Heather In Clover

Heather Knight, the 22-year-old captain of Berkshire Women, is in pole position for this season’s Walter Lawrence Women’s Award after scoring an unbeaten 153.

Opening bat Heather, who has represented England at Test and one-day level, provided the platform for a 39-run victory over Middlesex Women in the LV Women’s Championship match at Uxbridge CC on May 6.

Among the six hundreds scored over the May Bank Holiday weekend, England captain Charlotte Edwards deserves special mention after making two unbeaten centuries, 120 and 128, for Kent Women.

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 County Championship, the ECB Women’s County T20 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.