Hales & Clarke Take Over The Lead

Alex Hales of Nottinghamshire and Joe Clarke of Worcestershire are the new joint-leaders in the battle for this year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy with 45-ball hundreds.

Opening the batting, Hales smashed his century for Notts Outlaws against Yorkshire Vikings in a thrilling T20 Blast match at Trent Bridge on July 30. The 28-year-old hit 4 sixes and 14 fours in his first T20 ton for the county as his side chased down a total of 224 to win by 5 wickets with 5 balls to spare.

The swashbuckling Hales is an established England opener in limited-over matches and has played in 50 One-Day Internationals and 47 T20 Internationals, as well as 11 Test matches.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Joe Clarke, opening for Worcestershire Rapids, also posted a 45-ball century against Durham Jets in the T20 Blast match at New Road, Worcester. Responding to Durham’s innings of 201 for 2, which included a maiden T20 hundred from former England veteran Paul Collingwood, Clarke saw his side home by 8 wickets, spanking 6 sixes and 10 fours in his hundred before finishing unbeaten on 124, scored off 53 balls.

Clarke has been a revelation in the opening role after last year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy winner Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s departure to Yorkshire left a vacancy at the top of the Rapids order. The 21-year-old, who was born in Shrewsbury, has represented England Lions and England Under-19s, and is rated as one of the most exciting young batting talents in the game.

Now in its 83rd year, the Walter Lawrence Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, is open to all domestic county competitions as well as One-Day Internationals, T20 Internationals and Test Matches in England.

Alex Hale’s career statistics
Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire scorecard

Joe Clarke’s career statistics
Worcestershire v Durham scorecard


Tammy’s Top Of The World

England’s World Cup winning opener, Tammy Beaumont, who won the Walter Lawrence Women’s Award last season, is in pole position for this year’s prize after her innings of 148 for England against South Africa in the Women’s World Cup match at Bristol on July 5.

In a game where records tumbled, Tammy’s third ODI century came off 145 balls and included 1 six and 22 fours as she shared a second-wicket stand of 275 with Sarah Taylor, who scored a scorching 147 off 104 balls. The partnership was the highest in Women’s World Cup history, the second highest in Women’s One-Day Internationals and the highest in England ODIs. The pair provided the basis of an England total of 373 for 5 and a subsequent victory by 68 runs. Tammy went on to finish as leading run-scorer in the World Cup with 410 runs (avge 45.55) and was named Player Of The Tournament.

An England regular in all formats, 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. To date, the 26-year-old has played in 2 Tests, 44 ODIs and 44 T20Is and, as well as Kent, she will play for Surrey Stars again this August in the Kia Super League competition.


Andersson On Song

Martin Andersson has won this year’s MCC Universities Award with a score of 185 for Leeds/Bradford MCCU. The 20-year-old batsman hit 24 fours in his innings, made from 233 balls, in the victory over Durham MCCU at The Racecourse Ground, Durham on May 9.

Andersson’s 185 was his third consecutive century in the 2017 MCCU Championship, following 138 v Oxford MCCU on April 19, and 128 v Cardiff MCCU on April 27. In an impressive season with the bat, he compiled 971 runs in 13 matches, at an average of 57.12, including four centuries and three fifties.

Born in Reading, Andersson made his first-class debut for Leeds/Bradford MCCU against Kent on March 28, and having come through the Middlesex Academy, signed a three-year contract with the county earlier this year. The right-handed batsman, who also bowls right-arm medium, made his second eleven championship debut for Middlesex in 2013, and in 2015 featured in the England Under-19 Development squad, scoring an unbeaten 70 against Australia Under-19s at Loughborough.

Andersson, currently studying economics and management at Leeds University, is the second Leeds/Bradford winner since the Award’s inception in 2006. He will receive a special silver medallion and prize of £500 at the Walter Lawrence Trophy Presentation Dinner in The Long Room at Lord’s on November 7.

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.