Walter Lawrence Trophy 2017

A ‘Boom Boom’ Bonanza!

Pakistan’s charismatic all-rounder Shahid Afridi has won this year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy with a thrilling 42-ball hundred scored for Hampshire against Derbyshire in the NatWest T20 Blast Quarter-Final match at Derby on August 22.

Opening the innings, the former captain of Pakistan hit a blistering 7 sixes and 10 fours in his 101, which was his first T20 century, driving Hampshire to their record T20 total of 249 for 8 and a 101-run victory, which saw the county reach their seventh T20 Finals Day in eight years.

Shahid Afridi
Photograph by Dave Vokes Photography

Now in the twilight of his career, the 37-year-old exuberant batsman and leg spinner, known the world over as ‘Boom Boom Afridi’, has represented his country in 27 Tests, 398 One-Day Internationals and 98 T20 Internationals. He previously held the record for the fastest ODI hundred, scored off 37 balls against Sri Lanka in 1996, and holds the record for the youngest player, at the age of 16 years and 217 days, to score an ODI century. In first-class cricket he has racked up 5,695 runs (avge 31.46) and taken 266 wickets at 26.68 apiece in 113 games. He has also played in 501 one-day matches and 257 T20 games.

Born in Khyber Agency, Afridi has played for no fewer than 20 teams in his stellar career, including Karachi, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and South Australia. He is the first Hampshire batsman since Gordon Greenidge in 1978 to win the Trophy, which will be presented, along with a cheque for £3,000 and a special medallion, at the Walter Lawrence Trophy Dinner in The Long Room at Lord’s on November 7.

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.

Shahid Afridi’s career statistics
Hampshire v Derbyshire scorecard

VIDEO:Hampshire v Derbyshire Falcons, NatWest T20 Blast, 22 August 2017

Walter Lawrence Women’s Award 2017

Tammy’s Winning Double

England’s World Cup winning opener, Tammy Beaumont, has won the Walter Lawrence Women’s Award for the second season running with her innings of 148 for England against South Africa in the Women’s World Cup match at Bristol on July 5.

Tammy Beaumont
Photograph: Getty Images for ECB

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, whose scorching 147 off 104 balls was pipped for the Award by her partner by one run. Their partnership is the highest in Women’s World Cup history, the second highest in Women’s One-Day Internationals and the highest in England ODIs. A week later Tammy shared a record-breaking fourth-wicket stand of 170 with Natalie Sciver, against New Zealand at Derby to propel England into the semi-finals. 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, 47 ODIs and 44 T20Is and, as well as Kent, she played for Surrey Stars again in this year’s Kia Super League competition.

Tammy, currently battling it out Down Under in the Ashes series, wins a special silver medallion and a cheque for £500, which will be presented at the Walter Lawrence Trophy Dinner in The Long Room at Lord’s on November 7.

MCC Universities Award 2017

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.

Walter Lawrence Schools Award 2017

Will Power

Will Jacks of St George’s College, Weybridge, has won this year’s Walter Lawrence Schools Award for his unbeaten innings of 168, the highest score by a school batsman against MCC. His victorious, destructive innings on June 30, was scored off 107 balls and included 14 sixes and 13 fours as he put MCC bowlers to the sword. The MCC Match Manager was in no doubt about the the calibre of Will’s contribution: ‘In his final game for the side he scored the finest schoolboy hundred I have ever witnessed and looks to have a big future in the game — he was told on the day he had been selected for the England U19s. He captained well and conducted himself in a very humble manner and was clearly very popular with his teammates, even though the week before he was playing for Surrey 2nd XI. His ball striking was very clean and, sadly for MCC, made the game a touch one-sided.’

In September 2016, Will was selected for the England Young Lions squad, which included a three-week tour to Dubai, followed by five weeks in India, where he scored 77 in the second ‘test’ match of the drawn series. Despite missing eight weeks of school, the 18-year-old right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, began the 2017 season with a scintillating knock of 279 from 138 balls, including 29 fours and 19 sixes, against Reading Blue Coat School.

Born in Chertsey, Will has played for Surrey Under 13s, 14s, 15s, 17s and Surrey Second XI, and this summer played in eight matches for England Under 19s, including seven games against India U19s.

Will is the seventh winner of the Schools Award and he will receive a special medallion and a Gray-Nicolls cricket bat 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.