Tons To Celebrate At Lord’s

Outside the wind was wild and the rain poured but in the Long Room at Lord’s spirits soared as the annual Walter Lawrence Trophy Presentation Dinner celebrations got underway on November 2nd.

Following the traditional Champagne reception, courtesy of Veuve Cliquot, former Kent captain and MCC President, Matthew Fleming, hosted the proceedings for the seventh year with his usual masterclass of dexterity and wit, ably accompanied by guest speaker, Mark Nicholas.

Now in its 88th year, the 2022 Walter Lawrence Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, was won by Ireland’s swashbuckling opener, Paul Stirling, whose century on his debut for Birmingham Bears was scored off 46 balls. Stirling smote 8 fours and 8 sixes in bringing up his century before perishing on 119 in the Vitality Blast match against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston on May 26. Unfortunately Stirling was unable to collect the Trophy as he was away on urgent business fighting Ireland’s cause in the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Born in Belfast, Stirling made his debut for Ireland in 2018, aged 17, and has played in 3 Tests, 139 One-Day Internationals and 121 T-20 Internationals to date. Made vice-captain of his country in 2020, he has scored 13 ODI hundreds, including Ireland’s highest ODI innings of 177 against Canada at Toronto in 2010. Stirling became the first Ireland player to score 5,000 ODI runs and in the annual ICC Awards in January he was included in ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year for 2021.

A worldwide, destructive force in limited-over-cricket, Stirling’s services are much in demand around the globe and as well as Ireland, Middlesex and Birmingham Bears, the 32-year-old all-rounder has represented Northamptonshire, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Kerala Kings, Khulna Titans, Bengal Tigers, Chitwan Tigers, Islamabad United, Dambulla Viiking, Kandahar Knights, Sylhet Royals, Paarl Rocks, Boost Defenders, Royals, Northerns and Southern Brave.

The main prize: Mark Nicholas accepts the Walter Lawrence Trophy from Matthew Fleming on behalf of the absent 2022 winner, Paul Stirling, who also receives a cheque for £2,500 and a special medallion.
Photograph by Rupert Hartley: www.ruperthartley.co.uk

The winner of this year’s Walter Lawrence Women’s Award was England all-rounder Natalie Sciver, for her majestic innings of 169 not out for England against South Africa in the one-off, drawn, Test match at Taunton on June 29. Nat’s unbeaten innings was scored off 263 balls, which included 21 fours, and was her maiden Test century. The 29-year-old vice-captain shared a sixth-wicket stand of 207 with debutant Alice Davidson-Richards, who also scored a century, to help England post a total of 417-8 declared, after they had slumped to 121-5 following South Africa’s first innings total of 284.

Nat has now a hat-trick of Walter Lawrence Women’s Award wins, having won in 2014 and 2018. Among her many accolades, the 30-year-old, who was born in Tokyo and grew up in Poland, became the first cricketer for England to take a hat-trick in a Women’s T20 International match. On March 7 last year, she captained the England team for the first time in the third T20 International against New Zealand after Heather Knight was ruled out of the fixture due to injury, and this year, with Knight sidelined with a hip injury, she led the national side in the games against South Africa and in the Commonwealth Games. Most notably, following England women’s 2017 World Cup victory, she was named as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of The Year in the 2018 edition.

Nat is one of the world’s most sought-after players and has represented a large number of franchises including Surrey Stars, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Supernovas, Northern Diamonds and Trent Rockets, who she captained in The Hundred this season. Another string to her bow was creating the ‘Natmeg’, a shot christened after she hit a ball through her legs during an England game.

A Nat-trick of wins: England all-rounder Nat Sciver, winner of the Walter Lawrence Women's Award for the third time, picks up a cheque for £2,500, a special medallion and a magnum of Veuve Cliquot from Mark Nicholas, who sung her praises.
Photograph by Rupert Hartley: www.ruperthartley.co.uk

The 2022 Walter Lawrence University Award was won by Oxford University captain, George Hargrave, for his incredible innings of 322 not out in the drawn match against Cambridge University at The Parks on July 6. George’s mammoth knock, scored off 385 balls and containing 36 fours and 1 six, is the highest individual score in the history of one of the oldest fixtures in cricket, spanning 195 years and 175 matches. As well as a record score for Oxford, George’s innings continued a prolific run of four centuries in a row against Cambridge in Varsity matches since beginning his studies at the university.

The 23-year-old, right-hand batsman who also ‘keeps wicket, was born in Walsall and educated at Shrewsbury School, where he scored over 3,000 runs. In 2014, at the age of 15, he became Birmingham League side Shrewsbury’s youngest player to play for the first team, and was also selected for the prestigious Bunbury Festival before going up to Hertford College, Oxford, where he is in his last year studying philosophy. The former Warwickshire academy youngster has represented Shropshire in Minor Counties cricket and also represented Derbyshire 2nd XI this summer.

George’s triple hundred is the highest score to claim the Walter Lawrence University Award, and he is the third Oxford player to win it since its inception in 2006.

Triple crowned: George Hargrave, winner of the Walter Lawrence University Award for his triple hundred, collects a cheque for £500, a special medallion and the bubbly from Mark Nicholas. Before George returned to his seat, Matthew Fleming posed the question: 'Bearing in mind your parents are here, is there anyone you'd like to thank for helping you get to where you are?' George replied, 'Yes, my lovely girlfriend'...
Photograph by Rupert Hartley: www.ruperthartley.co.uk

Ronnie McKenna of New Hall School, Boreham, Chelmsford, was the winner of the 2022 Walter Lawrence Schools Award for the highest score by a school batter against MCC. Opening the innings, Ronnie’s score of 134, made off 138 balls and including 14 fours and 1 six, was the catalyst for a thrilling win by New Hall off the penultimate ball of the match as they chased down MCC’s 231-9 declared.

Born in Basildon, Essex, the 18-year-old right-hand bat and wicket-keeper, joined New Hall in 2015 and has become a key member of the school’s cricket program. He made his debut for the 1st XI when he was in year 9 in 2017. Subsequently Ronnie has been part of the Essex CCC Academy and has been playing for the county’s Second XI in the last two seasons.

Big Brother Down Under: As Ronnie McKenna, winner of the Walter Lawrence Schools Award was playing cricket in Australia and unable to attend, his father, Anthony, and the youngest of three brothers, Charlie, were on hand to collect his spoils of a special medallion and Gray-Nicolls bat. Charlie on being asked who was the best batsman in the family claimed he was!
Photograph by Rupert Hartley: www.ruperthartley.co.uk

With a sumptuous dinner and the presentations concluded, the evening climaxed when the packed-to-the-gills Long Room were entertained by the former Hampshire captain Mark Nicholas, who proceeded to deliver a veritable tour de force of encyclopaedic cricket knowledge. Frisking between the 19 tables, each of which bore the name of a former Trophy winner, the renowned commentator and journalist unfurled a flurry of anecdotal and factual nuggets on each of the 19 featured cricketers. His autobiography A Beautiful Game: My Love Affair With Cricket is aptly named, of that there is no doubt.

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 Universities award for the highest score by a player from the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence against the first-class counties or in the UCCE Championship; The Walter Lawrence Women’s Award for the player who makes the highest individual score in a season from the ECB domestic cup games and all England Women’s matches played on home soil, and, finally, the Walter Lawrence Schools Award for the highest score by a school ‘batter’ against MCC.