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Adjudicators
The Adjudicators’ role is to ensure the authenticity of the winning century. Emphasis is put on authentic bowling as bowlers are sometimes asked to encourage batsmen to score freely to entice an early declaration. Although a legitimate part of cricket today, centuries scored under these conditions do not qualify for the award.
Mike Atherton
Following an illustrious playing career, for Cambridge University, Lancashire and England, ‘Athers‘ has become a seasoned media expert. He became Cricket Correspondent of The Times in May 2008, after a stint at The Sunday Telegraph, and was a popular broadcaster on Channel 4‘s Test match coverage before moving to Sky Sports, for whom he currently works as presenter and commentator. A gritty opening batsman, he retired at the end of the 2001 season with 21, 929 first-class runs (avge 40.83) to his name, and played in 115 Tests, 54 of which were as England captain. He has written three books: an autobiography Opening Up (2002), Gambling: A Story of Triumph and Disaster (2006) and Atherton’s Ashes (2009).David Gower
From his striking debut, hitting his first delivery in Test cricket for an elegant four, to his untimely retirement, David Gower was one of the most attractive batsmen and popular cricketers of his generation. A slim left-hander, his elegant stroke play won him admirers worldwide. He captained England 32 times, and scored a then record aggregate score for England of 8,231 Test runs. His biographer, Martin Johnson, wrote, “.. his batting was the stuff of poetry, and enriched the lives of those who were privileged to watch him.” Since retirement he has made a successful career as a journalist and broadcaster.Simon Hughes
After playing for Middlesex through the `80s, and winning four Championship titles and four One-Day Final medals, Simon Hughes joined Durham for two years in 1992. He took 750 first-class wickets during his career. As an author and journalist since 1986, he has written for The Independent and Daily Telegraph. He has also worked for the BBC and became The Analyst on Channel 4’s cricket coverage in 1999. He has written several cricket books including: From Minor to Major, A Lot of Hard Yakka, which was The William Hill Sports Book of the Year, Yakking Around the World, Jargonbusting, Morning Everyone and And God Created Cricket.John Barclay
One of the most engaging characters in the game, John was a precocious cricketing talent as a schoolboy playing for the Eton First XI as a 14-year-old and making his first-class debut for Sussex as a 16-year-old. A solid batsman and useful off-spinner, he later assumed the county captaincy in 1981, when the side was agonisingly pipped for the County Championship. Following retirement in 1986, after compiling 9,677 runs and 324 wickets at first-class level, he has been heavily involved with the game, holding a variety of posts, including that of MCC President in 2009/10. He has been a successful tour manager for England teams at all levels, and he continues to this day his inspirational role as Director of Cricket and Coaching with The Arundel Castle Cricket Foundation.