ECB Announce 2007 Groundsman of the Year Awards

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced the 2007 Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Bill Gordon from the Brit Oval is the winner of both the four-day and one-day category with Steve Birks from Trent Bridge awarded the runner-up in the four-day category. Joint runners-up in the one-day category are Birks (Trent Bridge) and Philip Frost from Taunton.

Commendations went to Philip Frost (Taunton), Neil Godrich (Derby), David Measor (Riverside) and Andy Whiteman (Grace Road) in the four-day pitch category, while Lawrence Gosling (Hove), Sean Williams (Bristol) and Steve Rouse (Edgbaston) were commended in the one-day category.

Richard Sula at The Parks is the winner of the award in respect of UCCE pitches with Craig Thompson at Durham Racecourse named as runner-up. Micky Stewart and Christian Dunkerley were awarded the Outgrounds prize for their work at Scarborough with Mark Wakefield from Kidderminster earning the runner-up award.

Alan Fordham, Head of Operations (First Class Cricket), said: "we have seen an excellent overall standard of pitches in both four-day cricket and one-day cricket in 2007. We are delighted to announce these awards which recognise head groundsmen who have prepared the best pitches this season, and we also give credit to all groundsmen for their work during what was a particularly difficult season with the weather.

"Once more, special congratulations go to Bill Gordon at The Brit Oval who continues to lead the way in pitch preparation in both 4-day and 1-day cricket."ECB

See website for further information:- ECB