NatWest OSCAs
Watch coverage of the NatWest OSCAs 2007 from Lord's on ECBtv
What are the NatWest OSCAs?
The NatWest OSCAs (Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards) are aimed at recognising those volunteers who give so much of their time to the game of cricket – without these individuals the game would not survive.
The process for nominating volunteers for the NatWest OSCAs has changed this year from previous years. There is no longer a national nomination process and instead each county will be responsible for their own nominations.
Up to 27 counties have indicated that they may be having their own County OSCAs; if this is the case then the seven winners of the County OSCAs will automatically be nominated for and be invited to the NatWest OSCAs at Lord’s on Monday October 13.
For those Counties not having an OSCAs of their own they will still accept nominations and will, using an independent judging panel, put forward seven volunteers (one for each OSCAs category) for nomination and attendance at the NatWest OSCAs.
By having seven nominees from each County present at the awards there will be 273 genuine volunteers, more than we’ve ever had!
Please contact your County Cricket Development Manager or visit your County Board’s website for more details.
Look back on 2007
The NatWest OSCAs 2007 ceremony took place at Lord's on Monday October 15 - with full details of the winners available here on ecb.co.uk.
You can also read exclusive features with the winners in the NatWest OSCAs news section.
Full details of all the shortlisted 2007 nominees can be found here.
What volunteering means to cricket
It’s fair to say that cricket could not survive without its huge army of unsung heroes.
The 2007 Lifetime Achiever OSCA went to David Cherry, here receiving his award from Charlotte Edwards and Mark Ramprakash © Getty ImagesBuy this photoVolunteering, just to be clear, includes everyone who gives their time in some way to help the game.
It includes small gestures, like making teas at a fundraiser. And there’s a simply huge swimming pool of tea being brewed every year!
And it includes more fundamental contributions of course, such as coaching kids’ teams, which may of course include the stars of the future.
It’s no exaggeration to say that big stars like Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff simply wouldn’t be where they are today without the hard work of volunteers.
What volunteering means to volunteers!
Cricket volunteers do it out of love for our beautiful game. But there are other benefits too.
It can help you keep fit, de-stress, lose weight (if necessary), develop personally and give you a sense of intangible satisfaction.
If colleagues do it together, it can improve team spirit. Most importantly of all, it gives you something to boast about in the pub!
In the words of England's Matthew Hoggard: "Every cricket team has its unsung heroes and there are thousands of people involved in the sport who make a big contribution to the success of a club simply by preparing a pitch, keeping score or making teas.
"Without the countless hours of hard work by volunteers, many cricket clubs would not be able to function and the OSCAs is a great way of ensuring that they get the recognition they deserve."
England women's captain Charlotte Edwards and Surrey's Mark Ramprakash were the star turns at NatWest OSCAs 2007, on hand to present the awards to the worthy winners Buy this photo
