If you're involved in grassroots cricket, chances are you will instantly be able to reel off the name of the heartbeat of your club, that one person who keeps the show running and always gives of their time freely.
It’s a familiar story, one repeated in clubs all over England and Wales.
The situation was no different for England players Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad when they returned to their childhood clubs to champion the everyday heroes that supported the clubs and helped shape their cricket journeys.
Travelling back to Dunnington CC on the outskirts of York, with winemaker and official partner of England Cricket, Hardys, Bairstow caught up with former coach and junior selection manager, David Wilson, as well as long-serving groundsman and player, Patrick Wood.
Broad, meanwhile made the journey to Melton Mowbray's Egerton Park CC to chat to chairman and former captain, David Glover.
Watch how they got on below.
Making the difference
Standing overlooking a pristine outfield, Bairstow spoke about the importance of these individual efforts in the life of a club.
“The club wouldn’t be what it is and the facilities wouldn’t be what they are without people like Woody [club groundsman, Wood],” said the England and Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman.
“It’s an integral part of the club – the efforts that go in behind the scenes are so important to try and make the next Joe Root, the next Kane Williamson, the next Virat Kohli.”
Egerton Park also has its fair share of club heroes, as Broad explained: “You need a lot of people who love the club, who like coming down to help the club.
“A lot of it is giving up time and you need people to give up their Saturdays.
“Here at Egerton Park, it was a quite famous place for the teas – Melton Mowbray is the home of pork pies and Stilton cheese. Our opening batsman never used to score a run after tea!
“It’s quite a behind-the-scenes job and I think they deserve a huge amount of credit for what’s in place at cricket grounds to let people enjoy not just playing but also coming to watch as well.”
Home from home
It's the unstinting efforts of people such as Glover, Wilson and Wood – who has dedicated 40 years to Dunnington as a player and six as groundsman – that make local cricket clubs a home away from home for so many, none more so than Bairstow and Broad.
“It just feels like home, that’s why you keep coming back and you keep enjoying coming back,” said Bairstow.
“Egerton Park is a very sociable club and the people make it the club it is,” explained Broad.
“I think even opposition teams like to come back here. When people enjoy coming here then they will keep coming.”
Each year, the NatWest Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards (OSCAs) celebrate the invaluable contributions of volunteers to our sport, highlighting their stories and achievements. This year's edition takes place on Tuesday 4 October 2016 at Lord's, with Hardys sponsoring the Heartbeat of the Club award.
Read the full list of OSCAs nominees below.
NatWest OSCAs 2016 shortlist
Hardys Heartbeat of the Club
- Tim Chambers – Huntingdonshire
- Joanna Wilcox – Norfolk
- Paul Williams – Warwickshire
Get the Game On
- Mick Bott – Derbyshire
- Hinay Dassani – Middlesex
- Alan Green – Staffordshire
Leagues and Boards
- Rodney Fine – Cornwall
- Andy Jones – Leicestershire
- Cathy Mowat – Middlesex
Lifetime Achiever
- David Bowden – Sussex
- Colin Dawson – Staffordshire
- Andy Pryor – Northumberland
NatWest CricketForce
- Lee Morgan – Buckinghamshire
- Jim Paulett and Leighton Jones – Surrey
- Adam Wilson – Middlesex
Officiating – Umpires & Scorers
- John Bates – Warwickshire
- Jack McGurk – Durham
- Steven Wood – Yorkshire
Young Volunteer
- Robert Steadman – Staffordshire
- Andy Turnbull – Warwickshire
- Jenny Wilkes – Northumberland
Outstanding Contribution to Coaching
- Rob Arnold – Northamptonshire
- Olly Powell – Kent
- Martin Walker – Cheshire
Coach of the Year
- Qasim Ali – Lancashire
- Mohamed Hanif Ghodawala – Leicestershire
- Matthew Morrissey – Northamptonshire
- Greg Smith – Lincolnshire
Young Coach of the Year
- Craig Campbell – Dorset
- Amara Carr – Devon
- Daniel Seaman – Kent
NatWest U19 T20 Club of the Year
- Blagdon Park Young Bulls
Outstanding Contribution to Disability Cricket
- David Gavrilovic