ECB has announced the winners of the sixth annual County Cricket Journalism Awards which celebrate national and regional media coverage of the county game.
Will Macpherson, a freelance journalist who has covered cricket for the Guardian and Cricinfo, was named the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young County Journalist of the Year. He will receive a £3,000 prize to fund a week-long trip to the UAE next March to report on the new North v South 50-over series.
Freelance journalist Tim Wigmore and Henry Cowen (All Out Cricket) were named as runners-up in this category and each receive a £1,000 award to fund reporting on next summer’s county programme and the Kia Super League.
Dave Fletcher, who recently completed his first season as a county commentator with BBC Radio Derby, was named the Christopher Martin-Jenkins County Broadcaster of the Year and receives a £5,000 prize.
The Sunday Independent was named Regional Newspaper of the Year for its comprehensive coverage of First Class, Minor County and club cricket in the South West region. It receives a £2,500 prize supported by the Cricket Writers’ Club in association with Benenden Health, Smile Group Travel and William Hill. The Manchester Evening News and the Nottingham Post were also commended in this category.
The Cricket Paper was named County Cricket Newspaper of the Year for the second time in three years with last year’s winner, The Times, receiving a commendation. ESPN Cricinfo was recognised as the outstanding Online Publication for the fourth consecutive year.
Mark Baldwin, chairman of the Cricket Writers’ Club, said: “The judging panel was impressed particularly by the strength in depth of the entries in the Young County Journalist of the Year category.
“I would like to congratulate Will Macpherson for the quality and range of his portfolio, which won him the main award but the writing of our two runners-up Tim Wigmore and Henry Cowen, was also exceptional and had to be given the quality of many other entries.
“The Cricket Writers’ Club’s continued support for ECB’s initiative in running these awards now includes offering prize monies in the Regional Newspaper of the Year category, precisely because the club wants to do what it can to support hard-pressed cricket writers in the regional press and also to underline its belief in the value to the game of coverage of county cricket in this area.
“Many congratulations to the Sunday Independent for its superb, in-depth coverage of Somerset, Gloucestershire, Minor County and club cricket in its South-West region. The Manchester Evening News and the Nottingham Post also fully deserve their commendations in this category and the monetary awards they will all receive are designed to supplement coverage of the county game by their staff writers or regular freelance contributors. I look forward to seeing an even larger and stronger entry for this category in 2017, when CWC will again be offering the same monetary prizes.”
“It is in the interests of everyone who follows and cherishes county cricket that standards in media coverage across all platforms should be as high as possible, as a reflection of the strong and passionate following for our domestic game, and I would like to congratulate too the winners of the other three categories in this year’s awards.”
ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: “These awards recognise and reward the vital role cricket writers and broadcasters play in driving interest in all our domestic competitions. My congratulations to the winners and our sincere thanks to all the individuals and media organisations who provided such comprehensive and insightful coverage across a truly memorable county season.”
The full list of winners:
Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Journalist of the Year: Will Macpherson
Christopher Martin-Jenkins County Broadcaster of the Year: Dave Fletcher
County Cricket Newspaper of the Year: The Cricket Paper Commended: The Times
Online Publication of the Year: ESPN Cricinfo.
Regional Newspaper of the Year: The Sunday Independent Commended: The Manchester Evening News, The Nottingham Post.