On the Red Carpet Tonight
Lights! Cameras! Action!
Welcome to the 2017 Riddlesden Cricket Club Awards. Here, cheered on by the rich and famous, we will be handing out those special awards for excellence - or at least for having risen above mediocrity - that mean so much to every cricketer throughout the land (*note, no actual awards are available as we're a Yorkshire club so are tight with our money - the accolade should be enough, right?).
Some would say that names such as Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Shahid Afridi epitomise cricketing greatness. But we say 'why look so far afield when we have our own superstars here in Riddlesden?'.
So without further ado, let's get the show underway!
New Player of the Year First up we have an award for the newcomers. We were lucky enough to have three debutants this season, all of whom contributed throughout the season.
1. Rahim Hussain - what a livewire we have here. Keen as mustard, loves playing the game, watching the game, discussing the game, chasing up reports of the game. Rahim started out shakily but has improved enormously over the course of the season, growing in confidence and slotting into the team really well. 2. Matthew Paton - initially seemed quite shy and reserved, but warmed to the place after a few games. Can struggle early in an innings, but once he's set Matty has a nice batting style and looks at ease. Fits in well at the bar too. 3. Ibrar Ali - became a regular choice with his strong batting ability and calm head. A clever player who understands the game and the need for team cohesion. Ibrar was missed towards the end of the season whilst unavailable.
Three very worthy contenders here, but there has to be a winner - and that person is...... Ibrar Ali. Congratulations Ibrar on an excellent first season. Here's hoping you take this on to next year.
The next three awards are given on the basis of certain statistics only. The winners may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing to watch, or other statistics may not have resulted in the same selection, but as I make up the rules, this is what we get!
Batter of the year Purely and simply, who scored the most runs. Irrespective of how many times they batted, their average, style, grace or bribes. It's the runs that count.
However, the winner in this category also stood out as always looking stylish with bat in hand, comfortable against all bowlers, and always seemed to have plenty of time when playing his shots. If anything, its disappointing he didn't score more this season than he achieved as he clearly has the talent to do so.
With an impressive 528 runs for the season (putting him in 23rd place for the entire league) and our only century in the last two years the winner is... Akeel Rashid.
Simply excellent performance Akeel, well played.
Runners up were Dale Pinkerton with an almost equally impressive 434 from fewer innings, and Mohammad Qadeer with 306 runs to his name.
Bowler of the year With more stats to choose from, bowling is a bit of a nightmare to call.
I've chosen the simplest rule - most wickets. 26 wickets were enough to be the leading wicket taker this year. And the winner of this category is the ever dependable, opposition surprising, laid back bearded maestro - Mohammad Qadeer.
Qaddy has a simple and effective approach to the game - turn up, hit a few balls around, bowl a few overs, smile at everyone, then go home until next week. Somehow it works. Who knows were he fits training in?
On most other bowling measures, Mohammad Shahnawaz leads the way and he managed an impressive 23 wickets in just 7 matches. Injury robbed him of several appearances this season sadly, but his bowling is both fast and accurate and we wish him well in his recovery from knee surgery. Third on the list, and improving every year, we have Danny Kernan with 21 wickets - equal with last year but at an improved economy and strike rate.
Fielder of the year A difficult section this year as unfortunately this area of the game was a disaster for much of the season.
Two players stood out in the darkness though; wicket keeper and captain Jamie Fullwood, and the superfast billy-whiz Zain Naeem. Jamie took 10 catches, including a stunner at Cononley, and one stumping. Zain took 10 catches and claimed a runout in the field - Zain also didn't drop a single catch in a season of fluffed chances.
With the stats showing a tie, I've had to make the decision myself, and I award the winning position to .... Zain Naeem.
His 100% success rate just tips it in his favour - if you saw the ball heading his way, you felt assured that he would take it cleanly. Confidence is key, and Zain has that in abundance.
With the chairman having not yet selected his Chairman's Award (which is an open category and may not necessarily go to a player anyway), we finish now with the Player's Player of the year, as voted for by the teammates who supported, cajoled, bickered with, laughed at, laughed with, and generally enjoyed playing with, one another throughout the year. I've collated all the votes made, chased up a few players, accepted a couple of abstentions and have the final positions.
Player's Player of the year
In third place we have .... Mohammad Qadeer - always popular, and good with both bat and ball In second place it is ... Jamie Fullwood - many felt you did a marvellous job captaining in often trying circumstances through a tumultuous, difficult season And in first place, a very deserving winner .... Akeel Rashid! A century, three fifties, 500+ runs - Akeel said at the start of the season he wanted to concentrate on his batting and it has paid dividends. Well done Akeel - your colleagues appreciate your efforts.
So that's it for another year. There's a new page on the website where these awards will be proudly displayed. Far better than a manky old trophy picking up dust - you can show your friends to this so they know how good you are!