Patel Wins Top Award at 2021 Annual Dinner

Sharad Patel has taken out NSWCUSA’s highest honour – the George Borwick Memorial Award – for the second time at the Association’s Annual Dinner and Awards Night in Bankstown on Saturday night.

With just 0.33 separating the top six, the award highlights an outstanding season for Patel, which saw him umpire in the WBBL and WNCL as well as a Second XI fixture and the NSW Premier Cricket Second Grade Final.

Alongside excellence on field, the award recognises his commitment to the Association by way of meeting attendance and availability to officiate.

Patel first won the award in 2017-18, the season in which he made his First Grade debut.

Over 170 members and guests attended the evening at Bankstown Sports Club which celebrated the 2020-21 summer and the achievements of members across the state and around the country.

Far North Coast Cricket Umpires’ and Scorers’ Association member Pat Holt was awarded the E. F. Wykes OAM Association Medal for excellence and commitment to an affiliated association.

Holt performed strongly across the season which saw him on-field for the NSW Women’s Regional Bash Final at North Sydney Oval as well as the Bradman Cup carnival in Tamworth.

He also oversaw matches in all rounds of local competitions – the LJ Hooker League, the Coastal League and the Northern Rivers Cricket League.

The Malcolm Gorham Scorers’ Award was presented to joint-winners for the first time with Sydney University CC’s John Kilford and UNSW CC’s Janelle Carew unable to be separated, recognising significant contribution they make to their club as scorers.

Graeme Glazebrook received the Kevin Pye Medal for Country Umpire of the Year for a record-breaking sixth occasion in a season where he again umpired the Finals of the Plan B Regional Bash and the Country Championships.

The best umpire from each of the Men’s Premier Cricket Umpire Panels were also recognised and celebrated on the night.

Darren Goodger received the Panel One Award for the eleventh time and sixth in a row, completing a second consecutive season with a match average of five out of five from captains.

David Abbey won the Panel Two Award, with an average of 4.72 across a season in which he debuted in First Grade.

The Panel Three Award was presented to Allan Owens, who debuted in and umpired five matches in Second Grade, finishing the season with an average of 4.76.

Nathan Harvey marked his second season of umpiring with a Third Grade debut and the Panel Four Award, averaging 4.5 across 12 matches during 2020-21.

Special presentations were made to former representative scorers Christine Bennison and Kay Wilcoxon, Life Member Graham Reed and former Cricket NSW General Manager, Cricket Performance David Moore to commemorate their work for and support of the Association over a prolonged period.

Sarah Berman (Men’s List A and Men’s First-class), Troy Penman (Men’s List A), Adrian Tham (Men’s International T20), Ben Treloar (Men’s First-class) and Ian Wright (Men’s Test) were all recognised for making significant debuts across the season.

Christian Rayner was awarded the Alan Marshall Medal for Rookie of the Year in his first-season umpiring Men’s Premier Cricket, officiating 11 matches across Fourth and Fifth Grade, averaging 3.99.

Photo: Award-winners from the night (L-R) Graeme Glazebrook, Sharad Patel, Allan Owens, Janelle Carew, Pat Holt, Darren Goodger, Christian Rayner and Nathan Harvey (not pictured David Abbey and John Kilford) // Steven Smith

16 umpires and scorers in attendance were recognised for achieving significant milestones, including Arthur Watson and Kim Norris who umpired their 800th and 700th matches during the summer.

22 members were presented with Years of Service badges, including Terry New and Ian Thomas who this year brought up 40 years as members.

Certificates were also presented to 40 members in attendance recognising matches officiated at a representative level as both umpires and scorers.

Top Photo: Sharad Patel receives the 2020-21 George Borwick Memorial Award from last year’s winner Ben Treloar // Steven Smith

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