Association of Cricket Officials Issue 27 | Page 13

Shepherd-Frindall Awards The winners of the Shepherd-Frindall awards are determined by the ECB ACO Board following review of the nominations in each category. This year the nominations were particularly strong and the following four were chosen as the 2016 winners. John Harper – League Panels and Associations Terry Bentham – Lifetime Achiever John qualified as an umpire in 1992 and has been an active member of ECB ACO and its predecessor Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (ACU&S) ever since. In that time, John has stood in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Cricket League, Gloucestershire County League, West of England Premier League (WEPL) and County Second XI matches. Despite not having much of a playing career, Terry has been a committed servant to cricket officiating for over 40 years. In 1994, John was elected Treasurer of the Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (GACUS), a post he occupied for 18 years. He has also represented GACUS on the Gloucestershire Cricket Board. In 2009, John represented GACUS on the steering group formed to establish an independent WEPL umpires’ panel, a post he still holds. Further to this, John was instrumental in the creation of the Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials (GACO) and has been Secretary since its inception. Aside from his cricket commitments, John has devoted a lot of time working with the Prince’s Trust helping young disadvantaged people move into employment. 2016 may well be John’s last year as Secretary of GACO. This award is deserved recognition of all that John has done for cricket in Gloucestershire. Jonathon Glynn – Behind the Scenes Jonathon has held a number of administrative posts in cricket throughout his umpiring career. He is currently County Secretary of Essex as well as the Regional Secretary for London and East. In both these roles, Jonathon works tirelessly with little recognition, but without his hard work and dedication the county and region would be in a much poorer state. As well as undertaking the administrative duties at county and regional level, Jonathon is also heavily involved acting as Treasurer with his local association Metropolitan Essex, as well as organising Level 1 and 1A courses during the winter. Jonathon is a Level 3 umpire and has stood in both Minor Counties and County Second XI. This award is recognition of all the hard work Jonathon puts in to ensure cricket officiating runs successfully in Essex and the London and East Region. He is a more than worthy recipient. Jonathan Crabtree – Young Official Jonathan has been umpiring for six years and, in that time, has proven himself to be a committed, enthusiastic and talented Young Official. Jonathan has been heavily involved with ECB ACO’s Young Officials scheme, often giving up his holidays to help out at festivals and mentor fellow young umpires. Having now umpired well over 200 matches, Jonathan has shown a drive to continuously improve and his performances have mirrored this enthusiasm. As part of this development he has funded pre-season trips to Dubai for the last two years. Jonathan’s attitude on and off the field make him a valuable asset, not only to Yorkshire ACO, but ECB ACO as a whole. The Young Officials award is great recognition of Jonathan’s passion for umpiring and his desire to give others the opportunities that he has been afforded. Terry began umpiring in the 1970s, joining the then ACU&S in 1977. In his lengthy career he has been on the Minor Counties List, the ECB 38 County Competition Panel, umpired in three Yorkshire Area Village KO finals, the latter stages of the National Club KO Competition, the National University Final, two Yorkshire Senior League KO Finals and two Yorkshire Cricket Finals. However, the area that Terry really excelled in is the administration of the game. In 1995 he was instrumental in the formation of the South Yorkshire Senior Cricket League (SYSCL) Umpires’ Association and has held either Secretary or Treasurer roles since. Using his position, he then persuaded the management committee of the SYSCL, despite their initial reluctance, to require that all umpires be ACU&S members, and more importantly have a formal umpiring qualification. The SYSCL were the first league to enforce this and have now been followed by a number of other leagues nationwide. In 2010, Terry took on the chairmanship of the South Yorkshire ACO branch, becoming more in