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