North West stars up for Cricket Ireland Awards
Cricket Ireland will host its annual pize-giving ceremony tonight and although the presentation itself will look a lot different than normal, the North West Cricket Union will have its fair share of contenders.
The event, presented by Marie Crowe, John Kenny and Kyle McCallan will be streamed online on the Cricket Ireland Youtube channel starting at 8pm, with a total of 14 award categories handed out over the course of the evening.
William Porterfield is one of five players nominated for the International Men’s Player of the Decade with the Warriors’ batsman facing exceptionally stiff competition from Paul Stirling, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien and Ed Joyce.
Bready CC are one of four nominees for the Spirit of Cricket award after their magnificent effort providing meals to the elderly and vulnerable in and around Magheramason during the various lockdowns. The club won many admirers both inside and outside the sporting arena and would be a popular choice to lift the award.
On the individual front, Newbuildings CC have been nominated for the Club of the Year award. Raymond Mitchell and his team have made giant strides both on and off the pitch in the past 12 months. Their ‘field of dreams’ at Foyle View Arena has really taken shape this year and they have put a structure in place that looks set to serve them well for many years ahead.
Skipper, Gareth McKeegan has also been nominated for the Men’s Club Player of the Year and he has been such an influence for them since moving from Brigade. This is another hotly contested category but the keeper/batsman is fully deserving of his nomination.
The same comments apply to Bready’s Alana Dalzell who has been listed among the Women’s Club Player of the Year nominees. Alana and Zara Craig at Eglinton have really flown the flag for the women’s game here of late, and indeed have played their part in their club squads in general. Alana made her debut for Bready’s senior side in August past and bowled superbly in a win against Strabane. She took the step up to men’s senior cricket absolutely in her stride and both her and Zara have been included in Ed Joyce’s National Women’s training squads.
There will no doubt be other North West contenders in the open categories during the evening and everyone involved in North West cricket will have fingers and toes crossed for all our nominees.
We will of course bring a round-up of the night in the coming days. You can watch online via YouTube from 8pm tonight: https://www.youtube.com/cricketirelandlive
