The England and Wales Cricket Board, alongside the wider cricket community, are recognising a record-breaking 20,000 volunteers this year to celebrate the people that have made cricket happen.

In total, over 42,000 volunteers countrywide have helped their local clubs and communities to play more cricket and get more people involved in the game than ever before. 

Locally, Nottinghamshire celebrated the contributions of the 75 hardworking volunteers nominated for awards; a reflection of how much effort and sacrifice has gone into the local game over the course of a testing year. 

The winners were treated to hospitality suites at Trent Bridge for the recent Vitality Blast quarter-final against Hampshire Hawks. 

Full list of winners: 

  • Nisha Parekh (Ellerslie CC)  – ‘Connecting Communities’ 

  • Harpreet Kalsi-Virdi (Scotholme Primary School)– ‘Inspired to Play’ 

  • Jude Kirkland-Smith  (Thrumpton CC) ‘Rising Star’ 

  • Jon Garnham (Edwinstowe CC)  – ‘Unsung Hero’ 

  • Neil Fenwick (Bassetlaw & District Cricket League) – ‘Growing the Game’ 

  • Chris Miller (Southwell CC) – ‘Lifetime Achiever’ 

  • David Coote (Collingham CC) – ‘Cricket Innovators’ 

  • Jack Pierce  (Radcliffe-on-Trent CC) – ‘Game Changer’ 

This summer has seen records breaking across the game, particularly in recreational cricket, with over 100,000 kids playing in All Stars and Dynamos, including Sky Sports’ Dynamos Cricket Intros. There’s also been strong growth in adult recreational cricket after 10,000 more fixtures were played this season in comparison to 2019 World Cup summer. 

Opportunities in women’s cricket have gone from strength to strength with 41 professional domestic contracts given at the beginning of the year, The Hundred showcasing record attendances for women’s games and 738 additional events throughout Women’s Big Cricket Month. 

ECB Director of Participation and Growth, Nick Pryde, said: “We want all our volunteers to know just how much we appreciate them and the time they put into making the cricket community such a positive place. It’s wonderful to be able to recognise and thank so many of them in such a meaningful way. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners of the Grassroots Cricket Awards and those being recognised for their efforts, we couldn’t do it without you.”   

For more information on how you can volunteer to get involved with cricket, visit ECB.co.uk/volunteering.