Photo Credit: England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the 2020 Domestic Cricket Journalism Award winners with The Cricketer securing two honours.
The Cricketer won the Outstanding Online Coverage of Domestic Cricket award for a third successive year while its journalist Nick Friend was judged the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Journalist of the Year.
Wisden’s Taha Hashim and ESPN Cricinfo’s Matt Roller were highly commended in the Young Journalist of the Year award.
The Christopher Martin-Jenkins Domestic Cricket Broadcaster of the Year was won by Adam Collins whose perceptive commentary helped bring to life the domestic summer for thousands of fans via the popular live streaming services, including the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord’s.
Two regional titles also claimed honours for their work to illustrate stories from across all levels of the game as the pandemic struck.
The Liverpool Echo won the Regional Newspaper of the Year while the Gloucestershire Echo and the Gloucester Citizen claimed the highly coveted Outstanding Newspaper Coverage of Domestic Cricket award.
The Yorkshire Post, which was previously the only regional newspaper to have won the Outstanding Newspaper Coverage award, was commended in the Regional Newspaper of the Year award.
This year was the 10th edition of the ECB’s Domestic Cricket Journalism Awards which are presented in association with the Cricket Writers’ Club (CWC).
The CWC assembled a high-profile 11-person panel from its membership to judge this year’s awards, including Mark Baldwin, Harsha Bhogle, Lawrence Booth, Vithushan Ehantharajah, Melinda Farrell, David Hopps, Emma John, Diana Keen, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, Ali Martin and Mike Selvey.
ECB Managing Director, County Cricket Neil Snowball said: “This year’s awards have highlighted the high quality of domestic cricket journalism.
“Despite the many challenges that we faced last summer the commitment to tell the stories that really mattered, even when cricket was not being played, was extraordinary. The wide-ranging coverage showcased everything from the performances of our professional counties through to the considerable community initiatives of our network of clubs throughout the pandemic.”
CWC chair Alison Mitchell said: “In unprecedented times the entries demonstrated the value of the written word in connecting with supporters, as regional newspapers, online outlets and magazines showed tremendous ingenuity in the absence of any actual cricket. When cricket did get underway, many made imaginative use of material provided by the ECB Reporters’ Network, to augment some outstanding original journalism.
“Meanwhile, the expansion of commentary opportunities across TV, live streaming and radio continues to allow talent to shine as shown by a high quality of broadcast entries. Congratulations to all winners.”
Photo credit: LinkedIn profile photo of Alison Mitchell
The full list of winners:
Christopher Martin-Jenkins Domestic Cricket Broadcaster of the Year:Adam Collins; Commended:Dave Fletcher, Richard Rae
Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Journalist of the Year: Nick Friend; Commended: Taha Hashim, Matt Roller.
Outstanding Online Coverage of Domestic Cricket:The Cricketer;Commended: BBC Sport
Outstanding Newspaper Coverage of Domestic Cricket: Gloucestershire Echo and Gloucester Citizen.
Regional Newspaper of the Year: Liverpool Echo;Commended: Yorkshire Post, Stoke Sentinel, Gloucestershire Echo and Gloucester Citizen.
