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Driver roars in on a Grand night for cricket
Ron Felton, Jersey Evening Post
FORMER county cricketer Ryan Driver is Jersey's Player of the Year after his superb efforts with bat and ball for Romeril's and the Island over the past few months.
The former Lancashire player was presented with the trophy by former England Test bowler Angus Fraser, the guest speaker at the Grand Hotel last night. Driver amassed 589 runs in the NatWest Weekend League at an average of 84.14 and claimed 24 wickets at an average of 12.54 runs each. He was also, of course, a member of the successful senior Inter-Insular team.
The NatWest Cricket Dinner evening was a celebration of a brilliant season for Jersey cricket at so many levels, during which they firmly established themselves as excellent hosts and competitors on the European scene to go along with their associate membership of the ICC. And the evening could hardly have had a better start when Jerry Whitsey, of long-standing sponsors NatWest, announced a further two-year deal worth £50,000 for Jersey cricket.
And another big success story - junior cricket in general - was again highlighted when Rathbone's Old Victorians Edward Farley (19), a regular in their Premiership line-up, won the Jersey Evening Post Young Cricketer of the Year award after scoring centuries for Jersey's successful U19s and U23s.
The Durham University student 's clubmate and fellow teenager Mark Chipperfield was also in contention, as was Romeril's 2nds' Paul Connolly and Springfield 2nds' Nishant Sharma.
Highlands student Connolly did pick up a trophy, however, lifting the Weekend League Division I Young Cricketer of the Year, ahead of Sharma.
Connolly (16), who made nine appearances for Romerils seniors in their championship season, scored 148 runs from eight innings (average of 18.86) as well as taking 15 wickets at a cost of 15.26 each. He also turned out for Sloggers in the Evening League, scoring 245 runs.
Those in the running for the night's top award, won by Driver, included Springfield bowler Simon Parker (22 Weekend wickets); Ward Jenner of Rathbones Old Victorians, who scored 475 runs in the Weekend at an average of 59.38 as well as taking a dozen wickets; Serial winner Matt Hague of Fairbairn Sporting Club, the Island captain, has scored 553 runs at the Weekend including one century against St Ouen for an average of 55.30 he also took 14 wickets at an average of 18.50; Another Island player, Chris Jones of OVs, hit 546 runs in the Premier Division for an average of 60.67, including a ton against Mavericks, as well as taking 17 wickets at an average of 22.18.
JEP columnist Mark Saralis also won an award, for services to cricket, from the Island's umpires and scorers, while the President's award went to Nikki Holmes for her excellent Jersey Cricket Board newsletter as well as her assistance in organising ECC events.
Jerry Whitsey of NatWest presented the various team trophies won during this memorable season which, unusually still has life in it, with the Senior Cup Final between Romerils and Sporting Club being played at Grainville today and a Twenty/20 inter-insular in Guernsey next weekend.
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