WOODLANDS captain Brad Schmulian, currently playing for Central Districts in New Zealand, has retained two of the Bradford Premier League’s top awards.
For the second successive year he was named as the players’ player of the year and the Sir Learie Constantine Premier all-rounder.
Schmulian also topped the Premier Division bowling averages with 54 wickets at an average of 12.98.
Even more impressive was New Farnley’s Cameron Fletcher, who won the Premier Division batting prize with an outstanding average of 111.29 for his 779 runs. He also hit the most sixes (42).
Adam Ahmed (New Farnley) got the top individual score in a first XI match with 221, receiving the award in person at the league dinner at Headingley, while Farsley’s Ben Wright and Ryan Cooper had the highest opening stand (218).
Cleckheaton’s Waleed Akhtar got the most first XI runs with 1,130, with Woodlands’ Muhammad Bilal getting the fastest 50, off just 16 balls.
Undercliffe’s Zeeshan Qasim, who helped Undercliffe to promotion from Division One, won the Jack Hill All-Rounder Trophy, while Reece Cockshott, part of the Bradford & Bingley team that defeated Woodlands in the Priestley Cup final, was named the Ernest Lodge Young Spinner of the Year.
Qasim’s team-mate Kyle Welsh took the David Bairstow Golden Glove Young Wicketkeeper award, taking 27 victims (22 caught, five stumped), while New Farnley opening batter Aidan Langley was named the Gordon Bowers Young Cricketer of the Year in a season where he scored over 800 runs
The Tom Mathers Trophy for ground of the year went to Windhill & Daisy Hill, while Wakefield St Michael’s were awarded the Albert Smith Spirit of Cricket trophy.
The league’s Unsung Hero award went to Brian Calverley, who has been at Hunslet Nelson for 50 years – 42 as groundsman, 41 as a junior coach and 39 as club secretary.
He has coached his club’s under-18s for 21 years, the under-9s for 17 years and the under-11s for 16 years.
On top of that, he has been a member of the Heavy Woollen Junior League committee for 35 years, coached the Lord Taverners side for 25 years and the Joe Lumb side for 17 seasons.
As if that isn’t enough, he organised the Heavy Woollen Under-14 tour to Gloucester for 24 years and has served as a league umpire.
A special award was made to Townville all-rounder Conor Harvey, who hit six sixes in an over against Hanging Heaton in September.
Jer Lane’s Sam Johnson was the leading Premier Division keeper with 35 victims (29 caught, six stumped), while Cleckheaton’s Yousaf Baber topped the Division One batting averages with 72.29 for his 1,012 runs.
Crossflatts’ Tinashe Gomwe led the Division Two batters with an average of 64.56 for his 581 runs, while the leading bowler was Heckmondwike& Carlinghow’s Surender Singh with an average of 10.85 for his 62 wickets.
Among the second XIs, Woodlands’ Liam Collins led the way in the Premier Division batting with an average of 57.63, while Pudsey St Lawrence’s Adam Frost was the leading bowler with 58 wickets at an average of 10.28.
Team-mate Jacob McDonald was the leading keeper with 33 victims, all caught.
The Division One keeping award was shared between Adam Ives (Gomersal) and George Barker (Baildon), who both had 20 victims, while in Division Two Birstall’s Aamir Malik was the top batter with an average of 42.86 while Hartshead Moor’s Robert Swift was the leading bowler with 36 wickets at 8.39.
Dan Trowers, of Crossflatts, won the Division Three batting prize with an average of 69.88 for his 559 runs.
Guest speaker was former England batsman and selector Graham Gooch.
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