• Brendon’s Big Bash

    Posted on July 3rd, 2015

    New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has bashed his way to the top of the hit parade for this year’s Walter Lawrence Trophy with a sensational 42-ball hundred for Warwickshire against Derbyshire, in the NatWest t20 Blast match at Edgbaston on July 3.

    Opening the innings, McCullum carried his bat to finish unbeaten on 158, scored off 64 balls, which included 13 fours and 11 sixes, setting up a 60-run victory in the North Group game. His century included 8 fours and 8 sixes.

    On his home debut for the Birmingham Bears, the 33-year-old Black Caps’ veteran hit the first t20 hundred by a Warwickshire player, the highest t20 score in England and equalled his 158 for Kolkata Knight Riders, the second highest t20 score in the world. Chris Gayle, the previous Walter Lawrence Trophy leader, holds the world t20 record score of 175.

    Now in its 81st year, the Walter Lawrence Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, is open to all domestic county competitions as well as One-Day Internationals, T20 Internationals and Test Matches in England.

    Warwickshire v Derbyshire scorecard
    Brendon McCullum’s career statistics

    VIDEO:Warwickshire v Derbyshire, NatWest T20 Blast, 3July15





    Tiger Lilly Earns Her Stripes

    Lilly Reynolds of Essex Women has swept into the lead for this year’s Walter Lawrence Women’s Award with a thundering innings of 170 scored off 154 balls.

    The 20-year-old, right-handed opening bat, hit no fewer than 27 fours in her innings, paving the way for a 68-run victory against Worcestershire Women in the Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup, Division 2 match at Garon Park, Southend-on-Sea on July 19.

    Born in Bury St Edmunds, Lilly also bowls left-arm fast-medium pace and has previously represented Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Women (2010-12).


    Lloyd’s Banker

    Lloyd Sabin of Oxford MCCU is this year’s winner of the MCC Universities Award with a highly impressive innings of 216. The 21-year-old from Banbury, Oxfordshire, hit 23 fours and 7 sixes in his knock made from 258 balls, against Cambridge MCCU at Fenner’s on May 12.

    Sabin, who started playing for Banbury CC at the age of 6, became a member of the Middlesex Academy before going to Oxford Brookes University from where he has just graduated with a degree in sports coaching and physical education. He has also played for Oxfordshire Minor Counties (2010-14) and Middlesex 2nd XI.

    Sabin, who is the second Oxford winner since the award’s inception in 2006, will receive a special silver medallion and prize of £500 at the Walter Lawrence Trophy Presentation Dinner in The Long Room at Lord’s on November 3.


    The quartet of Walter Lawrence Trophy awards, supported by Veuve Clicquot, encompass four distinct areas of the game: the Walter Lawrence Trophy, for the fastest century of the season; the MCC Universities award for the highest score by a batsman from the six MCC Universities against the first-class counties or in the MCCU Championship; The Walter Lawrence Women’s Award for the batsman who makes the highest individual score in a season from the ECB Women’s County Championship, the ECB Women’s County T20 Cup and all England Women’s matches played on home soil, and, finally, the Walter Lawrence Schools Award for the highest score by a school batsman against MCC.