2009 Chairman's Award

The Chairman's Award is special. While the cricketing awards are always hotly contested, The Chairman's (aka Wick Man of the Year) Award is given for outstanding contribution to the club in other ways.

Previous winners on the trophy read like a who's who of quiet, behind the scenes all round Wickness. The last two, Fudgey and Lownsy, picked up the coveted trophy for astounding donation of personal time to the cause - Fudgey for dragging the twos up into the top division while organising club day, tours, socials and working with the Colts, Lownsy for running the social side of the club and bringing the Dinner back to the club and into profit after years of slumming it in various souless hotels and conference venues.

This year there were any number of nominees. So many people have contributed to the running of the club this year that Wick Man will struggle to remember the Chairman's nominations - apologies if he has missed you out - Kirky for continuing to run the website; Charlie, Sam, Tim Rolls and the Colts Coaches for their work on Clubmark; Fudgey for Club Day; Steve Vaid for fundraising; Lownsy for the Club Dinner etc etc.

This year the winner was someone who could eclipse even them. Starting the year as Sunday Skipper, Greg "Leggsy" Unsworth finished it as a contributing member of the 2xi and took over the running of the bar and socials from Keith. That in the interim he also fought through the sort of adversity that would have sent many of us into a tailspin with dignity while continuing to support the club from the balcony and getting into the running of the club behind the scenes so quickly was, frankly, motivating, inspiring and humbling all at the same time.

Leggsy is too modest to realise, but his stoicism, good grace and courage has set a high bar for us all and should inspire us to greater things. That's the thing about Wick Man of the Year. It kind of does that...