LAUNCESTON Cricket Club held their annual presentation evening at the Eagle House Hotel on Saturday, September 23.

In recent years, the club had held their awards ceremony in the club pavilion, but this year nearly 70 people made their way to the Eagle House to celebrate an excellent season.

Once the hot and cold buffet had been served, Phil Spry gave his chairman’s speech before each captain presented the trophies to their team. The evening was rounded off with a poem, which was written by Lisa Broad and read out by Bill Perry, to celebrate the first team’s all-conquering campaign.

The first team won promotion back to County Division One by winning Division Two East before beating Beacon in the Division Two County Final at Bude.

The second team finished third in Division Four East while the third team, who had had to reply to the league for re-election for the previous four years, surpassed expectations to sit fifth in Division Five Tamar.

Robert Mutch’s first team just edged out St Erme to the title despite losing one more game than their mid-Cornwall rivals, but there were a number of excellent performances throughout the season, led by the pace trio of Mutch, Sam Pengelly and Peter West, who were the three highest wicket takers in the division.

Mutch’s 52 wickets were brilliantly supported by Pengelly and West with 33 and 31 respectively, while Pengelly’s 633 runs proved significant.

In the batting, wicket-keeper Dan Tilley’s switch to an opener proved inspired, as he racked up 580 runs with Kevin Worth (510) and Michael Bolt (462) also providing excellent support. Worth was also the beneficiary of the Player of the Year award due to his game-changing innings and sublime fielding in the slips, which saw him snaffle 14 catches.

Despite using a ridiculous number of players as usual, the seconds finished a comfortable third in Division Four East.

The hard-hitting Darren Jenkin won the Batsman of the Year award despite starting the season in the firsts, with 265 runs at an average of just over 33, while skipper Matthew Bloomfield was the clear winner in the bowling department, picking up 33 wickets. Player of the Year, David Cox, was second with 22 victims to go alongside his 110 runs from the lower order.

The thirds, ably led by Paul Bunn, enjoyed an excellent season to finish fifth in the ten-team Division Five Tamar.

Andrew Baker (227) was the leading run scorer while Paddy Webber, in his first season at the club, won the Bowler of the Year award thanks to his 21 wickets.

The Player of the Year award went to 14-year-old left-arm spinner Ethan Green, who played a number of games for both the second and third team.

After a couple of years near the bottom of the Cornwall Women’s League, the ladies finished fourth in the six-team division.

New signing Charlotte Phillips was the star of the show, scoring 313 runs at an average of 104.33, the highest in the county, while another new face, Madi Bond, weighed in with 186 runs at nearly 30 apiece.

The Bowler of the Year went to Emily Geach for her eight wickets an average of just 7.50.

Bond and Emma Barnes were the joint winners of Paul Bunn’s Coach’s Player of the Year trophy.

The main club awards went to Abigail Matthews, who earned Phil Spry’s Chairman’s Award, while Kevin Worth was named as Clubman of the Year.