Annual Volunteers Day celebrates grassroots cricket in Kent
Monday 28th September 2026
The Kent Cricket Foundation’s annual Volunteers’ Day took place on Friday 25 September at The St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury bringing together volunteers in recreational cricket from across Kent and celebrating winners of the Volunteer & Coach Awards 2026.
Guests from local clubs and organisations across the county enjoyed a day of Matchday Hospitality on Day Two of the Rothesay County Championship match between Kent and Gloucestershire.
In an Awards Ceremony during the Lunch interval, hosted by former Kent Captain Dave Fulton, winners of this year’s Volunteer Awards were presented with certificates by Kent cricketers Joe Denly & Grant Stewart.
The multiple Volunteer Awards categories included the new League Legend, Volunteering Newcomer of the Year, and the Official of the Year Awards. Returning categories included the Connecting Communities Award, Metro Bank Champion of Girls Cricket, Grounds Person of the Year and Rising Star Award among a number of others. Coach Awards were presented for Coach of the Year and Outstanding Services to Coaching.
This year saw the renamed Alan Albury Lifetime Achiever Award, in recognition of an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the life of their club over many years, presented to Rob Ovenden from Horton Kirby CC.
In recognition of his services to Kent Cricket as Honorary Curator from 1999 to 2019, and as Honorary Secretary to the Kent Cricket Heritage Trust from 2013 to 2022, David Robertson was presented with the inaugural Kent Cricket Heritage Trust Volunteer Award.
Managing Director of the Kent Cricket Foundation, James Reid, said: “One of the greatest strengths of cricket in Kent is the people who give up their time to support it. Whether coaching, scoring, organising fixtures, maintaining facilities or helping behind the scenes, volunteers make an invaluable difference to our game every day.
“Volunteers Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate those efforts, recognise our award winners and say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributes to cricket across the county. It was wonderful to spend time with so many deserving individuals and celebrate everything they have achieved.”
The programme of the day with a full list of all our award winners along with their citations can be downloaded below.
Congratulations to all the deserving winners, and thank you to all those who joined us on the day.
