Journalists recognised at Business of Cricket Awards

The best in county cricket coverage was recognised at the fifth County Cricket Journalism Awards on Thursday night.

Five awards were presented at tonight’s Business of Cricket Awards (the BOCAs) in London, an annual event attended by representatives of all 18 First Class Counties and the MCC and presented by the BBC's Mark Chapman.

The Times reclaims the award as National Newspaper of the Year for the first time since 2011 and last year's winner The Cricket Paper was commended in the same category.

ESPN Cricinfo is recognised as the outstanding Online Publication for the third consecutive year (editor David Hopps and writer Tim Wigmore pictured centre left and right above with ECB chairman Colin Graves, right)

The Journal and the Sunday Sun, based in Newcastle, shared theRegional Newspaper of the Year Awardfor their coverage of Durham and county cricket.

Also commended were The South London Press for Marcus Hook's weekly coverage of Surrey, and The Sentinel, for its comprehensive coverage of Minor Counties and league cricket in Staffordshire.

Clive Eakin, who covers Warwickshire for BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire, wins the County Broadcaster of the Year Award, one of two awards named after Christopher Martin-Jenkins, the former BBC Test Match Special commentator and cricket correspondent of The Times and the Daily Telegraph, who passed away in 2013.

The Christopher Martin-Jenkins Award for Young Journalist of theYear, is awarded to Tim Wigmore, a freelance who covers county cricket for ESPN Cricinfo and the Daily Telegraph. Both Wigmore and Eakin receive a £5,000 prize, supported by The Times and the ECB respectively.

Mark Baldwin, the chairman of the Cricket Writers Club, a member of the five-strong judging panel, said: “The awards were started in 2011 to celebrate and encourage outstanding coverage of county cricket, so it was heartening for all of us to reflect on the quality of the competition this year.

“In the Young Journalist of the Year category in particular, the standard was as high as it has ever been. Tim Wigmore is a worthy winner, having been commended last year, for writing with intelligence and authority across a range of subjects for different publications. He had to be, given the competition from several other entrants, all of whom relished the range of opportunities available to young writers across various platforms.

“They include ESPN Cricinfo, whose all-round coverage of the county game remains excellent, and also The Cricket Paper, whose continued commitment to county cricket was noted and praised by the panel. But we felt that The Times should be recognised both for continuing to invest in eye-witness coverage of county cricket, and for providing regular space for the county game."

ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: “At the end of a season which saw record attendances for domestic and international cricket, it’s important that we recognise the role played by a wide range of media in promoting county cricket to a wider audience.

“These awards have once again attracted a high number of entries and demonstrated that our county game continues to attract significant interest from print, online and broadcast media nationwide. We send our congratulations to all the winners and would like to thank everyone who entered the awards and everyone who helps to support the County game. “

Kent Cricket would like to thank all media outlets and journalists for their committed coverage of county cricket in 2015.