Ackermann and Raine scoop hat-trick

Leicestershire CCC duo Colin Ackermann and Ben Raine rounded off superb campaigns by winning three awards apiece at the club’s annual End of Season Dinner on Friday evening.

Ackermann, who led the T20 team and was also captain for the final two Specsavers County Championship games of the season, won the Livingston Cup for Batting in the First XI, County Championship Player of the Year and the Roger Goadby Fielding Award.

He posted the club’s two Specsavers County Championship hundreds in style - 184 against Sussex CCC and 196* versus Middlesex CCC - and overall amassed 876 runs in the competition at 39.81 as well as making handy contributions with the bat and in the field.

Ackermann said: "I think it was a good season for me personally, I enjoyed captaining the side and learnt a lot as I went along. Winning five [Specsavers County Championship] games is a step in the right direction and something that we can build on next season."

Raine was named as both Leicestershire’s Cricketer of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year, and also scooped the John Josephs Award for Best Individual Performance in the First XI.

The all-rounder took 51 Specsavers County Championship wickets and also scored the club’s fastest ever T20 century, a brilliant 113 against Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.

He said: "Scoring my first hundred for the Foxes meant a great deal, and it was one of those nights where eveything came off. I have some special memories of the club, and would like to thank everybody who has helped me along the way. I really wanted to earn my county cap, and to be awarded that this season was brilliant."

In the other trophies, Muhammad Abbas won the Frank S Smith Cup for Bowling in the First XI, Zak Chappell was named the Young Player of the Year, Mark Cosgrove claimed One Day Player of the Year for the second year in succession, while Callum Parkinson won the accolade of T20 Player of the Year.

Abbas took 50 wickets at an average of under 18 in his first full season at the club while Chappell returned career-bests in all three formats.

The all-rounder took 6-44 in the Specsavers County Championship against Northamptonshire CCC as the Foxes won inside three days, 3-45 in the Royal London One-Day Cup as the Foxes beat Durham CCC at home, and 3-23 against the same opponents in the Vitality Blast.

Cosgrove hit four half-centuries in seven appearances in the 50-over tournament, and Parkinson claimed 15 wickets in Vitality Blast for a second season in succession.

There were also special tributes on the night for capped duo Raine and Ned Eckersley, who were presented with framed county caps that had the number in which they represented the club in the Specsavers County Championship embroidered on the front.

 

Full list of winners:

1. John Josephs Award - Best individual performance in a First XI match – Ben Raine 113 v Birmingham Bears T20

2. Livingston Cup - [Outstanding batting performance] Batting in the First XI – Colin Ackermann 186 v Sussex CCC

3. Frank S Smith Cup - [Outstanding bowling performance] Bowling in the First XI – Muhammad Abbas 10 for 52 v Durham CCC

4. Roger Goadby Award - [Outstanding fielding performance] Fielding in the First XI – Colin Ackermann

5. Young Player of the Year - Zak Chappell

6. County Championship Player Of The Year - Colin Ackermann

7. One Day Player Of The Year - Mark Cosgrove

8. T20 Player Of The Year - Callum Parkinson

9. Players’ Player Of The Year - Ben Raine

10. Cricketer Of The Year - Ben Raine

 

* Leicestershire CCC would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors, both for the fantastic continued support of the club and for making the event a memorable one.