Skipton Cricket Club duo handed Yorkshire awards for tireless work

A SKIPTON duo deserved all the recognition they got when they were both handed awards at the latest edition of the YCB Cricket Collective Awards.

The event was held at Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s Headingley Stadium, in the Howard Suite, last month.

It was a night of celebration, and the awards were worthy recognition of volunteers who have continued to support grassroots cricket across Yorkshire.

Skipton Cricket Club’s Zach Hilton and Richard Dobson both came home with two of the top prizes.

The former collected the Game Changer award, while the latter scooped the Volunteer Grounds Management Team of the Year award.

Hilton, who is third team captain, as well as Under-15s coach and manager at Skipton Cricket Club, earned some rave reviews from a spokesperson at the club.

They said: “At 18-years-old, Zach has shown remarkable maturity and is an amazing asset to the club.

“He’s always available to help and often volunteers at the ground after work to help get it ready for games.

“Without him Skipton Cricket Club would not be able to run so smoothly and enable so many to play and enjoy the game.”

Zach Hilton is still only a teenager, but without him, playing numbers would be far lower at Skipton Cricket Club. (Image: Caught Light Photography.)

After receiving the award Hilton joked: “To be honest, I didn’t know what I’d won.”

He added: “It’s a great club to be a part of and it’s very rewarding to show up every week and have good teammates and people around you.

“Coaching is difficult, particularly when you’re looking to maintain the playing numbers every week, but it makes it worthwhile when you see your team go on to the field.”

Fellow Skipton Cricket Club hero Dobson took home the Grounds Management Team of the Year award.

The club were left in limbo three weeks prior to the start of last season when their groundsman made a decision to leave the club.

Tireless work from Dobson and other members of Skipton Cricket Club ensured it didn’t become a drastic issue ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Skipton Cricket Club looked in real trouble ahead of the 2024 season, but Richard Dobson and others helped save the day. (Image: Caught Light Photography.)

Dobson said: “It was tough. I had to spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos on learning how to curate a cricket pitch.

“I think most of the clubs in Yorkshire suffered before the start of the season because it was a very wet spring, so we were basically underwater at the time.

“That meant it was a very difficult time for us when our previous groundsman left.

“Similar to a lot of people here (at the YCB awards), we just want cricket to be on and to be played so I was determined to roll my sleeves up and put it in the hard work for the club.

“We spent a lot of hours and time trying to get the pitch up to standards, but we got there in the end and I’m delighted we did.”