The #raisethebat Award 

Nick Evanson 

WHAT does a 'furloughed' scorer do?  Well there was a club website to be kept alive with no cricket being played – Evo wouldn’t let his pride and joy die.  

Whilst Evo enjoyed writing articles himself including quizzes, what members enjoyed most in the strange times was persuading past and present members to write articles one such one who later became CEO of Somerset CCC!

With a return to play the necessity for ID checks for DBS applications became increasingly urgent. With face to face ones still ruled out. Evo volunteered to join the select band allowed to do them by video link.

Had lockdown, continued, Evo had agreed to help his club if their plans to make deliveries to members shielding had been activated.  

With most of his voluntary work with St John Ambulance still “furloughed” when the shout went out from the NHSBT for help at their blood donor sessions, Evo immediately answered the call – never mind 13 hour days when his paid employment is included! 

Evo triages donors to minimise the risk from Covid-19, therefore freeing up paid staff to carry on their vital work.  Anyone in the community, cricket or not, potentially benefits from his work.

Also nominated

Charlie Woolnough 

Shaldon Optimists groundsman Charlie Woolnough created his own tribute to the National Health Service for their work during the Cornonavirus crisis 

Woolnough has been keeping the Hazeldown Oval in trim for the hoped-for start of cricket in Devon later this summer.

He cut into the grass the initials NHS inside a heart-shaped frame.

Said Woolnough: “My daughter works in the NHS and I have seen just how hard she and her colleagues have been working and how much strain they are under.

“While cutting the grass at the club in my one-man tractor, I noticed the parking area was getting overgrown.

“On the spur of the moment I decided to do something to pay tribute to the NHS and just got carried away.

“I drew the letters NHS first then put a heart around them, all done freehand with no help from GPS.

“”You can’t see from ground level what it looks like and you don’t know who is going to see it.

“Luckily a Wildcat helicopter crew from RNAS Yeovilton flew over the ground and saw my handiwork. They took a picture and passed it on to us.”

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