Spirit Of The Game In Good Health At County Level — 30/09/2005
The 2005 MCC Spirit of Cricket County table is published in full below, proving that the spirit of the game is alive and well. Somerset top the table, followed closely by Durham and Warwickshire. Four-time previous winner, Glamorgan, come in fourth.
Somerset Winners
Points are awarded to each county by the first-class umpires on a match-by-match basis throughout the season, and the MCC Spirit of Cricket County Team Award trophy goes to the team with the highest average score after the final match has been played. The 2005 trophy was presented to Somerset vice-captain, Matt Wood, at the PCA Annual Awards Dinner at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday (26th September).
John Stephenson
John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket, said:
“It has been a memorable year for cricket, both domestic and international, and the spirit of the game has been to the fore throughout. The overall MCC Spirit of Cricket table makes very good reading, with 16 of the 18 counties recording an average of 2 points or above. It is particularly pleasing that Somerset should win in the same year as they became Twenty20 Cup champions — proof that you can play to win and still play fair.”
Alan Fordham
Alan Fordham, ECB’s First Class Cricket Operations Manager, said:
“This is the first time that Somerset have won this award, and it’s great to see a side win a major competition like the Twenty20 Cup and receive this accolade in the same season. We hope that the spirit displayed by the players at Somerset, and indeed throughout professional cricket, will set an example and spread through all levels of the game.”
Richard Bevan
Richard Bevan, PCA group chief executive, said:
“The whole country has seen cricketers cement their reputation as fantastic role models this summer, during an intensely competitive and thoroughly entertaining season. All the counties can take credit for their showing in the 2005 MCC Spirit of Cricket League table, with special congratulations to the eventual winners, Somerset.”
The 2005 MCC Spirit of Cricket County Table
Final table (in alphabetical order):
Derbyshire 2.25
Durham 2.35
Essex 2.21
Glamorgan 2.28
Gloucestershire 2.13
Hampshire 1.92
Kent 2.17
Lancashire 1.94
Leicestershire 2.17
Middlesex 2.16
Northamptonshire 2.00
Nottinghamshire 2.19
Somerset 2.36
Surrey 2.05
Sussex 2.25
Warwickshire 2.31
Worcestershire 2.16
Yorkshire 2.25
The Points System
Points were awarded in the following way:
• Three points: Exceptional. The team epitomised the true spirit of the game.
• Two points: The team played the game in a good spirit.
• One point: The team is less than good spirited, but manages an incident-free game.
• Zero points: The team created a generally antagonistic atmosphere.
• Minus one point: The team demonstrated unacceptable behaviour.
If a player is found guilty of a breach of the ECB Code of Conduct during a match, his team automatically receives a minus one rating.
To recognise the differences in match duration, points awarded in Frizzell County Championship games receive a 3:1 weighting.
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