Chesterfield Cricket Lovers' Society

The photo shows Lizzie Ammon with Alfie Gleadall of Eckington CC
receiving the Society’s 2017 Young Cricketer of the Year Award.

Photo courtesy of John Windle

VISIT OF ELIZABETH AMMON ON MONDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2018

Consistent with our Chairman’s policy of arranging a balanced winter programme – in which he has been conspicuously successful – the Society members were delighted to welcome Elizabeth Ammon as our February speaker.

Lizzie Ammon (also sometimes known as Legside Lizzie) is a BBC cricket commentator and a writer for The Times. Previously working in the Civil Service, she became very closely involved with Barnes Cricket Club where she ran the Colts section. She was also a scorer for 25 years.

With strong South Yorkshire and Derbyshire connections she spoke of her early life in cricket, how she became so involved with the game and how this path led to becoming a cricket journalist. Her comments on the changing face of cricket journalism were of great interest and it was clear that she held her senior colleague at The Times, Michael Atherton, in very high regard.

She spoke of challenges facing first-class and recreational cricket as a result of the foothold that T20 has got and wondered if the authorities in the game, with more money available than ever before, were using it in the best way. Her concern for the discrepancies in different regions of the country was clear.

On this issue, and indeed on all others, her strong, firm views were apparent both in her pre-interval talk and also in her clear and forthright answers to questions from the Chair, John Windle, and from the floor in the second half of the evening.

We were delighted that she also agreed to present our Society’s 2017 Young Cricketer of the Year Award to Alfie Gleadall of Eckington Cricket Club.

All in all another excellent evening for our members.