ECB Domestic Cricket Journalism Awards 2018 winners announced

The Yorkshire Post’s commitment to county cricket has been recognised in the 2018 ECB Domestic Cricket Journalism Awards, becoming the first regional title to win the Outstanding Newspaper Coverage award.

The Post edged out the highly commended entry from The Times, catching the panel’s eye for the depth and breadth of its coverage despite its relatively limited resources.

Another strong submission saw the Post also named Regional Newspaper of the Year, ahead of the highly commended Evening Standard (London) and County Gazette (Somerset).

The Cricketer’s expanded online domestic cricket coverage in 2018 hugely impressed the panel as thecricketer.com was awarded the Outstanding Online Coverage award.

Also commended in the online category were the entries by Cricbuzz and CRICKETher, with podcast submissions from the Yorkshire Post and BBC West Midlands also praised by the judges.

Isabelle Westbury won her second ECB award in as many years, as she was named the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Cricket Journalist of the Year.

Westbury triumphed in a very strong field, with five further young journalists commended, including previous winners Charlie Taylor (BBC Somerset) and Will Macpherson (Evening Standard). Cricinfo’s Matt Roller, Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Ben Gardner and the County Gazette’s Paul Martin were also recognised.

And Alex Winter, of BBC Radio Northampton, succeeded Westbury in being named this year’s Broadcast Journalist of the Year, rewarded for his compelling commentary on Northamptonshire games.

----------------

ECB Domestic Cricket Journalism Award winners

Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Cricket Journalist of the Year: Isabelle Westbury

Commended: Matt Roller, Cricinfo; Ben Gardner, Wisden Cricket Monthly; Will Macpherson, Evening Standard; Paul Martin, County Gazette; Charlie Taylor, BBC Somerset

Outstanding Newspaper Coverage: The Yorkshire Post

Highly commended: The Times

Regional Newspaper of the Year: The Yorkshire Post

Highly commended: Evening Standard; County Gazette

Outstanding Online Coverage of Domestic Cricket: thecricketer.com

Commended: Cricbuzz; CRICKETher

Broadcast Journalist of the Year: Alex Winter, BBC Radio Northampton

----------------

Gordon Hollins, ECB Managing Director, County Cricket, said: “Our domestic game is always enriched by the great support and coverage it receives from the media, both nationally and locally.

“There was a really wide-ranging number of entries, from the traditional written press to websites, online hubs and podcasts, and it demonstrates the extent to which people want to engage with our domestic competitions.”

Mark Baldwin, Cricket Writers’ Club chairman, added: “These annual awards continue to grow in stature and are now well established. We in cricket’s media congratulate ECB on ensuring that high-quality coverage of the domestic game is being properly acknowledged.

“The judging panel was particularly struck this year by the record number of entries received in each category and were heartened by the high standards on show, especially in the young journalist category which attracted 12 entries. The future of cricket journalism does seem very bright.

“On behalf of the Cricket Writers’ Club, and the wider game, I would like to thank everyone who entered this year’s awards. The increasing success of these awards will continue to benefit and encourage all those who report, write and broadcast on English domestic cricket.”