The unsung heroes of the cricket family are no doubt those who work tirelessly at the community level to ensure our game is strong from the ground up. The ANZ New Zealand Cricket Awards provide the perfect opportunity for NZC to recognise some outstanding contributions from members of the cricketing community. Below are the Otago winners of the 2019-20 Community Cricket Awards.

Gillette Cup Player of the Year – Rhys Mariu, St Andrew’s College & Jacob Cumming, Otago Boys’ High School  

For the first year, St Andrew’s College not only qualified for the Gillette Cup, but went on to win the title. As captain of the winning side, Rhys Mariu was a well deserving candidate for the Gillette Cup Player of the tournament, scoring 254 runs at 50.8 including a highest score of 104. He has since gone on to represent New Zealand in both the New Zealand Under-19 World Cup.

Jacob Cumming had an outstanding tournament for Otago Boys’ High School, scoring 211 runs with a highest score of 100 as well as taking four wickets. At 16, Jacob is showing great potential having already represented Otago at “A” level.

Outstanding Contribution and Services to Coaching – Glynn Cameron, North Otago 

Glynn has shown outstanding commitment and passion towards coaching for the last 24 years. Between 2000–2010, Glynn was, during various periods, the Selector/Coach of the North Otago Year Nine, Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and Hawke Cup teams. When Jack Cameron, Glynn’s eldest son started playing cricket in 2009, Glynn reverted to primary cricket and has been coach of the St Joseph’s School teams for the past ten seasons. During this period, he has also coached the North Otago Primary A, B and Development teams. In the 2019-20 season, Glynn was the coach of the NOCA Primary A team. During his spare time, he has also coached Touch Rugby, Basketball and Rugby. Glynn’s commitment to coaching and playing reflects his love of the game, not to mention his generosity in giving back to the North Otago community. In the history of the North Otago Cricket Association, Glynn is the only person to have played and coached all the representative teams. 

Article added: 28 Apr 2020