Yorkshireman visits Lord's as MCC President's special guest
A Yorkshireman’s dedication to cricket has been recognised as part of MCC’s Community Cricket Hero’s campaign and he headed to Lord’s to watch the England Australia One Day International as a special guest of MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) President Mark Nicholas.
Paul White, from Yorkshire, was chosen from hundreds of nominations across the country to be two of the 11 MCC Community Cricket Heroes for their outstanding contribution to grassroots cricket and his community, speaking about his special day at the Home of Cricket, he said: “This has been something that I have been looking forward to for so many weeks, since the invitation was sent to me, and it's lived up to all my expectations.
“The cricket, in a way, is only part of the story, but it's being in this environment, and having the opportunity to go onto the hallowed turf.
“I am very proud to be here today and it is all thanks to our treasurer at Yorkshire Gentleman CC who obviously unbeknownst to me, nominated me and it is a privilege to be selected from the nominees throughout the country.
“Everyone, who had their names put forward are doing so much for their respective clubs, and just for the 11 of us to have been picked and to be here for an England vs Australia match is just something that I will always remember.
“Thank you to the MCC, the judging panel and the hospitality that I've received, it has been absolutely first class - I couldn't have wished for more.”
White enjoyed the delights of the President’s Suite at Lord’s and even bumped into a musical legend, he added: “To have my photograph taken with the king of rock and roll, Sir Mick Jagger was really awesome too!”
White’s affiliation with Yorkshire Gentlemen's CC began when he took over as scorer when he was a boy in 1969, a role he has continued to this day as well as now being pavilion manager, scorer and an assistant groundsman, he has scored around 2,000 matches and whilst enriching the lives of thousands of cricketers.
The campaign, which launched last year in March by MCC alongside The Cricketer magazine, was relaunched for its second year to again encourage the cricket community and the public to submit nominations for their community cricket hero - from volunteers who go above and beyond for their cricket club and community, to coaches who are inspiring people on and off the pitch or players who have overcome adversity to play or help the game.