Service To Cricket Award
The High Peak Cricket Society’s Service to Cricket Award for 2010, ‘The Norman Harris Trophy’, has been awarded to Alan Burgoyne. Alan Burgoyne came to live in the High Peak area in 1981 when he moved to Charlesworth. He played cricket for the village club until 2003 when a replacement knee operation ended his playing career at the age of 61. During these years Alan captained both 1st and 2nd XI sides. However, Alan’s greatest passion has always been the development of junior cricket and to this end he gained his Coaching Award (now level 1) in 1989. In 1998 he became a Senior Coach (now level 2). In 2001 he became Active Sports Coach for the Derbyshire Cricket Board introducing cricket to women and between 1997 and 2003 he coached for the Derbyshire Cricket Board on Proficiency Award Courses at New Mills Leisure Centre. During this time Alan was also supervising the running of all the club’s junior teams and today still oversees the administration side of these teams. As well as his work with the junior sides Alan took over the maintenance of the clubs cricket square in 1989 and 21 years later is still carrying out this time consuming task. He is proud of the fact that so many clubs have praised the standard of the wickets over the years. In 2003, Alan was elected Chairman of Charlesworth and Chisworth Cricket Club. He quickly energised the committee stating that only people who were willing to work would remain on his committee. In 2004 he instigated the first of the Club’s Sportsman’s Dinners with a 10 year plan to raise enough money to build a new pavilion. This 10 year plan went overboard when Alan met and encouraged a local business man to sponsor the new pavilion in 2007. Work started in October that year and Alan visited the building site almost daily, keeping members up to date with photographs and information online. Finally in June 2008 the new pavilion was opened by the legendary Dickie Bird and Alan’s dream was fulfilled. This is a wonderful achievement and the HPCS Committee consider Alan to be a worthy recipient of this award.
