Cameron Delport was last night awarded the Walter Lawrence Trophy for his 38-ball century scored on the second night of last season’s Vitality Blast campaign, at Chelmsford on July 19. The 30-year-old South African put Surrey to the sword, finishing his innings on 129, scored off 49 balls and including 7 fours and 14 sixes.
Delport’s swashbuckling performances in the Vitality Blast were a key factor in the Eagles’ success in the competition, which climaxed with a thrilling last-ball win for Simon Harmer’s side on Finals day, beating Worcestershire Rapids by 4 wickets.
Delport joins a stellar list of batsmen, including Ian Botham, Viv Richards and Andrew Flintoff, to win the Trophy since its inception in 1934. He is the fifth Essex batsman to win the Trophy: Ray Smith won in 1948, 1951 and 1955, Colin Griffiths in 1952 and Robin Hobbs in 1975, all timed on minutes, and Graham Napier in 2008 with a 44-ball century. The competition rules changed from timed minutes to balls received in 1985. Delport is the fifth South African to win the Trophy: Roy McLean in 1960, Ray White in 1962, Graeme Pollock in 1969 and Mike Procter in 1979, while South African-born Basil D’Oliveira won in 1967 with an innings playing for England.
Now in its 85th year, the Walter Lawrence Trophy, awarded for the fastest hundred of the season, is open to all domestic county competitions as well as One-Day Internationals, T20 Internationals and Test Matches in England.
