Alex Lees capped off a remarkable season by scooping four awards at the annual Player of the Year dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Gateshead, hosted by Justin Lockwood.
Lees finished the season last week as top run scorer across both County Championship divisions, amassing 1347 runs at a staggering average of 70.89, helping Durham set a new record for most batting bonus points in a season with 54.
The opener, who joined Durham from Yorkshire in 2018 picked up the Players Player of the Year, Members Player of the Year, LV Insurance County Championship Player of the Year and the Paul Collingwood Medal at the awards ceremony.
Having been named white ball captain by Ryan Campbell at the start of the year, Lees also scored runs in both the Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One Day Cup. He surpassed his highest one-day score in a record-breaking day for both the club and himself at Sussex in early August, scoring 144 while also racking up two 50+ scores in the Blast.
Elsewhere, David Bedingham earned the Metro Bank Cup player of the year for a great campaign, scoring 413 runs with two centuries and a high score of 152 against Warwickshire. He also set a new record for the fastest one day century scored by a Durham player, blasting his way to three figures off just 52 deliveries against Sussex and breaking Phil Mustard’s record set back in 2012.
Nathan Sowter received the Vitality Blast Player of the Year, as the Australian leg spinner enjoyed a fruitful first full season in the north east. He finished the T20 season with 24 wickets in 14 games, including tournament best figures of 5-15 against Northants Steelbacks in the opening T20 of the season.
Lizzie Scott claimed the inaugural Danielle Hazell Medal having performed consistently over the past few seasons, having graduated from the Northern Diamonds academy and being a breakthrough player from North East Warriors programme. Her achievements this year are a true representation of her hard work, and determination that she has had to take her cricket to the next level.
Ollie Robinson was voted the Rising Star of the year after a phenomenal debut season for Durham following his permanent move from Kent last winter. He finished with 3 centuries in red ball cricket with a high score of 167*, whilst showcasing his white ball prowess and wicket keeping skills as well, scoring 4 50’s with a high of 69 in the T20’s.
Liam Trevaskis ends his stint in the north east by winning the 2nd XI Player of the Year, as the all-rounder moves to Leicestershire for next season. He scored a century and two 50’s for the seconds this season, as well as chipping in with 13 wickets for the Seconds, while also playing regularly for the first team in the Vitality Blast this year.
The Durham Cricket Club Person of the Year Award went to Sam Blacklock (Media & Communications Manager) and Ythan Sale (Events Manager) with The Maureen Jackson Community Person of the Year award going to Kumareswaradas Ramanathas.