South Devon CC chairman Barry Widdicombe, who is one of the nominees for this year's cricket OSCAs

A HUSBAND-and-wife team who have worked tirelessly on behalf of their club for more than 25 years are on the shortlist for this year’s Devon OSCAs

The OSCAs – it stands for Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards – are cricket’s way of acknowledging the volunteers whose hard work keeps clubs going.

The ECB invites nominations in six categories from all 38 County Boards across England and Wales, which are whittled down for the national awards.

Jerry Crouch, who has been put forward by Ashburton for an OSCAThe national nominees are invited to a gala luncheon at Lord’s in the Autumn as guests of the ECB.

Devon has a good track record at the OSCAs. Previous winners from the county include: former youth county coach Jon Mears (2005), umpire David Moseby and Axminster official Phil Spong (both 2007), Exmouth’s late chairman Richard Butler (2009) and Thorverton’s Jock Spry (2015).

Thirteen individuals have been nominated in Devon in five categories, as well as two clubs for their work promoting community cricket.

The nominees range from retired couple Barry and Monica Widdicombe, who have been Mr and Mrs South Devon CC for longer than they care to admit, to teenagers Jack Skilton and Imogen Oldfield, who represent the next generation of volunteers.

All the nominees have been invited to Devon Day at the County Ground, Taunton on Sunday for day one of the County Championship game between Somerset and Taunton.

Somerset CCC and the Devon Cricket Board agreed a new partnership this season, an element of which is Devon Day.

“Every club in Devon affiliated to the DCB was invited to apply for free tickets to the match based on how many teams they ran,” said Matt Theedom, Devon CB

“Ten tickets per team were available so a big club with four sides could apply for 40 tickets.

“Somerset put 700 tickets to one side for the game and I believe most of them have gone.

“Our OSCA nominees will join Devon Day as extra guests. Not only will they be taken to lunch, they will be introduced to the crowd during a break in the game and presented with certificates of recognition.”

Devon’s nominees in each category are:

Heartbeat of the Club: Pauline Harding (Sampford Peverell & Tiverton CC), Ian Hughes (Woodbury & Newton St Cyres), Barry and Monica Widdicombe (South Devon CC), Chris Cottrell (Yelverton).

Lifetime Achiever: Jeremy Crouch (Ashburton), Graham Curson (Whitchurch), Jan Meyer (Barton).

Pro-active Leadership: Dan Brierley (Braunton), Nick Goodliffe (Cornwood). 

Young Volunteer (14-18): Imogen Oldfield (Seaton), Jack Skilton (Chagford).

Young Volunteer (18-25): Niall Leahy (Hatherleigh).

Inspiring & Diverse Offer: Plymouth CC, Chagford CC.

Click here to read more about the nominees