Freelance journalist Taha Hashim wins Young Cricket Journalist of the Year award

Taha Hashim has won the coveted Christopher Martin-Jenkins Young Cricket Journalist of the Year following the announcement of the 2022 ECB Domestic Cricket Journalism Awards.

The awards, which are judged by a panel of cricket journalists and broadcasters from across the world, also saw the Liverpool Echo scoop two prizes while The Cricketer Online won the Outstanding Online coverage for a fifth consecutive year.

BBC Bristol’s Ed Seabourne rounded out the awards by winning the Christopher Martin-Jenkins Broadcaster of the Year Award, a year after he was commended for the prize.

Hashim’s deserved recognition arrived after he was likewise commended for the Young Journalist award the previous year.

His three submissions, all for his work with Wisden Cricket Monthly, included an exclusive interview with Glamorgan’s newly-appointed white-ball coach Mark Alleyne and an insight into the work of the South Asian Cricket Academy.

“Hashim was a unanimous winner from an extremely strong field of candidates,” the judges wrote.

“His entry showcased a clear ability to combine newsworthy stories with narrative flair. With well-judged subject matter and a strong voice, his submission was a standout.

“The overall calibre of entries was extremely high, showcasing a variety of different skills from within the cricket media.”

Freelancer Cameron Ponsonby and BBC Essex’s Victoria Polley were both highly commended.

The Liverpool Echo won both the Outstanding Newspaper Coverage of Domestic Cricket and the Regional Newspaper of the Year awards.

The newspaper, which also won the Regional Newspaper award two years ago, earned fulsome praise from the judges, who described the coverage as “local sports journalism at its best” adding that it was “another excellent season of coverage by Tom Evans”.

The Somerset County Gazette was highly commended for the Regional Newspaper award, while the Gloucestershire Echo and Citizen was commended for the Outstanding Newspaper coverage award.

The awarding of the Broadcaster of the Year prize to Seabourne underlined his talent behind the microphone as one of the best young cricket broadcasters in the country.

“Ed has a warm and welcoming voice, so well suited to the rhythm of county cricket, but that doesn’t stop him from reaching the high notes in style when the moment calls for it,” the judging panel wrote.

“It’s also clear in his commentary that he does the hard work preparing beforehand, which is to always be commended. We are looking forward to following Ed’s career progression, both at Gloucestershire and beyond.”

Previous winners Richard Rae (BBC Leicestershire) and Adrian Harms (BBC Sussex) were both commended.

The Cricketer claimed its fifth successive award for its online coverage, with 4 The Love of Sport earning a commendation for its coverage of domestic women’s cricket.

This is the 12th awarding of the Domestic Cricket Journalism awards, which is presented alongside the Cricket Writers’ Club, which assembled the high-profile judging panel to decide this year’s prizes.

ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, Neil Snowball, said, “I would like to congratulate all the award winners, and those who have been commended, for their high-quality coverage of domestic cricket.

“The submissions for this year’s awards have yet again showcased the wide breadth of coverage that women’s and men’s cricket, from the pro game right through to local club cricket, enjoys and the value of that to our game cannot be underestimated.

“I would also like to thank the judging panel, who were assembled by the Cricket Writers’ Club, for their time and expertise in deciding upon the winners.”

Cricket Writers’ Club chair, George Dobell, said, “It’s striking how all of those individuals mentioned here – not just the winners, but those who have been commended – have such bright futures in cricket journalism. And special congratulations to The Liverpool Echo for a memorable double.

“We thank the ECB for continuing to shine a light on high-quality journalism and the panel of judges for the work they have put into these decisions.”