KIRKHEATON'S Philip Earnshaw was a richly-deserving recipient of this year's Fred Stallard Cup at the Drakes Huddersfield Cricket League's annual dinner.

The award, presented by League president Bob Platt, is for outstanding service to a club, and few could argue with Mr Earnshaw's nomination from a club which he has served so well for 60 years!

He joined the Bankfield set-up in 1945 as a 13-year-old, and played through the juniors at Under 13, 15 and 17 level before getting into the second team at 16.

Twelve months later he won selection into the first team, for whom he played right up until 1977, helping them to successive Sykes Cup wins in 1973 and 1974 with victories over Lockwood and Honley respectively.

Mr Earnshaw is a previous winner of a Lady Sykes Candlesticks, an honour he picked up in 1977 (one of only two brothers to ever achieve the feat with Almondbury's Donald also gaining that honour in 1989) and he returned to captain Kirkheaton's Seconds in 1978 and 79.

Off the field, Philip joined the club's general committee at the age of 20, and served as secretary from 1962 until 1973.

He was the club's League and Heavy Woollen Cup representative in 1970 and was club chairman for two years in 1974.

On top of all that he took over the groundsmanship at Bankfield for seven years from 1970-76.

In 1990 he was elected president of Kirkheaton, and 10 years later he took on the role as club secretary until 2005.

Since then, he has served the Drakes League as Administration Secretary, but it is his outstanding service over so many years which led to his nomination and subsequent presentation of the Fred Stallard Cup.

League president Mr Platt said: "When did he ever get the time to go out to work?"

The other special presentation made at the League's dinner went to Leslie Duncalf, who was made a Life Member for his unstinting service in various roles to the League.