THE Harry Burden Memorial Lunch took place in the Colin Atkinson Pavilion at the Cooper Associates County Ground when the Young Cricketer of the Year and the Harry Burden Bursary, two annual awards dedicated to his memory, were presented.

The Young Cricketer of the Year Award is awarded to a young cricketer who is looking to progress their career and this year’s winner was JT Langridge.

JT, a left arm quick bowler, joined Ilminster Cricket Club at the age of five, and to his great credit and without wishing to demeanour Ilminster CC in any way, still plays for them in WEPL 2 despite the attraction of more celebrated clubs in WEPL 1. One of his first coaches was ex-Somerset seamer Mark Davis at Queen’s College whom JT said was extremely helpful and instrumental in his cricket development.

The young left armer has played Somerset Age group cricket since he was seven and was selected for the Somerset CCC Academy Programme in September 2022, not long after securing Ilminster’s place in the Somerset Major Cup Final, taking 4-23 in their one run semi-final win over Bridgwater.

Since then his progress has been rapid. Somerset 2nd XI, England Super 4s, Somerset 1st XI v Devon and Cornwall before his first class debut for Somerset in the Metro Bank 50 over Trophy v Sussex when he took his first First Class wicket. It didn’t stop there with selection for the England Under 19 squads against Australia and India.

This year’s Harry Burden Bursary was awarded to Evie Dixon, an off-spinner who, at six feet tall, is an imposing figure on the cricket pitch. Evie attends St Gregory’s College in Bath and, having initially played for Corsham CC, now plies her trade with Bath CC.

Evie has been involved in the Somerset County Pathway since Under 13 level and as a 16 year old, Evie was the Bowler of the Tour in the Somerset Under 18 trip to Sri Lanka in February 2022, taking nine wickets in three matches including a best of 5-32. She made her debut for the full Somerset women’s team in 2023 against Wales, taking 1-19 in her four overs.

Evie is currently on the Somerset Elite Player Pathway and the Western Storm Emerging Player Programme. She is already putting something back into the sport being a qualified Level 2 coach and coaches the Bath CC Girls.

Lauren Filer won this award in 2019, and nobody would be surprised if Evie followed the same path into the full England team.

The Harry Burden Memorial Lunch is the main fundraising event of the Tony Coles Charitable Trust, which provides grants to clubs and schools specifically to help with the development of youth cricket.

For details or to make donations or legacies contact trust treasurer Nigel Manley via his email address [email protected]