Burridge stalwart Gerry Candy is the first recipient of Southern Premier League's Tony Baker Unsung Hero award, which will sit nicely alongside the prestigious NatWest OSCA Lifetime Achiever Award he collected from the England & Wales Cricket Board in February 2019.
Now a sprightly 84-years of age, Gerry was a founder figure and past captain of Burridge, having played a significant role in the club’s rise from the regional division basement of the Hampshire League to become an ECB Southern Premier League cricket side.
Some 40 years ago, he was a prime mover behind Burridge’s purchase of farmland and the establishment of their home on the eastern banks of the River Hamble.
Since then, he has managed the grounds that have allowed the club to develop and flourish. It has been his tireless effort and commitment that has taken BCC from a village team to the pinnacle of cricket in the county.
Gerry Candy is the heartbeat of Burridge, there seven days a week and on occasions 16 hours a day. From dawn to dusk throughout the summer months, he is preparing strips, mowing, moving boundary ropes, sight screens and covers and then locking up at the end of the day.
He continues to be almost irreplaceable and a worthy recipient of the inaugural Tony Baker Unsung Hero award which will be presented annually, in memory of the late Tony Baker, the former Hampshire Chief Executive and Old Tauntonians all-rounder, who died in 2017 having dedicated his life to cricket and was massively involved in club and county cricket in Hampshire.
Now a sprightly 84-years of age, Gerry was a founder figure and past captain of Burridge, having played a significant role in the club’s rise from the regional division basement of the Hampshire League to become an ECB Southern Premier League cricket side.
Some 40 years ago, he was a prime mover behind Burridge’s purchase of farmland and the establishment of their home on the eastern banks of the River Hamble.
Since then, he has managed the grounds that have allowed the club to develop and flourish. It has been his tireless effort and commitment that has taken BCC from a village team to the pinnacle of cricket in the county.
Gerry Candy is the heartbeat of Burridge, there seven days a week and on occasions 16 hours a day. From dawn to dusk throughout the summer months, he is preparing strips, mowing, moving boundary ropes, sight screens and covers and then locking up at the end of the day.
He continues to be almost irreplaceable and a worthy recipient of the inaugural Tony Baker Unsung Hero award which will be presented annually, in memory of the late Tony Baker, the former Hampshire Chief Executive and Old Tauntonians all-rounder, who died in 2017 having dedicated his life to cricket and was massively involved in club and county cricket in Hampshire.