A 16-year-old cricketer from Lightcliffe has been named The Cricket Society’s Most Outstanding Under-16s Schoolboy Cricketer; one of the most prestigious awards in English junior cricket.

Lightcliffe Cricket Club’s first team wicketkeeper Monty Ramsden, a sixth form student at Halifax’s Crossley Heath School, received The Sir Jack Hobbs Silver Jubilee Memorial Prize at the Society’s Autumn Lunch on Wednesday.

The prize has a remarkable history, with former England captains Michael Atherton and Mike Gatting among its previous winners, alongside more recent stars including Jacob Bethell, James Coles and Dominic Sibley.

Nominations for the national award are made by the General Secretary of the English Schools Cricket Association and Monty's recognition follows an outstanding summer in which he featured in all 23 of Yorkshire's Under-16s fixtures, helping the county lift the U16 One Day 50 Over Cup.

Monty Ramsden receives his award from Chris Cowdrey.

placeholder image — Monty Ramsden receives his award from Chris Cowdrey.

His performance behind the stumps proved particularly important in the final, with a match-changing stumping to dismiss the tournament's leading run-scorer, Luke Attfield, for 34.

Alongside his achievements representing Yorkshire, Monty has also been part of Lightcliffe's first XI, who finished fourth in Division One of the Bradford Premier Cricket League this season.

The prize was presented by former England Test and One Day player, Chris Cowdrey, himself a former winner of the award, a hugely proud moment for the young player, his family and everyone at Lightcliffe Cricket Club.

Club captain Alex Stead said: “Monty has been one-to-watch at Lightcliffe, Yorkshire and beyond for many years and it’s brilliant to see his passion, skill and enthusiasm for the sport recognised with this prestigious award.

“We are a club who are incredibly proud of our juniors and having had the pleasure of coaching him from a very early age, and now playing alongside him in our first XI, there really is no better inspiration for our young cricketers of today.

“Every member of our club is absolutely thrilled to see Monty recognised and be on a list packed with greats of the game. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for a young man whose hard work, determination and passion shines through in everything he does.”