Surrey claim top Grounds Team award for third consecutive year

Surrey's Ground Staff, led by Lee Fortis, have claimed the award for the best multi-day pitches for the third consecutive year at the 2024 Grounds Manager of the Year Awards held at Trent Bridge.

Fortis and his team at the Kia Oval earned consistently outstanding marks for their County Championship pitches and for the Rothesay Test deck during the 2024 domestic and international season to win the Bernard Flack Memorial Trophy. This is also the fourth time in total that Fortis and his team has picked up the prize since starting his role since 2012.

The event celebrated the successes and efforts of all the ground staff involved in producing surfaces for professional cricket in England and Wales and was attended by 104 people in total, with all First-Class Counties represented.

Lee Fortis said “I'm so proud of the whole grounds team who have worked incredibly hard throughout this year and fully deserve to be recognised for their dedication and their expertise. It’s not just their work on matchdays but throughout the year where all the hard yards are put in.

"To achieve this success as a Grounds Team whilst also seeing the success of the Club on the pitch is particularly pleasing.”

Alec Stewart, Director of Men's Cricket at Surrey said "Lee and his team are the very best in the business and for them to win this award for a third year on the trot underlines just how important their work is in producing top quality pitches which helps promote both good cricket and cricketers. Winning the County Championship three years running is a great achievement. Our success is due to a real desire to challenge everyone to do everything to the very highest standards possible and the grounds team have risen to that challenge.

"Lee and his team should be immensely satisfied and the Club are very proud of all they do to produce the best pitches at the Kia Oval."

Kent's Josh Marden also won the Outground pitches trophy for his efforts at Beckenham, where the South East Stars played the majority of their home fixtures this year.

ECB Pitch and Grounds Advisor, Andy Mackay, said: "The amount of effort, dedication and sacrifice required from the grounds teams should never be underestimated, but 2024 was an especially difficult year for most due to the consistently poor weather for much of the cricket season. It's fantastic that we can get together to celebrate and recognise this group and the contribution they make to the game, without whom our players could not provide such a thrilling spectacle.

“The standard of pitches in white and red-ball cricket continues to be very high overall and as ever, the competition for the top spots is exceedingly tough. The award winners deserve this recognition for the consistently outstanding pitches they have produced during the summer."

Full list of awards winners:

Bernard Flack Memorial Trophy (Multi-Day pitches)

Winner: Lee Fortis (Kia Oval)

Runner-up: Richard Robinson (Headingley)

Commendation: Karl McDermott (Lord's)

One-Day pitches:

Winner: Adrian Llong (The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury)

Runner-up: Gary Barwell (Edgbaston)

Commendations: Andy Ward (Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road), Ben Gibson (The 1st Central County Ground, Hove)

Outground Pitches Award:

Winner: Josh Marden (Beckenham)

Runner-up: Christian Brain (Cheltenham College)

Commendations: Nick Johnson (Blackpool CC), Brad Jeffries (Kidderminster CC)

Outstanding Contributor: Tom Cowley (Hampshire County Cricket Club)

Business Of Cricket Awards, Rising Star: Jasmine Nicholls (Yorkshire County Cricket Club)