A Denholme octogenarian has won a lifetime achievement award from the Yorkshire Cricket Board.

Jack Greenwood, who is 82, has worked for Denholme Cricket Club for 55 years since finishing his national service.

Despite deteriorating health, he walks a mile to the cricket ground every Monday morning to change the two sponsors boards for the following week’s match, as well as empyting all the litter into black bags, ready for collection.

In pre-season, Jack paints all 22 benches, the external buildings, the changing rooms and the tea room, and is the reason the ground looks in such good nick.

He also scored for some 40 years but always donated his scoring fees back to the club at the end of every season.

For 35 years, Jack also ran the club’s major fund-raising activity, “the double numbers” raising over £30,000 for the club.

On receiving his award, Jack said: “I am honoured and over the moon.

“It came as a real surprise when I got the envelope from the YCB. I thought, ‘what have I done now!’"

“I was amazed when I opened it and it said I’d been invited to a prize-giving ceremony at Headingley.

“There were two people nominated for the award and I was over the moon to be in the top two. I didn’t expect to win it.

“Denholme Cricket Club means everything to me. I love the club and, though I can’t do as much these days, I do whatever I can.”

As well as winning an award, Denholme also has a runner-up – 21-year-old Alice Wear for Services to Scoring.

Alice has perfected her scoring to such a degree that she has been asked to score an England Under-17 and an England Under-19 fixture later this summer.

Her scorebook has different colours denoting each batsman and bowler and is always accurate.

She is now the scorers’ official on the committee of the Bradford Branch of the YCB Association of Cricket Officials and recently encouraged the Craven League to set up a pre-season beginners’ scorers course pre-season, which she intends to present herself in future.

Alice took over scoring duties from Jack, who said: “She’s a first-class scorer. When I look at her book, she shows me up! She is very devoted and I can’t speak highly enough about her.”

Meanwhile, Mewies Solicitors Craven League secretary and child welfare officer Ann Coe has won the OSCA (Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards) for Leagues and Boards.

She became league secretary in 2001 and, according to her citation “has dragged them kicking and screaming into the 21st Century”.

It continued: “They are no longer a parochial rural league. With her dogged determination the league is fully compliant with child welfare and discipline has tightened up following the implementation of the YCB disciplinary model.

“The league is now well organised and efficiently run, all thanks to Ann’s hard work, and the Craven League is recognised throughout Yorkshire as a model for organisation for a rural league.”

Ann is also the secretary of Embsay Cricket Club and was the driving force for the Craven coaching programme.

* Denholme have regained the Bradford Evening League Division One title they last won in 2007.

The final round of games fell victim to the weather, which left Denholme and Windhill level on points at the top.

The teams had not played each other, as their game was rained off, and both teams had won the same number of games. Therefore, the league was decided by averages, with the crucial factor being Denholme having lost less wickets.