DUBLIN: At the 12th Business Plus Irish Cricket Awards on Friday night, Alan Lewis, an international cricket player, board member, selector, administrator, pundit, and international rugby referee, will receive the Outstanding Contribution and Service to Irish Cricket award.
The finest of Irish cricket, from local to international levels, is honored and recognized annually by the Business Plus Irish Cricket Awards. Gibney’s Outstanding Contribution and Service to Irish Cricket, in honor of John Wright, is one of the main prizes.
The Award honors people who are highly regarded in the Irish cricket community for their substantial, long-term contributions to maintaining and enhancing cricket’s reputation, encouraging player participation, and/or pushing for upgrades to player facilities and opportunities.
Previous winners of this esteemed honor include Dr. Murray Power, Roy Torrens, Joe Doherty, and Paul Reynolds, all previous presidents of Cricket Ireland.
Recipient of the 2024 Award
Over the course of his career, Alan Lewis has significantly impacted Irish cricket as a player, manager, club official, sponsor, and board member.
He played for Ireland in every youth and adult division, winning 121 caps for the country between 1984 and 1997 and captaining the national men’s team 35 times.
In July 1990, Alan Lewis made his senior international debut in Rathmines, Dublin, against the West Indies. He went on to amass 3,579 runs at an average of 28.63, including a career-high 136* against Wales, one of his four centuries for Ireland. Along with his 51 wickets, he had the best bowling stats in July 1993, going 4-21 against Scotland.
As an independent director, Alan Lewis served a full term on the Board of Cricket Ireland and, as part of his responsibilities, helped to shape the evolution of the sport to where it is now.
Alan devoted numerous hours of his time to overseeing the expansion and progress of the men’s national team over his complete term as the final voluntary chair of the National Selectors.
Through his family business, he has also supported cricket for decades, having sponsored the Leinster Premier League and Senior Cup for many years. He currently oversees the strategic direction of cricket in Leinster as a director on the Cricket Leinster Board, with an emphasis on grassroots cricket and club cricket.
The YMCA Cricket Club, which has prioritized the development of young cricket players and produced numerous provincial and international players (both male and female) under his supervision, guidance, and leadership, has been greatly aided by Alan. Alan has overseen this initiative as the overarching club patron, and the YMCA youth system is recognized as a model of best practices.
In addition, Alan is a well-known analyst and pundit on cricket for a variety of networks, including livestreams from Cricket Ireland, Sky Sports, and the BBC. Alan was born in Cork in 1964, attended St Andrews College in Dublin for his education, and participated in rugby union. But after an injury ended his playing career, he went to officiating and became one of the top referees in rugby history. He would go on to officiate at the Rugby World Cups in Australia and France in 2003 and 2007.
What Happened
16 award categories will be presented at the 12th Business Plus Irish Cricket Awards on Friday night, including the following:
Men’s Kitman Laboratories Emerging Talent Award
Women’s Beauchamps Emerging Talent Award
Macron Volunteer of the Year: It’s Wicket/Certa Smash It! The Year’s Activator
Yearly Coach at SportsHub
Ireland’s Cricket Writers Hall of Fame
Taverners of the Year’s Top Groundskeeping Team
The men’s Butlers Club Player of the Year
Women’s Butlers Club Player of the Year
In honor of John Wright, Gibney’s Extraordinary Contribution and Service to Irish Cricket
Paul Reynolds Memorial Waterford Club Cricket Official of the Year
Yearly Arachas Club Award
Player of the Year for the Inter-Provincial Series at HBV Studios
Prompt Player of the Year for the Super Series
Plus International Business Certa International Women’s Player of the Year; Men’s Player of the Year
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