After a short break, we are back with the 2020 NCU End of Season Awards and today’s category is Captain of the Year.
North Down captain Alistair Shields has been named Captain of the Year after he led his side to the Robinson Services Cup title.
That success was the first time the Comber side have lifted silverware since 2013 and marks another step towards potentially starting to challenge for trophies on a consistent basis once again.
Shields has certainly grown into the captaincy even more over the past season, helping to bring the likes of Paul Stirling to the club and he has also played a role in a couple of other shrewd acquisitions, like Aditya Adey from Muckamore.
North Down also reached the LVS T20 Cup final where they lost out to CIYMS by 11 runs but it was another campaign of progress and Shields was at the heart of it.
That responsibility didn’t take anything away from his own personal performances on the pitch as he finished as the third-highest run-scorer in the NCU’s top-flight, ending with 260 in 10 innings at an average of 32.50.
He started the season in good form by scoring 46 against Carrickfergus and 45 in a league defeat to Waringstown before hitting 59 at The Lawn in their LVS T20 Cup semi-final victory.
Shields has a superb team at his disposal but he has been able to bring everyone together in their pursuit of trophies and got his side over the line in a final after losing out on several occasions in recent times.
That triumph in front of home support at The Green was perhaps a significant moment that could set the platform for them to go on and win even more and it was Shields who hit the winning boundary.
They ended the season with eight wins from their 10 matches across the two competitions and for all that’s mentioned above, Shields is the deserving winner of Captain of the Year.
JM Sport 