Phil Senior, a central official at Cumberworth United and the League’s Match & Registrations secretary for more than ten years has been presented with the highest league honour; the Fred Stallard Cup.
His playing career began at the then Central League club Scholes, starting aged 10 as the scorer before progressing through the junior ranks at Chapelgate. He moved to Cumberworth in 1978 and has remained there ever since, predominantly as an opening batsman. He appeared in three of the Central League’s Tinker Cup finals and he then moved to captain the second team during the latter part of his long and distinguished playing career. The club would be grateful that his tireless work and devotion didn’t stop there as he took on several more positions such as groundsman, junior coach, Secretary and Treasurer. In fact, a turn of events in 2014 following his retirement from playing meant he was brought out of recess one final time to turn out for the second team in an Earnshaw Cup match to hit a unique milestone of having played cricket in six different decades.
His remarkable dedication to the sport wasn’t exclusive to his home club as his tireless and all-consuming work has extended far beyond his role at Cumberworth United. Phil serves as Chairman of the Huddersfield Junior League, meticulously organising fixture lists and competitive cricket for each new generation of cricketers. He served on the committee at the Huddersfield Central League and shortly after Cumberworth United joined the Huddersfield Cricket league in 2012, Phil was soon invited and accepted onto our Executive Committee as Match & Registrations Secretary and became a natural bridge to the numerous other former Central League clubs transition to the Huddersfield Cricket League.
On the Executive Committee, the role and way his area has modernised is unrecognisable to before he joined. It is to his great credit, his skills and mind for data and numbers have helped to completely modernise player statistics and fixture lists as well as managing the high workload of player transfers. From waiting days to find results in the local press to instantaneous live scores via play-cricket, Phil has been a cornerstone in developing this area and how it is consumed by the many who rely on keeping abreast of teams and results. Besides this vital role, he continues to fulfil an equally important job as a qualified umpire and is virtually in attendance at a fixture around the league every Saturday.
Crucially, his attention to detail to such matters makes it difficult to see how he fits so much into the time he has. He regularly attends Huddersfield Town matches and still makes time for family with regular visits to Belgium for family connections based there. As busy and fully committed as Phil is, he always carries out his duties with his customary dignity, honesty and good humour and the League are proud to present him with our most prestigious league honour.
