Kojonup Cricket Club win Country Cricket Club of the Year at 2023-24 WA Cricket Community Cricket Awards

This time last year, Kojonup Cricket Club had just wrapped up another successful season of their young juniors having a hit on a Saturday morning. One year on, they are thriving with a men’s side that made the Great Southern Cricket Association finals series, attracted a record number of juniors, and was heralded as WA Cricket’s Country Cricket Club of the Year. After a seven-year hiatus from the competition, Kojonup made a triumphant return to the GSCA last season with three players featuring in the league’s team of the season and making the preliminary final. Kojonup clinched the gong at the 2023-24 WA Cricket Community Cricket Awards held at the WACA on March 18 thanks to the efforts of their devoted and diligent volunteers over the past season. Club president and men’s captain Liam Want said the award was a testament to everyone, from both the junior and senior programs, who helped get the club off the ground three years ago. “It’s just a great reward for the club volunteers who have done a power of the work over the last two or three years at the start of the juniors and progressing into the seniors,” Want said. “It‘s huge for the town and for the community and the people in the community. “I think we’ve done an awesome job to get from where we are, not having a club to finishing second. “I think it’s definitely a win to play finals in our first year and be competitive.” Kojonup began building the foundations of a successful sporting club through their juniors program started by juniors coordinator Matt Webb in 2021. “We’ve got really good juniors numbers, like we have had record numbers in juniors this year, so cricket in Kojonup is going really well,” Want said. “I think that’s all stemmed from the school, I think there’s a good push for cricket in the school and parent help and it just got cricket talking in town. “It’s good for the community and it’s another thing for not only young people but for older people to get to out in the community and see people. “Such a big thing in country towns is getting out and about and talking to mates and it’s huge for the town to have that summer connection.” Want was also nominated for country volunteer of the year, which was won by Albany and Districts Cricket Association president Ryan Kinnear. While Want was grateful for the accolade, he insisted the award was a nod to all the people in the club who had helped build it up over the past three years. “That (award) credits a lot of people as well because it probably looks like I’ve done a bit but there was a lot of people that did a mountain of work as well along the way,” he said. “It’s very rewarding and satisfying to get that accolade but I think it is more awesome for the town to get the club of the year - it’s even bigger.”