Owais Shah was last night named as the Young Cricketer of the Year at the annual Cricket Writers' Club dinner in London. In his best public-speaking voice Shah, 22, said he was "extremely honoured" to have won the award, and thanked the Club for choosing him. Shah made a cocksure entry into international cricket when England selected him for the NatWest one-day series against Pakistan and Australia in June, and averages almost 50 for Middlesex this season in Division Two of the County Championship. Second was Durham's 19-year-old batting prodigy Nicky Peng, while Kent opener Robert Key, 22, was third. In all, eight players received nominations.

The guest speaker at the cricket writers' big night out – traditionally held on the eve of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy – was Surrey president John Major, who combined a nice line in self-deprecation with some less-than-ribtickling gags about his time in politics. He did admit though that he regretted not doing more for school sport while he was prime minister.

The evening was also attended by several England cricketers. Mike Atherton left early, but Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash stayed on to enjoy a few post-prandial drinks. They weren't the only ones.

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