Shaun Trudgeon Groundskeeper of the Year
Previous Winners Groundskeeper of the Year
Shaun Trudgeon - Cornwall Cricket Groundskeeper of the Year for 2023.
When it comes to combining work with pleasure in the great outdoors, Shaun Trudgeon has
mastered the art better than most.
He rises at dawn in clay country to report for duty on one of Cornwall’s finest golf links and on his
way home tends to one of Cornwall’s best-kept cricket grounds.
For golfers, it is a treat to test their skills in the dunes at Perranporth. For cricketers, it is a joy to take
to the field at Roche where members of Shaun’s family have been mainstays for 60 years.
Shaun, 34, assisted by father David, has been the boss for a decade on their hallowed home turf
where his efforts have seen him crowned Cornwall Cricket Groundskeeper of the Year.
On a glorious afternoon, with three generations of Trudgeons, supporters of the club and their
guests from Camborne gathered round, he was presented with the CACG’s Del Codd Trophy.
Pitch marks awarded in 2023 by the Cornwall Association of Cricket Officials saw Shaun top
County Division 1 with 82.5%, bettered only by Jamie Stevens of Premier Division Penzance.
Players, umpires and spectators from far and wide have consistently sung Shaun’s praises as he,
like other groundskeepers, battles with the elements throughout the week to get games on.
Extreme weather, and the vulnerability of Roche and other inland places to massive downpours, is
making the task of consistently preparing quality pitches ever more challenging.
Shaun, resplendent in eye-catching bright green footwear, said: “ The weather is becoming more
extreme: lots and lots of rain, and then weeks and possibly months with no rain. We get far more
rain at Roche than we do out on the coast at Perranporth. We can only do our best.
“ Trying to keep pitches dry, stopping rain seeping in under covers or covers being blown off are
the main worries. But I enjoy being here. It’s about presentation. If the sun is shining, the ground
looks good, the pitch plays well and people are appreciative, then I am happy.”
Those of us who played in the 1970’s against a club known as Roche Old Boys, under the gaze of
Roche Rock where a hermit used to reside, can remember their ground as a school field.
The cricket square was in the middle of a football pitch. That however proved no impediment to
young brothers David, Chris, Alastair and Adrian Trudgeon. They went on to pile up thousands of
runs, leaving Anthony George ( still in attendance) and Roy Strout to bowl out opponents.
Their ever-growing collection of silverware saw them graduate from junior to senior status and
become Cornwall champions in 1982, defeating Camborne in the final at Wadebridge. The Hawkey
Cup and the Cornwall Sunday Knockout Cup also found their way to Roche.
Over ensuing decades the ground has been enlarged, the wooden clubhouse has long gone, the
boundary has become tree-lined and the quality of square and outfield enhanced year by year to
make it one of the best and most attractive in Cornwall.
And when Shaun is not working, he is playing. A scan of the Roche team sheets last weekend
revealed 6 Trudgeons, with all-rounder Shaun in the 1st XI, 5 Trudgeons in the 2nd XI and
members of their next generation dressed for action and warming up on the outfield.
To Shaun’s delight, his chosen pitch for the weekend - designed to reward bowlers as well as
batters- produced 800 runs, over 30 wickets and 2 exciting wins for Roche Ist and 2nd XI’s.
Having celebrated those successes, another for the 2nd XI on Sunday, and another for the Under
15’s on Monday evening, it was back out to work on the ground to get things ready this week for
Roche’s senior teams, junior teams, women and girls, plus All-Stars and Dynamos.
Roche Secretary Nigel Spencer said: “Shaun, just like his father David for many years before him,
is doing a remarkable job for this club. If Shaun can get a game on, he will get the game on. He is
the man with the knowledge, the skills and the expertise. We are very fortunate to have him.”
