Declan Ryan, Associate Professor in Physical Activity and Health at the University of Northampton, has been honoured with a prestigious Rose of Northamptonshire in recognition of his outstanding commitment to the local community.
The award recognises Ryan’s work in going above and beyond to transform his local cricket club in his role as Chairman of Old Cricket Club in West Northamptonshire.
Throughout his three years at the helm, Ryan has successfully fundraised for new club equipment to benefit the wider community, which has included installing a new artificial pitch to accommodate more games in all seasons, securing private sponsorships, investing into practice facilities, renovating the clubhouse and securing outdoor furniture including marquees and equipment.
He has also been instrumental in helping the club secure Clubmark Accreditation, a quality assurance scheme for community sports clubs to ensure they provide a safe and rewarding environment for participants of all ages.
Growing participation at every level of the club has been a particular priority for Ryan who, throughout the previous three seasons, has launched a women’s cricket pathway.
Ryan said: “We’re particularly proud of the women’s pathway we’ve developed at Old, which was identified as an early priority in recognition of a growing desire for women of all ages to get involved with playing cricket.
“Within the club, we already had girls playing at our junior level and we wanted to ensure there was a pathway for them into senior cricket, should they want to progress.
“We initially ran a few trial sessions which attracted a huge amount of interested players, so we established the pathway to pick up the pace and the rest is history.
“Women’s cricket has really accelerated within the East Midlands in recent years, and it’s great to have been a part of this positive journey at Old.”
The Rose of Northamptonshire awards seek to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work of volunteers who often go unrecognised, with the awards for 2025 recognising a diverse group of individuals for their exceptional service to the community – and Ryan’s success is testament to his dedicated work off-pitch.
He said: “I’m very thankful to have received this acknowledgement of our local cricket club’s contribution to the community.
“My name may be on this Rose of Northamptonshire award, however I’m only one out of a huge team of volunteers and supporters at Old Cricket Club who make these achievements possible.
“There are countless people who work hard on a daily basis to make sport more accessible and provide real opportunities for local people to get involved.”
Old Cricket Club is celebrating over 150 years of cricket within the small rural Northamptonshire village and welcomes members of the public – of any age and experience level – to get involved and see for themselves why cricket is one of the country’s favourite sports.
The full list of Rose of Northamptonshire 2025 award winners can be viewed on the Northamptonshire Community Foundation website.
