The Trustees of the Walter Lawrence Trophy have announced that a new award is to be made to the highest-scoring batsman from the six MCC Universities.

The University Centres of Cricketing Excellence (UCCE) programme comprises six teams, Durham, Cambridge, Oxford, Loughborough, Leeds/Bradford and Cardiff, and is in its second year under the administration of MCC, who took over its running with enormous success from the ECB at the start of last season. The award will be presented to the batsman with the highest score in an innings, played against one of the other five UCCEs or against one of the first-class counties. The winner will receive a silver medallion and prize of £1,000, to be presented at the end-of-season dinner at Lordâ..s when the main trophy, for the fastest first-class hundred in terms of balls faced, is presented.

The current UCCE leading batsman is Richard Clinton, son of former Kent and Surrey batsman Grahame, who scored an unbeaten 108 for Loughborough against Essex at Chelmsford on April 17. Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire allrounder, Mark Ealham, leads the way in the Walter Lawrence Trophy with his stunning 45-ball hundred made against MCC at Lordâ..s on April 16.