NORTHANTS Cricket's Head Groundsman Paul Marshall today set out his intention to make pitches at the County Ground among the best in the country . . . after receiving further recognition from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Marshall received a Commendation from the ECB for the quality of his one-day pitches in the 2009 Groundsman of the Year Awards.

This followed on from a similar award he received for the high standard of pitches which he prepared for four-day cricket last year.

"We will be aiming to win awards in both categories next season and make our pitches among the best in the country," he proclaimed after receiving confirmation of the commendation from the ECB when the awards were announced.

Marshall paid tribute to his team of groundstaff – Paul Taylor, Craig Harvey and Darryl Day – for their part in the success story, adding: "Special thanks go to my team for all the hard work and dedication in helping to prepare the pitches."

Northants Cricket's Chief Executive Mark Tagg congratulated Marshall and his team, commenting: "They work hard in hard in all weather conditions and they thoroughly deserve this accolade for contributing to the improvement of facilities at the ground and the part it plays in producing the best playing conditions for the Club.

"I am sure Paul will accept the award on behalf of his team and I know it will give them all the encouragement to aim even higher in terms of preparing pitches of a quality that are conducive to competitive and entertaining cricket."

The one-day category was won by Derbyshire's Head Groundsman Neil Godrich, with Marshall, Bill Gordon (Brit Oval), Mick Hunt (Lord's) and Nigel Gray (Rose Bowl) all receiving commendations for their work over the past summer.

Lancashire's Head Groundsman Matt Merchant was the winner of the four-day category in which Hunt (Lord's) was the runner-up.

Former Northamptonshire opener Alan Fordham, who is now Head of Operations (First-Class Cricket) at the ECB, said: "The work of all Head Groundsmen is highly valued and we are delighted to make these annual awards which recognise those who have prepared the best pitches in both forms of cricket during the summer."

Every pitch is marked by the umpires at the end of each match and the winners of the one-day and four-day categories are the Groundsmen who have achieved the highest average rating over the course of the season.