Voting for the title will take place on 19 December, live at MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester, as the programme airs on BBC television – celebrating the events of the past 12 months across a variety of sports.
Harry Gurney, managing director at The Cat & Wickets Pub Company, said: “Everyone at The Cat & Wickets Pub Company is hugely proud of Stuart.
“He’s achieved so much over the course of his whole career, and especially this year. We have our fingers tightly crossed that he’ll win the title.”
Two sites
The Cat & Wickets Pub Company currently operates two gastropubs in Leicestershire: the Griffin Inn in Swithland and the Tap & Run in Upper Broughton.
Broad announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 29 July 2023 at The Oval in south London, during the final Ashes Test match of the 2023 series between England and Australia – which England went on to win by 49 runs and level the series overall.
Gurney also had a very impressive career in cricket too, having played for England, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire between 2007 and 2019.
The Tap & Run site was destroyed by a fire in June 2022 but was rebuilt in an amazingly quick time with a grand reopening a year later.
Outstanding customer service
Broad said at the time of reopening: “The pub was performing really well when we had to unfortunately close our doors. We are so excited to get back to doing what we do best – delivering outstanding customer service.”
Meanwhile, Gurney explained he was “pretty ecstatic” about the performance of the Griffin Inn, Swithland, Leicestershire, a year after launching the site in November 2022.
Sales had increased by 240% and Gurney said: “We’re pretty ecstatic. Trade has exceeded expectations.”
When he took over the pub slap bang in the middle of a utilities crisis last year, it was “probably in need of a bit of love,” having been well-run for 20 years by the previous operators, he said.
