Andrew flies countycricket

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When Andrew Salter recently received his award for ‘Boys (Under 16) Achievement’ it provided due recognition of another amazing season for the St Ishmaels youngster as he made a little piece of cricketing history in Pembrokeshire when he was honoured with the captaincy of the England under 15 team after showing his leadership qualities with Pembrokeshire and the South-West of England teams.
It was an even more remarkable feat, bearing in mind that Andrew plays his cricket so far away from the hub of the England team and its selectors, and so being appointed captain was a measure of the cricketing qualities of this 15 year old from St Ishmaels.
He led the England under 15s against their under 16 counterparts at Lords, the home of cricket, and helped them to an exciting tie before receiving the coveted cap to keep as a wonderful memento.

Big six hitter

He will also remember the fact that when he was batting he hit three big sixes, including one into the stand off Fabian Cowdrey, the grandson of cricketing legend Colin. Sitting nearby was Fabian’s dad Chris, who also played for England at test level and congratulated Andrew on his big hitting during an interval.
Andrew is a more than useful off-spin bowler but big hits seem very much to be a part of his batting make-up because when he captained St Ishmaels to victory in last season’s under 15 final against Hook he achieved the rare feat of hitting six sixes in one over to emulate the likes of Sir Garfield Sobers and, more recently, Yuvraj Singh. He reached his 50 after only three overs at the crease and then, under the rules of the competition, had to retire – and it would have been interesting to see how many runs he might have scored.
He has already proved his maturity as a regular with the Tish first team and was instrumental in helping them win the coveted double of league championship and Harrison-Allen Bowl, following up with a debut appearance in this campaign’s DR Morris Cup Final. He has also grabbed five-wicket hauls against the likes of Haverfordwest, Carew and Cresselly.

Representative honours

The season just completed has seen him representing  Pembrokeshire at senior level and he grabbed 4 for 16 in a great win against the South Wales League at Pembroke Dock which earned rave reports from county captain Nick Dyer, himself a spin bowler who has represented Scotland in the World Cup.
Andrew has been a regular with the Welsh team at all the age categories and forced his way into the South West of England team on the back of his run-gathering as an opening bat and a highly talented off-spin bowler. He scored 56 not out for Wales at Millfield School and claimed nine wickets in two matches against Oxfordshire, as well as 148 for Pembrokeshire juniors against Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

Allan put him in a spin

He first started spin-bowling on the suggestion of Allan Jones, who was a former player and coach with Glamorgan CCC, and since dad Graham had been a spin bowler in his playing career he had no shortage of advice at home either as he played in the back garden with brother James and mum Irene.
All three have been a great support and travelled with him all over the country in pursuit of success. When he attended the Sport Pembrokeshire awards he was accompanied by mum and dad, and proud grandmother, Connie Salter.
He toured in South Africa last campaign and was elected as captain of the South West team which was invited to compete in the Bunbury Tournament at Sedbury, in Cumbria, against teams from the North, Midlands and South. They lost all their matches narrowly but he scored 68 and 33 as well as taking a few wickets and at the final presentation ceremony he received the coveted award as the best captain from John Crawley, who also presented him with his cap.

Captain Marvel

The following day saw the full England squad being announced and Andrew was naturally thrilled when he was not only selected but was named as skipper as a wonderful bonus in readiness for matches against the England under 16s at Loughborough and the English Schools Cricket XI in their 60th anniversary season, with that special match played at Lord’s.
It is an amazingly successful story for the Tish teenager but it is wonderful to report that he is thoroughly modest and unassuming, enjoying his games with St Ishmaels every bit as much as he does at international level. He has a variety of other interests (he is a drummer in a rock band!) and would love to play at the top level if he has the chance. Whether he does or not, there is one thing for sure, he is already being recognised in Pembrokeshire and this award was fully deserved for his commitment to, and achievements in, cricket.