Unsung Heroes

Maurice loves his

role at Pembroke

Dock Cricket Club

If there is one name that is synonymous with Pembroke Dock Cricket Club it is that of Maurice Leyland and quite rightly so since he has been heavily involved at their Imble Lane ground for well over 40 years.
Now a sprightly 62 years of age, Maurice spends two days per week at the ground in the winter months as well as a much longer time during the summer where he has a lot of help in preparing wickets that have earned The Dock a good reputation and selection for county matches. He has done this job for over 30 years but retains his enthusiasm as if he was relatively new to it.

All-round grafter

During that time he paints, spikes, scarifies and mows his beloved grass and a measure of his dedication can be gauged by the fact that he noticed there were weeds packing tightly around the artificial wicket and spent five hours on his knees making sure that he returned the wicket to its original pristine state.
He keeps a tight rein on the finances at the club, as he has done for four decades but is adamant that the current group of workers at the club are the best he has ever known and they are so forward-thinking that in the last four years they have invested in the artificial wicket (£7,500), bowling machine (£2,500), sight screens (£3,000), heavy roller (£1,600), fencing (£2,500) portacabins and shower units (£5,500) – and have plans to extend the facilities at Imble Lane even further!

Welcome recognition

of a real involvement

His efforts at the club were recognised by Pembroke Dock Town Council last year when he received a certificate of Commendation from Cllr Sue Perkins, the mayor, for his long and meritorious service to cricket in the town, something which delighted Maurice since he just gets on with his work and doesn’t look for recognition.
Maurice started playing cricket in the Llanion School playground with a teacher called Mr Martin and enjoyed bowling quickly but hurt his shoulder and so taught himself to spin the ball with help from Alan Brown and Bertie Rossiter, who was the groundsman at Bush Camp. In 1964 he was asked to play for Pembroke Dock by Bryn Rowlands and as well as his other duties has been heavily involved in organising the club’s six a side tournament for local pubs for a number of years – and also umpires the seconds on Saturdays.

Top debut and some silverware

He marked his debut for the club seconds when he shared Stackpole’s ten wickets with John Donnachie and the pair also scored the winning runs but Maurice would be the first to say that it hasn’t always been as plain sailing as that. Over the intervening years he earned a reputation as a stubborn batsman (he once scored two runs off the first ball of his innings and then batted over 16 overs without adding another run to help save a game for The Dock in the league!) He never quite made a fifty but had a couple of 48s to his name during a long career.
His method of spinning the ball was unorthodox, to say the least, but it worked because he took 7 for 18 as his best figures and always had his share of wickets during each season.
He captained the club’s seconds to victory in the Alec Colley Cup Final as long ago as 1971 and makes light of the fact that he didn’t contribute a great deal since he opened the batting and was twice out for a duck as Llanrhian’s Elliott Morris had him caught in the slips!

All-round sports lover

As well as his involvement in cricket, Maurice also plays pool and darts for the Waterman’s Arms in Pembroke and was a rugby player and supporter of the Pembroke Dock Quins for a number of years, as well as being a debenture holder at the Millennium Stadium. He supports West Bromwich Albion in football and when he was 50 his colleagues in the TSB treated him to a special package deal at The Hawthorns which saw him meet the players, receive a signed programme and the match ball as special mementoes. He is something of a collector of sports memorabilia and his walls at home are adorned with signed pictures and other keepsakes.

Always looking forward

Back at Imble Lane, he is rightly proud of the fact that John Davies, whose return to the club after years working in London, helped organise fund-raising activities which took John, Peter Kingdom, Nick Daley, Luke Murray and others to help children at Chernobyl.
“We now have two senior teams again, a useful under 15 squad and we hope to add an under 13 team as soon as possible,” Maurice says, “ and we have five qualified coaches in Steve Alford, Peter Kingdom, Luke Murray, John Camani and Nick Daley so we are looking good in that area.”
Off the field, he is already planning an improvement to the outfield as his next project, especially with regard to drainage, and although it will cost in the region of £5,000 he is determined that the club must look to do it.
“It is no good sitting back,” says Maurice, “because things have to be done since they won’t happen by chance. We have the right sort of people now who will work towards doing it.”