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The Summons clan are so involved at Johnston
When Johnston travelled just up the road to play at Oatfield Park, Burton, in a division two cricket match recently a little piece of sporting history was made when father, mother, daughter and son were all involved in helping Johnston to a convincing seven-wicket win.
John scored 67 not out as he carried his bat throughout the innings and son Lee (29 not out) was there at the end when they assured maximum bonus points from a big six-hit, with Lee leading the bowling attack with a 5 for 30 haul that broke the back of the Burton innings. Daughter Emma, a very good cricketer and all-round sportswoman, fielded really well but didn’t have the chance to bat or bowl because Johnston had done so well, whilst mum Delyth did her usual expert job as scorer to complete a busy quartet who are heavily committed to the Johnston cause.
John’s in the runs
It has been a good season so far for John since he also scored 64 not out against Carew and contributed well in other games – not bad going for someone best known for his rugby prowess with Haverfordwest over 15 seasons.
He started out as a gritty little scrum half with the Blues’ youth team and also won a league winners’ medal and KO Cup at senior level, plus a heap of trophies in sevens contests where the Blues did well at Pembrokeshire District and Welsh Districts’ competitions. John also played football for Johnston Juniors as a left-sided midfielder until the call of rugby became too strong.
He started out in cricket at Rosemarket, when he was persuaded to play by Neil Adams, and played in an Ormond Cup Final there and a year later at Neyland before halting his involvement for 12 years because of commitments on the family’s farm.
Then Chris Campbell arrived at the door one Saturday lunch-time because Johnston were desperate, John sought out an old shirt and trousers – and has missed fewer than ten matches in the intervening 17 years!
In that time he achieved his first century with 100 not out against Fishguard and improved on his personal best with 113 against the same club – and at 48 years of age aims to carry on playing for as long as he can.
Lee’s back with a bang
Lee returned to Johnston after two seasons where he tried his hand at first division cricket with Neyland and is thriving on the fact that he has now recovered from a knee operation and raring to go.
His 5 for 30 and 29 not out in the Burton match proved that he is back to fitness and he has also claimed 3 for 21 against Carew. His top score is 53 and he has a best analysis of 6 for 11 in an Ormond Youth Cup match for Johnston/Neyland – and like dad is a scrum half in the oval ball game. He played for STP and Haverfordwest Youth, with two appearances already as a 19 year old for the first team to show his play was developing nicely before his leg injury – and an ambition to play regularly for the Blues now that he is out of youth rugby.
He also wants to carry on playing cricket at Glebelands because he says there is a great team spirit there at the moment.
Emma’s played the lot
It would be very difficult to find someone who has played a wider range of representative sport than Emma Summons, although it is a bone of contention for her that women in cricket are sometimes not given the credit they deserve by the fellows – and that includes Johnston!
She has played for Wales in cricket and football, hockey at least to South Wales level, cross-country and athletics for West Wales, plus netball and badminton for Pembrokeshire – phew!
In cricket she enjoys batting and bowling – and can also keep wicket – but was fielding for Johnston in that match at Burton because someone couldn’t play and she was drafted in as a late replacement. She showed her fielding prowess on a number of occasions and her willingness to compete for the club was certainly appreciated by the other Johnston players.
Delyth scores with the best of them
Delyth enjoys watching her family play and was roped into scoring on an ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ basis – and has been doing it ever since, with Emma helping out whenever the other team don’t have a scorer. She kept her book as meticulously as ever and is a very able administrator who is Hon Treasurer of the Johnston Cricket Club and doubles up in the same role at Haverfordwest RFC, which has become big business over the years.
What the players in both camps might not know is that she was a very good sportswoman in her own right before the family came along, playing left wing in hockey for both Llandovery and Carmarthenshire Schools, as well as turning out in goal for Llandovery Ladies’ team since no-one else would play there and she gave it a bash. Delyth also represented Carmarthenshire in badminton and cross-country to show what a good sporting all-rounder she was.
At the moment she is wrestling with another challenge because Emma is trying to get mum to use the family lap-top for her scoring, using a special package, but we’ll have to let you know when she becomes proficient in that particular skill!
Committed quartet
From the above it is easy to see how committed are the Summons’ clan to Johnston Cricket Club and our picture captured the historic moment for John, Delyth, Emma and Lee at Oatfield Park, Burton.
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