Tom’s taken up the family’s gloves

The name of Scourfield has become synonymous at Carew Cricket Club with wicket-keeping because the late Tony Scourfield was a great glove man as well as being one of the most genuine characters in local sport – and now his great-nephew Tom looks likely to carry on the tradition with some neat work behind the stumps which has seen him play for the county.
The similarity continues because, like Tony, he is a goal-keeper and, like his dad Mike, is very much Carew through and through in terms of sport. He also plays in goal for a Carew junior team which had few wins last season and a heaviest defeat of 14-2 but, as Tom says,
“I would rather lose with Carew than win with another team.”

Looked after by veterans

Tom is nothing if not honest and when asked why wicket-keeping he said it was because he didn’t really like fielding or bowling so he took up the gloves, enjoyed it and hasn’t looked back since. He started out with Carew at under 9 level and has played at every age since in a side which currently tops its section of the junior league cricket. He gradually made it into the club’s third team and was well looked after by Martin Cole and Gethin Evans, whom he describes respectively as ‘superb’ and ‘a huge man’.
He took over behind the wicket from Gethin, who readily gives advice to him which he soaks up, and Tom has already confirmed his potential this season with two matches in the Village Cup, including a win over Drefach where he took a leg-side stumping and only conceded one bye.

First team performances and hard work in practice

There was defeat in the next round by neighbours Cresselly, where he was bowled by Stefan Jenkins for a duck but gained revenge when he took two catches, including the prize scalp of Phil Williams. He actually stood up to the wicket for some deliveries from the likes of Tim Hicks and Rhys Davies and readily admits that a leg-side stumping gives him great delight and makes sure that all his hard work in practice pays off.
He is able to work on his skills throughout the winter because Mike has constructed a sort of indoor net in a poly-tunnel at home, where Tom keeps wicket to dad on a bowling machine with a board in front of the stumps resembling a batsman so that he has as near to playing conditions as he can get.
“I just imagine the board is a Cresselly player,” says Tom with a chuckle!
Mike works with the club’s first team as coach and Tom receives support aplenty from mum Sue and sisters Rachel (19) and Grace (16) to complete the Scourfield family.
Tom is also a useful batsman with a top score of 48 for the club’s third team and a combined total of 156 runs from four innings in the under 15 team as a measure of his consistency. He plays for Pembrokeshire with Rhydian Rees as the coach and Colin Murphy as team manager, and enjoys meeting up with his pals from other local clubs.

Football Focus

Tom has also played for Carew in football throughout the different age groups and describes coach Gerald Hicks as,
“An incredible genius tactician, who knows everything about the game and passes it on to us.”
He is scathing of lads who go elsewhere to win medals and says again that being part of the Carew team is everything to him. They only won a handful of games last season but says,
“We still enjoyed it!”
And at least had the satisfaction of one clean sheet alongside the time when he picked the ball out of the net 14 times!
Ask him about favourite teams and he immediately says he is an Arsenal fan with Ces Fabrigas as his favourite player and several enjoyable visits to the Emirates Stadium to watch the Gunners play.

Try-scoring centre

Tom attends Ysgol Dyffryn Taf in Whitland and plays for the school team at his age group under the watchful eye of Mr Dylan Blain, who also plays cricket and football. He plays at inside centre and scored no fewer than 15 tries last season. The team won the Dyfed finals as they beat the best from Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, including victory over Amman Valley in the final where Tom scored one of the tries.
Carew through and through
It is evident when chatting to Tom that he is Carew through and through and it is refreshing to meet someone of his age with such commitment to his local team which will serve them well for years to come. Tom Scourfield is a real character already and PembrokeShiresport.co.uk will which his future progress in both cricket and football at Carew with considerable interest!