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Watching all five days
I was lucky enough to watch three of the five absorbing days of cricket in the test match in Cardiff and what was noticeable was the large number of cricketers from Pembrokeshire who made the journey to support England against the old enemy.
Some, like Dave Loosmore and Andrew Phillips of Haverfordwest, watched the whole five days, despite being close to the ‘Barmy Army’ for much of that time. There were rumours that ‘Daffy’ was thinking of joining the noisy bunch but, as vice-chairman of the County Club and chairman at Haverfordwest stayed cool. I am reliably informed that the chant of ‘Barmy Army’ didn’t escape his lips once!
Classy outfits:
Looking resplendent in their classy outfits were Matthew ‘Titch’ Davies and Scott Newton, both of Whitland, who spent a day cheering England on with Titch dressed as Sylvester the Cat and Dan showing off his muscles as Fred Flintstone. Dan had a natty club as part of his outfit, useful in case Titch needed defending with his cat-like behaviour, whilst young Mr Davies did remove the rather hot Sylvester head-gear to cool down and slake his thirst. When asked why they had dressed up so specially for the day they said that it had seemed a good idea at the time!
Classy travelling
Undoubtedly the classiest travel mode award would go to Hundleton Cricket Club because they took some of their junior players, as guests of sponsors npower, in a stretch limousine on the 240-mile round trip. It actually proved cheaper than hiring a bus and the whole day was a great experience for the kids, who were well looked after by Jonathan Williams, Mark Williams and Morgan Allen. Steve Williams was also heavily involved but as the oldest player at the day out he enjoyed himself in npower’s hospitality box – well done Steve, you carried the club’s flag with some distinction!
Classy headgear
No doubt about the nattiest head-gear at the test match – that award would go to Mervyn John, the veteran Hundleton cricketer, his wife Barbara, son Carl and daughter-in-law Sabrina. On the last day Mervyn wore a multi-coloured parrot hat, his missus had a red lobster sitting atop her head, son wore a different parrot hat and daughter-in-law looked very smart in her small golden ring-master’s headwear. Most importantly of all, though, all four cheered England from start to finish and just about summed up the festive side of a cracking test match.
Carew well-represented
Carew were certainly well represented through their older fans like Derek and Rowena Lloyd, Gethin Evans and Gerald Hicks, who was apparently sitting next to Frank Skinner in the crowd and the pair enjoyed a good chat. I also saw Ian Sefton and Brian Hall there, who was making jokes about Frank Skinner having plenty of material for a show, whilst the award for the most unsteady cricketer on his feet must go to veteran second-team opening batsman Adi Harries, who certainly seemed to have enjoyed himself on a long day in the sun.
Village sides unite
Two others who had a rattling good time on the final day were Martyn Inward (Llangwm) and Mark Williams (Hundleton), who travelled with a group of pals from Chevron and one ‘outsider’ who regularly saved Martyn’s bacon because every time he went to the loo the Llangwm character lost his bearings and had to be called to his seat by the non-Chevron chappie. Mark was a little more steady but it would be interesting to know how they got on later in the evening because both were staying overnight in the capital city after a day of cider gliding at the match.
Well done Nicky
I also bumped into Nicky, Rob and Martin Scourfield and naturally congratulated Nicky on being chosen as the second Antur Insurance ‘player of the month’ for his recent performances as opening batsman, which I felt was no more than he deserved. There were blank looks from his younger brothers and Nicky told me that only Ceri Brace, the youngster in the Carew side, had congratulated him, whilst the others were pretending they didn’t know anything about it. They are a naughty lot, Nicky, but you and I know how well you batted to achieve your success – and they do appreciate what you do for the team!
Johnny joins Steve in the sun
Jonathan Thomas is best known as a Welsh international rugby player but he was also a very talented young cricketer with Stackpole before he had to concentrate on the oval ball game - and he was there. Soaking up the sun and enjoying the cricket with other Welsh rugby stars Steve Jones and Gareth Cooper. I did tease him about whether he might be leaving the Ospreys and moving west to join Steve Jones at the Scarlets but no luck – but it was a real treat to see one of our favourite rugby players again!
Llechryd lads enjoy themselves
We also met up with a trio of Llechryd finest in Steve Welch, Lawrence Harries and Steve Harding, all enjoying a quiet pint in the Brains Beer Lounge during one of the lunch intervals. It would be interesting to know who talked them in there – was it Steve ‘The Brief’ Welch, the Perry Mason of Llechryd, or the urbane Mr Harries, owner of ‘Daioni’, the natural health drink now enjoyed by so many sportsmen, or the quiet Steve Harding? Whoever it was they did well because they were treated, like those of us who were already there, to a cracking 15 minutes of wit and wisdom from former England players Gladstone Small and Mike Gatting, plus ex-Australian run machine Dean Jones.
Herbie there in strength
It was also nice to bump into a group of footballers from Herbrandston who all attended Milford Haven Comprehensive and now live close together in Cardiff and play for the same team in the Cardiff Sunday League. They met old pal Scott John, the Neyland cricketing all-rounder, and had a cracking fun day out, although a couple of them were a little the worse for wear at the finish and might not remember they had been to the test match – and we feature a little more about their footballing exploits in a forthcoming ‘Where are they now?’ article.
Umpires take in the atmosphere
There were quite a few local umpires there as well, with Whitland’s quartet of Richard Merriman, Trefor Evans, Hilliard and Huw Davies all there and highly impressed by the organisation. “It was superb,” said Mr M, the chairman of the Pembrokeshire Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers, “everyone involved in Welsh Cricket should give themselves a pat on the back.” Here, hear, says pembrokeshiresport.co.uk
Lost for words for once!
Since I am happy to laugh with other Pembrokeshire Sports people it is only fair that I mention my own little faux pas from time to time – and for once both Bernie Armstrong and I were lost for words on another recent sporting trip to watch the tennis at Wimbledon.
Bernie, who is best known as manager of Goodwick United, had come with me to watch some of the ladies’ quarter final games on the second Tuesday at the tennis and on the Monday evening, when Murray beat Wawrinka in that epic battle, we were outside the ground in a long queue, unable to get in but listening to the cheers before catching our bus back to the hotel in Wanstead where we were staying. The bus fare was £2 and the drivers like to have the exact money so whilst we were eating a meal back at the hotel we emptied our pockets to make sure we had enough change for Tuesday morning’s bus trip to the ground and managed to build two piles of coins, of varying denominations, which we placed on the table as we were watching the tennis on TV.
Then along came our waiter and in the blink of an eyelid we watched our bus fares disappear with our empty plates as he said ‘Thanks very much gents’ and disappeared into the kitchen with our four quid! We almost collapsed with laughter but all’s well that ends well because the next morning we discovered a nice Sainsbury’s just around the corner where we loaded up with bottled water in readiness for the Wimbledon heat – and acquired some change there for the bus!
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