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Jenks is the top man at Treleet
If you wanted a prime example of loyalty in local sport then you need look no further than Angle Association Football Club and Pembroke Cricket Club because in both you would find Kevin Jenkins having played a significant role because he played football for the former club for well over two decades and is still playing cricket for the latter at their Treleet Ground after the better part of four decades.
Popularly known as ‘Jenks’ he has been club captain at Pembroke for nine seasons over several periods, has been groundsman there for more than 15 years, on the committee for 30 years, four of them as chairman, and has been honoured with trusteeship over recent years.
Angle football – full of characters
He was also captain at Angle for a few years from his regular midfield berth and still watches them whenever he can, as well as enjoying an early Saturday evening ‘pint’ during the football season with other great characters from the club like Peter Thomas, Haydn Phillips, ‘Chick’ Panton and Ian Walters.
Jenks readily admits that he missed playing at Angle terribly when dodgy knees and a bad back forced him to step down when he was about 40, after switching to sweeper to prolong his career and joining Haydn Phillips and Kevin Winstone at the back.
“It is a club full of characters,” says Kevin, “with Mike Hughes and Peter Thomas having shown total commitment since the team started. I played in a few third and second division cup finals although playing at Angle wasn’t about medals but about being part of a village team which was like a large family. I wouldn’t have played for any other side if they had paid me.”
First Bowl skipper
There was more success in cricket because Jenks could rightly boast (if he knew the meaning of the word!) that he was the first Pembroke captain to lead a team to victory in the coveted Harrison-Allen Bowl, where they beat favourites Cresselly by one run on their own patch. He bowled the last over with Cresselly needing 10 runs to win after veteran bowler Keith Hulbert had just bowled a wicket maiden to apply the pressure. Andrew Warr and Darren Davies were the Cresselly batsmen and they still needed three runs off the last ball and could only manage a single so Jenks could proudly lift the coveted Bowl.
He also played in the winning Pembroke team the following season when Stewart Longhurst led the Pembroke side to an easier win over Burton, with further success when they beat Haverfordwest and Carew in successive Jubilee Cups as the Bowl holders took on the league winners.
Other sports – and cricket disappointment
Cricket was always Kevin’s favourite sport although he did play table tennis to a good standard and was once county junior champion - and had one season of youth rugby as he played for Pembroke on the wing but rarely saw much of the ball because centres Kevin Baillie and Ray Evans were so good that the ball rarely came out to him because they scored so often themselves!
He started out in cricket as an 11 year old junior with Pembroke and still lists an Ormond Youth Cup semi-final defeat against Laugharne as one of only a few disappointments he has endured in the game. Pembroke had a very strong youth team at the time and so did Laugharne as they included rugby players like Gary Pearce and Roger Hunt. The teams tied and Pembroke were padding up to play two overs ‘sudden death’ each when it was announced that the scorers had somehow found a run for Laugharne which gave them the verdict – and to add insult to injury they went on to win the Cup as well!
Early senior start – and still there now
Jenks started out in senior cricket with the club seconds but was soon a regular in the first team alongside Colin Kaijaks as teenagers playing under the captaincy of Mike Hughes and George Hulbert, with older characters like Johnnie Jones, Ray Kane and Eifion Powell well established and looked up to. He was the first recipient of the Julia White Trophy in 1977, awarded by the late Julia White MBE for ‘The Most Outstanding Youth Bowler’; an amazing coincidence because his partner Ann has a daughter named Julia White – and she was also born in 1977!
He says he was a ‘stop-gap’ first XI captain last season but is still there at 48 under Nigel Phillips’ leadership, although he was hoping to just play as a batsman for the seconds this season before he was recalled and has managed to keep on bowling despite plenty of aches and pains from his back and neck.
Club and county captain but no cap
He first led the club in 1983, 84 and 85, when the Bowl was won as well as playing over 20 times for Pembroke County Cricket Club, including a debut against the South Wales League where he claimed 1 for 20 as Linton Lewis smashed a big century for the opposition. He also went on tours to Ireland and Birmingham and he was also county captain for a season. It was something that Jenks regarded as a great honour but sadly it forms part of his only other disappointment because he was never awarded his county cap despite always giving 100%.
Ask Kevin about best performances and he would list an 8 for 16 spell against Haverfordwest as special, especially since his first spell yielded 0 for 16 before George Hulbert recalled him to the action and he claimed all eight scalps without conceding a single run. He also achieved two hat-tricks, against Carew and at Kilgetty – and on the batting front had a couple of 70s and a few half centuries when he opened the innings for a while.
Still going strong, on and off the pitch
His work on the ground keeps him busy, especially on Saturday mornings when the pitch has to be prepared, although he says that he is lucky to have a lot of help from Paul Fraser and Jonathan Davies. Then it is back home for a quick sandwich, collect his kit and back to the ground to meet up with fellow old-timers like Nigel Phillips, Gwyn Griffiths, Colin Kaijaks and Spencer Harries as they play alongside talented youngsters like Sean Powell, Rob Weston, Charlie Allen, Luke Butler and Dan Scourfield.
Major changes
Jenks has seen major changes at Treleet, not least in the buildings but also in the way games are played.
“The old Green Shed was a symbol of cricket at Treleet but it had to come down and the new building alongside the old changing rooms now houses the equipment as well as umpires’ changing rooms, toilets and an area for scorers. We also have that talented group of young players coming through that I hope will serve the club well and enjoy their cricket – although I don’t know if they will share the camaraderie that us older cricketers have with players from other clubs. That is one of the best parts of the game as far as I am concerned – play to win but enjoy a pint with opponents afterwards.”
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