page revision date : 30th November 2009
Steve scores lots of runs for Johnston
Johnston Cricket Club has found itself a real run-maker over the past couple of seasons in Steve Mills Jnr, who at 17 years of age has already scored three centuries, can bowl quickly as a bonus – and also plays for Johnston in football as a hard-tackling full back who has already broken into the Tigers’ first team.
Another plus, as far as Steve is concerned, is that he lives with his parents, brothers and sister in the first house in Glebelands and so has the shortest distance to travel to home games of any player in the county!
Small wonder then that he has been heavily involved in both sports because as a nipper he only had to open the back door and he was on the Johnston sports field with his pals, picking up a bat or kicking a football. He started out playing cricket for Johnston at under 10 level and represented Pembrokeshire at every age level to under 16, as well as West Wales before Pembrokeshire became a region in its own right. He captained the county team at under 14 and under 16 and whilst on a tour he scored his first ‘ton’ when he amassed 109 not out against the Cardiff Academy.
Top scoring for Steve Jnr
By the time he was 13 Steve was a regular in the Johnston Second XI, with a top score of 57, and had already made his first team debut with both bat and ball. He came close to his first hundred at senior level when he stood at 98 not out against Kilgetty with one ball of the innings to go – and thought he might have hit a four from a straight drive but it hit the bowler’s foot and rebounded to the bowler so that Steve was still two runs short of three figures at the end!
But Steve soon compiled a score of 126 against Llechryd and in recent months he made it three centuries already when he played for a combined Johnston/Neyland side in this year’s Ormond Youth Cup and smashed no fewer than ten boundaries and five big sixes en route to 121 not out.
First team football
It is a similar story in football because Steve started out as a ten year old and scored lots of goals as a striker, with a biggest goal haul of seven in one match against Herbrandston. He has played for Pembrokeshire at ever age group from under 10 to under 16as a hard-tackling midfielder and now plays full back for the Tigers’ first team because, in Steve’s own words,
“I have put a bit of weight on to play up front or in midfield and I really enjoy facing the ball at full back.”
This new season will be his second under managers Russell Murray and dad, Steve Mills Snr, and Steve Jnr says that on the pitch he is lucky because,
“I have Tim Morgan-Jones and Paul Davies as my on-field ‘minders’ if things get a bit tough!”
Golfing capers
As well as his two main sports, Steve also enjoys his regular games of golf at Haverfordwest, where he is now in his third year and plays alongside another talented youngster in Greg Walters. Steve started out with a handicap of 24 and was soon dropped to 11 after handing in a card where he recorded a gross 76.
Steve has dropped to 12 now and his ambition is to be a low handicap golfer by the time he is 20, so he has time aplenty yet. He has just started playing for the Tigers at the club and won one of the three matches he played – and has already set himself the challenge of improving his driving and putting so that they are as good as his play with the irons, and then he will be a very good player!
Family matters
Steve would say that in all his sport he has received 100% support from his parents, Edwina and Steve Snr, plus brothers Jack (16) and Ieuan (10), and sister Katie (12). Dad and his brothers have also played cricket for Johnston and dad is the current groundsman at Glebelands and is Child Welfare Officer for the football club. Ask Steve Jnr about Steve Snr and he would say that there is sometimes a bit of leg-pulling amongst them, like the recent time when Steve Jnr got to a county match with only one batting glove and had to borrow a pair – and is still convinced that it had been hidden by his father because it soon turned up back in his kit bag at home!
Good fun at Glebelands
Steve Jnr is pleased that there are other young players catching the eye at Glebelands like Lee Summons, Liam James, Richard and Nicky Davies alongside the older players like skipper Steve Jenkins, John Summons, Chris Fitzpatrick and especially Gary James, with even older players like Steve and Richard James playing so well for the seconds. Steve enjoyed the atmosphere in the seconds and can still recall one match where Glen Murray went out to keep wicket and only when the game was about to start did he realise that he didn’t have any pads on!
Steve has already been voted as ‘Player of the Year’ for the past two seasons and would love to captain the team one day, ideally helping them gain promotion into the first division and being able to stay there.
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