page revision date :
Geraint’s glad to be at Llanrhian
Geraint Morris is a self-confessed ‘sports nut’ who not only plays a very good game of cricket for Llanrhian, where he also looks after the ground at Llandigige Fawr, but plays rugby for St Davids. He used to play football for Solva when he had the time and he also enjoys golf, darts and pool – and is now eager to start playing squash!
Early cricketing success
Ask Geraint about his favourite sport, however, and he would plump for cricket, where he has played for Llanrhian since he was about eight years old, after watching Eric Flynn bring his ‘Vagabonds’ team to Llanrhian before he further caught the cricket bug as he watched Shane Warne and Jonty Rhodes at international level. Geraint and his pals at Croesgoch Primary School enjoyed playing the game and when they were in Year Six they reached the final of the Welsh Schools’ soft ball competition – an amazing feat for such a small school. He also represented the Pembrokeshire Schools’ team from the age of 12 and enjoyed tours to Jersey, Devon, Cornwall and Wiltshire.
At that stage he was bowling leg-spin but when he was chosen for West Wales he was persuaded by team coach John Prickett to switch to off-spin. On the batting front he was a bit of a slogger but has worked hard to develop his stroke play. Geraint captained the County under 14s in the Aberystwyth Cricket Festival, with John Jones (Neyland) as a team mate.
Runs, wickets and silverware
In 1999 he scored 85 not out as his team closed 151 to win against Haverfordwest – and they tied in a tense finale but in that same year he also achieved his first hat-trick in a junior league play-off – where they shot out the opposition for 37!
Llanrhian had talented young players like Tim Sterling, Tom Jones and Fraser Watson and after playing in the team which came runners-up in the under 13 and 14 leagues he was selected as a 15 year old when Llanrhian reached the Ormond Youth Cup Final in 2001 but lost to Haverfordwest. At that time he was asked to play for some top clubs but stayed with Llanrhian – and his loyalty was rewarded when they won the Ormond Cup in 2003, where Luke Jones, Adam Raymond and Matthew Bennett were also involved, beating a very strong Whitland team, with Geraint scoring 30 not out of the 80 they needed for victory. But the biggest achievement was in reaching the Welsh Under 15s Cup Final where they lost to St Fagans, but he had the distinction of bowling current Glamorgan player Tom Maynard.
Youth cap and a maiden ‘ton’
That same year saw him receive his County Youth Cap, along with Steve Ive, Richard James, Alex Kemp and Huw Devonald, and by then he had already scored his first century with 106 not out in a Division Three match against Hundleton –
“But I was dropped on the way” he admits with a chuckle!
Geraint was chosen for the Welsh Under 16 Squad after regular training sessions through the previous winter at Neath and Sofia Gardens.
“My mum Lorraine and dad Robert were hugely supportive, as was older brother Steve, and I played in one match against a club side celebrating their centenary but missed out on my cap.”
Family involvement and some real characters
The Morris family is still heavily involved at Llanrhian because dad played for them as a younger man, Steve still plays alongside Geraint – and mum does a huge amount of work, including the provision of teas for most home matches!
Ask Geraint about favourite memories and alongside the successes he would list playing for the second team, as a youngster with great characters like Alun Davies, John George, Colin Holness and Morgan ‘The Moon’ Miles.
“When I was about 13 we played once in the second team at Crymych and I went in the car with John, Alun and his huge Pyrenean Mountain dog”, says Geraint, “and we stopped at pubs in Letterston, Little Newcastle and Puncheston on the way. John had a good game as wicket-keeper and Alun bowled his 12 overs and scored a few runs, despite those stops at watering holes on the way!”
Other sports
Outside of his cricket, Geraint captained the County schools rugby team at Under 12 and 13 levels, and in 1995 the St Davids junior team reached the finals of the Welsh competition at the old Arms Park, with Geraint being jointed by Fraser Watson, Jon Raymond and Tom Jones. He was a nippy winger in those days and in one match, against Treorchy, he scored eight tries – but the Saints still lost 45-40! He still plays for St Davids and under the guidance of Jack Dudley and Fraser Watson they had their best-ever season in the national league set-up.
Geraint also played Wiltshire Cup football for Solva, with Ronnie Beynon as their excellent coach, and once scored a hat-trick against top side Merlins Bridge in a shock 3-1 victory. He plays golf at Priskilly and has a best break of 40 in snooker, as well as playing darts as captain of The Sloop team in the North Pembs League, where he has almost 40 throws of 180 over the years. Geraint also takes part in pool and is just about to start playing squash as another string to his sporting bow!
And finally . . .
Geraint is now in his second season as captain of Llanrhian and enjoys the role, which culminated in promotion last campaign to the second division, where his side has made a useful start and he has had innings of 80 not out and 85 not out in early successes for the club. He is also kept very busy in helping to look after Llanrhian’s lovely ground but he is off to Australia at the end of the year to watch the Ashes and might well stay in the Southern Hemisphere for a while to take in the Rugby World Cup after that in New Zealand. He has already been around the world twice and he is already looking forward to a third jaunt.
But in the meanwhile he will enjoy this campaign with Llanrhian Cricket Club and hopefully score a lot more runs – and keep up the club’s proud record of having really genuine characters at the helm!
| 
