Richard Howell has been a player, coach and hon secretary with Narberth CC, and organiser of the popular Ken Morris Cup that has gone from strength through his total commitment over the past 15 years (and it has been a pleasure to promote on PembrokeshireSport.co.uk all that time) - and someone who is always a pleasure to chat to when we bump into him behind the boundary ropes in our county.
 
Now 57 years of age, Richard started out in cricket almost by accident when he had a haircut in Kilgetty as an 11 year old and the barber persuaded him to play at Kingsmoor - but after a very short apprenticeship there he started playing for his home-town club and has been there ever since.
 

Started in earnest when he went to Narberth School and soon tasted success

 
“I really began opening the batting and bowling when I attended Narberth School with Gregg Morris and Paul Phillips, easily one of the best players I ever came across, with Ken Morris as the team coach alongside Bobby Simons at Narberth CC.”
 
The team reached the Ormond Youth Cup Final for three successive years in 1981 to 1983, where they played Haverfordwest each time, winning the first and third, and with Richard adjudged man of the match in the first one as he claimed plenty of wickets with his medium-pace swing bowling and batted well in both innings.
 
“Our  talented group of players also made it to the last four in the Welsh Cup for our age group, played at St Helen’s, Swansea, but after beating Newport we lost to Briton Ferry in the final - but it was a real achievement to do so well at this level.”



 

A first-team spell ruined by a problem on field

 
From there it was on to first team cricket but he had to stop bowling for a while as he suffered what golfers call a ‘dose of the yipps’ where he lost his run up rhythm so that the late Dickie Parry was taking a lot of deliveries at second slip, rather than the wicket-keeper!
 
So he played as a batsman in the second team where skipper John Owen was very sympathetic and he opened the batting - and eventually bowled again after he dramatically cut his run-up - and although he lost his ability to swing the ball in the air managed to focus on pace variation and accuracy - and gradually was confident enough to bowl again on a regular basis.
 

Cup Final appearances with firsts and seconds

 
“When Richard Adams became captain I was back in the first team and it was great to reach the Harrison-Allen Bowl Final but we were smashed by Carew after we were bowled out very cheaply as we batted first but we did well to not lose by an innings with a better batting performance after tea - and I was pleased that I managed to take a few wickets.”
 
During his 40-plus years at the club Richard also played in two Alec Colley Cup Finals, the first in 1994 under John Owen when they beat Neyland 2nds at Pembroke and Paul Phillips was man of the match for his immensely powerful batting in both innings.
 

Disaster as skipper in the Alec Colley Cup Final

 
“Then in 2002 I was captain of the seconds when Bob Summons was captain of Haverfordwest  but it was a disaster because we not only lost but I was only on the field for a short while as I spent almost five hours at Withybush Hospital after our friend Emma Richards took me there.
 
“I dived to try and take a low catch but I not only dropped the ball but it badly split the webbing between my fingers and there was blood everywhere - and I came back just in time to see Bob receive the trophy in front of the clubhouse!”
 

Coaching undertaken from an early age

 
As well as his playing, Richard took up coaching at the tender age of 17 when he attended a Level One course organised by Ray Kane, who did so much for junior cricket, and taken by former England all-rounder Tom Cartwright.

“I went with my Narberth team-mate John ‘Cloudy’ Davies and I started helping at county level with the under 8s when my son Jordan was playing and carried on until they finished at under 14 level - and by then Jordan had played for Wales for a couple of seasons.
 
“We had enjoyed a few trips to the Aberystwyth Festival and did well there - and when I decided it was time to step down I was delighted that Jordan took over the reins in terms of county coaching.”




 

Ken Morris Cup decided at Ken’s wake!

 
By this time Richard was heavily involved in the Ken Morris Memorial Cup competition, a tournament that sprung from a chance conversation at Ken’s wake in Narberth RFC and became a reality through the efforts of the Howell family, as Richard’s wife Rhian does all the administrative stuff, as well as joining his parents Heather and John, alongside Emma Richards, in producing the high-quality tea that goes with it.
 
“We started it off with only third teams allowed since there was no competition for them organised by the county club, with Carew and Haverfordwest dominating it for a number of years. Then we allowed a recreational group called The Nomads to play and recently we have decided to include Hundleton and Fishguard, who only have one team each and play in the fourth division.
 
“To be honest there was a little opposition to this decision’” admitted Richard, “but we want to encourage participation so only time will tell if we have it right.
 

And finally . . .

 
“My family have always enjoyed our involvement and we have support from Ken’s three sons; Richard, Paul and Gregg in providing the trophies, teas and wine (as gifts to those who help), with some of their children presenting the trophies - and also worthy of a mention are our superb groundsmen in Bobby Simons, Mike and Mathew Johns in providing a perfect pitch for the final, which always takes place on the August Bank Holiday Monday.
 
And if you needed any further proof of Richard’s dedication to the Narberth CC’s cause then there is the fact the he also took over the reins as the club’s hon secretary over 20 years ago, from Idwal Vincent, who showed the same dedication as Richard and was in office for four decades before that.
 
In this new season Richard Howell is already back in action on the field and hard at work off it in the above role and again in the Ken Morris Cup, where Rhian has already produced the fixtures (in glorious technicolor, and they are aiming to get all the games played, as they did last season - but hopefully both will have time for a quick chat when we see them around the boundary, because we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk are pleased to call them great friends!