Cricket ‘Select XIs’ Feature:

 

 
To select our ‘Select XI’ from Llangwm we asked two of the club’s most stalwart members in Dai Davies and Julian Platten, who have both been players in their time but in recent years have done sterling work in maintaining Pill Parks to a very high standard.

 

Llangwm through and through

Dai was honoured to be club captain for two Harrison-Allen Finals, one of which they won, as well as leading them to the league title and  playing in three other Bowl Finals (two won) and a Duggie Morris Final as well.
 
Julian also played for many years and one of his claims to fame is the fact that he skippered a Llangwm 2nds string to victory as rank underdogs in the Alec Colley Cup Final at Pembroke against a super-strong Haverfordwest team.
 
When Llangwm bought a second field below their main pitch it was ‘Platts’ and Brian James who put in an immense amount of time to make it playable for cricket – and it was Julian who captained the third XI which played there and brought along some of the talent that has since come through.
 
They told us,
“Having won the Harrison-Allen-Bowl, Duggie Morris Cup, Colley Cup, and Ormond Youth over the last 20 years, this has been a difficult task in choosing what we would pick as Llangwm’s first X1 team, and we have had to omit many good players, but this is our choice and no doubt we will expect a lot of comments.
 
 

Getting the right batting order was hard

 
Some more of today’s squad might have been considered but we are sure if there was another such feature in ten years’ time they would certainly have been included!
 
Our problem has been to get the right batting order because we have so many powerful stroke makers who would all want to bat high up the order – but the nice thing is that if a few of them come off we would always have a high score.
 
We also have some good all-rounders too – and a bowling attack that would give us a chance in every game.”
 



 

1. Willie Morris

Willie was one of the best right hand opening batsman to go though the club with his ability to attack the opening bowlers from the first ball of the innings, and often to give us the sort of fast start we liked. He was also an outstanding stumper and our team captain because of his ability to raise the morale of the side and give encouragement when the going was tough.
 











 

2. George Thomas

A very reliable right hand opening batsman regarded one of the best stroke-makers in the County and has scored many runs. He was an important spin bowler in the team, and also gained a Welsh Cap in his junior days.
 










 

3. Simon Kiff

‘Sid’ was a very experienced right hand batsman and was capable of building a total quickly or having to graft when the going was tough. His role was batting at number 3 for many years, and in his time was one of the best fielder in the game.
 












 

4. Stephen Inward

A very talented cricketer who was a left-handed  top order batsman who once scored an incredible century for the county youth under floodlights at Sophia Gardens. He simply oozed class and in the end he moved up the line to gain more experience. ‘Young Ins’ was also a medium pace bowler and there is no surprise that he not only gained a Welsh Youth  Cap but was also chosen to play for England..
 






 

5. Mark Davies

Mark was a top order left- handed batsman who could hit the ball many a mile and who could change the game in a short time so he was especially valuable in the 22-overs competitions. He was also a medium pace bowler who took his fair share of wickets and as a bonus was a good fielder.
 






 

6. William Beresford

‘Will’ is a stylish opening left-handed batsman (but could bat anywhere!) who is still the main stay of our batting after many years, with an ability to bat long whilst also scoring quickly with his boundary-laden shots., He is also the current team’s wicket keeper so he could double up there if needed – and another deserved recipient of a Welsh cap in his younger days. 
 









 

7. Andrew Harries

‘Ackie’ was a top order right-hand batsman who has to step down in the order for this powerful batting line-up. He was a fine stroke player who also hits the ball hard, a doubled up as a useful medium pace, or spin, bowler.
 

8. Gary Phillips

Another hard-hitting right-hand middle order batsman, who even today still loves to attack the bowling and with a real ability to hit straight. Gary is a real all-rounder in the sense that he is also a medium pace bowler but has stumped for the club when required.
 





 

9. Darren John

A talented all-rounder cricketer whose batting skills mean that he could never be under-estimated in whatever position he appeared, as well as being a pacy opening bowler and a good fielder. A measure of his ability comes with the fact that he is another of our players who represented Wales as a junior.
 









 

10. Martin Inward

 One of the team’s genuine characters as well as being a very experienced player who served the club well for many years - and with wife Tina produced two terrific cricketers in Chris and Stephen. ‘Ins’ was a right-hand opening pace bowler and an under-rated batsman who scored many runs lower down the order - and an excellent fielder with a good arm.
 
 
 

11. Darren Brick

Darren was an opening right-hand pace bowler for many years and someone able to get bounce out of almost any wicket. He was a key member of the team in his prime because he was also well-regarded as a lower order hard-hitting batsman.
 









 

12. Henry Thomas

A right-handed, middle-order and hard-hitting batsman who can score quick runs when needed. He is a strong competitor who is also good in the field.
 














 

13.  McPherson Mead

‘Mac’ is an all-round cricketer who came from the West Indies and joined us. He could bowl pace or spin, was also a first team wicket keeper as a very talented player.