When Cresselly ladies beat old rivals Burton in their final game of the 2025 league season it confirmed them as deserved first division champions and there is no doubt that in an all-round team performance that there was one set of bowling figures which caught the eye - and that was Lucy Johnson’s haul of 5 for 8, which effectively ruined Burton’s hopes of springing a surprise.

 
Similarly, when Cresselly fended off the challenge of Hook a little earlier it was easy to see Lucy’s all-round value to the team as she scored 25 not out before retiring alongside Meg Arthur and Zoe Minnett in a vital 46 run victory.

 
Lucy has been regarded as a useful fast bowler since she returned to the county from her long-time role as a police officer in Leicester; where she has been chosen to represent the British Police team - and her coach recently suggested that she might want to consider switching to off-spin, which is what she bowled against Burton!

 

Great success with bat and ball

 

In the intervening time, Cresselly have been league winners four times since her return. She was captain in 2020, with Lauren Davies as another winning skipper and current inspirational captain Christie Toy achieved success for the second time.
 

They have also won the Clive Huxley Cup, traditionally played at Stackpole, and when they played old rivals Hook in last season’s final she managed 50+ in one innings to be awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ accolade, which she readily admits was a real bonus on top of winning.

 
Her top score so far is 76 in the cup against Lawrenny and whilst playing for Cresselly Thirds in the Men’s League she grabbed 6 for 27 against Stackpole 2nds!


 

Family matters . . .

 

That Lucy should be such a useful cricketer comes as no surprise because her father is Peter Johnson, known to all simply as ‘P.J.’, a classy batsman who played for Narberth and then Kilgetty, where he played alongside the likes of Graham Jenkins, Barry Wood, Ian Poole and others in winning the Harrison-Allen Bowl.

 
And when mum Alex was helping with teas, Lucy, twin brother Simon and younger brother Ollie were dragged along as they all played with other players’ children and developed their skills. She is grateful to her mother for allowing her to ruin her lawn with ad hoc wickets in front of the apple tree. Other early cricketing lessons included learning not to cycle across the cricket square (only once! Sorry Pooley!) and not to stand waving in front of a sightscreen (in fairness, Lucy was in a pushchair at the time so that was really Alex’s lesson!).

 
She also played a range of sports in Loveston School, where there were so few children in the small class that girls were chosen for football and cricket against the boys from bigger schools - and there might even have been a small handful of boys in the netball squad!

 

A good start and a return home

 
By the time she was 14, Lucy was playing in ladies’ cricket under Ali Brace, and received the ‘Young Bowler of the Year’ in 2001 and 2002, plus the ‘Bowler of the Year’ and ‘Player of the Year’ in 2003 before leaving to study at the University of Leicester.
 

“There wasn’t a great deal of cricket there,” Lucy told us, “but I did briefly play for a village team called Lutterworth, which was great, but there’s nothing quite like being a Dove. In 2017 I had the chance to move back to Pembrokeshire and I jumped at it.
 

“I rejoined Cresselly and it immediately felt like a welcome home. Having always really been a bowler, I really worked at my batting, which essentially meant becoming mentally stronger in games – and age certainly helps! When you’re young, scoring a duck seems the end of the world. Maturity lends a bit of perspective, and batting is easier when you take that pressure off yourself. Mind you, having only one shot in the arsenal also helps with the decision-making!

 
“I also really enjoy our indoor cricket with a cracking bunch of girls, so it keeps us all busy and involved in the club through the Winter months.”

 

Representative honours for county and British Police

 

Lucy also plays for the county team, so well led by Sam Rossiter, and plays whenever her role as an acting sergeant allows, in support of a young team that is gaining experience at such a high level.
 

“I also play for the British Police team - and it’s gratifying that Pembrokeshire Ladies’ cricket is so strong that it has sometimes provides a quarter of the British squad as we play against teams from the Army, Royal Navy, RAF, the National Asian Cricket Council and local county sides.
 

“It is great fun as we include players from Scotland, Northern Ireland and across England; plus our Welsh contingent - and again I was honoured in 2021 with the ‘Bowler of the Year’ award in the Police Forces’ team in its 50th year!”


*Lucy has also been on a number of British Police Force tours but this writer resisted the temptation to delve in that area!

 

And finally . . .

 
We were greatly impressed by the fact that Lucy Johnson is very keen to put something back into a game she so clearly loves because she and Louisa Cole, who was initially responsible for encouraging her to join Cresselly, have initiated a new group in the village.
 

They have started a girls’ team named the ‘Diamond Doves’, which is for under 12 players and compete in games against other clubs like St Ishmaels, Whitland and Narberth. Lucy eagerly anticipates the growth of that League, building a stronger future for the women’s game in Pembrokeshire.

 
Lucy told us she wants to see others enjoy cricket like she has done and PembrokeshireSport.co.uk can only say ‘well done’ because she is an asset to ladies’ (and now girls’) cricket in our county!