Phil’s a real plus for Llangwm’s future hopes

Phil Llewellyn is only 14 years of age but has already made his mark on local cricket as the Llangwm youngster bowled his off-spinners to such good effect in his first Harrison-Allen Bowl match that he claimed five wickets against current league champions Carew to help Llangwm into the semi-finals!

Is he the youngest?

Local pundits attending the game at Pill Parks scratched their heads to remember whether anyone as young as Phil had ever achieved such a remarkable feat, which was all the more amazing since he bowled the very first over of the Carew innings as they set off in pursuit of Llangwm’s 155 for 5 tally – and had a chance dropped off the very first ball he bowled!

His performance was all the more praiseworthy since Phil has had to battle back from hip problems which kept him out of cricket for a season before he had pins inserted in an operation that kept him in a wheelchair for four months Phil’s a real plus for Llangwm’s future hopes

and then on crutches for another month, followed by physiotherapy and the need to follow an exercise regime that has seen him back in action.

Welsh international already

Prior to that he had already played cricket for Wales in his age group for two seasons where his best performance was a 4 for 34 haul against Cornwall, and he is eager to return to Welsh recognition in the future. He started out in the game as a nipper with Neyland under 9s that were coached by Martin Jones and Sean Hannon after previously playing the game in the back garden with dad, Alistair Platten, who showed him the techniques of off-spin and still spends a lot of time in the nets at Pill Parks to help Phil polish his skills.

Family background and other sports

The family cricketing background is continued because mum, Julie Llewellyn, used to play for Llangwm Ladies and gives him every support, whilst grandmother Avril Platten has been a well-known scorer for Llangwm over the years, with late granddad Kenny and uncle Julian also involved at Pill Parks.

Phil also plays rugby but was kept out for almost four years by his troublesome hips, although he is now back in action for Neyland as a hooker, under the watchful eye of coach Peter Hughes. He was part of the team which reached the Pembrokeshire final for their age group before losing to their counterparts from Crymych, but sadly missed the final because he wasn’t available.

County regular

Back on the cricketing front, Phil captains the school team for his age group and plays for the Pembrokeshire under 14s team that is coached by Ian Poole and involves other good players like Kieran Griffiths, Tom Murphy and Toby Poole. They attended a tour to North Wales and beat Mid Wales at Colwyn Bay but lost narrowly to a very strong Eryri side playing on their own turf.

Last season saw him claim a 4 for 6 haul against Carmarthenshire as his county best and he also had 4 for 28, bowling for Llangwm 2nds against Crymych 2nds at Pill Parks.

Great season so far

That leads on nicely to the current campaign where he had the opening game in the second team and has been included in the First XI ever since, with team captain Jonathan Twigg committed to letting Phil gain experience. He texted the young spin bowler on the morning of the big match against Carew to say that Phil was opening the bowling – and then came that dramatic moment when Richard Brock dropped a catch from the very first delivery!

But Phil didn’t lose his nerve and was rewarded as big hitter Tim Hicks was caught at square leg by Matthew Kiff, Richard Brock made amends by catching Nick Scourfield at short mid wicket and Adam Chandler fell to a boundary catch by Joe Kiff after the ball somehow lodged between his legs. So Phil had the scalps of three of the most influential batsmen in Pembrokeshire tucked neatly under his belt and these were followed by two other very fine young batsmen in Rhys Davies and Tom Scourfield to give Phil his five-wicket haul!

Still learning and hoping for a Welsh recall

On the batting front, Phil is learning his trade but showed his true grit when he joined James Lewis in batting out the final six overs against Cresselly to secure a draw, as he did with skipper Twigg in the league match at Carew.

So what of the future for this talented young cricketer? He would love to battle his way back into contention for a place in the Welsh squad for his age but is also happy to just being involved again after so much time away.
“I love playing cricket and it’s great at Llangwm,” admitted Phil, “because all the boys are really good and make me feel part of the team. We lost in the Duggie Morris Final but it was great to be involved.”

One only has to visit Pill Parks to see that Phil is highly regarded by his team mates but it is a two-way thing because Phil Llewellyn is certainly in the Llangwm first team on merit and we at PembrokeshireSports.co.uk is confident that we will hear a great deal more about this talented and likeable young man in the future!