Ben Adams is a very good sporting all-rounder!

Ben Adams really enjoys his involvement in local sport and has already helped Goodwick United share top spot in the Manderwood Pembrokeshire League first division in the new season having just captained Hundleton for his second year in local cricket – and again showed the darting prowess that marks him as a very good player.

On the football front, Ben set out as a nipper at Monkton Swifts and after impressing local Swansea City scout Ray Evans he had a season with The Swans as a 15 year old but was obviously shattered when he was released at the end of it after showing absolute commitment in his play and training, alongside the obvious pressure of so much travel.

Scored goals galore wherever he played . . .

“When senior football came along I joined Haverfordwest County and had a bit of time working with the first team squad with Leighton James as manager and I had one game in the Welsh League.

“I played regularly in the seconds in the first division of Pembrokeshire Football which was really well looked after by the late Derek Roberts, Micky Ellis and Steve Batty but sadly the team was withdrawn from the league.

“So I rejoined The Swifts and played there as a striker who scored more than my fair share of goals in a good side that included players of the calibre of Jamie Callen, James Russell, Lee Brockway, Richard Hughes, Lance Creese and Wayne Brunton.”

Then Ben moved down the hill to Bush Camp and joined a Pennar Robins’ team well-coached by Chrissie Lloyd and topped the goal-scoring charts with 42 goals in league and cup.

“I really enjoyed it there but was asked to join Goodwick United and we had a cracking season which towards the end saw us top of the league, already in the Senior Cup Final and in the semi-final of the West Wales Cup – and then Covid came along and football was just stopped in its tracks!”

When play eventually got under way Ben admits he was unsure about what to do but he had good pals at Lawrenny in Tom Cole, Ryan Morton, Jamie and Matthew Lewis and he decided to settle back into the game by playing for them, albeit in a lower division than he was used to.
 

. . . But switched to defence with Goodwick

“I really enjoyed it, relaxed a lot and bagged 46 goals so when I had a phone call the following season from Chris O’Sullivan at the beginning of the last campaign inviting me to rejoin Goodwick I decided to join, even when I found out ‘Sully’ wanted me to play at right back.

“But I enjoyed it because I could still push forward and join the attack as well as being part of our strong defence, led by outstanding skipper Scott Delaney, and we won the league and then beat Monkton Swifts 6-1 in the Senior Cup Final, which was difficult for me in a way because they were my old team.

“But we missed out in the West Wales Cup as we lost to a very good Pontlliw team – and so had to settle for The Double instead of an ambitious Treble!

This season has already started well for Ben and Co at Phoenix Park because they have already pouched two pieces of silverware by winning the Eddie Merry Memorial Cup at neighbours Fishguard Sports and also their own John Bailey Cup – and are unbeaten in the league after five games.
 

Long cricketing service with Hundleton

Ben has played cricket for Hundleton for almost 15 years as an all-rounder.

“We are a small village club and over the years we have celebrated quite a few promotions but also endured our share of relegations.

“At 14 I went straight into the first team and the club has improved its facilities with the drive of Steve Williams, Chris Stapleton, Jonathan and Mark Williams, plus, of course, their late father John Williams, who was rightly known in cricketing circles as ‘Mr Hundleton’.

“I started out in Division Three and since then I’ve always been involved with bowling and batting, with my best figures being 5 for 2 in a league match and 110 against Neyland 2nds (away).

“But the score I’m most proud of is 72 this season against Cresselly in the Harrison-Allen Bowl because although we lost against this top club my old friend and previous Hundleton team-mate Phil ‘Taffy’ Williams was in their side and it was nice to tease him afterwards that I scored more runs than he did!

 

Enjoying responsibility of captaincy

“I took over the captaincy last season when Jonathan Williams stood down after quite a while and I have enjoyed myself in this role so far because I have had great support from the rest of the lads as we just missed out on promotion from division four as our last but one game was rained off and others managed to play.

“We also reached the final of the Alan Brown Cup against Pembroke at Whitland but were easily beaten by a very strong side but at least we enjoyed our day out and never threw in the towel until the final run was scored!”

But they had silverware from the Ken Morris Memorial Cup to celebrate on the final Bank Holiday Monday of the season at Narberth as they beat the host club by 45 runs in the semi-final and then accounted for a young Carew side by 62 runs in the final as revenge for defeat the previous year.

Ben raised the trophy as skipper and he also played a key role with 39 runs in the final innings and bowling figures of 3 for 14 and 4 for 22 with his medium-pace bowling.




 

Ben’s a darting dynamo

Many of his footballing pals might be surprised to learn that Ben is also a very talented darts player who for some time has been close to the standard required to become a professional player.

Indeed, one of his darting claims to fame is the fact that he won the Cardigan Open Pairs title with none other than World-ranked No 5 Johnny Clayton as his partner.

It took place at the ‘Hope & Anchor’ pub in Cardigan where another very good pro darter in Jamie Lewis’s family is involved, another personal friend of Ben’s who has been playing since he was a nipper and played in the World Darts Championships.

“I’ve known Johnny for a long time and actually beat him once, but to be honest that was before he turned professional and became such a star,” admitted Ben with a typical chuckle.




 

High scoring in darts too – and still aiming high

Ben plays local darts with Monkton Swifts and a measure of his high skill level can be gauged from the fact that he has scored any number of 180s in his time – and won games on the maximum ‘out’ score of 170 – and his best darts to complete a 501 game is 11, which he has done more than once.

Such is his prowess that Ben has taken part in competitions organised by the PDC (the Professional Darts Corporation) a few times and attended the PDC Qualifying School more than once.

“It is always held over four days in Milton Keynes, the home of MK Dons FC, every January and I’ve joined between 500 and 600 other would-be pros from all over the UK and further afield where I’ve also played in the UK Open Qualifiers losing out 6-3 to Joe Cullen.

“It costs a bomb but I’ll keep trying after already reaching the last 16 of the Welsh Open out of 1000 plus entries in the British Darts Organisation (BDO)as something of a stepping stone to getting in after Johnny Clayton showed us all how it can be done with the right breaks I could get my name known.

Despite his successes, Ben Adams remains very modest about all he’s already achieved in his range of sports but there is no doubting his all-round sporting skills – and it is always a pleasure to watch him play – or to chat to him around the touchlines or boundaries, depending on what season it is!