CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket Podcast
About
Available on
Community
113 episodes
In this episode we meet six cricketers from in and around Swansea who play in the relatively new mid-week cricket league, the Tawe League. The players are: Ataur Rahman Jaber (Swansea Warriors) Abdul Mustak (Swansea Rising Stars) Amit Shivani (Swansea Strikers) Raj Tilak (Deccan Chargers) Krishna Prasanth (Master Blasters) Gigi George (Swansea Spartans) They tell us a little bit about their own personal histories, where they first played cricket, and how they fell in love with the game. The talk then moves on to talking about how they found a place to play cricket when they came to Wales. Some of them talk about their links with local clubs and they talk about the difficulty of finding equipment and the desperate need to have a local sports shop dedicated to cricket. The Tawe League has its origins in a lot of friendly cricket that took place between different groups of, predominantly, south asian cricketers up to and around 2020. Jaber talks about meeting Keri Chahal from cricket wales and Paul from Ynystawe Cricket Club and how the league became more organised and, in his view, more spicy ! Finding proper pitches and places to practice has been hard but it has also meant that players meet, train and mix socially. They now talk about the eight clubs that comprise the league. Raj talks about how competitive the league is and how the competition makes the experience much more interesting. Amit adds that the League can and does act as a feeder system for local league clubs. We talk a little bit about the names of the teams and their origins and how their approach to cricket affects all these things. Mustak explains the Finals Day that comes at the end of the season and how important it is to the development of the league. It is hoped that it will continue to grow as an event and Amit was very thankful to Ynystawe Cricket Club for hosting this event. The Tawe league has used Ynystawe Park, Briton Ferry CC, Baglan CC pitches and this year there will be games at Felinfoel as well. The gentlemen finish by talking about their hopes for the season and for the league. Anyone interested in the Tawe League either as a player, supporter or, indeed, a sponsor should contact Keri Chahal on: KERI.CHAHAL@CRICKETWALES.ORG.UK
This is the last of 3 episodes of the podcast devoted to one of Glamorgan’s greatest ever players, Matthew Maynard. He begins by talking about coaching, both young players as well as elite cricketers and praises the philosophy of the current England coach and captain, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. He mentions one instance with Marcus Trescothick which was the exception to his experiences when coaching with England. This, for him, is the essence of coaching elite players, finding solutions to puzzles. It is, when all is said and done, about finding ways to score. Matt talks about the limits to video analysis and statistics and the importance of encouraging players to trust their instincts. Getting your own performance right is what he emphasises. Stick to your own strengths. Matt’s England career started as a bit of a surprise to him. He describes the experience of turning up for his debut and being given a cap with someone else’s name in it. He never felt that he was wanted in the England set up and felt that this was indicative of the England Team in the 80s and 90s. Reflecting on the experience he felt he just needed more time to acclimatise to the Test and One Day International arena and, for whatever reason, never got that time. He tells the story of how he decided to learn to drive the Team coach whilst being Director of Cricket at Somerset! We talk about the opportunities available to young cricketers in Wales and his plans for the future and we finish with his thoughts on being an umpire, being on a committee and whether he feels 100% welsh! IF YOU WANT TO DONATE TO MATT’S WELLYMAN WALK, GO HERE: HTTPS://WWW.JUSTGIVING.COM/CAMPAIGN/MATTWELLYMANWALK
In this episode, Matt talks about captaincy, the dilemmas of selection, the 1997 Championship Winning Season, his trip to Lords for the Benson and Hedges Cup Final and the first steps in his coaching career. Matt is still completing his Wellyman Walk for the Professional Cricketers Trust and Help for Heroes. The following is taken from his JustGiving Page: To donate to the Walk, go here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk Please try to ensure that Matt reaches his target of £20,000
Matthew Maynard established, with his first class career, a place in the all-time record books of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. But it is not just the quantity of runs that he scored that made Matt stand out amongst Glamorgan players of the modern age but the way in which he scored them. It would have come as no surprise to Glamorgan fans that Matt chose to call the book about his cricketing career On the Attack. They will have spent many seasons marveling at the glittering stroke-play and immaculate timing that brought him 59 first class hundreds, 131 first class 50s, 16 List A centuries and 81 50s. In this episode Matt shares with us his early life in Oldham and then on Anglesey, his boyhood cricketing heroes, his first steps in the professional game and the influences on his batting from childhood through to his years at Glamorgan. Matt is due to complete his Wellyman Walk from John OGroats to Lands End in the next two weeks. He is walking to raise money for the Professional Cricketers Trust and Help for Heroes. You can find more details about his walk and you can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk It would be a great way to show our thanks to Matt for the service he has given both as a player and coach to ensure he reaches his £20,000 target. Join us next week for the next installment of the chat with Matt.
Joe begins by introducing himself, talking about his early life in Bangor and Llandudno where his parents ran a little bed and breakfast business. He describes his early sporting experiences, including his memories of the 1970 football World Cup. He stumbled upon the Llandudno Oval, the clubs cricket ground and was hooked by the idea of playing the game. He was a mischievous child and got into a little trouble with other members of the club but fell in love with cricket and that love has stayed with him. He remembers the 1976 Test Series with the great West Indies side and how practicing in the back lane forced him to play straight. Joe outlines the sporting traditions of Llandudno including rugby, hockey and football as well as cricket and recalls some of his memories of playing at the club. He talks passionately about his work as a coach and cricket development officer with Cricket Wales in and around Llandudno with some powerful stories of connecting with young people and promoting the game in North Wales. Joe has used his lifelong intoxication with the game of cricket to enthuse countless youngsters, some of whom will form the bedrock of the recreational game in the years to come. He is a fabulous ambassador and advocate for the game of cricket. Everyone at the Museum of Welsh Cricket wishes him well with his ongoing work. Thanks Joe !!
By way of a trailer for our episodes interviewing Matt about his cricket and sporting life, this mini episode features him talking about his latest charity fundraising walk from John O Groats to Lands End. Matt is walking in aid of the Professional Cricketers Trust and Help for Heroes and is hoping to raise £10,000 for each charity. To read about the challenge and to donate you can visit Matts Just Giving Page here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk The episodes featuring Matt will begin on Friday March 8th
In this episode we interview three stalwarts of the Pirates cricket team, Port Talbot Town Cricket Club. They are, in no particular order: Mark Jones Ian Rees Ray Cox We talk about their early years, discovering cricket and joining the club as well as a little bit of the history of the club which dates from around 1963. We hear about some of their exploits as players including Ray playing First Division cricket with both his sons. The gents then answered a series of questions aimed at getting them to talk about their cricketing pasts. The questions, again, in no particular order, were: Your most memorable match you were involved in. Best individual performance. Favourite ground. Favourite players to play with. Favourite players to play against. A favourite cricketing story We talked about the honour that the club had bestowed upon the three of them last year when they were given caps commemmorating their 50 years or more service to the club as players and administrators. We finish the gents hopes for the future of the club. There are some great, funny stories in here. We hope you enjoyed the listen.
In this episode we look back at some of the podcasts from last year. The episodes covered are: Three Englishmen of Wales https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/12366644 Special Episode: Walking in the Valleys for Young Cricketers https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/12567260 St. Helens: A Tribute (Part 1) https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/12962271 Heroes and Headlines: St Helens: A Tribute (Part 2) https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13135083 Special Episode: Walking in the Valleys for Young Cricketers https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/12567260 Lucy Norman - Taking the Game Forward in North Wales https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13257099 Wales National County (North): An Interview with Russell Penrhyn Jones https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13342674 The Welsh Cup https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13733306 100th Episode: The Appliance of Science: An Interview with Rob Ahmun https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13803270 First-Class Batting: Glamorgan and Northamptonshire https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/14020660 Neath Cricket Club - 175th Anniversary https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13093194 Hook Cricket Club: Happy 100th Year https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13942251 Paul Rees: Our man with the MCC https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13465293 Last Man Bowling: An Interview with Ron Walton https://www.buzzsprout.com/1238213/episodes/13390512
This weeks episode is an interview with two cricketers who have turned their love of the game into a fledgling business. Rich describes how his pastime of making things with wood turned to repairing bats for friends and other club members and persuaded him to set up a business to deliver bat refurbishment to the wider cricketing community. The boys describe how the business has grown organically, turning first to providing new bats and then to offer a small selection of cricket gear. Anyone interested in contacting Rich or Hedd to discuss what they can offer, their mobile numbers are as follows: Rich 07970 498350 Hedd 07950200211 You can follow them on X and instagram here: X - @bats_bear Intagram - @bear_bats
Jean Silvan Evans had a successful career as a journalist and lecturer. Her husband, also a journalist, was a keen supporter of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. To keep him company, Jean would sometimes attend a day at the cricket with no intention of watching and little interest in what happened the other side of that boundary rope. Slowly, with the help of Glamorgans travelling supporters group the St Helens Balconiers, Jean began not only to watch more of the play but also fell in love with what she calls the slow drama of county cricket. When Jeans husband Dennis passed away, her trips away with the Balconiers became not only a way of remembering him but also a source of comfort and friendship for her. She talks about her growing interest in and affection for the game of cricket as well as commenting on the future for Glamorgan and the importance of county cricket to the future of Test cricket. For those interested in the work of the St Helens Balconiers, in particular their regular trips to other county grounds, you can go here: http://www.thebalconiers.co.uk/
In this episode we look at two County Championship match second innings separated by 25 years. The first took place during the 1998 season between Northants and Glamorgan at Wantage Road. In their second innings, Mal Loye hit an incredible 322 not out as Northants saved the game with a second innings 712. For the details of the game, you can go here: http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998/ENG_LOCAL/CC/R04/NORTHANTS_GLAM_CC_21-24MAY1998.html The second took place in May 2023 at Hove where Sussex hosted Glamorgan. After conceding a huge lead in their first innings Glamorgan amassed 737 runs in their second, breaking several records on the way to securing a draw. For Wisdens record of the match you can go here: https://wisden.com/matches/live/214135/sussex-v-glamorgan-at-hove-lv=-insurance-county-championship-18-21-may-2023 Northants had held the record for the highest second innings in a first class match before Glamorgan came along and snatched it from them. On this podcast we talk to Mal Loye and Tony Cottee, the Glamorgan captain in that game in 1998 as well as club archivists and historians of Northamptonshire and Glamorgan, Andrew Radd and Andrew Hignell about that game at Wantage Road. We also catch up with Glamorgan batter Kiran Carlson and talk to him about his career best to date of 192 in the match at Hove as well as the other Glamorgan players who contributed to the record breaking innings. For a full list of all the records achieved at Hove you can go here: https://glamorgancricket.com/news/stat-attack-glamorgan-set-a-new-world-record-at-hove Take a look at this list, compiled by Andrew Radd, of the top ten first class innings for Northants: https://nccc.co.uk/news/northamptonshires-10-best-first-class-innings/ And finally, for more Glamorgan batting records you can go here: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/batting-records/
This week’s episode is a chat with members of the Hook Cricket Club that, this year has celebrated its centenary. We talk to: Dave Petrie who outlines the history of the village as well as charting the history of the cricket club. Jamie Phelps shares with us the state of the club today and how they have gone about their centenary celebrations. President Evan Martin shares his memories and his love of the game of cricket as well as his beloved Hook Cricket Club. You can read a little bit about one of the events they held over the summer here: https://www.herald.wales/west-wales/pembrokeshire/special-match-to-mark-hook-cricket-clubs-centenary-year/ http://www.pembrokeshiresport.co.uk/cricket/former-england-players-to-celebrate-hook-centenary You can follow the club’s exploits on X at @HookCricketClub and on Facebook
This weeks episode is an interview with the Head of Performance Science and Medicine at the ECB, Rob Ahmun. Originally from Cardiff Rob was a strength and conditioning coach with Glamorgan before his move to the England Team in 2014. He talks to us about his sporting journey and career to date. Here is a page from the ECB website detailing the work of Robs Department: https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/2104536/scie Here is an article from the University of Essex detailing some of the research that Rob mentions in his interview: https://www.essex.ac.uk/news/2022/07/12/england-cricket-team-is-fitter-than-ever
In this episode we talk to those involved in the 51st Final of this competition. They are, in order that they appear in the episode: Steve Davies, workforce administrator, South West Wales Zack Gidlow , Chair of cricket at Colwyn Bay Cricket Club and first team player Mike Haydn, Chair of Swansea Cricket Club Neil Perrett, Chair, Usk Cricket Club Brad Wadlan, Captain, Swansea Cricket Club Sion Morris, Colwyn Bay Cricket Club You can find a written report on the final here: https://cricketwales.org.uk/news/senior-open-welsh-cup-final-2023-colwyn-bay-cc-v-swansea-cc You can find some great stats about the Welsh Cup here: https://nwsport.co.uk/2023/09/03/all-hail-colwyn-bay-2023-cricket-welsh-cup-winners/ We would like to add our congratulations to the Colwyn Bay Cricket Club 2023 Welsh Cup Winners !
In this episode we remember long time treasurer with the St Helens Balconiers Clive Hemp. We talk to his children, David, Tim and Charlotte as well as his colleagues from the Balconiers Committee Allan Gray and Roger Skyrme, Swansea solicitor and main sponsor of the Swansea and West Wales cricket Festival Peter Lynne. Our final guest who remembers Clive is Balconiers President Alan Jones. Ex-Glamorgan cricketer and coach Alan has been President of Glamorgan County Cricket Club as well as the St Helens Balconiers. They talk about his time as a cricketer and the support he gave his two cricketing sons. His personal qualities; a generosity of spirit, an egalitarian outlook and a people centered approach influenced not only his career as a cricketer but also his business life as a successful accountant. Encouraged by his contact with Balconiers Chairman John Williams, Clive became an integral part of the organisation, using his business contacts to build sponsorship for the annual Swansea and West Wales Cricket Festival which was the jewel in the Balconiers crown. All our guests paint a picture of a man who loved his sport, loved Glamorgan and made a great many friends through the world of cricket.
Paul Rees is a popular club cricketer who has played most of his cricket in and around Swansea as well as a number of representative teams at age group and league level. He talks to us about his early cricketing experiences and how he developed as a cricketer. In passing we talk about his rugby career and how that impacted on his cricket. Paul explains how he developed his strengths as a batsman but also how his bowling was what he was noted for early on in his career. He is rightly very proud of his involvement with the MCC, first as a player member and latterly as the organisations representative for Wales. He has played over 100 times for them and explains his pride at being able to attend Test Matches at Lords and be present in the Long Room getting close to crickets world superstars. Here are the details of how to become a member of the MCC: https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-club/how-to-join Here are the MCCs results for their fixtures played so far this season: https://www.lords.org/mcc/mcc-cricket/mcc-fixtures?region=Wales&display=results If you are part of a club that may be interested in having a fixture against MCC you can contact Paul via his Twitter feed @PaulRees10 OR send us an email here at the podcast and we will ensure it gets to Paul Our email is mwcpod1921@gmail.com
Ron Walton has spent a lifetime playing professional and amateur sport. A footballer with Merthyr Town he went on to play professionally in Australia before starting a coaching career that saw him spend 18 seasons at Swansea City coaching the youth team as well as spells as caretaker manager. He has played for a number of different cricket clubs in and around Merthyr but has spent the past few years playing for his home town club as well as clocking up over a 100 caps for the Wales Senior Cricket side. At 79 years old he is the oldest cricketer ever to play in Division 1 of the South Wales Cricket Association. This article was written nearly 10 years ago: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/pensioner-just-bowled-seven-maiden-7683549 Ron talks to us about his sporting memories mentioning many of the great sportspeople he played alongside. Ron is mentioned in this Cricket Wales article on seniors cricket in Wales: https://cricketwales.org.uk/news/cricket-wales-criced-cymru-seniors-60s-and-70s-2009-21 Here is Ron in campaigning mode back in 2004 trying to keep the ground where he played so much of his cricket. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/3878233.stm Ron has been an incredible servant to sport in Wales and deserves every bit of recognition that he has got for his selfless service as player, coach and administrator. We hope this episode will allow others who know him better to share their thoughts on this evergreen cricketer.
In this episode we talk to Russell Penrhyn Jones, the founder and driving force behind the Wales National County (North) Representative Teams. Founded in 2022, the Senior and U19 representative teams aim to give cricketers in the North Wales region opportunities to play representative cricket, develop their skills and further their cricket career aims. You can read a brief article on their development here: https://cricketwales.org.uk/news/walesnc-north Russell talks about his involvement as a player and then a coach in both rugby and cricket. He also talks about his son, Dewi and his experiences as a aspiring first class cricketer. You can read a little bit about Dewis career here: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/dewi-penrhyn-jones/ Russell talks about his experiences at Ruthin Cricket Club and Brymbo Cricket Club and his development as a coach before talking about Dewis development as a schoolboy and academy cricketer as well as his time with Glamorgan CCC You can follow Russell and the Wales National County (North) on Twitter @WalesNCNorth If you want to be put in touch with Russell why not email us at: mwcpod1921@gmail.com
In this second episode authors David Parry and Andrew Hignell outline some more of the history of cricket in North Wales focussing on the Colwyn Bay Cricket Club which was formed in 1923. The episode opens with a discussion about Sydney Barnes, one of the most famous English cricketers of the Twentieth Century and his links to this part of Wales. See here for a brief outline: https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/sydney-barnes-a-great-welsh-bowler/ There is some talk of the welsh cricket union and Gwilym Evans Rowland and his involvement with a team known as the Welsh Cygnets. See here for more details: https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/the-welsh-cygnets-part-one/ David Parry outlines the emergence of Colwyn Bay Cricket Club as a source of great fundraising income in the years immediately after the Second World War. He also talks us through some of the first class cricket records which have been set at the Colwyn Bay ground during the time Glamorgan have played there. You can find more details here: https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/colwyn-bay-cc-by-david-parry/ Copies of the book are available from Andrew at the Museum of Welsh Cricket. To make a request, please send an email to: museum@glamorgancricket.co.uk
Lucy is the first ever female chair of any recreational cricket league in Wales. She is one of two women who have been appointed as chairs of ECB accredited premier leagues. Helen Ross has taken the helm of the Surrey Championship, while Lucy leads the North Wales Cricket League. She talks about her initial contact with the game through her father and her initial involvement with Buckley Cricket Club supporting both her sons in their cricketing development. As part of the committee at Buckley she was responsible for improving the club adding new facilities and creating new interest around the game in the town. Following on from this, Lucy got involved in the local Junior cricket league before becoming vice chair of the North Wales Cricket League and progressing to become the chair of the organisation in late 2022. Lucy tells us a little about the league and outlines some of the issues that the league and the game of cricket face in North Wales. She also outlines the issues for cricketers, in particular those making their way in the game, who live in the North Wales area. We talk about the success of girls and women coming into the game and she reinforces the need to have diverse opinions at all levels of the game. She finished by outlining her hopes for the game of cricket, the North Wales League and herself. Details of the league can be found here: https://nwcl.play-cricket.com/home
This book, written and published to coincide with the centenary of Colwyn Bay Cricket Club, looks at the history of cricket in Denbigshire besides tracing how the club based in Rhos-on-Sea has become the venue for top class cricket in North Wales, as well as Glamorgans northern outpost for first class cricket. For a brief review of the book you can go here: https://www.cricketweb.net/books/colwyn-bay/ In this first of two episodes we talk to co authors David Parry and Andrew Hignell covering the first third of the book which deals with cricket in the area in the 19th century, the arrival of the Wooller family in North Wales and the formation of Colwyn Bay Cricket Club in 1923. Along the way we talk about Victorian Prime Minister William Gladstone. More about his links with cricket in the area can be found here: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/2021/04/20/the-prime-minister-who-played-club-cricket-in-flintshire/ Copies of the book are available form the Museum of Welsh Cricket which can be contacted by email: higgers@glamorgancricket.co.uk Its website with much more about the history of the game in Wales is available here: https://www.cricketmuseum.wales
In this the final episode in tribute to the St Helens ground Richard Bentley talks us through some of the great names who have played at the ground. We discuss the number of steps from the pavilion to the playing surface which is mentioned regularly by players who played there and Richard recites the poem written about the ground by one of crickets greatest commentators John Arlott. He finishes with his thoughts about and hopes for the ground and some stories about previous Glamorgan players Tony Cottee, Steve Watkin and Lawrence Williams. We hope you have enjoyed these three episodes we have dedicated to this wonderful ground. If you want further information about the grounds history you can check out the following two links, the first of which is the St Helens Balconiers website and the second being the Glamorgan cricket archive web pages: http://www.thebalconiers.co.uk/ https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/swansea-1948/
In this week’s episode we return to discuss the history of St Helen’s as a venue for first class cricket. Our guest is Richard Bentley who is the co-author, with Malcolm Nash, of Malcom’s cricketing biography ‘Not Only But Also’, published by St David’s Press in 2018. To purchase a copy of the book you can go here: https://welsh-academic-press.shopfactory.com/contents/en-uk/p73_Not-Only-But-Also.html First, Richard tells us about his own early encounters with the ground before starting to tell us about the scores of cricketing records and feats that have been performed at St Helen’s. He outlines the five world cricketing records that were set there. These were: The six sixes hit by Gary Sobers. For more on this follow the link below: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/nash-and-sobers/ The fastest fifty hit by Don Shepherd The only time in County Championship history that different bowlers (Don Shepherd and Jim Pressdee) have taken nine wickets in each innings of the game. For more go here: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/2021/05/11/the-game-when-two-glamorgan-bowlers-each-took-nine-wickets-in-an-innings/ Clive Lloyd - the fastest double hundred in 1976. For more go here: https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/the-clive-lloyd-carnage-at-swansea-that-saw-him-equal-the-then-fastest-double-hundred-in-first-class-cricket-29774 1977 – Glenn Turner carries his bat and scores the highest proportion of his team’s runs in a first class innings. For more go here: https://wccc.co.uk/glenn-turners-never-to-be-forgotten-one-man-show/ Richard then outlines some of the Championship records held at the ground starting with a game in Glamorgan’s inaugural year in the competition and carrying on with Matthew Maynard’s maiden first class century on debut. Other players mentioned are Gilbert Parkhouse, Eifion Jones, Peter Walker, Robert Croft and Usman Khawaja. Richard then talks about a number of interesting games and feats including Glamorgan denying Nottinghamshire their County Championship victory, the Championship winning years of 1948, 1969 and 1997, victories over the South Africans and Australians as well as renowned ex Glamorgan greats Maurice Turnbull, Dai Davies and Johnnie Clay.
Neath Cricket Club was founded in 1848 and is this year celebrating it’s 175th Anniversary. As part of it’s celebrations it hosted an MCC XI at the Gnoll on Wednesday 14th June. We went along and recorded a series of interviews with those who were in attendance. They included life members, committee members, supporters, the match manager and captain of the MCC on the day and the professional caterer that was there. Those wanting to know a little more about the history of the Gnoll and, in particular, it’s association with Glamorgan cricket can click on the link here: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/neath-1/ Here are some Glamorgan based records at the ground: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/neath.pdf And hre is an article from the Glamorgan CCC website from last year when the club returned to the Gnoll for two matches as part of the Royal London Cup competition: https://glamorgancricket.com/news/glamorgan-return-to-neath Glamorgan return there again for two matches in August. For those interested in purchasing tickets you can go to the Glamorgan CCC website: https://glamorgancricket.com/ The Neath Cricket Club Facebook Page is available from this link: https://www.facebook.com/NeathCC/?locale=en_GB
In this episode we interview broadcaster and author Alun Wyn Bevan about the non cricketing history of the ground covering some stories from his 2007 book St Helens Stories. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book you can follow this link to the Amazon site. It is well worth considering purchasing a used copy as the quality is often pretty good. It is a fantastic read and cram packed full of cricketing, rugby and other history not all of which was captured in the episode: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helens-Stories-Alun-Wyn-Bevan/dp/1843238276 Find below an extract from Owen Morgans article for Dai Sport written in 2019. We will publish some more of it when the cricketing episode is published but if you want to read the full article now you can do so by clicking on the link at the end of the notes:
Last year, 5 cricket clubs in and around Cardiff got together for a fundraising walk for the junior sections of their clubs. The brainchild of Cardiff Cricket Club President Michael Cann Walking in the Valleys for Young Cricketers was a great success. This season there are 11 participating clubs plus the umpires / scorers representative organisation. The clubs / organisations involved are as follows: Cardiff Cricket Club Pontypridd Cricket Club Radyr Cricket Club Machen Cricket Club Porth Cricket Club Hopkinstown Cricket Club Ebbw Vale Cricket Club Blackwood Town Cricket Club Upper Rhondda Cricket Club Mountain Ash Cricket Club Merthyr Tydfil Cricket Club SEWACO (South East Wales Association of Cricket Officials) Anyone wishing to donate to any individual club can do so by following the links provided here: https://www.facebook.com/cardiffvalleyscricket/posts/pfbid02QaDeG8j2TdPohbMSM3J6UzcbT9uiUUPs8dyEKdW4VaVjwvRt3onUS4rugdmpJSRbl This episode is a series of interviews recorded on the first of 4 days of walking which have taken participants from Cardiff up to Merthyr (40 miles in total) stopping off at some of the participating clubs along the way.
In this episode we speak to three Englishmen who have made their home in Wales and have played most if not all of their adult cricket here, representing Wales in their Seniors Teams at Over 50s, Over 60s and Over 70s levels. Mick Staddon was born in Battersea and played most of his early cricket on Clapham Common, playing for Belleville Junior Boys and later attending Battersea Grammar School. The school can boast two England players amongst their old boys, Mike Selvey and David Smith. Mick’s time at the school was sandwiched between them both. He attended Swansea University from 1968 to 1972, training as a teacher and stayed on in Wales after completing his studies. After some persuasion from the legendary Bill Edwards, he turned out for Swansea under the captaincy of Hywel Lewis. The club returned to the South Wales Cricket Association First Division in 1976 when Rodney Ontong was the club professional. Mick captained Swansea for two seasons between 1980 and 1982 and vividly remembers the 1981 Welsh Cup Final when Swansea played Ammanford Cricket Club and were beaten by the third division side who were inspired by the phenomenon that was Linton Lewis. Mick finally finished Saturday cricket aged 60 and has loved his Seniors cricket, giving him the chance to extend his career and loving the camaraderie between the players. Mike Turner learnt his cricket first at Dorchester Grammar School and a minor public school in the West Country. He then played at University and in Oxfordshire before moving to Wales in 1972. He first played village cricket before being recruited by Lampeter Town Cricket Club for whom he played for over 20 years. After an invitation to play for Llandysul Cricket Club he played for them for 17 seasons, playing his final league game against Maesteg in 2019. Mike believes he is, currently, the oldest player to play in the South Wales Premier League at 73, although this may be a record that will be broken by Ron Walton who may return to top flight cricket with Merthyr Tydfil Cricket Club. He is now the first team manager at Llandysul. Peter Bettelly spent his formative years in the East Midlands and although he loved the game he did not play his first proper game of cricket until he started a working life in South Africa where he spent 4 years in and around Cape Town. He moved to West Wales in the 1980s where he played for Cardigan Cricket Club in the West Wales Cricket Conference for 20 years. He started his seniors cricket career aged 40 and has played for all the Seniors age grades from Over 50s to, currently, the Over 70s. He remembers playing a charity game in his native South Notts and bowling to Brian Clough and sharing a dressing room with Derek Randall. All three guests talk about their cricketing lives and the joy they have experienced playing the game at all levels.
This episode marks the opening of a new exhibit at the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket entitled Doug and the Don. Doug and The Don is a special exhibition that was launched by the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket on National Sporting Heritage Day, 30 September 2022 which celebrates the friendship between two men at the opposite ends of the cricketing spectrum – Doug Davies, a genial club cricketer in South Wales and Sir Don Bradman, the world’s finest-ever batter and an Australian sporting icon. “The Don was Doug’s cricketing hero, “explains Dr. Andrew Hignell, the Curator of the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket at Glamorgan Cricket’s headquarters at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. “For nigh on thirty years, the pair exchanged letters, with their friendship starting when Doug did a sketch of the Australian cricketer and sent it to him for The Don to sign.” “Doug, like his father before him, was a talented artist, and to Doug’s delight he had several opportunities to meet up with The Don and personally handover these sketches to the world’s greatest-ever batter. They also shared a love of music so their letters were about more things than just cricket.” In this episode as well as talking to Douglas we talk to his nephew Noel and friends, rugby play Peter Bolland, ex-Glamorgan cricketer Roger Davis and Cardiff born cricketer Ian Holmes. There is also an interview with museum volunteer conservationist Alice Moor who was one of the transcribers of the Bradman letters. We would like to thank BBC Wales for supplying us with archive soundtrack of Bradmans message to Glamorgan CCC members and supporters and Bradman playing piano on a recording made in 1930 and replayed on BBC Radio. For those interested in seeing the exhibition they can contact the museum at : museum@glamorgancricket.co.uk or tel: 02920 419383
In this, the final part of our trilogy of podcast episodes Michael Hogan finishes with some reflections on his time playing for the welsh county. We run through some of his achievements as a Glamorgan player and he responds to all of these successes. He talks very personably about being inducted into the Glamorgan County Cricket Club Hall of Fame. He talks about his record of never having been given out lbw in first class cricket and when it broke as a news item. Michael talks about Glamorgan and their prospects for the 2023 season. There are some quick fire questions from colleagues at the Museum of Welsh Cricket including what Michael thinks about starting his career later, who he thinks his worth watching on the County circuit and what he makes of the issues around the ECBs High Performance Review. He remembers his first class career (to date) and what he takes from the experience. He talks about what he will remember from being in Wales and makes particular mention of John Williams of the St Helens Balconiers as a person who does so much for the club without any expectation of getting anything back.
In this episode, Michael talks about his reason for coming to England. He talks about Justin Langer as a coach and responds to what Justin thought of him. He explains the circumstances that allowed him to play in English cricket as a domestic player and how he was able to play in both England and Australia for a period of time. Michael talks about the first year of his stay in Wales and the difficulties for his family settling in to life in a different country. He also talks about the issues for a professional cricketer trying to manage their career alongside their family life. There is a discussion about the conditions in English cricket and the small changes Michael made to his bowling when he came. There were early difficulties and Michael remembers some of the social media responses to his early form. The game against Gloucestershire where he took his career best to date of 7 for 92 was where he really arrived as a player for Glamorgan. Michael explains what a good performance feels like for a bowler as well as his best batting performance and his attitude towards and performances in white ball cricket. Michael was appointed as captain of Glamorgan in 2018. He explains what the club was trying to do and the difficulties this imposed on him as a captain. There is a discussion about Marnus Labushagne and Michael Nesser, their qualities and what it is like to play with them. Finally, Michael talks about the 2021 triumph in the Royal London Cup Victory.
