Developing the game through tales of legends
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| Rhidian Harries. |
As cricket
experiences go, Pembrokeshire latest cricket development officer has packed a
lot into his lifetime. He’s taken guard against Shane Warne, done battle
against Marcus Trescothick and had trials for England U19 and he’s only 25
years-old!
It’s fair to say
then that he’s experienced far more than most which put him in a great position
to help develop and shape the game further among the youth of the county.
Having been in the
post a couple of months, Rhidian Harries is starting to find his feet and says
that promoting and developing the game among Pembrokeshire’s girls will be one
of his main priorities in the role as well as maintaining the good work already
being done with boys.
It sounds like a
demanding task and it’s certainly going to be a challenge but when it comes to
coaching, girls are better to coach than boys according to the former Crymych
and Whitland player.
“Girls cricket
is a big avenue to tap into,” says Harries. “In a way they are nicer to coach
than boys as they have no pre-conceived ideas about how the game should be
played, they listen more and they don’t try to outdo each other in practice
sessions.
“Girls cricket
is stronger in some parts of the county than others so we’ll be working closely
with the clubs to develop ways to give them access to the sport. Some clubs are
able to act as standalone clubs while others will act as a base for other clubs
around that area. Either way we’ll be working hard to increase the numbers of
girls playing cricket.”
Working as a
cricket development officer may seem like a dream role for most cricketers yet
it’s as far removed from playing as the game is from swimming. It’s a strategic
role that requires planning for the future. It’s a diplomatic role as you’ll be
dealing with some big personalities and it’s a role that requires writing
reports to justify its existence but one thing is for sure, those that develop
under Harries are sure to enjoy his anecdotes of the players he’s played with.
He was the first
player from Pembrokeshire to represent the West of England, he had England
under 19 trials against the likes of Sussex’s Rory
Hamilton-Brown and has so far racked up 19 centuries in all forms of
cricket but nothing compares to his story of what it was like to face
cricketing great, Shane Warne.
The chance came
whilst playing for Cardiff MCCU, made up of a partnership between the University of Glamorgan, University of WalesInstitute, Cardiff (UWIC) and Cardiff University against Hampshire in a pre-season game at
Cardiff. The innings had been going well for the students as they were cruising
on 100-0 with Harries next man in.
Warne, who was
captain for Hampshire that season started to limber and brought himself on and
soon got to work toying with the opposition as he displayed his mastery in the
art of wrist spin.
“He’s simple to
play in the dressing room; from behind you can read what he’s doing but when
facing everything looked the same.
“I was down to
bat at three so got nervous as soon as he came on and he took a wicket quite
quickly. One of the opening batsmen was a player called Carwyn James who took
his batting very seriously and was a very good player but as he came off and I
went on he was laughing. As we crossed he smiled and just wished me good luck!
“I got forward
to the first one for a solid defensive shot, went back and played nicely to the
second and the third ball was exactly the same, so I went back to play a pull
shot but it shot underneath as he pulled out the flipper.
“When he came on
we were 100-0 and when he finished his spell we were 108-7! He bowled all of
his variations and we had no answer to it at all, it was incredible to watch.”
Harries can
smile about that experience now but at the time it wouldn’t have been so funny
although he speaks with great reverence about Warne and his attitude to the
students throughout the game.
“He was a really
good bloke even though you couldn’t read him at the crease. He came in to talk
with all of us after the day’s play, no airs and graces at all.”
And what of
Trescothick, another great player? “Top, top player,” was Rhidian’s simple
reply. “He scored a hundred against us, absolutely smashed it. Somerset were a
team full of all stars really. They had Kieswetter,
Trego, Hildreth, Steffan Jones
and Omari
Banks in their team. That was a great experience too.”
Playing against
those players was the closest this talented batsman from Blaenffos got to the
big time, a standard that most club players can only dream of attaining but he
holds no bitterness that he didn’t quite make the grade.
“Unfortunately unless
you are good enough when you are 18/19, the counties don’t really want to know
which is a shame as some players take longer to achieve their potential. I was
technically better when I was younger but not so mature mentally. If I knew
then what I know now I would have scored more runs but I’m happy with what I
have achieved in the game.”
England trials,
caps for Wales (including an U16 cap for rugby), winning the premier league
with Ammanford, facing Shane Warne, Marcus Trescothick and a host of other top
players and now responsible for developing the future stars of the county.
Cricket has been good to the man from North Pembrokeshire and it seems he is being
good in return.
Rhidian Harries factfile:
Highest
Score: 151 not out for
West Wales v North East Wales
Best
Bowling: Don’t
know but had a few 5-fors
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