The Beamer

Virender Sehwag - a bit like Steve Mills Jnr! Of the ten centuries that were scored on the opening weekend of the cricket season, two stood out for me scored by players at the opposite ends of their playing careers. Nic Scourfield has been churning out the runs for Carew in his unflustered style for close on three decades now but his enthusiasm and class still manages to shine through as his unbeaten 100 not out against Whitland proves. Never one to seem overawed by bowling no matter how savage it may be, Scourfield keeps his wicket intact as though it was his most treasured possession and picks off the singles amid the odd flurry of boundaries. He is an expert at building an innings. At the other end of the spectrum stands Johnston’s Steve Mills Jnr, half Scourfield’s age and poles apart in terms of his attitude to batting. While Scourfield could be classed as a product of the 1980’s coaching philosophy of risk aversion, Mills is definitely a modern day apprentice...

So the season is upon us 116 days or 2784 hours after the fireworks went off to see the new year in. In typical fashion, the weather is turning miserable again after a period of being spoilt. A bit of rain is forecast to come from the west before a plume of cold artic air blasts its way down from the north rendering us all freezing cold out in the field wondering why we’re all bothering to put ourselves through such misery. As normal the usual merry-go-round of rumours has circulated around the shire. It’s one of the beauties of living in a place like Pembrokeshire. Despite the advances in social media and other communication platforms, talk of player movement in cricket spreads faster than any type of electronic messaging service and none more so can these rumours be heard than at the Quay, or The Cresselly Arms, to use its proper title. You can guarantee that should you need a cricket fix in the winter you can always find it in the Shire’s most picturesque pub and if the f...

It adorns the wall at Haverfordwest Cricket Club framed for posterity enabling generations to come to marvel at its brilliance. For those at the game it was a blink and you’ll miss it affair all over in a trice as a future test player was caught by a keeper at the height of his game proving, if any were needed of how good he is. Debate will always range as to whether it is the finest catch ever seen in a Harrison-Allen final but one thing is for sure, it’s the best photograph taken at the event and most probably the best ever taken at a local cricket ground. Even now, 17 years later and it still manages to beguile. The man behind the lens was Martin Cavaney . “I’d always arrive at the final for the second innings so I could take some action shots and then take pictures at the presentation ceremony and this was no exception. “I’d stand in one spot with my back to then sun as this stops reflections and offers better light. You can see a spectator shading his eyes...

Dave Lovell - The best of the best? He arrived in Birmingham the other day, not so much fresh faced but flustered after a dramatic flight involving a sick child, lost baggage and serious delays. It would have been bearable had the flight been a short one from Spain but after travelling all the way from Perth, Western Australia, you could be forgiven for arriving on British soil slightly annoyed before making your way down to Lamphey to prepare for the forthcoming cricket season. He may well be in his forties now but Dave Lovell is still good enough to dominate every attack in division one let alone division three as he seeks to help the Stags out from what seems like a terminal decline. If you’re a bowler in Pembrokeshire beware, the prodigal son is back. Lovell first arrived in the county back in 1996 although I’d inadvertently stumbled across him some four years earlier when I was called to field as 12 th man for Glamorgan seconds in a match between the Wels...