The Beamer

An advert in a recent edition of the Western Telegraph has caused great consternation among the cricket fraternity of the county. Posted by Bronwydd Cricket Club the ad read: ‘An opportunity for all Pembrokeshire Cricketers. Bronwydd CC who currently play in Division One of the South Wales League Cricket Association are looking to attract cricketers who would be interested in a new challenge for the 2017 and beyond. We will cover any expenses that are incurred during the season. Please contact John Homer ....’ For those who may not have seen it in the flesh, the ad spread virally through the ether with a couple of St Ishmaels players wondering whether they should give it a go. When a team mate pointed out they struggle to put out 11 every week as it is, the tweeter (who most probably wrote it in jest) quickly agreed that a summer’s day spent among friends was a better prospect and the world was put to rights again. It’s ironic that in an age when readers

So who’s going up and who’s going down? In division one at least the last weekend of the season promises to be a nail biter. After last weekend’s victory over Neyland, Carew are now Haverfordwest’s new best friends and at the other end, thanks to Daniel Sutton’s heroics in leading Johnston to an unlikely win over Cresselly, the Tigers have it all to play for against Narberth. Whoever wins that stay up, whoever loses goes down. It’s that simple. Haverfordwest meanwhile go to Lawrenny while up the road, Neyland fight it out at Cresselly. Neyland won’t give it up without a fight but you would have to have your money on the Town even though their only two points clear. In division two Kilgetty and Pembroke will battle it out as to who goes up as champions. If Kilgetty do it will be a remarkable result considering they started the season on minus 30 points. Neither side has been with the big boys for over ten years so their return will be a welcome one. At the other

Pokemon Go - It's just not cricket Pokémon Go players are a ‘bunch of idiots who need to get a life.’  That’s the view of one veteran of the local cricket scene who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of being captured by an Avatar. His views came to light after a game of cricket was nearly cancelled due to half his team playing the latest craze to sweep across the globe in which people with mobile phones walk into traffic, lampposts, graveyards and people in the hope of catching cartoons. For the uninitiated, Pokémon Go is a game whereby a player travels around catching creatures such as Fairies, Ghosts, Bugs and other such made up characters who show up in unexpected places such as schools, changing rooms, pub gardens and ponds. If a player has the game open on their phone, they throw a ball at the said Pokémon in the hope of catching it. It’s like a mobile phone version of skittles but instead of hitting over skittles you catch characters instead.

Tom Mansbridge receiving his MoM award from Alan Brown sponsor Paul Webb A fantastic day out @CCHendygwyn for the club yesterday, winning the Alan Brown cup. May not mean much to some clubs but for us it was huge! So Said Saundersfoot Cricket Club on their Twitter feed on Monday. It may have been huge for the club but for one young cricketer it was even bigger as Tom Mansbridge was named man of the match for his heroics with the ball. For a player still competing in U15 cricket being awarded the accolade was huge. A left arm leg spin bowler who gives it air and a decent enough rip, Tom has a bright future in the game. He took 4-20 in the first innings and 2-17 in the second. If Glamorgan aren’t looking at him now then they should be as players of that quality are a rare breed, especially ones that can bowl what he does. The youngest of a sports mad family it was inevitable that he was going to be good at cricket given his father Paul, is Pembrokeshire’s equi

A "Knackered" Jake Griffiths can barely raise his bat after his monumental knock against Neyland seconds Fair play that was a crazy week. It began with a story breaking about confusion over ineligibility and ended with the same and in-between the real focus of the game was missed by many as one player scored a double hundred and another took five wickets. Quite a few took five wickets on Saturday actually but not many are aged over 50 like Johnston’s Richard James. Cricket is a game that allows players to defy age. James snared half a team while another player aged 50 plus scored his second consecutive half century in division two as Cresselly’s Richard Harris hit 74 against Burton. That was eclipsed by another experienced man in the same match as Richard Hayman hit 113 for Burton. Further down the divisions and Pembroke Dock’s Glyn Griffiths hit yet another century. I‘m not sure of his age but if he’s not passed 50 then he must be close to it so he’s ano

Haverfordwest will not run the risk of being booted out of this year’s Harrison-Allen according to league secretary Steve Blowes. During last night’s Harrison-Allen clash between Neyland and Cresselly the biggest talking point wasn’t who was going to win the game or indeed the cup this year but whether or not Haverfordwest had played an ineligible player against Pembroke Dock the night before. Unsurprisingly the Town romped to a win as the Dock were skittled for 36 and Haverfordwest passed it in 8 overs. Had Adam James stayed on bowling the Dock may very well have been all out for less. His eligibility wasn’t in dispute but that of Adeelo Khan’s was after a letter sent to all clubs after this year’s AGM about player registration said ‘any player who has played in a league outside of Pembrokeshire, in the current season, will NOT be eligible to play in any cup competition played under the auspices of the Pembroke County Cricket Club during that season, even if their club re

Spare a thought for Cresselly’s Bobby Webb. Having taken Jonathan Rogers bowling last season v Saundersfoot 8-52 against Hook he no doubt thought he secured the best bowling figures of the day but then news would have filtered through that Jonathan Rogers of Pembroke surpassed him. Rogers, or Yoggy as he is affectionately known managed to tear Haverfordwest’s seconds to shreds in taking 9-13 off his 12 overs. At one stage the Town’s stiffs were reduced to 49-9 but managed to sneak up to 102 all out. Early starts were the name of the game for some clubs as they sought an early finish to watch Wales in the Euros but had Haverfordwest been all out for 50 that would have been taking the biscuit. The game would have been done and dusted by 4 if not earlier. While Webb and Rogers took 17 wickets between them, Saturday was again a day for the centurions with no fewer than five raising their bats. Haverfordwest’s Simon Holliday was the highest scorer with 133 against Llan

Last week Fishguard’s Kevin Bowen became the first player in the county to score two centuries this season. This week, he became the first to score three which regardless of what division you play in is a great achievement. Bowen, as many footballers know, is probably Pembrokeshire’s best football referee, known for officiating that infamous cup game between Hakin and Merlins Bridge last year in which he abandoned the game due to a nasty incident. Prior to taking up the whistle he was also a very good footballer and according to a work colleague he one of those annoying types that’s just about good at everything he turns his hand too. Football, rugby, cricket, golf. He can play them all. He’s even good at darts! He could even lay claim to being Pembrokeshire’s answer to AB DeVilliers , although rumours of him releasing a pop single like the famed South African are unsubstantiated .   There are some good cricketers in the lower divisions and Bowen is right up there with

Ben Stokes . Pic from ECB webste This is Ben. Ben is Big Ben is Strong Ben plays cricket Ben is cool  He may be injured but Ben Stokes is quite possibly the most exciting cricketer in the world. He bats, he bowls, he takes ridiculous catches and according to Graeme Swan he’s as hard as nails. He’s everything every a young cricketer would want to be. The trouble of course is getting them to like cricket in the first place. With so many lifestyle choices vying for their attention a young person of today is spoilt for choice. According to a recent study, the majority of teenagers in 2016 place cricket 7 th in the list of what they would like to do in their spare time. Cricket however is fighting back and none more so than at Haverfordwest Cricket Club. I took my 13-year-old nephew to training there the other Friday and there were so many kids playing the game it was as though the field had an infestation of bees. They were swarming everywh

There’s a few tell-tale signs letting you know you’re getting old. Your belly develops a paunch, you get a little slower, your hair starts to thin and your contemporaries post pictures of their off spring in full county kit having played for Pembrokeshire at Cricket all over social media. U10s, U11s, U13s and so forth, they’re all there to see; proud parents presenting pictures of even prouder kids standing tall and looking smart and why not? Representing the county is an honour, playing for Wales even more so. No picture is complete without a comment from friends or family, each and every one of them congratulating the player on their achievement providing an instant boost to confidence. They usually go along the lines of ‘well done Johnny’ but one stood out on a friend’s recent post after his son recently played for Pembrokeshire U10s. ‘Enjoy your county days,’ it said succinctly. Your county days are just as good as your club ones but given they are less frequen

Adam Chandler scored a stylish ton v Tish as Rchie Benaud would say "Pretty to Watch" Considering it’s been the wettest winter on record the cricket pitches of the county were in fine fettle for the season’s opener on Sunday with runs being scored almost everywhere apart from the odd blip. While 2015 saw 10 centuries posted during the first game, 2016 only saw seven although that could have been eight had Kevin Bowen of St Ishmaels 2nds settled for 100 and gave the extra seven run he scored to Robbie Thomas who was left high and dry on 93 not out! Without being at the games it’s difficult to comment on which would have been the best. Adam Chandler’s Bradmanseque form continues and his 123 not out v St Ishmaels would have been possibly the most stylish while Doc Holliday’s 123 v Carew was chanceless according to those who saw it. Kern Cunningham’s 125 for Haverfordwest 2nds v Carew 2nds would have been a wham bam thank you mam affair while Luke Hayman’s 118 f

Having written about sport for close on 20 years one of the biggest challenges I find is how to make the same thing sound interesting year after year. When a new season starts, it’s inevitable that some will be excited by it but read between the lines of any sports preview and it will say pretty much what it said last year. The truth is it can be a bit of a bore. So how can I preview tomorrow’s (or today’s if you’re reading this on Sunday) opening game of the 2016 Pembrokeshire cricket season without sounding samey? The truth is I’m not. I’m not going to mention cricket, except in passing because this preview is all going to be about Ted. I’ll come to him in a moment but first the weather forecast. It’s going to be dry but cold; with a stiff easterly breeze winging its way down from the Artic picking up a few Scandinavian scents along the way. Inevitably there will be moans and groans about this from experienced umpires wrapped up in dozens of jumpers and fielders with

Pembrokeshire and officials - PIC Pembroke County Cricket Club website There was an air of desperation in Simon Katich’s voice, certainly air of disappointment. The pride was gone, the desire wasn’t there and unlike him, the players weren’t making the most of their abilities. As a summariser, his views were cutting and summed up the series; that they were made after the first day’s play of the first test between Australia and West Indies when the home side had amassed 438/3 were the most disappointing of all. It didn’t bode well for a competitive series and that’s how it proved to be. Only 40,000 turned up for the Boxing Day test at Melbourne, the lowest crowd attendance for that test in years. Only a few weeks earlier, West Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers had broken down in tears as he addressed a news conference in Sri Lanka bemoaning the lack of pride in West Indies cricket and the way current players chase the dollar and not the dream by plying their trade in globa