Bees and Ben

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 everywhere and each and every one of them appeared to be enjoying themselves.

Their parents certainly were as they waited for their off-spring whilst socialising on the patio, pints in hand, food on order, gossiping about nothing and everything all the same. No doubt they were disappointed when the session had come to an end.

You need some dedicated coaches to create scenes like this and it’s no surprise to see them being replicated in other grounds where the pavilion inches on to the playing surface.

Clubs with bars in their pavilions are thriving as the game of cricket becomes a social occasion. Clubs without are not and only this week Hundleton seconds pulled out of division five a year after doing so before applying to be reinstated again.

Hundleton do not have a junior section neither do they have a bar in their pavilion. Like many small clubs they have a hardy bunch of players who play for the love of playing but to sustain a future they, like others need dedicated coaches, dedicated parents and a hosts of youngsters wanting to be like Ben.

It’s not as easy as it sounds and over the years a good few clubs have fallen by the wayside. The other day Grant Cole of Lamphey produced the following list of clubs that have folded since he started playing in the mid 80’s. It makes for miserable reading.

• Quarterdeck
• Tenby
• Manorbier
• Cardigan
• Dinas
• Letterston
• Trecwn
• Rosemarket
• Maenclochog
• Camrose & Spittal
• Laugharne
• Llanddewi Velfrey
• St Clears
• St Davids
• RAF Brawdy
• Marloes

No doubt others may join the list in due course but hopefully not. Hopefully we'll have a county full of budding Bens.

Here’s this week’s team of the week.

1. Greg Miller (Neyland 2nds) 100 v Hook 2nds
2. Ben Jones (Llanrhian) 68 v Neyland
3. Adam Chandler (Cresselly) 66 v Lawrenny
4. Ian Lewis (Neyland 3rds) 62 not out v Stackpole 2nds
5. Ross Hardy (Kilgetty) 59 v Haverfordwest 2nds
6. Ashley Sutton (Neyland) 56 v Llanrhian
7. Graham Keene (Neyland 2nds) 56 not out & 5-17 v Hook 2nds
8. Anthony Bevan (Kilgetty) 5-29 v Haverfordwest 2nds
9. Nathan Banner (Neyland) 42 & 4-24 v Llanrhian
10. Scott Jones (Neyland) 4-43 v Llanrhian
11. Simon Bevan (Stackpole) 4-50 v Pembroke