New Year, new club?

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 complain about a perception of adverts outnumbering stories in local newspapers that an advert has provided such a great talking point.

Some members of the local cricketing crowd questioned whether what Bronwydd has done is in some way immoral given playing resources are dwindling in our senior game and coming in to pilfer our stocks is a little below the belt.

However, apart from starting a civil war against the Carmarthenshire club very little can be done given what they have done is not wrong and placing adverts for players in periodicals and papers has been going on for years.

Besides, why would someone want to go and play up the line anyway? Is the first division of the South Wales League better than that of Pembrokeshire’s?

It certainly used to be, but given the introduction of the South Wales Premier Divisions, One and Two that step up in standard can’t really be guaranteed considering the first division is two steps below the top.

What can be guaranteed however should you want a change of scenery for a season or two is a warm welcome, expert facilities and a chance to play on one of the Wales’ most scenic grounds according to Mr Homer.

“We’ll talk to anyone who is interested in joining. The problem we have is we’re on the western edge of the South Wales League meaning we don’t tend to attract players from Neath, Swansea and so forth so we have to look further afield.

“We know that some Pembrokeshire cricketers have come east before and we were thinking that if they were interested in playing for a different club in a different league, then perhaps they would be interested in joining us.

“We won’t pay for playing but we’d consider giving travelling expenses.”

For those not familiar with the ground, it nestles beneath rolling hills about three miles north of Carmarthen in a picture postcard setting with a steam railway running behind it on what was once the old Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway.

While that rolling stock provides a glimpse of history and nostalgia the club is constantly looking to the future and recently bought some additional land to extend their ground and provide some additional training facilities.

They aim to climb the ranks in local cricket too.

“We want to maintain our position in division one and improve on that,” added Mr Homer. “We’d like to get into South Wales Premier Two and beyond so if Pembrokeshire players fancy a go at that, we’d offer them a warm welcome.”

Interested? John Homer can be contacted on 07528 303143. 

Fancy Playing here? Bronwydd Cricket Ground (taken from their Facebook page