The Beamer

An industrious amateur groundsman from Somerset has ensured he remains a cut above the rest after designing and building his own range of cylinder mowers. Andrew Fox, of East Harptree Cricket Club, a small village around 15 miles south of Bristol, hit upon the idea after the supply of used Atco machines he sold after renovating started to run dry. The self-taught engineer, realising that many clubs could ill afford the higher end mowers that cost in the region of £4,500 - £7,000 started designing his own brand to satisfy demand from clubs that wanted a good quality product at a price they could afford. When his partner Louise took a job as an education advisor in Saudi Arabia, the 44-year-old businessman tinkered about in his garage and the 14 blade Fox Cylinder mower was born. “I’ve been renovating Atco mowers since the 80s,” said the self-confessed mower fantastic. “When I was 11 I took apart my father’s when he was at work one day and I’ve been working on them eve...

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 o...

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...