In this episode, Matt talks about captaincy, the dilemmas of selection, the 1997 Championship Winning Season, his trip to Lords for the Benson and Hedges Cup Final and the first steps in his coaching career. Matt is still completing his Wellyman Walk for the Professional Cricketers Trust and Help for Heroes. The following is taken from his JustGiving Page: Former England Test cricketer Matt Maynard is to walk the length of the country in wellington boots all in aid of two charities close to...

Matthew Maynard established, with his first class career, a place in the all-time record books of Glamorgan County Cricket Club.  But it is not just the quantity of runs that he scored that made Matt stand out amongst Glamorgan players of the modern age but the way in which he scored them.   It would have come as no surprise to Glamorgan fans that Matt chose to call the book about his cricketing career 'On the Attack'.  They will have spent many seasons marveling at the glittering...

Joe begins by introducing himself, talking about his early life in Bangor and Llandudno where his parents ran a little bed and breakfast business. He describes his early sporting experiences, including his memories of the 1970 football World Cup.  He 'stumbled' upon the Llandudno Oval, the club's cricket ground and was hooked by the idea of playing the game. He was a mischievous child and got into a little trouble with other members of the club but fell in love with cricket and that love...

By way of a trailer for our episodes interviewing Matt about his cricket and sporting life, this mini episode features him talking about his latest charity fundraising walk from John O Groats to Lands End. Matt is walking in aid of the Professional Cricketers' Trust and Help for Heroes  and is hoping to raise £10,000 for each charity. To read about the challenge and to donate you can visit Matt's Just Giving Page here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk The episodes...

In this episode we interview three stalwarts of the Pirates cricket team, Port Talbot Town Cricket Club.  They are, in no particular order: Mark Jones Ian Rees  Ray Cox We talk about their early years, discovering cricket and joining the club as well as a little bit of the history of the club which dates from around 1963.  We hear about some of their exploits as players including Ray playing First Division cricket with both his sons. The gents then answered a series of questions aimed at...

In this episode we look back at some of the podcasts from last year. The episodes covered are: Three Englishmen of Wales Special Episode: Walking in the Valleys for Young Cricketers St. Helen's: A Tribute (Part 1) Heroes and Headlines: St Helen's: A Tribute (Part 2) Special Episode: Walking in the Valleys for Young Cricketers Lucy Norman - Taking the Game Forward in North Wales Wales National County (North): An Interview with Russell Penrhyn Jones The Welsh Cup 100th Episode: The Appliance...

This weeks episode is an interview with two cricketers who have turned their love of the game into a fledgling business. Rich describes how his pastime of making things with wood turned to repairing bats for friends and other club members and persuaded him to set up a business to deliver bat refurbishment to the wider cricketing community. The boys describe how the business has grown organically, turning first to providing new bats and then to offer a small selection of cricket...

Jean Silvan Evans had a successful career as a journalist and lecturer.  Her husband, also a journalist, was a keen supporter of Glamorgan County Cricket Club.  To keep him company, Jean would sometimes attend a day at the cricket with no intention of watching and little interest in what happened the other side of that boundary rope. Slowly, with the help of Glamorgan's travelling supporters group the St Helen's Balconiers, Jean began not only to watch more of the play but also fell in love...

In this episode we look at two County Championship match second innings' separated by 25 years. The first took place during the 1998 season between Northants and Glamorgan at Wantage Road.  In their second innings, Mal Loye hit an incredible 322 not out as Northants saved the game with a second innings 712.  For the details of the game, you can go here: http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1998/ENG_LOCAL/CC/R04/NORTHANTS_GLAM_CC_21-24MAY1998.html The second took place in May 2023 at...

This week’s episode is a chat with members of the Hook Cricket Club that, this year has celebrated its centenary.  We talk to:   Dave Petrie who outlines the history of the village as well as charting the history of the cricket club. Jamie Phelps shares with us the state of the club today and how they have gone about their centenary celebrations. President Evan Martin shares his memories and his love of the game of cricket as well as his beloved Hook Cricket Club.   You can read a little bit...

This week's episode is an interview with the Head of Performance Science and Medicine at the ECB, Rob Ahmun. Originally from Cardiff Rob was a strength and conditioning coach with Glamorgan before his move to the England Team in 2014.  He talks to us about his sporting journey and career to date. Here is a page from the ECB website detailing the work of Rob's Department: https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/2104536/scie Here is an article from the University of Essex detailing some of the research...

In this episode we talk to those involved in the 51st Final of this competition.  They are, in order that they appear in the episode: Steve Davies, workforce administrator, South West Wales  Zack Gidlow , Chair of cricket at Colwyn Bay Cricket Club and first team player Mike Haydn, Chair of Swansea Cricket Club Neil Perrett, Chair, Usk Cricket Club Brad Wadlan, Captain, Swansea Cricket Club Sion Morris, Colwyn Bay Cricket Club You can find a written report on the final...

In this episode we remember long time treasurer with the St Helen's Balconiers Clive Hemp. We talk to his children, David, Tim and Charlotte as well as his colleagues from the Balconiers Committee Allan Gray and Roger Skyrme, Swansea solicitor and main sponsor of the Swansea and West Wales cricket Festival Peter Lynne. Our final guest who remembers Clive is Balconiers President Alan Jones.  Ex-Glamorgan cricketer and coach Alan has been President of Glamorgan County Cricket Club as well as...

Paul Rees is a popular club cricketer who has played most of his cricket in and around Swansea as well as a number of representative teams at age group and league level. He talks to us about his early cricketing experiences and how he developed as a cricketer.  In passing we talk about his rugby career and how that impacted on his cricket. Paul explains how he developed his strengths as a batsman but also how his bowling was what he was noted for early on in his career. He is rightly very...

Ron Walton has spent a lifetime playing professional and amateur sport.  A footballer with Merthyr Town he went on to play professionally in Australia before starting a coaching career that saw him spend 18 seasons at Swansea City coaching the youth team as well as spells as caretaker manager. He has played for a number of different cricket clubs in and around Merthyr but has spent the past few years playing for his home town club as well as clocking up over a 100 caps for the Wales Senior...

In this episode we talk to Russell Penrhyn Jones, the founder and driving force behind the Wales National County (North) Representative Teams. Founded in 2022, the Senior and U19 representative teams aim to give cricketers in the North Wales region opportunities to play representative cricket, develop their skills and further their cricket career aims.  You can read a brief article on their development here: https://cricketwales.org.uk/news/walesnc-north Russell talks about his involvement...

In this second episode authors David Parry and Andrew Hignell outline some more of the history of cricket in North Wales focussing on the Colwyn Bay Cricket Club which was formed in 1923. The episode opens with a discussion about Sydney Barnes, one of the most famous English cricketers of the Twentieth Century and his links to this part of Wales.  See here for a brief outline: https://www.cricketmuseum.wales/sydney-barnes-a-great-welsh-bowler/ There is some talk of the welsh cricket union...

Lucy is the first ever female chair of any recreational cricket league in Wales.   She is one of two women who have been appointed as chairs of ECB accredited premier leagues. Helen Ross has taken the helm of the Surrey Championship, while Lucy leads the North Wales Cricket League.  She talks about her initial contact with the game through her father and her initial involvement with Buckley Cricket Club supporting both her sons in their cricketing development. As part of the committee at...

This book, written and published to coincide with the centenary of Colwyn Bay Cricket Club, looks at the history of cricket in Denbigshire besides tracing how the club based in Rhos-on-Sea has become the venue for top class cricket in North Wales, as well as Glamorgan's northern outpost for first class cricket. For a brief review of the book you can go here: https://www.cricketweb.net/books/colwyn-bay/ In this first of two episodes we talk to co authors David Parry and Andrew Hignell...

In this the final episode in tribute to the St Helen's ground Richard Bentley talks us through some of the great names who have played at the ground.  We discuss the number of steps from the pavilion to the playing surface which is mentioned regularly by players who played there and Richard recites the poem written about the ground by one of cricket's greatest commentators John Arlott. He finishes with his thoughts about and hopes for the ground and some stories about previous Glamorgan...

In this week’s episode we return to discuss the history of St Helen’s as a venue for first class cricket.  Our guest is Richard Bentley who is the co-author, with Malcolm Nash, of Malcom’s cricketing biography ‘Not Only But Also’, published by St David’s Press in 2018.  To purchase a copy of the book you can go here: https://welsh-academic-press.shopfactory.com/contents/en-uk/p73_Not-Only-But-Also.html First, Richard tells us about his own early encounters with the ground before starting to...

Neath Cricket Club was founded in 1848 and is this year celebrating it’s 175th Anniversary.  As part of it’s celebrations it hosted an MCC XI at the Gnoll on Wednesday 14th June. We went along and recorded a series of interviews with those who were in attendance.  They included life members, committee members, supporters, the match manager and captain of the MCC on the day and the professional caterer that was there. Those wanting to know a little more about the history of the Gnoll and, in...

In this episode we interview broadcaster and author Alun Wyn Bevan about the non cricketing history of the ground covering some stories from his 2007 book 'St Helen's Stories'. If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book you can follow this link to the Amazon site.  It is well worth considering purchasing a 'used' copy as the quality is often pretty good.  It is a fantastic read and cram packed full of cricketing, rugby and other history not all of which was captured in the...

Last year, 5 cricket clubs in and around Cardiff got together for a fundraising walk for the junior sections of their clubs.  The brainchild of Cardiff Cricket Club President Michael Cann Walking in the Valleys for Young Cricketers was a great success. This season there are 11 participating clubs plus the umpires / scorers representative organisation.  The clubs / organisations involved are as follows: Cardiff Cricket Club Pontypridd Cricket Club Radyr Cricket Club Machen Cricket Club Porth...

In this episode we speak to three Englishmen who have made their home in Wales and have played most if not all of their adult cricket here, representing Wales in their Seniors Teams at Over 50s, Over 60s and Over 70s levels.   Mick Staddon was born in Battersea and played most of his early cricket on Clapham Common, playing for Belleville Junior Boys and later attending Battersea Grammar School.  The school can boast two England players amongst their old boys, Mike Selvey and David Smith....