CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket Podcast

This is the first of two episodes celebrating Christchurch Cricket Clun and their centenary year. In this first episode we hear from local historian of Ferndale and District, Alun Clement who sets the scene for a discussion with current players and administrators of the club which will come next week. Alun very kindly provided us with some pre-recorded statements outlining the history of the area, the development of sport with an emphasis on cricket and the Christchurch Club and some notable local sportspeople. This is followed on the episode by excerpts from an online chat we had with Alun about his book 'Passages of Life: Ferndale and District'. If you enjoy the episode and are interested in Alun's book please get in touch with us and we can forward your details to him.

Neil begins by outlining the story of the stuffed sparrow that is one of the more unusual items in the MCC Museum and one that has a link to Glamorgan as the ball that was bowled immediately before the sparrow was discovered was bowled by Jahangir Khan, father of Majid Khan, Glamorgan’s first overseas player. The discussion then moves on to books and, in particular, the books that have been written, wholly or in the main, after research at the MCC library and archive. The following books are outlined by Neil: John Major’s ‘More Than a Game’: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/more-than-a-game-the-story-of-crickets-early-years-john-major?variant=39571071696974 Peter Oborne’s ‘Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan’ https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Wounded-Tiger/Peter-Oborne/9781849832489 Peter Obourne ‘Basil D’Oliveira, Cricket and Conspiracy: The Untold Story’ https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/peter-oborne/basil-doliveira/9780751534887/+/ David Woodehouse ‘Who Only Cricket Know: Hutton’s Men in the West Indies 53/54’: https://www.waterstones.com/book/who-only-cricket-know/david-woodhouse/9781909811591 Prashant Kadambi ‘Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire’: https://www.waterstones.com/book/cricket-country/prashant-kidambi/9780198843146 Future publications that are upcoming are: David Kynaston and Harry Ricketts ‘Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes: The Story of an Ashes Classic’: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/richie-benauds-blue-suede-shoes-9781526670274/ this is published on 23rd May 2024 Leo McKinstry ‘Bill Edrich: The Many Lives of Englands Cricket Great’: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bill-edrich-9781399407823/ this is published on 18th July 2024 Jeremy Lonsdale ‘An Unusual Celebrity: The Many Cricketing Lives of Bill Bowed’: https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/unusual-celebrity this is published on 10th June 2024 Neil also talks about his book, The Long Shot Summer: The Year of Four England Cricket Captains. You can read more about it here: https://www.amberley-books.com/long-shot-summer-the-year-of-four-england-cricket-captains-1988.html After this literary excursion, Neil outlines the staff group at the Museum. They are: Alan Rees Charlotte Goodhew Heather Lomas Matthew Howe Neil talks about an item in the collection that has a specific relationship with Glamorgan. It is a poster advertising a gala week to raise money for Glamorgan County Cricket Club. We talk about the oral history project undertaken at the Museum of Welsh Cricket called Tale-Enders and how it influenced Neil’s approach to the work of the MCC Museum in general and specifically the project they launched called Taking the Field. Finally, Neil touches on what he sees as the importance of sports museums in telling the history of people in a particular place and at a particular time and he finishes with the details of how people can get in touch with and / or visit the museum. For details of the tours of Lords or contacting the museum you can go here: https://www.lords.org/mcc/heritage-collections/what-we-do

In this week's episode we meet the Head of Heritage and Collections at the MCC, Neil Robinson. We begin by talking about how, where and when Neil began his affiliation with the game of cricket. Specifically, it was the 1981 Ashes and Bob Willis' phenomenal last day performance in the Headingley Test. Yorkshire was the nearest first class county to him in the North East so he became a fan of the club. He has followed Durham's progression as a first class county. Neil then tells us a little bit about his journey to the position that he currently holds. From an initial period as a library student in 2004 he managed to get a permanent job in 2006. He became the Head of Heritage and Collections in 2019. The Museum is not as old as the Lords cricket ground. In fact, it was officially opened in 1953 but the collections do go back much further. Neil outlines the details of how the museum and collections have grown over the past 150 years. Neil outlines what has happened to the museum in the time he has been there. Principally, this has been the development of a proper cataloguing system so that museum staff and those researching aspects of the game can search and find material they can use to tell the story of the game of cricket through the work of this hugely influential institution. He then gives us a brief 'virtual' guide to the museum itself. Recent developments in cricket have led some to question the equality and diversity in the history of the game. Neil describes the way in which the museum's approach to telling cricket history has thrown a light on some of the issues raised in the ICEC Report of 2023. To finish the episode, Neil talks about some of the items in the collection that he regards as significant and important finishing with the story of the Ashes urn. The museum website, where you can find details of how you can visit the museum and / or use it for research: https://www.lords.org/lords/conferences-and-events/museum For those who are interested in learning a little more about Neil and his work, you can read a transcribed interview with him here: https://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/interview-neil-robinson-the-library-and-research-manager-at-lords-293870/ Back in 2020 during lock-down, Neil was a guest on the wonderful Oborne and Heller on Cricket Podcast. To listen, go here: https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/episode-22-talking-with-mccs-head-of-heritage-and-collections-neil-robinson/

Anna Harris has only been an umpire for 9 years but she has had a meteoric rise through the ranks to become an international umpire on the women's circuit and operating at just under first class level in the men's game. We begin by talking about Anna's early life in High Wycombe and Brighton and how she started by picking up a plastic cricket bat at school aged 5. She talks about her development as a cricketer through Buckinghamshire's junior ranks. She was an England player in her late teens and kept up her playing when she came to University in Cardiff. Anna talks a little bit about her playing as a batter and a leg spin bowler. She recounts her highest score of 124 at the Malvern Festival and turning the ball to take a wicket. Her umpiring began as a way of making a little bit of pocket money but she took it up more seriously when she went on a gap year to Australia. She played cricket for Melbourne Cricket Club and umpired in the local Melbourne men's league. Anna outlines the pathway that currently exists for men's and women's cricket umpiring and how she progressed as an umpire and how this has all changed even in the short time she has been umpiring. She now umpires in National Counties cricket and is on the panel for professional women's cricket in the UK. She is also on the panel of umpires for the ICC and can umpire in international women's matches. We talk about some of the people that have inspired her development as an umpire and then some of the important moments in her career to date including being part of the first all female team to umpire in an ECB accredited men's premier league match and her international debut aged 22 years old. Anna talks about her views on umpiring, where it sits in the game and what are the most important aspects of it for her. She confronts the fear that all umpires must have of making a mistake and also about the nature of the umpire's role, the way she turns her levels of concentration on and off. We talk about giving lbw decisions and how Anna prepares herself for these. She talks about the 42 laws of the game and the unwritten one, 43, that deals with the unexpected. Anna talks about the controversial decision made at the England v India ODI and what it was like to be part of that as an umpire: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/sep/24/england-women-india-third-one-day-international-cricket We then talk about a few od Anna's special memries so far as an umpire including the 2023 Ashes Series: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/26/england-australia-womens-ashes-test-match-ash-gardner-cricket-report We talk about the things that Anna takes with her onto the field of play, the image of umpiring and then talk about how she came to Wales and how she has enjoyed her time here. Finally, we talk about the future and what Anna wants to do with her life and her umpiring. For those who want to hear Anna talk a a little bit more you can try these videos: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=656508298940893 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpMhmMeT6sk And you can read this article from the ECB about the women's T20 World Cup in which Anna officiated. You can follow Anna on X at a_y_harris

In this episode we talk to Sue Wells, Area Manager for Cricket Wales North. Her Cricket Wales biography can be found here: https://cricketwales.org.uk/our-team/sue-wells Sue tells us about her early life in Shropshire and the farming family she was born into. She remembers never being without sport in her life and her first love was kicking a ball. She joined her first team aged 7 or 8 and joined her first organised club, Wem Town. Sue talks about her football career, winning a national football competition with Shropshire Girls football, even though she missed a penalty in the final! She had an England trial at aged under 16 and has played for a couple of welsh clubs. Her biggest regret, other than being injured early in her career, wa snever having the opportunity to play for Wrexham. Sports development came on top of Sue's commitment as a coach and referee. It was at University that she discovered Sports Science and then that sports development was an option. She completed a Masters Degree in sports development researching women and girls football and through that she got offered her first opportunity working as a Girls and Womens development officer for Suffolk Football Association. Sue tells us a little bit about her work in Suffolk and her achievements which includesd re-organising a league and raising the profile of the womens game in that part of the UK. She also talks about her links with the University of Chester and the lecturing role she performed there. Sue came to Cricket Wales in 2016 but she has always loved watching the game. She mentions the 2005 Ashes as a major influence on her love of the game. She outlines the patch she covers in her job and the team that she leads. She then outlines the roles that she has responsibility for you as a Cricket Wales Area Manager: Sue confesses that she might be taking the plunge and participating in a softball cricket team this summer and then talks a little bit about funding, the partners that cricket wales has and how she works with them to deliver as many opportunities as possible to a wide range of young people. We get Sue to reflect on the similarities between different sports when it comes to sports development as well as some of the unique things about cricket and her 'patch' in North / mid wales. The growth of the women's and girls game is something that Sue is very proud of in her role as well as the growth and development in the mid wales junior cricket league which was reformed in the last couple of years. She mentions the young Ukrainian cricketer that was mention in the Chance to Shine impact report. This video captures the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zc2NK8YmP4 Rewarding volunteers is very important to Sue and she talks about some of the ways she tries to reward them. We then talk about some of the challenges she has had in her role. Sue mentions one or two individuals who have helped her in her role. We finish with Sue talking about her hopes for the future of the game and the area she works in and a few reflections on her own role and where she might be in a few years time. To contact Sue, you can follow her on X at @suecricketwales or email her: sue.wells@cricketwales.org.uk

In this episode we meet six cricketers from in and around Swansea who play in the relatively new mid-week cricket league, the Tawe League. The players are: Ataur Rahman Jaber (Swansea Warriors) Abdul Mustak (Swansea Rising Stars) Amit Shivani (Swansea Strikers) Raj Tilak (Deccan Chargers) Krishna Prasanth (Master Blasters) Gigi George (Swansea Spartans) They tell us a little bit about their own personal histories, where they first played cricket, and how they fell in love with the game. The talk then moves on to talking about how they found a place to play cricket when they came to Wales. Some of them talk about their links with local clubs and they talk about the difficulty of finding equipment and the desperate need to have a local sports shop dedicated to cricket. The Tawe League has its origins in a lot of friendly cricket that took place between different groups of, predominantly, south asian cricketers up to and around 2020. Jaber talks about meeting Keri Chahal from cricket wales and Paul from Ynystawe Cricket Club and how the league became more organised and, in his view, more spicy ! Finding proper pitches and places to practice has been hard but it has also meant that players meet, train and mix socially. They now talk about the eight clubs that comprise the league. Raj talks about how competitive the league is and how the competition makes the experience much more interesting. Amit adds that the League can and does act as a 'feeder' system for local league clubs. We talk a little bit about the names of the teams and their origins and how their approach to cricket affects all these things. Mustak explains the 'Finals Day' that comes at the end of the season and how important it is to the development of the league. It is hoped that it will continue to grow as an event and Amit was very thankful to Ynystawe Cricket Club for hosting this event. The Tawe league has used Ynystawe Park, Briton Ferry CC, Baglan CC pitches and this year there will be games at Felinfoel as well. The gentlemen finish by talking about their hopes for the season and for the league. Anyone interested in the Tawe League either as a player, supporter or, indeed, a sponsor should contact Keri Chahal on: keri.chahal@cricketwales.org.uk

This is the last of 3 episodes of the podcast devoted to one of Glamorgan’s greatest ever players, Matthew Maynard. He begins by talking about coaching, both young players as well as elite cricketers and praises the philosophy of the current England coach and captain, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. He mentions one instance with Marcus Trescothick which was the exception to his experiences when coaching with England. This, for him, is the essence of coaching elite players, finding solutions to puzzles. It is, when all is said and done, about finding ways to score. Matt talks about the limits to video analysis and statistics and the importance of encouraging players to trust their instincts. Getting your own performance right is what he emphasises. Stick to your own strengths. Matt’s England career started as a bit of a surprise to him. He describes the experience of turning up for his debut and being given a cap with someone else’s name in it. He never felt that he was wanted in the England set up and felt that this was indicative of the England Team in the 80s and 90s. Reflecting on the experience he felt he just needed more time to acclimatise to the Test and One Day International arena and, for whatever reason, never got that time. He tells the story of how he decided to learn to drive the Team coach whilst being Director of Cricket at Somerset! We talk about the opportunities available to young cricketers in Wales and his plans for the future and we finish with his thoughts on being an umpire, being on a committee and whether he feels 100% welsh! If you want to donate to Matt’s Wellyman Walk, go here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk

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 his heart. In October this year, the Glamorgan coach will take on the epic challenge from Lands End to John OGroats (LEJOG), a total of 1,189 miles, to raise much-needed funds for the Professional Cricketers Trust and Help For Heroes. Although Maynard may have spent a career trying to avoid being dismissed LBW, this time he is embracing it: By completing LEJOG By Wellies or LBW. This will be Maynards second Wellyman walk, having previously travelled from Cardiff to Colwyn Bay for the Tom Maynard Trust, set up following the tragic death of his son in 2012. Maynard hopes to be joined by cricketing figures along the route and would also welcome the company of other walkers who are simply keen to offer their support and encouragement. The Professional Cricketers' Trust is a registered charity created to support the health and well-being of PCA members and their immediate families for the whole of their lives. The assistance we provide includes: medical advice, provision of specialist equipment, funding operations and providing support for health and wellbeing issues. Help for Heroes champions the Armed Forces community and helps them live well after service. The charity helps them, and their families, to recover and get on with their lives. It has already supported more than 27,000 people and wont stop until every veteran gets the support they deserve. To donate to the Walk, go here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk Please try to ensure that Matt reaches his target of £20,000

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 stroke-play and immaculate timing that brought him 59 first class hundreds, 131 first class 50s, 16 List A centuries and 81 50s. In this episode Matt shares with us his early life in Oldham and then on Anglesey, his boyhood cricketing heroes, his first steps in the professional game and the influences on his batting from childhood through to his years at Glamorgan. Matt is due to complete his Wellyman Walk from John O'Groats to Lands End in the next two weeks. He is walking to raise money for the Professional Cricketers Trust and Help for Heroes. You can find more details about his walk and you can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/mattwellymanwalk It would be a great way to show our thanks to Matt for the service he has given both as a player and coach to ensure he reaches his £20,000 target. Join us next week for the next installment of the chat with Matt.

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 has stayed with him. He remembers the 1976 Test Series with the great West Indies side and how practicing in the back lane forced him to play straight. Joe outlines the sporting traditions of Llandudno including rugby, hockey and football as well as cricket and recalls some of his memories of playing at the club. He talks passionately about his work as a coach and cricket development officer with Cricket Wales in and around Llandudno with some powerful stories of connecting with young people and promoting the game in North Wales. Joe has used his lifelong intoxication with the game of cricket to enthuse countless youngsters, some of whom will form the bedrock of the recreational game in the years to come. He is a fabulous ambassador and advocate for the game of cricket. Everyone at the Museum of Welsh Cricket wishes him well with his ongoing work. Thanks Joe !!

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 featuring Matt will begin on Friday March 8th

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 getting them to talk about their cricketing pasts. The questions, again, in no particular order, were: Your most memorable match you were involved in. Best individual performance. Favourite ground. Favourite players to play with. Favourite players to play against. A favourite cricketing story We talked about the honour that the club had bestowed upon the three of them last year when they were given caps commemmorating their 50 years or more service to the club as players and administrators. We finish the gent's hopes for the future of the club. There are some great, funny stories in here. We hope you enjoyed the listen.

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 of Science: An Interview with Rob Ahmun First-Class Batting: Glamorgan and Northamptonshire Neath Cricket Club - 175th Anniversary Hook Cricket Club: Happy 100th Year Paul Rees: Our man with the MCC Last Man Bowling: An Interview with Ron Walton

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 gear. Anyone interested in contacting Rich or Hedd to discuss what they can offer, their mobile numbers are as follows: Rich 07970 498350 Hedd 07950200211 You can follow them on X and instagram here: X - @bats_bear Intagram - @bear_bats

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 with what she calls 'the slow drama of county cricket'. When Jean's husband Dennis passed away, her trips away with the Balconiers became not only a way of remembering him but also a source of comfort and friendship for her. She talks about her growing interest in and affection for the game of cricket as well as commenting on the future for Glamorgan and the importance of county cricket to the future of Test cricket. For those interested in the work of the St Helen's Balconiers, in particular their regular trips to other county grounds, you can go here: http://www.thebalconiers.co.uk/

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 Hove where Sussex hosted Glamorgan. After conceding a huge lead in their first innings Glamorgan amassed 737 runs in their second, breaking several records on the way to securing a draw. For Wisden's record of the match you can go here: https://wisden.com/matches/live/214135/sussex-v-glamorgan-at-hove-lv=-insurance-county-championship-18-21-may-2023 Northants had held the record for the highest second innings in a first class match before Glamorgan came along and snatched it from them. On this podcast we talk to Mal Loye and Tony Cottee, the Glamorgan captain in that game in 1998 as well as club archivists and historians of Northamptonshire and Glamorgan, Andrew Radd and Andrew Hignell about that game at Wantage Road. We also catch up with Glamorgan batter Kiran Carlson and talk to him about his career best to date of 192 in the match at Hove as well as the other Glamorgan players who contributed to the record breaking innings. For a full list of all the records achieved at Hove you can go here: https://glamorgancricket.com/news/stat-attack-glamorgan-set-a-new-world-record-at-hove Take a look at this list, compiled by Andrew Radd, of the top ten first class innings for Northants: https://nccc.co.uk/news/northamptonshires-10-best-first-class-innings/ And finally, for more Glamorgan batting records you can go here: https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/batting-records/

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 about one of the events they held over the summer here: https://www.herald.wales/west-wales/pembrokeshire/special-match-to-mark-hook-cricket-clubs-centenary-year/ http://www.pembrokeshiresport.co.uk/cricket/former-england-players-to-celebrate-hook-centenary You can follow the club’s exploits on X at @HookCricketClub and on Facebook

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 that Rob mentions in his interview: https://www.essex.ac.uk/news/2022/07/12/england-cricket-team-is-fitter-than-ever

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 here: https://cricketwales.org.uk/news/senior-open-welsh-cup-final-2023-colwyn-bay-cc-v-swansea-cc You can find some great stats about the Welsh Cup here: https://nwsport.co.uk/2023/09/03/all-hail-colwyn-bay-2023-cricket-welsh-cup-winners/ We would like to add our congratulations to the Colwyn Bay Cricket Club 2023 Welsh Cup Winners !

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 the St Helen's Balconiers. They talk about his time as a cricketer and the support he gave his two cricketing sons. His personal qualities; a generosity of spirit, an egalitarian outlook and a people centered approach influenced not only his career as a cricketer but also his business life as a successful accountant. Encouraged by his contact with Balconiers Chairman John Williams, Clive became an integral part of the organisation, using his business contacts to build sponsorship for the annual Swansea and West Wales Cricket Festival which was the jewel in the Balconiers crown. All our guests paint a picture of a man who loved his sport, loved Glamorgan and made a great many friends through the world of cricket.