At 20 years of age Andrew Salter can rightly be proud of the fact that he has represented Glamorgan County Cricket Club in a top final at the world-famous Lord's Cricket Ground and claimed two wickets in front of a crowd of almost 20,000, including a considerable number from Pembrokeshire, who were there to watch the ‘Yorkshire Bank 40’ Cup Final.
The big day dawned
The big day dawned with all 13 squad members hoping for selection and Andrew readily admits that after playing well in the semi-final he had high hopes of making a Lord’s final appearance that had been denied some of the Glamorgan 'greats' in the past.
"My big worry was about the state of the pitch," said Andrew, "and whether coach Matthew Mott would want two spinners in the side. We went out for our warm-up session and both Dean Cosker and I were given the nod afterwards, which was a great relief.”
“I was a little nervous before the start but once we got going there was no time to be tense as we went out to field.
"I was pleased with my first spell of bowling and when I had Michael Lumb out, caught and bowled second ball, I was chuffed to bits. The crowd was brilliant and although I knew loads were there from Pembrokeshire from tweets going out from Pembrokeshire the night before it was such a big crowd that I couldn't even see my mother and father or brother James, who had managed to get down for the match.
Just amazing after a leg-pull attempt
“I finished up with 2 for 41 as I also had Samit Patel caught - and had top Australian player David Hussey dropped. It was soon time for us to bat against the likes of current England pace man Stuart Broad, off-spinner Graeme Swann and all-rounder Patel. Sadly, we lost but we had all tried our best against a very experienced Notts side and after a half-hour feed-back by our coaches in the dressing room we were invited in for a beer with the Notts players.
“When I stood there chatting to Broad and Swann I couldn't believe it. Amazing!"
The day had started off well after a reasonable night's sleep in their hotel in Chelsea. Before going down to breakfast Andrew asked coach Matthew Mott if the players were expected to wear their suits down to eat, and Andrew was assured that this was the case. But he showed he is more than a kid from the sticks, however, because he took a sneak preview and spotted everyone else dressed in their track suits - and so avoided having his leg pulled all day!
Arrival at Lord’s
Then it was off to Lord's in the team coach.
"That was another new experience," said Andrew, "because when we arrived we had to walk past lots of our supporters waiting to get in - and they shouted lots of encouragement which we really appreciated."
"It was a day I will never forget, and I have been given a tape of it to keep as a memento by performance analyst Dave Harrison, who used to bowl for Glamorgan."
A nipper at Tish before representative honours
It nicely rounded off a first season as a professional cricketer for Andrew, who had started out years ago as a nipper with St Ishmaels and helped them to their only winning of the league title and Harrison-Allen Bowl, both achieved in 2007.
His performances as a youngster there marked him as a player of exceptional potential and he not only played for Wales in junior cricket but was also selected for England, and captained them. He travelled with the England under 19 squad to Sri Lanka and played in four one-day internationals in Colombo.
Andrew’s first-ever game for Wales came in the 2010 Minor Counties match against Wiltshire and then when he started his course in Sport Coaching and Development at Cardiff University he played for Cardiff MCC in their inaugural match against Somerset at Taunton and again when they took on Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Glamorgan debut
His next step was to play for the full Glamorgan team in the 2012 ‘Clydesdale Bank 40’ against both Durham and Nottinghamshire, followed by instant success on his debut in the County Championship as he became only the third Glamorgan player ever (and the first for 50 years) to claim a wicket with his very first ball as he had Leicestershire’s Shiv Thakor caught behind the wicket. It was also nice to be part of a winning team in that rain-affected match as he took three wickets and ‘spin twin’ Cosker claimed four in bowling the opposition out quickly.
Great family support
Ask Andrew about help in his rapid rise to county cricket and he would be quick to answer.
“My parents, (Irene and Graham) have been superb as they ferried me everywhere since I was very young so that I could train and play. My brother James has also been very supportive, as have been loads of people in Tish and across Pembrokeshire.
“Matthew Mott and Steve Watkin have been brilliant at Glamorgan, as has Robert Croft, who is a real legend in the game.”
Great ambitions
His ambition is to fill the huge pair of cricket boots vacated by Croft, who has really helped on the Glamorgan coaching staff – but first there is the matter of academic work to be finished at Cardiff Met and as a contracted player he will start training with Glamorgan next month, with particular emphasis to start on fitness.
“I know it’s going to be hard work but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Andrew, who has the whole of the Pembrokeshire Cricketing fraternity behind him as he aims to build on a momentous first season in county cricket!
Stop Press News:
Congratulations to Andrew Salter on the news that he has just been selected as ‘Young Player of the Year’ at the Glamorgan CCC annual presentation evening!
