Almost a hundred current and former players were joined by families and friends as Haverfordwest Cricket Club held its presentation dinner that was coupled with the celebration of a special date in the club’s history since it was exactly 40 years since their clubhouse was officially opened by Glamorgan CCC’s Wilfred Wooller and Alan Jones.
It was appropriate therefore that the guest speaker should be Alan Jones since he also opened the extension five years later and is the current Glamorgan president in recognition of his service.The opening speech was made by Stuart Williams, the club president, who outlined the club’s history, especially since the building of the clubhouse, and he rightly mentioned the players of that time who bravely acted as guarantors so the club could borrow the money necessary, and former president Harry McEntee, who had done so much in its inception.
As MC Bill Carne pointed out in welcoming the legendary batting skills of the left-handed opener, Jones scored over 40,000 runs for Glamorgan and reached 1,000 runs on 23 consecutive seasons, including two ultra-productive campaigns where he also reached double that figure!
He also captained Glamorgan to their first-ever limited overs final in the Gillette Cup at Lords, was an integral part of the team which won the county championship in 1969, and represented England against a hugely powerful Rest of the World team.
Prior to arriving at the club Jones was invited by Cllr Alan Buckfield, the mayor of Haverfordwest, to visit the mayor’s parlour where he was regaled with stories of the town’s history before signing the visitor’s book alongside David Loosmore and Alison Thomas (officials of Haverfordwest CC), John Williams (Swansea Balconiers) and John Daniels (Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru)As well as relating some funny stories involving other great players like Fred Truman, the chief guest also answered lots of questions from those in attendance before receiving a club tie from club chairman David Loosmore, as did Paul Webb, the chairman of Pembroke CCC, Alan Buckfield and John Williams.
Bouquets were also presented by Alison Thomas and Linda Grey to Janice Webb and Jill Buckfield and as well as making a donation to the Professional Players Benefit Fund since the special waived any fee, there will also be a generous donation to the Pembrokeshire Friends of Prostate Cymru as a result of a successful auction, Ashes picture quiz (organised by Matthew Vaughan) and raffle.
The Awards presented were as follows:
1st XI: Batsman: Simon Holliday; Bowler – Kieran O’Connor; Fielder – Chris Phillips
2nd XI: Batsman: Nigel Morgan; Bowler – Clive Tucker; Fielder - Jake Merry
3rd XI: Batting: John Tooze; Bowling: Filgi Varghese; Fielder – Max Adams
4th XI: Batting: Cyril Varghese; Bowling: Caleb Simpson; Fielding: Ryan Lewis
Fred Morgan Memorial Shield (Highest Score): Simon Holliday (151 not out)
Dingley Jones Cup: (Most Improved Player: –Archie Thomas
Georg Cook Memorial Shield (Most Improved Young Player): Lewis Rhead
Bob Berry Trophy (Participation) Colin Williams
Tony Myles Trophy (Best Bowling Figures): Filgi Varghese
Scorers’ Awards: Jayne Cole, Kelly Williams, Alison Sanders, Keith Thompson
Clubman of the Year: Ashley James