Micky causes mayhem

 

I make no secret of the fact that for a long time Micky Phillips has been one of my favourite sporting characters: someone who gives 100%, on and off the field, but always with a smile and a good word for everyone else.

When he saw this story appear first time he laughed as loudly as anyone else – and I know he will have a quiet chuckle again! Cheers Micky!
 
Micky Phillips has always played sport with a smile on his face and has always put something back into his football and cricket, where he is the Hon Treasurer of both county organisations.

He still turns out for Haverfordwest Cricket Club and had others smiling too at a recent match where the club’s second string played at Llanrhian and he was involved in the field as unofficial vice-captain to his son Chris.

Micky was fielding on the boundary in front of the clubhouse when the wicketkeeper missed the ball and Micky sped around the boundary to prevent four runs. He used his footballing skills to prevent the ball going over the ropes but only succeeded in kicking it to a nearby dog, who promptly ran off with it!

The batsmen might well have run ten runs by the time it was recovered and after umpires Steve Blowes and Rob Cousins picked themselves off the floor, along with all the other players and supporter, they awarded three byes to Llanrhian and the game carried on in its friendly fashion. It transpires that the mutt was owned by Andrew ‘Pengi’ Phillips, who lives in the area and happens to be Micky’s cousin but we are assured that it wasn’t part of a plot to grab runs quickly in the Llanrhian cause!


 

Gary shows who is boss . . .

 

If I had to pick a top footballing manager in Pembrokeshire then one former Hakin boss would have to feature – and this story shows why he was so good because he was so strong in all his decisions!
 
When Hakin United won the Joe Lennon Memorial Trophy by beating Milford United 2-0 at Marble Hall it was Steve Mathias who collected the trophy from Joe’s grandson Dylan, instead of regular skipper Ewan Findlay, who had a good game nonetheless.

It was only whilst chatting with Vikings’ manager Gary Dawes and Ewan afterwards that it emerged why Ewan was deposed.

Gary plays in some five-a-side football matches for the Hakin United veterans (where the qualification is that you must have had at least one knee operation and includes some great former players in Shaun Mills, Paul Chapman and Nigel Armstrong) as they take on the younger players like Ewan.

At the moment the score stands heavily in favour of the youngsters (10-3 would you believe) and made the mistake of giving his manager some ‘stick’ about how slow he has become. Not content with that little faux pas (Mr Dawes has a long memory) Ewan then informed his footballing boss that he was unable to play for a while because he was going on holiday after the Milford United match.

When a laughing Gary told us why Steve Mathias was therefore taking the silverware, there was a hint of a chuckle from young Mr Findlay – but I bet it will be some time before he takes Gary on in the verbals again!
 



 

Chalk needed

 

It is always good to see a friendly rapport between cricketers and umpires and sometimes their comments are not always heard on the boundary – so this little ‘chat’ is intended to show what often goes on unnoticed!
 
It is always good to report on moments of humour in a match and when Carew Seconds easily beat their counterparts from Haverfordwest in the Alec Colley Cup there was one such moment. It came as Carew opener Barry Evans, looking as redoubtable with the bat as ever, was going for a big hit in search of a half century but he completely mistimed a shot and the ball hit right at the bottom of Barry’s bat before dropping just off the wicket.

It was the last ball of the over and as umpire Richard Merriman walked past him he casually asked, “Do you want some chalk for it?” and made ‘Evs’ chuckle.

It was a nice moment not heard by many but our secret stump microphone picked it up and we enjoyed the touch of good humour because we like to see that sort of rapport between players and match officials!
 


 

Pink boots galore at St Davids

 

Rugby players often seem to show off their macho images but there is always room for them to demonstrate that they have come to terms with their feminine side – and this is evidenced in the following story about a St Davids ‘legend’!
 
Jack Dudley has served St Davids superbly as a player and coach for well over two decades and is rightly regarded a tough old boy – so you can imagine the uproar when Big Jack recently turned up in the changing room and put on his new PINK BOOTS!

It seems that they were a present from wife Yvonne, who was either trying to drag her feller into the 21st century or making up a cunning plan to have him laughed out of rugby so that he could go shopping on Saturday afternoons!

It seems that either way, Jack has caught the eye and when Pembroke played at St Davids a few weeks ago he bumped into fellow coach Ossie Boswell, and for once the Pembroke coach was lost for words at what he saw. Ossie readily admitted that he wouldn’t wear pink boots if they were the only ones left but was delighted to say that he would have liked his old pal to have worn them when they played against each other so the referee would know when Jack was giving Ossie a friendly kick in the back!

....... It seems that Jack’s pink boots are the envy of some other players because at a recent away match, when Jack wasn’t down to play, they were borrowed by big Chris Morgan, who like Jack is a 22 stone-plus player and not one you would normally expect to see in such gaudy footwear. He protested that he had forgotten his own boots but Jack and Co could see that Big Morgs was rather quick in suggesting he use his coach’s footwear!  What on earth is happening to the tough guys at St Davids?
 



 

Bluebird Barry takes a tumble

 


Barry Vaughan is well-known and highly respected in Welsh League Football circles for his long service as Secretary at Haverfordwest County but shows here that his home decorating skills are not quite up to his scribe’s standards. See what you think . . .

And finally, spare a thought for Haverfordwest County’s long-serving secretary and director Barry Vaughan, who has been showing off his battle scars at the Conygar Bridge Meadow and relating a very sad story but receiving littler sympathy.

Barry was painting a fence at his home in the county town, using a nice stonework colour, standing on a two-foot high grass bank, when he reached just a little too far and came a cropper. He tumbled back down the grass bank, hit the concrete path and sustained a nastily-grazed elbow (the afore-mentioned war wound!).

But perhaps worst of all was the fact that the almost-full tin of paint flew through the air, bounced, and created a new visual impact on the neat and tidy garden. I believe that Mrs V was understandably concerned at his mishap but less than impressed by the change in her garden’s appearance.
So if you know a good way to get rid of paint aplenty – give Barry a ring at the Bluebirds’ office!