CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket Podcast

Stephen Hedges

A Podcast interviewing a range of people from all areas of the great country of Wales who have a connection with or a story to tell about the great game of cricket.

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Episodes

The Tawe League
2d ago
The Tawe League
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
Matthew Maynard: A Modern Glamorgan Great (Part 3)
Mar 20 2024
Matthew Maynard: A Modern Glamorgan Great (Part 3)
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
Matthew Maynard: A Modern Glamorgan Great (Part 2)
Mar 12 2024
Matthew Maynard: A Modern Glamorgan Great (Part 2)
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/mattwellymanwalkPlease try to ensure that Matt reaches his target of £20,000
First-Class Batting: Glamorgan and Northamptonshire
Nov 22 2023
First-Class Batting: Glamorgan and Northamptonshire
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.htmlThe 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-2023Northants 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-hoveTake 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/
Last Man Bowling: An Interview with Ron Walton
Aug 11 2023
Last Man Bowling: An Interview with Ron Walton
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 Cricket side.At 79 years old he is the oldest cricketer ever to play in Division 1 of the South Wales Cricket Association.This article was written nearly 10 years ago:https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/pensioner-just-bowled-seven-maiden-7683549Ron talks to us about his sporting memories mentioning many of the great sportspeople he played alongside.Ron is mentioned in this Cricket Wales article on seniors cricket in Wales:https://cricketwales.org.uk/news/cricket-wales-criced-cymru-seniors-60s-and-70s-2009-21Here is Ron in campaigning mode back in 2004 trying to keep the ground where he played so much of his cricket.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/3878233.stmRon has been an incredible servant to sport in Wales and deserves every bit of recognition that he has got for his selfless service as player, coach and administrator.  We hope this episode will allow others who know him better to share their thoughts on this evergreen cricketer.