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Trefor’s kept busy on cricket admin
Someone who is really looking forward to the 2009 cricket season with some relish is Trefor Evans because it will be his second season at the helm as chairman of the Pembroke County Cricket Club – and he will be hoping that the weather will be better than last campaign because it was awful!
Worst of all for Trefor was the fact that it left him unable to attend every cup final because he takes his duties seriously and strongly believes that the chairmanship comes first and the chance to present the trophies isn’t just an honour but very enjoyable too. It was his aim to follow some other county chairmen in visiting every club during the season but missing so many Saturdays through rain meant that he was unable to achieve this target – but it is typical of him that he wishes to apologise to those he missed and is unequivocal with his promise that they will be top of his list for the new season’s visits!
Not only that, but he umpires regularly every week during the season and has a proven track record of involvement in local cricket, both as player and administrator.
Trefor is very much a Whitland man but since he stepped down from playing he took up umpiring 13 years ago and has earned a reputation as a solid, no-nonsense official who likes to get on with the job and who has built up a rapport with players who recognise his calm, unflurried approach.
Highlights and low spots
With so many cup matches falling foul of the weather it meant that Trefor missed Simon Cole’s superb century as Cresselly won the Duggie Morris Cup against Neyland. But he was thrilled to be in attendance that very same day as Whitland achieved a record fifth consecutive Ormond Youth Cup Final by beating Fishguard and Goodwick. It was one occasion that the chairman admits he found it hard to be a neutral onlooker!
One of the undoubted highlights for Trefor was the Harrison-Allen Final, rightly regarded as the Blue Riband event of local cricket, where Carew beat Narberth and he not only congratulated Carew on their victory but spoke nicely afterwards to Narberth as they appeared in their first Bowl final for over 40 years.
Memorable moments
A real thrill was to see the continued development of talented young cricketers from Pembrokeshire, with Steve Inward and Andrew Salter doing so well and joined by Ceri Brace, Ashley Sutton and Jack Murphy amongst many others benefitting from the excellent coaching now available. The girls in Pembrokeshire are also doing so well since Rachel Davies captained Wales and was joined by Alys John, Hannah McNeill, and Nerys Evans representing their country.
Another highlight of the season was the annual dinner, held at the Cleddau Bridge Hotel, where former cricketer and top radio commentator Jonathan Agnew was the guest speaker. It was a great night and Trefor was delighted to welcome everyone from the cricket fraternity who attended.
Something else that pleased Trefor during the season was the fact that there relatively few incidents for the county club to deal with and since he is firm in his view that cricket should be competitive, but sportsmanlike, he is hopeful that such sensible behaviour from clubs and players prevails in what he regards as a great game.
Stalwart worker
He has been on the committee of the Pembrokeshire Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers for years and been its Hon Treasurer for over a decade, helping Dave Brandon train new umpires for three years and then taking over as Training Officer ever since.
It is a similar story on the executive committee of the Pembroke County Cricket Club where he was elected about seven years ago and then completed a three-year stint as vice-chairman, before taking over the reins of the County Club and working closely with Hon Secretary Bill Marchant.
Trefor’s hopes for county’s clubs
Ask Trefor about his hopes for the rest of his spell in charge and he provides an unequivocal answer:
“I want clubs to look after their young players and nurture their talents. There is always a temptation to keep senior players too long but look at clubs like St Ishmaels and they are showing the real way forward.
“Some clubs need to work at developing their off-field facilities, especially with regard to nets and training. Pitches have improved no end under the watchful eye of Brian James and now clubs need to keep pushing forward.
“I want clubs to play their cricket in the right spirit. I was very competitive on the pitch but always tried to be fair – and it is my hope that I won’t have to chair a disciplinary committee meeting during my three years.”
Whitland through and through
Trefor started his playing days in Pembrokeshire when he started out his teaching career in Whitland and was asked to play for the second team that was newly started by Dr Roy Allen. They set out in division four and Trefor played for Whitland until he stepped down with a view to taking up umpiring.
In his time at the club he served as Hon Treasurer and Chairman for a while, and is currently the club’s Child Welfare Officer, and is immensely proud of the strides made by the club, on the pitch with a young team and off it with their superb clubhouse, new nets, sight screens and scoreboard.
“That is down to the quality of the people in the club. We have some superb workers and the ladies in the club are really great supporters in all we try to do.”
Club captain and Bowl umpire
On the pitch, Trefor captained Whitland first XI in 1995 and was second team skipper for several years as a medium pace bowler and occasional batsman. He is very proud of his only half century, which came late in his career against a touring side, and his best bowling analysis was a 7 for 16 haul against Pembroke Dock. He had his share of five and six-wicket hauls and claimed 6 for 7 against Johnstown in a friendly, with no fewer than three hat-tricks as a bonus. The last of these came after he had stopped playing regularly but played in Cork during a tour of Ireland, where he came on to grab three wickets in three balls, just to show the youngsters how it was done!
As an umpire, Trefor has officiated on two occasions at the Harrison-Allen Bowl, firstly alongside Malcolm Mills in 2001, when Lawrenny beat Cresselly, and then in 2006, with Dave Brandon as his umpiring partner, when Cresselly beat Haverfordwest.
All round sports fan
Trefor would readily admit to being a very keen all-round sports fan and he is a regular follower of Whitland RFC, where he was delighted to be vice-chairman and then chairman for a three-year period, as well as being their press secretary for the first five years of the national leagues. He has also been heavily involved in junior union rugby, having been treasurer there for 27 years, as well as stints as chairman and president.
But it is cricket which is going to keep him even busier for the next two years and he is ready for the challenges ahead, looking forward to visiting clubs and watching as many play as possible. One only has to talk to Trefor for a short while to see his total commitment and pembrokeshiresport.co.uk can safely say that the Pembroke County Cricket Club is in good hands with Trefor Evans at the helm!
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