Danny Dewstowe – a hard worker in The Town’s cause!

 
Haverfordwest Cricket Club has a very strong junior section, led by Head Coach Simon Williams, with loads of boys and girls turning up for training sessions and looking for a game across the age-groups - and Simon would be the first to say that he has great support from Danny Dewstowe, who not only captains the third team but also does a great job coaching the under 13s team.

 
We spoke to a couple of his young charges before our chat with Danny and they told PembrokeshireSport.co.uk he was ‘brilliant’ before he put them through their paces, where the emphasis was developing skills, but always with a sense of fun.

 

Volunteered on a Saturday night!

 

Danny stepped into his coaching role when Simon said on a Saturday evening, after all four senior teams had played, that he needed some help and Danny was the first to volunteer because his sons Brandon (now 14) and Ryan (12) were involved at junior level.
 

“I enjoyed it from the outset,” Danny told us, “so when I was asked a year later to take the Level One Coaching course I was happy to give it a go. The practical side took place over two Sundays, followed by a fair amount of theoretical stuff over the internet with two coaches from Cricket Wales - and at the end of it I was delighted to receive my Level One Coaching certificate.

 

Started with the under 11s

“I took over the under 11s team who were all in their first year of the age group and we reached the cup semi-final to show how much they had improved over the season. –
 
And then last year they really blossomed because we were undefeated in the league to become champions and won the Cup Final at Hook, where we beat Cresselly, and Hari Atyeo was man of the match for his 2 for 6 bowling - but it was a great squad effort that I was really proud of.”
 
His ‘boys’ are now in their first campaign at under 13 and holding their Ioan, with a chance of third place if they play well. He has also assisted Simon with some with the under 14s and Ormond Cup squads when Simon has been away.
 

Early start for Danny with some top players and great characters

 
That Danny should be involved in coaching should come as no surprise because his father Micky played and coached for The Town, with Danny’s brothers Matthew and Ross also players - and with dad coaching alongside the late Keith Thompson when Danny started out in the under 13s alongside players of the calibre of Phil Kirkby, Ben Field and Jamie Jenkins, with others like Steve Williams and Kristan Bennett; plus Dan Field, Iain Williams and Tim Parry when they reached the final of the Ormond Youth Cup.
 
“At 16, I started playing for the club’s fourth team; there were seven divisions in those days and the emphasis in the lower regions was having some fun - and we certainly did that because we were led by Stuart Williams, Steve Price and my dad, who had about 100 years of cricketing experience amongst them.
 

Happy memories with some great club men

 
“After a few seasons I made my way through the thirds and then seconds, and a few games in the first team where his best bowling was 2 for 20 against Whitland - but to honest the second team was about my right level with so many great players in the firsts, led by our West Indian pro Henderson Springer.”
 
“Talk about characters in cricket and the seconds was packed with them as Rob Summons, Micky Phillips and Steve James led the way. ‘Jamer’ wasn’t only inspirational on the field but a real gentleman and friend off it and like so many others I was gutted when he passed away so young.”
 

Family Matters . . .

 
Danny is still captain of the Third XI and one of his ambitions is to play alongside sons Brandon and Ryan in a league match.

“We almost achieved it a few weeks ago when the boys were chosen for the fourths and we didn’t have a third team match so I volunteered to join them, but it poured with rain all day - but I’m confident it will happen some day soon.”
 
The boys are clearly very important to Danny and his wife Alison, whom he describes as the best organiser he has ever met, takes care of all their sporting business because both play football.
Brandon has already begun to make a name for himself in senior cricket at The Racecourse and Ryan made his senior debut last weekend when Haverfordwest entertained ‘The Apricots’, a touring team from London – and he kept wicket for the whole 25 overs!
 
Daughter Imogen (9) has also just taken up cricket at The Racecourse where Dan Field has a new group showing loads of enthusiasm and she’s one of them! He also has an older son in Jordan Gough, who is now 26.



 

Totally committed to the club cause

 
Chat to Danny for a short while and it soon becomes obvious that he is really committed to his work at Haverfordwest Cricket Club - especially when talented youngsters say how much they enjoyed playing under his leadership as they make their way through to the seconds and then first teams.
 
“The other week I was either playing or coaching on six occasions in the week, something that doesn’t arise often but I will always step in if I can,” said Danny, with his usual chuckle.
 
With regard to his coaching, Danny he is already looking ahead and aiming to take his Level Two award in 2025, with full support from Simon Williams and the Haverfordwest CC committee.
 
But he will also continue playing and doing his best for the club, where his best-ever figures were 7 for 10, albeit a few seasons ago - and quite a few half centuries and a top score of 78 at Llechryd.
“I was really proud of that and couldn’t wait to read the ‘local rag’ on the following Wednesday, only to find it had been credited to my brother Ross, which really made his day!”
 

And finally . . .

 
And we can finish our feature on a smashing feller by saying that although they didn’t quite make it to the Division Five title they did achieve promotion behind Crymych First XI and so will play in division four next year.
 
“Our fourth team also got promotion and our first team played really well to escape relegation from Division One, with the seconds safe in division three, so we haven’t had a bad 200th birthday, which I think is fantastic,” he told PembrokeshireSport.co.uk.
 
And that just about sums up Danny Dewstowe’s love of his club and we can only say that the future of Haverfordwest Cricket Club is in safe hands with people of his calibre working so hard in its cause!