Narberth Cricket Club held their annual dinner on Friday, September 26, at Narberth RFC, which was once again attended by a large number of players, sponsors and supporters. The chairman, Mr. Arthur Williams, welcomed everyone to the evening's proceedings.
He started by thanking the main sponsors 'Gerald Harries and Sons', who were represented by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Harries, for their support during the year. Also, appreciation was given to the 'Narberth Famous Fundraisers', represented by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Mills, who had donated a large amount of cricket equipment to the junior section of the club.
Representing Narberth RFC were Mr. John Williams and Mr. Huwbert Williams. It was hoped that the special bond between the clubs would be continued, now that both share the new veranda which is the best viewing point of cricket in the whole of the county.
Guest speaker for the evening was local cricket correspondent, Mr. David Gibbs, who gave an excellent account of the cricketing season as a whole, whilst commenting on the success of the Narberth teams.
He congratulated club captain Ian Hughes on leading the 1st team to a top four finish in the league, which surprised many pundits around the county, who had the club as favourites to go down at the start of the season.
In a team of no real star players, most evident was the wonderful team spirit generated, which was the key factor in the team's success. In a remarkable season for the club, Ian was again congratulated in taking the 1st team to their first cup final for 25 years! After narrowly losing in a pulsating game to Llangwm, it was nevertheless a great day out for the players, and the many supporters who travelled down!
Second team skipper Matthew Davies was thanked for all his hard work in leading the team to a respectable mid-table finish. Most pleasing was that so many youngsters contributed to the success of the team during the season. Junior players such as Ben Hughes, Joel Davies, Tim Scale, Harry and Joe Allen, Simon Griffiths, Tom Richards, Aaron Keane, Tom Bevan, Tom Cummins and Kyle Quartermine all played for the team at some stage during the year!
The 3rd team, which was packed full of youngsters, did remarkably well, and it was quite a feat that the side managed to avoid relegation. John Owen was thanked for all his efforts during the season, and the excellent run they had in August when they finally climbed off the bottom in the penultimate match.
The junior teams again had more success, the Under 17 team reaching the Ormond Cup plate final and putting up a creditable performance before losing against Haverfordwest. The Under 15s won the majority of their matches, while the Under 13s finished top of their section. Also many Under 11 friendly matches were played.
A separate junior presentation night will be held at the rugby club on Friday, October 24. With such a strong junior section, the future of the club is looking extremely bright.
After a three-course meal was eaten, the following awards were given out:
1st team player of the year - Marc Hughes; 2nd team player of the year - Ben Hughes; 3rd team player of the year - John Owen; most improved player - Wil Davidson.
A new 'Chairman's award' was given to Chris Richards for the amount of work spent cutting the field; the time and effort put in by Chris gives Narberth one of the best outfields in the county.
A framed copy of the scorecard was presented to Marc Hughes of his magnificent 124 scored against Haverfordwest earlier on in the season. This was arguably the best innings ever seen on the ground and proved to be the catalyst for the successful season ahead.
A special gift was given to John and Heather Howell for their sterling efforts in collecting the bonus ball money. This was a token of appreciation for continued work over the past 10 years, which has brought in thousands of pounds worth of much-needed revenue.
Following a presentation by the 1st team of a bouquet of flowers to Dilys Ray in their home game, 2nd team captain Matthew Davies presented Rhian Howell with the same for all her work in preparing teas during the season.
Toastmaster for the evening was Matthew Davies, who amused everyone with his usual brand of humour!
Following further entertaining speeches by Arthur Williams and Paul Harries, a raffle took place and a gallon bottle of whisky was auctioned off.