14th December 2012
| Mallory Gray
On Saturday, December 8th, Glamorgan playing legend and new member of the coaching staff Robert Croft attended the annual Cricket Wales Welsh Caps lunch, and inspired the next generation of talented young Welsh cricketers.
50 Welsh junior players capped for the first time in the 2012 season were honoured in an awards lunch held at the home of Welsh cricket, the SWALEC Stadium. 11 individuals also received Player of the Year Awards.
The U13 Caps
Over 200 guests attended the event - mainly the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles of the boys and girls being honoured.
Robert Croft was also joined by fellow coaches Steve Watkin and Richard Almond, Glamorgan Championship skipper Mark Wallace and his team-mates Dean Cosker, Will Bragg and Alex Jones.
Kevin Boyce, John Derrick and Alan Dawkins
Susie Osborne and Owen Lewis from Sport Wales were also in attendance representing Cricket Wales’ main funding partner.
Performance Manager John Derrick and his team of Welsh Age-Group Coaches and Managers each provided a short summary of their season prior to the proud youngsters receiving their caps from the Glamorgan players and coaches.
Naturally, most of the new Welsh caps were within the U11 boys and U11 girls age groups but there were also a number within older squads, proving that players develop at different ages and, with hard work and commitment, it is never too late to be recognised.
In his address to the talented youngsters and their families Croft stressed that in due course Glamorgan are very keen to return to a successful team made up of a majority of Welsh players, but that this will take time. He urged all the young players in attendance to continue to work hard at their game and to set themselves lofty ambitions.
Dean Cosker, Richard Almond and Mike Knight
Players of the Year Awards were presented by Croft to the following individuals:
Senior Women Megan Burton
U17 Girls Rosie Fuge West Glamorgan
U15 Girls Nicole Reid Gwent
U13 Girls Rachel Davies West Glamorgan
U11 Girls Alex Griffiths West Glamorgan
U17 Boys Steffan Jones Carmarthenshire
U15 Boys Callum Eakins West Glamorgan
U14 Boys Steffan Roberts Mid Glamorgan
U13 Boys Kieran Griffiths Pembrokeshire
U12 Boys Matthew Blake West Glamorgan
U11 Boys Will Sissons Eryri
Photos of the award winners can be seen by following the link into our
GALLERY
Cricket Wales Performance Manager John Derrick thanked the players and families for their dedication to develop their cricket and also Glamorgan Cricket for their support for the event and their general support throughout the year in developing Wales’ most talented young cricketers.
U11 Caps