TITLE-winning Abergavenny Cricket Club ended their season with the Senior Presentation evening on Friday night.
It has been a brilliant season for the club, topped off by winning the South East Wales Division One title (right), which sees the 1st XI promoted to South Wales Premier Two for the 2024 season.
The individual awards made this year were: –
1st XI Player of the Year: Sam Clarke
2nd XI Player of the Year: Dylan Beaumont Welsh
3rd XI PLayer of the Year: Lee Fury
4th X1 Player of the Year: Dylan Bradley
Most Improved Player: Shunryu Sheehan
Young Player of the Year: Tom Norton
Chairman’s Award: Sarah Pipe
President’s Award: Sam Clarke
Personality of The Year: Lewys Wilkes-McCarthy
Aber CC stalwarts: John ‘JR’ Roberts
‘JR’ is a proud Bristolian who was born around the outbreak of the 2nd world war and educated at Bristol Grammar School.
He has been associated with the club since 1978 aged 39 years, when he moved into the area as managing director of Powell Harvey and Trehearne Ltd serving the farming community of the local Gwent area, and later United Agricultural Merchants.
A medium fast seam bowler and lower order batter he fluctuated between the 1st and 2nd X1 teams for a number of years after joining the club, and took 4-57 against a strong Newport Athletic side in 1979.
He used to cherish his wicket when batting and frequently scored important lower order runs.
He played for the 1st X1 in the Neal Abberley Benefit Game in 1979, and from 1984 to 1987 he featured regularly in the wickets for the 2nd XI.
A business man with a sound cricket brain, by 1981 he was quickly elected to the general committee and became vice chairman from 1983-1985.
This coincided with the 150th Anniversary of the Club in 1984.
He joined the 200 Club in 1983, and captained the 2nd XI in 1985 and 1986.
During that period he had been elected youth cricket chairman a post he held from 1984-1990, overseeing the development of the club’s young talent.
He is probably best remembered for his wonderful commitment to the game especially taking on the role of cricket chairman, in today’s parlance - director of cricket – a post he distinguished continuously from 1991 until 2014, a period of 24 years, a role which included being 1st XI scorer for a number of years.
To list the many successes during his time in this role reads like a role of honour – with both senior and junior teams and individual players winning numerous competitions and awards including young players being capped at all Welsh international age group levels, as well as winning the Macey Shield and many Three Counties League Cup titles.
The success started through the 1990s and continued into the new millennium.
In 1999 he was honoured with a vice presidency and later in 2012 elected a life member for his tremendous dedication.
During all this time when not holding an officer role he has served on the general committee and been a valuable member of the ‘Last of the Summer Wine Gang’ looking after the ground.
Now an octogenarian he is a regular spectator at Avenue Road and still takes a keen interest in the running of the club.