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In this episode we talk to ex Gloucestershire CCC wicketkeeper Andy Brassington about his social inclusion initiative, Walkers and Talkers. We are joined by Glamorgan's Mark Frost as we discuss the county's involvement with this.

What started out as a way to keep Andy and his friends going through the pandemic has turned into a rapidly growing idea that has hundreds of people meeting regularly to talk sport, engage in some gentle exercise and enjoy the experience of sharing memories and stories together.

With well established groups in Bristol, Taunton and Worcester, Andy is very excited about bringing the Walkers and Talkers idea to Cardiff, with a new group that will have its first meeting at Sophia Gardens in February. Mark tells us about how excited Glamorgan CCC about bringing the Walkers and Talkers to Cardiff and shares the details with us.

For those interested in learning more about Walkers and Talkers you can go here:

https://www.walkersandtalkers.org/

You can read and watch a video about Andy's Outstanding Contribution Award from the PCA here:

https://www.thepca.co.uk/press-release/brassy-wins-outstanding-contribution-award/

The first Walkers and Talkers Group Meeting in Cardiff takes place on Thursday 13th February at 10:00am with Matt Maynard as the first speaker. You can read about it here:

https://glamorgancricket.com/news/walkers-talkers-arrives-at-glamorgan

AND YOU CAN REGISTER YOUR INTEREST IN ATTENDING HERE:

https://bit.ly/4g4IcxA

And finally, if you are interested in supporting the work of the Walkers and Talkers initiative you can donate via their Just Giving Page:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/walkersandtalkers

I hope you enjoy the listen and hope you have a great time if you go to the inaugural event at Sophia Gardens.

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In this episode we talk to long time club professional and coach Brad Wadlan.

We talk about his early cricketing experiences and his time playing for Cardiff Met. Brad talks about his time in Australia and how that impacted his life as well as his cricket.

We talk about his experience with the Unicorns cricket club and his time playing for the Mid West Rhinos in Zimbabwe.

Brad talks about he has always been a 'leader' and how that influenced his development as a coach. He mentions how all his experiences have made him grow as a player and as a coach and how he feels his approach to coaching has brought success to the clubs he has coached at.

Brad came to Swansea Cricket Club in 2019 and has achieved incredible success with them. He talks about these achievements and the individuals who have helped Swansea with that success.

Brad shares his thoughts on the state of club cricket in south wales and offers some of his suggestions on how to raise the level of performance across the Premier League and beyond.

Finally, we talk about him taking on a course to become a Level 4 cricket coach and he finishes with a few names he feels we might hear more of in the future.

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In this episode we look back at the year of podcasts, picking out a few highlights, as we go.

There are a few comments at the beginning of the episode about Glamorgan's record breakers of the 2024 season.

In the episode, you will find clips featuring the following:

Mathew Maynard
Ossie Wheatley
Steve Barwick
Alun Clement and Gareth Edwards of Christchurch Cricket Club
Stuart Williams of Haverfordwest Cricket Club
Ernie Barber of Blaina Cricket Club (with thanks to Alan Rees at the Lords Museum for providing this audio)
Umpire Anna Harris
Amit Shivani (Swansea Strikers) and Ataur Rahman Jaber (Swansea Warriors)
Tim Davies of Hay-On-Wye Cricket Club
Adam Rutherford of The Authors XI
Ray Cox and Mark Jones of Port Talbot Town Cricket Club
Joe Lambe of Cricket Wales and Llandudno Cricket Club
Professor Michael Wilson of Loughborough University
and finally, Henderson Springer once of Haverfordwest Cricket Club.

A big thank you to all those who have been guests on the podcast in the last year and to all those who have listened to it. I look forward to bringing you more stories about the great game of cricket from Wales in 2025.

Don't forget, if you have a story to tell, please get in touch via Facebook, X or by email: mwcpod1921@gmail.com

Very Best wishes to all those who play, watch or participate in the game of cricket in Wales. We will see you in 2025!

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In this episode we talk to Jo Pockett of the ECB and Ahmed Khan and Adnan Haddidi of Llandaff Cricket Club about the Taste of Cricket cookbook, which was produced as part of the wider Raising the Game initiative aimed at improving the diversity of those playing the game and making it a more inclusive and equally accessed sport.

You can read about the cookbook here:

https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4167334/taste-of-cricket-a-new-cookbook-celebrating-diversity-in-the-game-launches-with-a-host-of-star-contributors

If you would like to buy a copy of the book you can do so here:

https://shop.ecb.co.uk/collections/accessories-1

As part of the campaign, Phil Salt and TV chef Chris Bavin visited Llandaff in the summer. The video capturing that day can be accessed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuVtq6EBXs4

In the episode we talk first to Jo Pockett who outlines the campaign of which Taste of Cricket is a part as well as the details of how the book was planned and made. Then Ahmed and Adnan talk about the Llandaff club and the recipe, 'Leek Bhaji' which they contributed to the cookbook.

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In this episode we meet the cricketing Smale Family from Newport. Mum, Ann-Marie is Deputy Chair at Glamorgan CCC and formed part of the team charged with winning a Tier 1 franchise for the women's game in Wales earlier this year. Sophia and Will are both professional cricketers, making their way in the game after having both been young cricketers at the Newport club.

For more on Ann-Marie you can go here:

https://glamorgancricket.com/board-leadership

And you can read about Glamorgan's bid to bring Tier 1 Women's Cricket to the club here:

https://glamorgancricket.com/news/glamorgan-bid-for-tier-1-professional-women%E2%80%99s-cricket-team

You can read about Sophia Smale's career to date here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66473326

And see her in action here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOGXJOET0to

We talk about her caught and bowled in last season's The Hundred. You can see that here:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/W2t8FjZs4zE

You can read a little more about Will here:

https://glamorgancricket.com/squad-profile/will-smale

And see him batting in the One-Day Cup Final at Trent Bridge here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkszYmNfE6s

The Smale Family is quite unique with mum, son and daughter all involved in the professional game. They talk about their background, the way they play and their top tips for aspiring professional cricketers AND their parents.

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This episode is a chat with Adge John of Saundersfoot Cricket Club.

Adge made the local newpaper headlines in the summer when he finished being scorer for the club. Nothing unusual in that you might think but when you learn that he has been suffering with a debilitating eye disease all his life and is slowly losing his sight, his efforts appear nothing short of amazing.

To read Adge's story you can go here:

https://www.connectpembrokeshire.co.uk/news/2024/september/no-barrier-too-great-for-cricket-scorer-adge-john/

We talk to Adge about his sporting life, his struggles with his deteriorating eyesight and his final game as scorer, The Harrison-Allen Bowl Final 2024.

For those interested in an account of Adge's final game as scorer, you can go here:

http://www.pembrokeshiresport.co.uk/cricket/lawrenny-beat-saundersfoot-in-a-tense-final-thriller

For those interested in learning a little more about the work of the welsh Guide Dog Charity, go here:

https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/guide-dogs-cymru/

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In this episode we hear from Newport Cricket Club's Michael Clayden who, this season, became the first player in the history of the South wales Premier League to reach 200 appearances and to score over 6,000 runs in the league.

He has played all his junior and senior cricket for the Newport Club and this loyalty shines through in his inetrview that talks about his batting development, his cricketing heroes, memorable innings and, more recently, his coaching and his captaincy.

The epitome of the one club man, Michael has played at the top end of recreational cricket in Wales for 25 years. His memories and his thoughts tell us a lot about him as a person but also provide some great insights on the game for all cricketers.

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In this episode we talk to ex Glamorgan seam bowler Steve 'Basil' Barwick.

You can read about Steve's first class career here:

https://glamorgancricketarchives.com/steve-barwick/

We begin by talking about his early years playing for Briton Ferry Town and Alan Lewis Jones who introduced him to Glamorgan and the then coach Tom Cartwright. He talks about Tom and how he built his strength up as a bowler.

He talks about his debut for Glamorgan against Sussex at Hove and his first season in 1981.

We talk about some of the international players who played county cricket at the time and some of the bowlers he remembers playing with.

Steve mentions Garth Le Roux as the most difficult batsman he had to bowl against. We also talk about his career best figures of 8 for 42 which he took against Worcester at New Road. You can see the scorecard here:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/schweppes-county-championship-1983-468579/worcestershire-vs-glamorgan-470263/full-scorecard

Steve talks about how proud he was to receive his County Cap.

Basil then tells me how he got the nickname!

Steve then describes his experiences as a sufferer of sarcoidosis. He describes the symptoms and the impact the illness has had on his life. You can read more about it here:

https://www.sarcoidosisuk.org/

Steve talks about how he changed his bowling to predominantly off cutters and how he went about his craft. He then goes on to how Glamorgan planned to win matches in the period in the early 90s. We talk about the impact Viv Richards' arrival at the club and the Axa Equity and Law victory in 1993. Steve recalls the final game at Canterbury and what a fantastic day it was.

Steve tells the story of how Ian Botham turned up at this mother and fathers wedding anniversary party.

We finish by talking about Steve's love for the game, how he continued to play cricket after his first class career and what the game has meant to him.