A LARGE crowd converged on Avenue Road for an Abergavenny Cricket Club Festival of Cricket Memorial Day, reports PAUL SUSSEX.

The event a week last Saturday (September 6) was in memory of club stalwarts Dick Brown, Ray Hamer, Kevin Schofield and Mike Bruton, and was attended by friends and family alongside past team-mates.

The day kicked off with the U12s and occasional cricketers playing before a short formal event then saw the unveiling of benches for Dick Brown and Ray Hamer.

Steve Brown spoke to the bench, which is made out of 12 cricket bats, in memory of his father Dick, the former club president.

At the request of the family, Paul Sussex then spoke to the bench in memory of Ray Hamer, and remembered all four men with fondness.

Maureen Thomas, Louise Price and Jacqueline Hamer sat on the Ray Hamer Memorial Bench
Maureen Thomas, Louise Price and Jacqueline Hamer sat on the Ray Hamer Memorial Bench (Abergavenny CC)

A T20-style game then took place with some of the senior and former players taking part, featuring the Club team v The Four Honoured team, with the overall winners presented with the Critics Corner Memorial Trophy, which was shared.

The two captains Andy Timpson and Simon Price share the Critics Corner trophy
The two captains Andy Timpson and Simon Price share the Critics Corner trophy (Abergavenny CC)

Later, the club held its presentation night for the 2025 season.

Awards made were:

First XI Player of the Year – Morgan Bevans;

Morgan Bevans, right, receives the Abergavenny CC 1st XI Player of the Year award from skipper Sam Clarke
Morgan Bevans, right, receives the Abergavenny CC 1st XI Player of the Year award from skipper Sam Clarke (Abergavenny CC)

2nd XI Player of the Year - Pawan Nisansala;

3rd XI Player of the Year - Andy Timpson;

4th XI Player of the Year - James Forrester;

Young Player of the Year - Jack Ryan;

Most promising Player of the Year - Leo Ling;

Personality of the Year - Eryl Cook;

Chairman’s Award - Jon Matthews;

President's Award - Ed Woolcott.

The Women's and Girls awards went to:

Coaches' Award - Lorraine Wadley;

Batter Award - Bella Collett;

Bowling Award - Charlotte Matthews;

Club Woman of the Year (Ray Hamer Memorial Trophy) - Bella Collett;

Player of the Year (Brian Shackleton Memorial Cup) – Maria Sheehan.

During the season, Bella Collett didn't miss a game and trained every week. She bowls, kept wicket, had a very good season with the bat and provided great support to the captains on the field.

Claire Powell in her first season both playing and coaching, had a successful year coaching the U14s girls team to the South East Wales U14s title.

She is the first level 2 female coach in the club, provides a good female role model and stood in to coach the last two games against Sudbrook & Newbridge for the first XI.

Lorraine Wadley in her second season in cricket, always makes herself available to train and play, and even rearranges her shifts as a paramedic to make sure she is available.

Always keen to improve, she has helped with junior coaching on Friday evening, and has become a big support to the captains either on the pitch or off the pitch.

A middle order bat, she has kept wicket to allow Bella to bowl and represented Wales over-40s this season.

Charlotte (Lotte) Matthews ook over the internal women’s team admin roles during the season and has encouraged a greater integration between the men’s and women’s teams.

She is women’s 1st XI captain and has helped with junior coaching over the past few seasons, having become the first female in the club to complete her coaching volunteering course.

This year she played Tier 3 women's county cricket, and became the first club member to play in the women’s tier structure.

Maria Sheehan became the club's first Glamorgan Academy woman's player and had a best batting average of 75.

She scored 50 retired not out against Penarth and 51 retired not out against Monmouth, and took most wickets in the season with 7-37 from 17 overs, including eight maidens.