Dai Morris.

There will be a change at the top of Pembrokeshire Cricket later this month when Dai Morris stands down as chairman and will be replaced by Whitland Cricket Club stalwart Trefor Evans.

Dai has served his three year term of office, after three years as vice-chairman, but will remain on the committee as immediate past chairman for another year, and this larger-than-life character intends keeping active in the summer sport since he will remain in his post as assistant secretary of the Pembrokeshire Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers, while retaining his long-held job as selector of the county senior side.

Ask Dai about his term of office and he is quick to point out the highs and lows of the time: "I was thrilled when my old club Cresselly put on the Glamorgan versus Surrey match with such style and I was honoured to be asked as a guest that day. Another undoubted highlight was to sit next to former England stars Graham Gooch and Geoff Miller when they attended the County Club's annual dinners.

"I'm glad to say that we only had to deal with two disciplinary matters during my time as chairman and it is my sincere hope that players and clubs in our league set-up will adhere to the idea of good sportsmanship, rather than get involved in silly nonsense that brings a great game into disrepute.

"The other bee that I have in my bonnet is regarding players or supporters who are eager to criticise people on the executive committee who put in a lot of hard work quite voluntarily. My message is clear - if you can do better then put your name forward because we would love to have you working with us."

Cricket has been a major part of his life but Dave played football as a centre-forward for the county at under-19 level alongside the other David Morris and Ralph Phillips - and was a regular with the Pembrokeshire Police team in his younger days. He also played cricket for the police over many seasons, as well as playing for Cresselly from the time he was 15.

Ironically, his first competitive match was for Carew in a midweek game but he wasn't chosen for the Saturday match and was selected by John Cole to play for the team just up the road - and he played all his cricket in Cresselly until late on in his playing days, when he moved to Fishguard with work and played for Fishguard and Dinas, along with Gareth Evans, Wayne Harries and their four talented sons.

He used to travel to Cresselly on the back of Llewellyn Williams' motor bike, or cycle up the hill from the family home in Carew, and as an all-rounder who bowled right handed and batted left handed he was thrilled to be selected for Wales at schools level in 1953 and 1954, alongside Tony Lewis, of Glamorgan and England fame.

Then it was on to National Service in the Army and Dave played his share of cricket in the Royal Army Medical Corps, with top cricketers Harold Rhodes and Ken Higgs also part of a very strong team, and with Roger Bannister as his commanding officer who used to let him travel home each weekend to play for Cresselly!

Dave played in 14 or 15 Harrison-Allen Bowl Finals, surely a record with one club, and as he got a little older he appeared in two Alec Colley Finals, gaining the man of the match award in one of them as he grabbed 5 for 7 against Haverfordwest Seconds. He was delighted to score a century for the county in Ireland in one of almost a hundred appearances, and Dai also played against a West Indies side which included Wes Hall, Seymour Nurse and David Holford.

On the umpiring front, he has also officiated at three Bowl Finals; Haverfordwest versus Kilgetty with Cyril Venables (1994), partnering John Williams when Hook took on Lamphey (2000) and with John Williams again last year when Tish beat Carew.

Dave joined the County Club executive in 1994 and enjoyed his three years as vice-chairman to Phil Thomas before taking on the role himself. He has received every encouragement from clubs and enjoyed a number of invitations to annual dinners and other events, including an evening at County Hall with Bill Roberts, who doubles up as Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council and St Ishmaels Cricket Club.

Dave will take on the role of immediate past president for next season and will continue to organise all the umpires for every cup match in the county as assistant secretary, a job he enjoys but which gets difficult if there is a lot of rain and matches stack up. The 71-year-old still aims to be actively involved for a few more years yet, and will give new chairman, Trefor Evans, every encouragement as he follows Dave Morris into the top job of Pembrokeshire Cricket.

1:27pm Tuesday 5th February 2008

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