Lives in Cricket No 1 - Allan Watkins

At the age of 12 Allan was chosen to play for the Usk first team. Early successes with the bat led to calls to play for Monmouthshire and Glamorgan colts and before long the County Club was taking a serious interest in the young left-hander’s progress. By this time Phil Clift was establishing himself with Glamorgan. The first Usk player to be taken onto the county staff, his stylish batting had come to the attention of George Lavis, a member of the county team, who came from nearby Sebastopol and who was later to become a respected county coach. “Philly and George were great friends, like uncle and boy,” says Allan, going on to recall how Clift’s early promise helped Lavis persuade the county that there was another Usk lad worth having a look at. “He said, ‘There’s a boy called Albert Watkins; it’s worth going to see him.’ So Bill Hitch came up, and the next thing I’m on the staff.” A former England fast bowler, Hitch was the Glamorgan coach and he travelled to Usk at the behest of Maurice Turnbull, the county skipper, to put the 15-year-old through his paces. “I must have impressed him,” says Allan “because I was invited down to Cardiff to play in a couple of Club and Ground matches.” The county officials liked what they saw and for the 1938 season Allan was invited to join the Glamorgan ground staff. Early Days at Usk 13 Glamorgan coach Bill Hitch with Phil Clift batting. Looking on (left) is Willie Jones.