Alfred Holsinger was the first professional cricketer from Sri Lanka and the first black professional to appear in club cricket in both Lancashire and Wales. The son of a printer, he attended the prestigious St. Thomas’ College in Colombo where, during the 1890s,  he developed a deserved reputation as a fast bowler and in 1896 … More Alfred Holsinger – the first Sri Lankan professional in Wales

Rogerstone Welfare CC has continued to enjoy much success in recent times. In 1976 they were the winners of Division Two of the Gwent League before the following year being founder members of the Welsh Club Cricket Conference, a new competition that was part of the new ECB pyramid organisation in South East Wales. They … More Rogerstone Welfare CC – recent times

Cricket continued to flourish in Rogerstone after the Second World War and during the 1950s the first practice nets were installed, comprising coconut matting laid on top of a concrete strip. They were initially situated in the eastern corner of the Welfare Grounds, but it was soon found that batsmen were facing the setting sun … More Rogerstone Welfare CC – The post-war years

As life returned to normal after the Great War, cricket in Rogerstone resumed with a new team playing games from 1921 in the field near the Old Nail Works and the path to Rhiwderin. However, it was far from being an ideal location for either cricket or soccer, so during November 1923 an approach was … More Rogerstone CC – the inter-war years

The village of Rogerstone is now a suburb on the north-western fringes of Newport, but it was originally a cluster of three hamlets – Tydu (or Tydee), Tregwilym and The Cefn – which were close to the remains of Rogerstone Castle which dated back to the early part of the 12th century. The earliest references … More Rogerstone CC – the early years

Sam Brain was Glamorgan`s first regular wicket-keeper in the Minor County Championship, and in 1893 he created a unique record, whilst playing for Gloucestershire, by making three stumpings in consecutive deliveries as sixteen year-old leg-spinner Charles Townsend took a hat-trick against Somerset at Cheltenham College. His feat came shortly before the end of the second … More A hat-trick of stumpings

There are records of cricket being played in the Colwyn Bay area since the 1880s, with the current Colwyn Bay Cricket Club (situated in Rhos-on-Sea) coming into existence at a meeting held in the town on 18 January 1923. The fledgling club entered the newly-formed North Wales League, with Wilfred Wooller senior as captain, playing … More Colwyn Bay CC by David Parry

Ynystawe CC was founded during 1920 by a group of villagers who had safely returned after fighting for King and Country during World War One. The club initially played in Ynystawe Park which had been gifted to the local community by John Player. In 1953 the club bought a four acre field from a local … More Ynystawe CC

The steel works at Rogerstone, known as Castle Works, was built for Nettlefolds in 1887. Attracted by easy access to coal and iron ore and looking to make good use of local rail links and the docks at Newport, the Nettlefold family had elected to move part of their extensive business empire to South Wales … More 1 Dec 1888: a fund raising concert in Rogerstone

In April 1933, just over a year after arriving in Britain, the young black Trinidadian writer C.L.R. James started work alongside Neville Cardus as a cricket correspondent for the Manchester Guardian. According to Paul Buhle, James’s authorised biographer, this made James ‘the first West Indian, the first man of colour, to serve as cricket reporter … More ‘Glamorgan are worth going to see’: C.L.R. James’s reports on Glamorgan against Lancashire for the Manchester Guardian, 1934-35.