Glamorgan all-rounder David Lloyd has admitted that receiving his county cap at Newport last week was “a bit of a shock, but something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life”.
It came after seven years in the senior set-up and during a week when he stood in as captain for the injured Chris Cooke and was subsequently named skipper for the trip to Derby this week.
Lloyd’s honour was all the more special since he became the first north Walian to have been capped since Wilf Wooller, the Glamorgan stalwart, in 1939. The fact his coach Matthew Maynard, who was born in Oldham but grew up in Menai Bridge, made it even more memorable.
“It’s obviously a great achievement for me personally, especially to receive it off Matt, a fellow north Walian, which is always something special,” he said.
Lloyd, the first north Walian to have held a regular place in the side since Maynard, credits north Wales with having helped him develop as a cricketer, firstly Brymbo Cricket Club near his hometown of Wrexham, and subsequently the North East Wales cricket side.
“My dad was a big part of my early years, coaching me in the nets at any time of the day and in the garage,” he said.
“Without my dad, I probably wouldn’t have been playing cricket. I owe a lot to him and all the other coaches who have brought me through.”
Living so close to the border, Lloyd admits that he could so easily have been one of those cricketers lost to the English leagues, but that he had wanted to ply his trade at home in Wales.
“Obviously it’s a long way [from Glamorgan],” he said. “Some people go the other route, to Cheshire or Lancashire. But to be honest, I’m not really sure why there aren’t so many cricketers from north Wales [who have played for Glamorgan].
“Hopefully there will be more in the future, which would be nice.”
Another north Walian on Glamorgan’s books is fellow Wrexham fast bowler Roman Walker, who recently made his List A debut.
“It’s obviously good for north Wales,” Lloyd said.
“People from back home always say it’s good to see a north Walian playing. It’s always good to have another part of Wales represented, and it’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing.”
Indeed, Lloyd equates playing for Glamorgan with Welshness.
“You’re playing for your country at the end of the day, which is what all the lads look to do,” he said.
“That’s what we strive for as a team, to play as a country rather than a county, which is what we have to do, as we’re representing the whole of Wales.
“We always go onto the pitch feeling that way.”
Written by Alun Rhys Chivers on behalf of the ECB Reporter's Network