NCCA Continues To Produce Full Time Professional Cricketers

Wales NC all-rounder Tom Bevan is living the dream as he prepares for his first season as a full-time professional cricketer.

Bevan’s performances in National Counties cricket and for Glamorgan’s Second XI last summer helped him secure promotion to the first-class county’s senior side and he swiftly made his mark by making a brilliant 134 in a Royal London Cup victory over Hampshire at Neath.

That innings helped 23-year-old Bevan secure a two-year contract with Glamorgan and, having recently returned from a spell honing his game at the Gary Kirsten Academy in Cape Town, he is now back in training at Sophia Gardens in preparation for the new season.

Becoming a professional cricketer is something that Bevan set his sights on while he was a student at Millfield School in Somerset where he began to focus on cricket rather than rugby, which was the other sport in his scholarship.

Bevan’s cricketing ambitions were also fired by his father Huw who enjoyed successful stint as a strength and conditioning coach with the England side.

“I always had the self-belief that I could be a professional cricketer and get that contract. But to actually do it and to score the runs has given me quite a lot of confidence in myself,” Bevan said.

“It’s a recognition of all the hard work I have put in over the years. People think it’s easy but there have been a lot of down times as well, being at home and getting upset at not being a contracted cricketer.

“Ultimately getting the contract is a dream come true for me. Since dad was working with England I have always said that I wanted to be a cricketer.

“This is just the start and there is a lot of hard work to go but last year was a remarkable season for me and I am very proud about what I achieved.

“Dad would never push me to do anything I didn’t love. I only play cricket because I love it. But whenever I wanted to go for a net even if he was busy with his schedule he would always willing to find time to throw balls at me if I didn’t have coaches to do that.

“My mum has always been there for me through good times and bad. She doesn’t actually enjoy coming to watch any of the games but I know she is always there if I need to talk to her.

“When dad was involved with England and they were really successful I thought: this is really cool and it’s something that I would like to do for a living.

“So my ambition has been to be a professional cricketer and now I am. I am living the dream. There is nothing I would rather be doing than playing for Glamorgan. I am loving it.”

Although spending 12-months-a-year doing something he loves is a new experience for Bevan, his transition to the professional ranks has been made easier by the strong links Glamorgan have with Wales NC.

There is an integrated pathway between the two with Wales giving valuable first experience of senior county cricket to talented youngsters like Bevan who have come through the age groups and Glamorgan supporting Wales by allowing contracted players to play National Counties cricket when they are not required by them.

It is a system that has supplied a steady flow of first-class cricketers including seamer Andrew Gorvin, who preceded Bevan onto the staff at Sophia Gardens.

“I was on Glamorgan’s Academy so I have known a lot of the boys for a long time. All my mates are Glamorgan players, I’ve always been around the squad so the transition to playing second team cricket was fairly easy for me,” Bevan said.

“Knowing a lot of the first team has made coming into the squad has made it comfortable for me. It’s like playing with my mates and that’s because there is such a good connection between Glamorgan and Wales NC. That relationship is unbelievable.

“We want to win and we want to be successful but developing younger players is always more important.

“Over the last couple of years we have still been able to develop players but we have gelled as a team. We got to the semi-finals of the National Counties Trophy with a team that had come through the Academy or Cardiff universities system and it was great to see how far we had come.

“A lot of the Glamorgan boys look to play for Wales if they not playing for the county and that’s something I will be looking to continuing doing when I get the chance this summer.”

As all other homegrown players on Glamorgan’s staff have played for Wales at some stage in their career, the benefits of the system are there for all to see and Bevan believes that National Counties cricket is an excellent proving ground for those with aspirations to go further.

“The standard of National Counties cricket is very high. It can sometimes be more challenging to score runs in National Counties cricket than in Second XI cricket.

“There are a lot of experienced players in National Counties cricket and their presence helps everyone.

“Last summer we had Greg Smith and Brad Wadlan at Wales. Sometimes as a young cricketer you feel under pressure to score runs but having them their to encourage and support you is a huge benefit.”

As Bevan admits, the road to his dream job has not always been a smooth one and it took a full and frank discussion with Wales NC coach Darren Thomas, the former Glamorgan all-rounder, just two games into last season to turn his career around.

“I have known Darren since I made my Wales debut in 2017. He has always been a big believer in me and he has always known to get the best out of me,” Bevan said.

“At the start of last season I wasn’t scoring many runs and he had a few words with me – basically saying pull your finger out and score some runs, although not quite so politely as that - which is what I needed.

“We have had that relationship for a while. I know him as a character and I knew he was coming from the right place.

“That’s the beauty of National Counties cricket, I have spent so many years playing it that I have built relationships with other players and coaches that we can be honest with each other.

“What Darren said is what I needed to get me going. It did kick-start the success I had last year. I don’t like admitting to him that he was the reason, but it was a big contribution towards it.”