MUSEUM TALK – “An Evening with Norman Riches”: October 25th

The first in the series of Winter Talks organized by the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket will be held via ZOOM on 25 October starting at 1900.

“An Evening with Norman Riches” will be a celebration of the contribution made by Glamorgan’s first-ever captain and the man who led the Welsh county to their inaugural victory in as a first-class county in 1921. Before the Great War, Norman had come very close to representing England and, in 1911, he had been the first-ever batter in the UK to score over 1,000 runs in a season in the Minor County Championship. After retiring from county cricket in 1934, the Cardiff-born dentist maintained his involvement with Glamorgan CCC by acting as a committee member and latterly a Trustee and Patron, besides playing a role in the move by Cardiff Athletic Club from the Arms Park to Sophia Gardens.

In 1967 Norman was the subject of a 20-minute interview for BBC Wales by John Arlott, the well-known cricket writer and broadcaster. The interview has never been previously broadcast but BBC Wales Sport have made this fascinating interview available to the Museum of Welsh Cricket and the black-and-white film will be shown publically for the first time during the event on the evening of 25 October.

Norman’s grand-daughter Jane will also be participating, with the event also including a slideshow containing a number of photographs from the Riches’ family album, including John – Jane’s father – who played cricket for Glamorgan in 1947 and captained the Welsh county’s 2nd XI during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Attendance at the virtual meeting will be free of charge with those wishing to attend being asked to send an email to museum@glamorgancricket.co.uk by noon on 24 October. A confirmation reply will be sent out, whilst joining details for the meeting itself will be sent by email at approx. 1800 on 25 October.

Other Winter Talks are planned over the coming months with the speakers including Sam Northeast, Colin Ingram and Andrew Salter, as well as former Glamorgan players including Michael Cann. Further information about these will appear shortly on the websites of both Glamorgan CCC and the CC4 Museum of Welsh Cricket.