An Amman Valley man has been posthumously hailed as Welsh Cricket’s Unsung Hero in the 2021 National Grassroots Cricket Awards from Cricket Wales.

Gary Phillips was scorer for Ammanford CC for 36 years, rarely missing a match in all that time. Generations of Ammanford’s cricketers have been nurtured by the kind words and encouragement from Gary Scorer, or simply ‘The G,’ as he was affectionately known.

His input to the club went way beyond scoring. Always first at the club on match days to meet and greet umpires and opposition, he was also membership secretary and Covid officer, as well as advising the club on issues of HR, health and safety, licensing and not least the changing rules of cricket. In other words, Gary was Ammanford Cricket Club.

Afflicted by cancer for the last two years, his work-rate didn’t falter. If anything, it increased, as he set up and manned a tuck shop outside the pavilion during the summer to capture passing trade and help the club’s coffers.

Gary sadly died in July,and the coronavirus pandemic meant his funeral had restricted attendance. Instead, the club and the community showed their love and appreciation for him by lining up to salute The G’s hearse as it lapped the boundary of the Unsung Hero’s beloved Ammanford Park.