Criced

Angen I Chwaraewyr Ifanc Ddysgu'r Grefft Cyn Chwarae Twenty20 - Alan Jones

Mae un o'r cricedwyr enwoca' yn hanes clwb criced Morgannwg yn credu y dylai cricedwyr ifanc ddysgu'r grefft o chwarae'r gêm pedwar diwrnod cyn cystadlu mewn gemau ugain pelawd.

Mae Alan Jones yn rhan o dîm sylwebu'r rhaglen Criced ar S4C sy'n darlledu gemau ugain pelawd Twenty20 clwb Morgannwg. Fe fydd yn rhan o'r tîm fydd yn y gêm yn Stadiwm Swalec, Caerdydd nos Wener (1 Gorffennaf, 7.15pm) pan fydd Dreigiau Morgannwg yn wynebu Surrey Lions mewn gêm hollbwysig.

Ond dywed y dyn 72 oed o Benllergaer, Abertawe, a fu'n agor y batio i Forgannwg am flynyddoedd yn y 1960au a 1970au, ei fod yn teimlo bod cricedwyr ifanc yn cael eu "towlu i mewn i'r gêm 20 pelawd (20 over game) yn lot rhy ifanc".

Meddai'r gŵr a gafodd ei fagu yn Felindre: "Rwy'n mwynhau'r gêm 20 pelawd yn fawr ac yn credu ei bod hi wedi bod yn dda i'r gêm mewn rhai ffyrdd gan ei bod yn denu plant a phobl ifanc i wylio a chwarae. Ond wy hefyd yn teimlo bod cricedwyr yn cael eu towlu i mewn i'r gêm 20 pelawd yn rhy ifanc.

"Fe fyddai'n well iddyn nhw ddysgu'r grefft o chwarae'r gêm bedwar diwrnod yn y Bencampwriaeth yn y lle cyntaf. Dyna'r lle iawn i ddysgu'r holl sgiliau sylfaenol o fod yn chwaraewr da. Fel batiwr, dyna le chi'n dysgu sut i gadw'ch wiced ac adeiladu batiad a dyna le chi'n dysgu'r holl sgiliau o fowlio a maesu hefyd.

"Mae chwaraewyr ifanc Morgannwg fel Ben Wright ac Alex Jones wedi gwneud yn well na'r disgwyl y tymor hwn yn y Twenty20 ond mae yna lot o bwysau arnyn nhw i sgorio'n gyflym heb ddysgu'n gyntaf sut i adeiladu batiad yn ofalus."

Dywed Alan iddo ddysgu'r grefft o fatio wrth chwarae fel chwaraewr ifanc yn 1963 yn y gystadleuaeth Sheffield Shield yn Awstralia. Fe ddysgodd sut i adeiladu batiad fesul sesiwn o dan adain rhai o gewri criced y wlad hon.

"Fe ddywedodd wrtha i geisio anelu sgorio hyn a hyn o rediadau cyn cinio, hyn a hyn cyn te yn ofalus fel y gallwch sgorio cant cyn diwedd dydd o chwarae. Ond erbyn hyn, mae gormod o bwyslais ar sgorio rhediadau'n gyflym.

"O safbwynt Morgannwg, yn y Bencampwriaeth yn hytrach na'r Twenty20 maem mhw'n debycach o lwyddo. Yn y Bencampwriaeth mae gan Forgannwg obaith o ddrychafiad i Adran Un. Maen nhw wedi cael dechrau da - fel y tymor diwethaf - a gobeithio y cawn nhw fwy o lwc eleni a chael dyrchafiad. Y broblem yw bod y garfan yn fach ac os yw un neu ddau chwaraewr yn cael anaf, fel sydd wedi digwydd i'r bowliwr James Harris eleni, mae'r tîm yn ei chael hi'n anodd."

Young Players Should Ply Trade in Long Game Before Playing Twenty20 - Alan Jones

One of the most famous cricketers in the history of Glamorgan Cricket Club thinks that young cricketers should learn the craft of playing the four day game before competing in the Twenty20 game.

Alan Jones is part of the commentary team on S4C's cricket series Criced which broadcasts some of Glamorgan Dragons' Twenty20 matches. He will be part of the team at the game at Cardiff's Swalec Stadium on Friday night (1 July) when the Glamorgan Dragons face the Surrey Lions.

But the 72 year old from Penllergaer, Swansea, who was the opening batsman for Glamorgan for years during the 1960s and 1970s, said that he feels that young cricketers are being "thrown into the twenty over game much too young".

The Felindre-bred former cricketer said, "I enjoy the twenty over game very much and think it has been good for the game in some ways because it attracts children and young people to watch and play. But I also feel that cricketers are thrown into the twenty over game much too young.

"It would be better for them to learn the craft of playing the four day game in the Championship in the first place. That is the right place to learn all the basic skills of becoming a good player. As a batsman, this is where you learn to keep your wicket and build up an innings and it's also where you learn all the bowling and fielding skills, too.

"Glamorgan's young players such as Ben Wright and Alex Jones have done better than expected this season in the Twenty20, but they are under a lot of pressure to score quickly before having learnt to build innings carefully."

Alan says he learnt the craft of batting while playing as a young player in 1963 in the Sheffield Shield competition in Australia.

"Under the watchful eye of some of Australia's great players, I was told to aim to score so many runs before lunch and so many runs before tea. If you were careful you could score a century before the end of a day's play. But nowadays, there is too much emphasis on scoring runs quickly."

Alan Jones feels Glamorgan have a better chance of progressing in the four-day game this season, with promotion to the top league in the Championship a realistic possibility.

"They have had a good start - as they did last season- and will get promotion with a bit of luck. The problem is that the squad is small and if one or two players get injured, as has happened to bowler James Harries this year, I feel the team will struggle."