Profile of Dan Cherry by Andrew Hignell

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Player:

DD Cherry

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In 2005 Dan Cherry, Glamorgan's left-handed opening batsman,created a new club record by scoring 226 against Middlesex at Southgate – the highest ever score by an uncapped batsman for Glamorgan.

 

Dan is the son of a prep school headmaster whose family hail from Pembrokeshire. With his father moving from Christ College, Brecon to take up a Headship at Felton Fleet in the Home Counties, Dan was fortunate to gain a place at Tonbridge School, where he excelled at rugby and cricket.

 

As a schoolboy, Dan represented England Under 17's, and then in 1998 he made his debut for Glamorgan 2nd XI, and hit an impressive 124 against Gloucestershire II at Usk. Many saw similarities in his technique with that of fellow left-hander Hugh Morris, and at the end of the 1998 season, a series of injuries resulted in Dan making his first-class debut against Derbyshire at Cardiff.

 

He subsequently read History at Swansea University, and in 2002 he re-appeared in the county`s 1st XI, scoring a maiden one-day century in August in the county`s friendly against Scotland. Dan enjoyed a very successful summer with the bat in 2004 for Glamorgan's 2nd XI, and in the second half of the season, he gained further first-team experience.

 

A back injury to Matthew Elliott on the morning of Glamorgan's match at The Oval in May 2005 led to Dan being hastily called into the side to play Surrey, and after a car journey up the M4, Dan took his place in the field. His steady batting meant he kept his place in the side when Elliott regained fitness, and in the match against Sussex at Swansea, Dan recorded his maiden Championship fifty.

 

A couple of weeks later, Dan went one stage further and recorded both his maiden Championship hundred and double-hundred in the 1st innings of Glamorgan`s match against Middlesex at Southgate. His score of 226 is the 14th highest in the history of the club, and only eight batsmen have ever made larger scores.

 

Despite some useful scores in the middle-order during one-day games, Dan was viewed as a four-day specialist. He lost his place in the 1st XI midway through the 2006 season, before returning to the side towards the end of the season. He played in the early matches again in 2007, but failed to command a regular place in Glamorgan's line-up for Championship matches, and he was released from the county's staff at the end of the 2007 season.

 

(August 2007)

 

(Article: Copyright © 2007 Dr.A.K.Hignell)