Author Archives: Mellcg

We were lucky enough to catch up with Hayden Melly last month, a talented young cricketer who has been on the pathway of renowned cricket county Northamptonshire. Melly is a right arm batsmen wicketkeeper, aged 17, and going into his final year of school cricket. Hayden’s hard work, dedication and consistent performances landed him a key role in the Northamptonshire u18 cricket side, who play in the top division of youth cricket. “ I am honoured to play for such a renowned side with so much history, and to play for them a year early is a huge achievement of mine, and something I will remember for the rest of my life” he quoted. Hayden played a total of 23 games for Northants last year, scoring 419 runs with a best score of 77 against cricket east, which ended up being a man of the match performance, bringing the game home for his side. Last year Hayden’s success with the bat and behind the stumps earned him a scholarship to Millfield school, which is one of the strongest sporting schools in the country, producing athletes such as Lando Norris, Tyrone Mings, Daniel Bell Drummond, Tom Moore’s and many more. “I am grateful to be venturing down to Somerset for school this year, and hoping the experience of the coaches there will be able to further my game even more, and hopefully take me out of my comfort zone”. Hayden has also signed for local club Clevedon Cricket club, who play in the West England Premier league, which is one of the strongest standards of cricket across the country, in which he is hoping to make a impact straight away in any way he can. “coming into a new side can be tough, but I back my ability to be able to perform against anyone”
As athletes know, pre season can be very tough for everyone. The vast amount of cardio, weightlifting and training can be enough to tire anybody, especially at a young age. In January 2022, Hayden was taken out of training due to a tear in his right hamstring, and was told we would be unable to play any sport for up to six weeks. “ being told that was tough, especially at this time of year when so much work goes into pre season”
Hayden spent five and a half weeks with physios working on the niggle, and was finally able to get back to training in mid March, which involved a four week programme of reduced impact on his body, involving light cardio, reduced weights and a overall slower progression. Melly has been back into training for a few weeks now, working on all aspects of his game, especially his wicket keeping. Last year Hayden’s batting slightly overlooked his ability behind the stumps, but this winter he feels as if he has taken his game behind the stumps to the next level. “ I have been working very hard on my keeping game, as I feel last year I didn’t do as well as I would have liked in that department”. Hayden has been working with Mark Garaway over the winter, ex professional cricketer for Hampshire and England. “Garras has had a massive impact on my game, especially mentally” he complimented.
In previous seasons, Melly has been renowned for his big hitting, positive style of play and able to score quickly, which is something any team would want from their middle order keeper batsmen. However, he recently informed us of his plans to adapt his style of play over the winter, in order to be available for selection in all three formats. Hayden’s red ball stats have not been as strong as his shorter format ones In recent seasons. Last year he played four two day games, in which he only averaged 28.00, still keeping that positive mindset with a strike rate at over 100, but he still feels like there’s work to be done. “If I’m being totally honest, my performances in the longer format of the game were not as good as I would have hoped, and is something I have been working on a lot through this winter break”. Melly’s honesty and tough love on his game is the reason he has been able to take his game to the next level at a young age.
Looking ahead to the season, Hayden will tour Shrewsbury school in the early weeks of April, facing strong outfitted sides such as Worcestershire Academy, Shrewsbury school and other major county sides. He will then face Somerset in a three day fixture, followed by the start of the the white ball summer league, facing some extremely strong outfitted sides such as Lancashire, Durham, Warwickshire and many more. “I’m looking forward to the challenge, it’s going to be tough for me and the boys, but is a division we certainly feel we can win” he quotes.
Behind the cricket, Hayden has been very busy looking forward to exams, as well as changing schools. Hayden Joined Millfield school this year, after receiving a sports scholarship to pursue his cricketing endeavours. He has now been in the boarding school since September, and is loving every minute of it. “ if I’m being honest, the change of scenery, and coming into a full boarding environment was tough at first, but I am relishing every moment, and can’t wait to be back for the summer term, to play some cricket”.
Melly has put together a five year plan, in which he hopes will finish with him becoming a professional cricketer after he leaves school, this plan involves doing a season in the sub continent, as he feels this will give him a fantastic opportunity to adapt his game to foreign conditions, and understand how the game is played in different areas around the world “ if I get the opportunity, I would love to do a season in India or Australia, as I have only had positive feedback from people who have been before, and would allow me to understand my game a tiny bit more, which I think would be hugely beneficial for me”. The plan also involves joining a UCCE university, which would allow him to play against the best players across the country, as well as opportunities to play against professional sides on a regular occurrence. “My brother is currently apart of Cardiff UCCE, and the standard of training, support from coaches and physios and the level of professionalism is something that I desperately want to be a part of, and will definitely be something I look into when the time comes to choose a university”

Hayden Melly definitely has all the attributes to become a very renowned cricketer, his attitude towards working hard and being tested is something he has always taken pride in, and his level of professionalism is unmatched at such a early age. To finish the interview, we asked him what he thinks the key is to making all his efforts worth it, he replied “ enjoying the process”, which really sums up the way he goes about his sport, and too see someone so passionate about the game, with the talent he has, is extremely exciting.

Saracens defeat Cardiff 40-33 to qualify for the quarter finals in a high scoring fixture at the StoneX stadium in North London, despite Cardiff putting up a fight for the full 80 mins. Cardiff dominated for the majority of the first half, leading 20-16 with only 20 minutes left, thanks to tries from Williams and Lane, both scoring at crucial points to put some nerves in the home sides fans. But the last 20 minutes of the fixture truly belonged to the hosts, scoring four tries inside 17 minutes. All of which had the involvement of the man of the match and saracens saviour, Max Malins.
The scoring was opened by the saracens outside centre Dom Morris, before Tomos Williams decided he had seen enough and scored a fantastic solo try, followed by a assist, passing to Owen Lane to bring Cardiff right back into the fixture. Cardiff’s defence was tight and well structured, meaning brilliance was required for the saracens to score, which was well met by Duncan Taylor, who delivered a no look pass to assist another Dom Morris try, and set up a nerving final stage of the game. Although Cardiff have been in poor form recently, only winning one from their last six games, there grittiness and determination meant the saracens were unable to keep ahead of the game, many of that comes from Cardiff’s Rhys Priestland, who scored a total of 16 points all from the tee, and emphasised yet again how much of a young talent he is. Owen Farrell to no surprise also had a huge part to play in the game, delivering a money ball offload for Malins to score in the dying stages of the game, as well as contributing 15 points from the tee, really emphasising yet again his class under pressure, and attitude towards the game. Although the final quarter of the game was dominated by the saracens, there was still time for Rhys Carre to score with a bit of time on the clock, but the saracens were able to hold out after a solid defence to see the game home.
Head director of rugby at Cardiff quoted “It was a one-score game for most of the game and it was again we could have one I feel. We left some points out there”. The blues have been poor this season in regard to results, but have played some strong rugby no doubt. From a Cardiff Perspective, it was a disappointing loss after getting within grasp of reaching the quarter finals, and would defiantly have boosted the teams moral looking ahead to the remainder of the season. The Saracens will now face Gloucester in the quarter final of the challenge cup later this month, which were sure will be another fantastic fixture of rugby!

MK dons look to go 16 games unbeaten against a “new look” Sheffield Wednesday side

Liam Manning’s men face a strong Sheffield Wednesday side this Saturday at stadium MK, as they look to extended their unbeaten run to 16 games, which would be a record for the club. Both of the sides are certainly in contention for a championship spot in the 22/23 season, with MK Dons currently sat in second, and Sheffield Wednesday sixth. However Mk are not the only side venturing through a purple patch, with Sheffield being unbeaten in six games, including a huge 6-0 victory over Cambridge United. Both sides appear to fully fit, including Milton Keynes young gun Scott Twine, who already has sixteen goals alongside thirteen assists this season, and will certainly be a key player for the Dons this weekend. Sheffield Wednesday had a slight scare in recent days with their captain Barry Bannan picking up a slight niggle in his right knee, but the club have confirmed he will be fit for Saturday.
“We have to go into the game with the same mindset, attitude and same behaviours” said Liam Manning in the build up to this fixture. Head to head stats emphasises the standard of football being played, with the sides crossing each-other in the past on 12 different occasions, MK dons only coming out victorious on two of those occasions, with six draws and four Sheffield Wednesday wins.
There is certainly all to play for in league one, with the gap between automatic promotion and Sheffield Wednesday only being 6 points, with fixtures still to go. The sides faced each-other-in the early stages of the season, with Sheffield Wednesday taking the three points in a 2-1 victory, with Lee Gregory amongst the goals as per usual. Gregory is certainly a player MK will need to keep their eyes on, as his raw pace and eye for the goal has already given him 11 goals this season. A key personal head to head will be between Troy Parrot (right wing) against Liam Palmer (left back), two extremely talented footballers at different ends of their career, with Parrot only being 20 years old, yet still in association with the Ireland national team, and currently on loan to the dons from Tottenham until the summer, has been on fire since singing, scoring 8 goals and 5 assists. Against 30 year old Liam Palmer, who has been nothing but perfect for Sheffield Wednesday this season, his pure strength, agility and experience has made him such a valuable asset in defence, and is certainly going to be a battle worth watching!
A clear difference between the two sides is development of players, Although MK dons are undoubtedly one of the strongest sides in the league, their experience in the dressing room is limited compared to Sheffield Wednesdays, with 7 of the Dons players being under the age of 23, compared to a older Sheffield Wednesday side which has 6 players over the age of 25. Will The experience of Sheffield Wednesday outdo a young MK dons side, or will Liam manning’s men be able to extend their run to 16 games unbeaten?