Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris. Pic: Getty Images.

Hugh Morris, Gareth Bale And Brynmor Wiliams Get All Gonged Up

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By David Williams

Hugh Morris, Gareth Bale and Brynmor Williams were Welsh sports stars given awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Glamorgan chief executive Morris was awarded an MBE for services to cricket and charity, while Wales captain Bale had the same honour for services to football and charity.

Williams, a former Wales and Lions scrum-half, was also recognised for his charity work as well as achievements in rugby.

Morris was one of the most consistent and successful batters in Glamorgan’s history and scored over 28,000 runs for the Club in a career that spanned 16 years and also represented England in three Test matches.

He captained the Welsh county to the Sunday League title in 1933 and was a major part of the side that won the County Championship in 1997.

On retirement, Morris took up a post with the ECB and in December 2005 was promoted to deputy chief executive before being named as the first managing director of the England cricket team.

He presided over a successful period for the Test team, which included three straight Ashes wins.

 

Following England’s 2013 Ashes victory, he stepped down from his ECB role and returned to Glamorgan as chief executive in January 2014 after 16 years at the ECB in senior leadership roles.

He has also contributed significantly to the charity sector and was named Patron of Heads Up, a head and neck cancer charity in 2002 following his diagnosis with cancer.

Morris, said: “I am extremely honoured and humbled to receive this award.

“I have been incredibly fortunate to have spent more than four decades in a sport I love both as player and administrator and I would like to thank my family and friends who have encouraged and supported me on that journey.

“It was also a privilege to be Patron of Heads Up, a head and neck cancer charity that has done fantastic work to support essential research into the disease, and to have played a small part in that has been hugely satisfying.”

Chairman, Gareth Williams, added: “We are absolutely delighted that Hugh has been recognised for the incredible contribution he has made to cricket.

“Hugh enjoyed an outstanding playing career and was instrumental in the success of the England team. He has also been pivotal in turning around Glamorgan and creating a more financially secure and sustainable club.”

“An MBE is fitting recognition for everything he has done for cricket in Wales and the wider game.”

 

Bale became the first UK player to win the Champions League on five occasions when Real beat Liverpool in Paris last Saturday, his final match-day involvement for the Spanish club.

He also won three La Liga titles among 19 trophies which also included four Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, one Copa del Rey and three Spanish Super Cups.

Bale donated more than £1m to hospitals in Wales and Spain in April 2020 in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, and has also supported other charities.

Williams is a triple Welsh international who represented his country at rugby union, rugby league and athletics.

He played three internationals for Wales between 1978 and 1981 and three Tests for the British and Irish Lions in 1977 against New Zealand which included a victory over the All Blacks.

 

He is a trustee of the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust, which helps look after rugby players with life-changing injuries, making a significant contribution both in terms of fundraising and directly providing ongoing support to individual players and their families.

Williams is also a patron of Velindre Hospital, where he became an active presence after losing his sister to cancer in 2010.

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