Maurice Cole, who died last week, was one of the legendary figures of Pembrokeshire sport – a cricketer, footballer, racehorse owner and sports administrator who was a larger than life character both on and off the field.

Here Pembrokeshire author and former Western Telegraph journalist Keith Johnson pays tribute.

Maurice Cole's first taste of cricket came at an early age in the country lane outside his home near Cresselly, with an old tennis ball and a milk churn for the wicket – the game having to be abandoned rapidly whenever a lorry came into view on its way to West Williamston quarries.

Together with great friend and fellow street cricketer David Morris, Maurice graduated to the village team at a young age, beginning a lifelong association with his beloved Cresselly Cricket Club, which he served tirelessly and in many capacities. As a player he was a hard-hitting batsman, not always the most elegant of strokemakers but with such a good eye that he could drive bowlers to despair by despatching perfectly respectable deliveries to the boundary.

As a wicketkeeper he was one of the best around, fearlessly standing up to the stumps to the quicker bowlers, unsettling the batsman and sometimes claiming victims by sheer force of personality alone. These qualities made him an ever-present in the Cresselly team for over three decades, during which time the club became one of the most successful in the county, winning a host of silverware, most notably the Harrison-Allen Bowl on a number of occasions.

Maurice also played for the Pembrokeshire team and was the highly respected club and county captain for many years, proving himself to be a shrewd tactician with a store of knowledge concerning opponents' strengths and weaknesses.

When his playing days were over, Maurice continued to be closely involved in cricket, as an umpire and administrator, becoming chairman and, later, president of Cresselly Cricket Club and also president of the Pembrokeshire County Cricket Club; he was rewarded by being made a life member of both organisations. It is largely due to his commitment and drive that the Harrison-Allen final, held annually at Cresselly, has become such a showpiece occasion on the county sporting calendar.

One of his proudest moments came when Glamorgan played a first class match at Cresselly in 2007, reward for all the hard work the village club had put into improving its ground and facilities during Maurice's involvement with the club.

Cricket wasn't Maurice's only sporting interest, however, and in his younger days he was a sturdy goalkeeper for Carew in the Pembrokeshire League. Rules were different in those days, and Maurice often recalled that on his debut he caught the ball from a corner, only to be bundled into the back of the net, ball and all, by the opposing centre forward. The goal stood, but Maurice had learned his lesson. “They never did that to me again,” he said.

Country sports were another of his interests and he enjoyed clay pigeon shooting and following point-to-point racing. This latter interest led to him becoming part-owner of the racehorse Cresswell Quay which enjoyed considerable success, winning a number of National Hunt steeplechases and even running at Cheltenham.

Maurice thoroughly embraced the social side of local sport, and could usually be found holding court in the bar after a match, surrounded by players from both teams. He was also a great sporting tourist, and many a cricket tour and rugby trip would have been much diminished without his convivial presence.

One match for the Pembrokeshire cricket team which Maurice often recalled was against Glamorgan Seconds at Llanelli. It was the first time that a Sunday match had ever been played on the Stradey Park cricket ground and it was the source of bitter controversy.

When the Pembrokeshire players arrived at the ground, they had to run the gauntlet of two rows of grim-faced chapel ministers and deacons who were lining the lane to the pitch, silently protesting.

For Maurice this was particularly unsettling, as he was a staunch member of Pisgah Baptist Chapel, but cricket won the day and he played the match. It had no lasting effect on his chapel life, however, because he was to become a deacon of Pisgah and the long-serving chapel treasurer.

For many people, Maurice will be remembered as the equally long-serving landlord of the Cresselly Arms at Cresswell Quay which he and his wife Janet took over in the early 1980s following the retirement of Mrs Alice Davies; she carried on living in the pub and Maurice and Janet cared for until her death well past the age of 100.

Previously stewards at Cresselly Cricket Club, Maurice and Janet proved the perfect choice to run this unique little pub and on their watch the Cresselly Arms gained a wide reputation for being everything that an unspoiled village local should be. It featured in numerous television programmes and guidebooks, one of which described it as the second best pub in Britain.

As with his cricket captaincy, Maurice the pub landlord was a benevolent dictator, friendly and sociable most of the time, but not afraid of cracking the whip if anyone stepped out of line. He also took great delight in puncturing the pretensions of any customer trying to show off their knowledge or expertise, usually putting them right with a sentence that began “I may only have had primary education, but....”

Always prepared to help local sporting organisations, Maurice was generous in his support of many Pembrokeshire clubs, notably Lawrenny Football Club, Narberth RFC and Pembroke RFC. He was also a great supporter of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt, and the Boxing Day meet at the Quay was more popular than ever during his time as licensee.

Maurice did draw the line at giving any support to Carew Cricket Club, however, being very conscious of the bitter cricketing rivalry between Carew and Cresselly (and more than happy to stoke it on occasion).

Among those who were regular visitors to the pub in Maurice's day were Welsh rugby legend Gareth Edwards and Glamorgan cricketers Alan Jones and Don Shepherd, together with a host of local sportsmen from all over the county – rivals of Maurice on the field but friends off the field – happy to reminisce about the old days and trade news about the latest local cricketing controversy.

In normal times, all these old friends and sporting rivals – even ones with Carew blood in their veins – would have turned out to pay a final tribute to Maurice, making his funeral one of the biggest the county had ever seen. As it is, they will have to raise a glass in private to toast the memory of a great sporting character, the like of which we will not see again.