A SIX-YEAR-OLD cricket sensation from Abercarn is already outscoring his father in a senior match.

Harrison Parsons plays with Abercarn Cricket Club seniors in the Sunday League but is not yet old enough to be chosen by Gwent selectors for the under nines.

In a recent cricket match against Abercarn Football team's cricket side, both Harrison and dad, Jeremy, opened the batting, with the youngster scoring 24 runs to his father's 15.

Mr Parsons, 28, said: “It’s a bit of a rivalry between the teams, and was a highly-contested match. Obviously, I’m pleased as punch for him.

“He doesn’t like it when people don’t throw the ball hard at him. The harder they throw it, the harder he hits them back.”

Young Harrison follows a long family line of cricketers at Abercarn. His father is the opening batsman for the club's first team, his grandfather, Kevin, plays for the second team, while uncle Ieuan is the first team captain.

Beki Parsons, 26, said her son had taken a keen interest in the game even before he could walk.

She said: “Since he was two, all Harrison has done is play cricket. When I had cartoons on for him on the telly, he would get the remote and change it to the sports channels to see the cricket.

“Even in rugby lessons in school, he throws the ball as if to bowl it and would get told off by the teacher.

“I don’t like to brag but he's a bit of an all-rounder. He was holding a cricket bat as young as I can remember and I guess it helps that we’re quite involved with the club.

“But we've never pushed him. If he were to turn round tomorrow and say to us ‘I don’t want to play cricket any more’, then we would not stand in his way. But I don’t think he'll ever say that to be honest! He loves it too much.”

Harrison has ambitions to play for England one day, and his favourite team is Glamorgan.

Like so many others across the country, he has been following the Ashes closely throughout the summer, and with only three weeks left of the season, dad Jeremy believes local interest has reached uncharted territory.

Mr Parsons runs the club's under nines, which is just one of a number of teams Harrison plays for. They have registered a record 52 players for this season, and Mr Parsons had to call for reinforcement due to the high demand.

He said: “It was just me on my own at the start but then I had to rope in a few more parents to get involved.

“It’s a great community feel here and a good way of getting parents together.”