Venue: Neyland Community Hub:
Umpires: Neill Crawshaw & Huw Simpkins
Match One – Cresselly run out of wickets and Pembroke pounce
Cresselly (75 all out) lost to Pembroke (76 for 2) by four wickets
Cresselly have a strong side which includes veterans Neil Williams and Tom Rowlands alongside four talented youngsters but on this occasion, taking on a good Pembroke side which had teenagers Jay Sutherland and George Morgan in their midst, they lost the plat as they were dismissed for 75 – and there were five batsmen run out as they only used eight of their 12 overs!First to go was 62 year old Neil Williams, who had scored 45 not out the previous week but was run out by 20 yards in a total mix-up (something of an understatement judging by his glare as he trudged off! Griff Jenkins and Tom Rowlands were next to gift their wickets but George Davies came to the fore with 24 before he was run out, as was last-man Ollie Rowlands (14), whilst Ollie Arthur was bowled by Ceri Brace to break the pattern.
Pembroke suffered an early set-back as they chased a modest total of 76, with Brace well caught behind by Neil Williams off Arthur but then Jack harries found something like his best form as he and ‘Mr Reliable’ Luke Butler took their time and both reached the retirement score with relative ease but then they suffered a scare as George Morgan and Will Davies, looking smart in his best jeans after a late call-up, departed early – but Jay Surtherland steadied the ship with 14 not out that included an excellent straight six to leave Pembroke with 11 balls left in hand.
The difference in experience was evident but there is consolation for Cresselly that with such talented young stroke players in their midst they need more patience in the batting stakes – and then we will see them become an excellent team.
Match Two – Herbie too strong for noisy vets
Herbrandston A (114 for 4) beat Pembs Vets A (83 all out) by 31 runs
Openers Callum Power and skipper Robbie Hood got Herbrandston off to a solid start and after retiring both came back, later with some big hitting, to help their side to a challenging total against a Pembs Seniors A team which tried hard, were vociferous in support of each other, but Jonathan ‘Taff Williams and Nick Daley excepted, were unable to get up a head of steam to take them to success.Power eventually reached an impressive 36 before he was run out and Hood passed 100 runs in his last three innings without being out as he ended on 33 not out – and although Herbie lost Kristan Bennett and Karl Davies cheaply; Rob Kingston turned back the years with 14 and Keegan Codd (guesting from Johnston) belted two big sixes in his impressive late 18 not out that jetted Herbie well past the three-figure mark, despite Nick Daley’s excellent 3 for 17 and Andrew Williams 1 for 17 spell in support.
Daley then showed his batting prowess with 26 before he was run out, whilst openers ‘Taff’ Williams (19) and Andrew Williams (21) got them off to a good start before the first wicket fell at 45 - but Alan Webster, skipper Ian Milsom and Mark Hicks soon came and went and the Seniors A ended on 83 all out with 13 balls left unused.Match Three – Champions win top of table clash as Hook struggle
Hook (64 all out) lost to Neyland (69 for 3) by three wickets
This eagerly-awaited clash between two unbeaten teams turned from expected fireworks into something of a damp squib as Hook made a good start as they batted first but then lost their way to such an extent that they were dismissed for only 64 with two overs unused – and Neyland used their experienced to the full, despite being without three top players in Patrick Bellerby, Andrew Miller and Dai Davies.Two of those to replace them were the brother and sister duo of Korey and Kacey Arran, both of whom played their part as Korey grabbed a wicket, whilst Kacey bowled and fielded well as hitting the winning runs after her very late call-up, with Korey at the other end!
Hook did lose top all-rounder Harry Makepeace early on as he was run out – but George James (20 in as many balls) and Aled Phelps (17 in 16 deliveries) steadied things well but James gave a return catch to Brad McDermott-Jenkins and Phelps was run out, as was Charlie Holder soon afterwards, soon followed by dad Matthew as the fourth run out victim as proof of Neyland’s tight fielding. Owen Phelps was bowled by Korey Arran and it needed 13 from ‘Mr Extras’ to take Hook to their final tally.
So, Neyland openers Ross Hardy and Brad McDermott-Jenkins were in no hurry at the start of their reply but still took their tally to 34 before the latter was bowled by Makepeace for 15 in only seven balls, including two fours.
Skipper Sean Hannon and Jack John came and went, respectively run out for 9 and bowled by George James for 2 – but by this time Neyland were very close to victory because Hardy controlled matters with 25 in 19 balls, including a six, and left it to Korey and Kacey to take them home as reward for stepping in and not looking out of place at all!