PHOTOS:
Neyland celebrate last gasp victory. Picture by Susan McKehon
Runners up Whitland
Hugh Harrison-Allen presents the coveted Bowl to Neyland captain Gregg Miller
Umpires Les Hastings and John Williams
Scorers John Laugharne and Janice Webb
Harrison-Allen Bowl Final:
Whitland (125 for 9 and 139 for 9) lost to Neyland (154 for 5 and 114 for 8) by two wickets
Umpires: Les Hastings & John Williams
Scorers: Janice Webb & John Laugharne
Announcer: Paul Webb
Man of the Match: Jonathan Thomas (Whitland)
Venue: Cresselly Cricket Club
Patrick Hannon was the last-ball hero for Neyland as he kept his head and with twin brother Sean coolly secured a third Harrison Allen Bowl title in five years for Neyland as they beat Whitland, following a sensational finale in Cresselly.Set a seemingly modest 111 to win in their final innings, the favourites were cruising at 85-3, when Jonathan Thomas turned the tide with three wickets in an over en route to superb figures of 5-20.
It left Neyland eight wickets down with the Hannon twins needing seven off the final over, and they scrambled six off Leighton O’Connor’s first five balls – before Patrick launched a four back over the bowler’s head to seal matters.
Whitland first innings (125 for 9)
Having hit two early boundaries off Nathan Banner, Davies edged a Gary Lloyd ball to Andrew Miller at third man, and was run out as he pushed for an ambitious second run.
Kevin Pearce came out and looked to be positive straight away, pulling Banner for two fours in the next over, before tamely chipping a ball to Patrick Hannon in the gully, leaving his side 27 for 2.
Like the two before him, opener Blain then looked to up the rate before frustratingly giving away his wicket on 13 – as he tried to launch Patrick Hannon back over his head in the seventh over, only to find Nick Koomen waiting on the boundary.
Much then seemed to rest on the shoulders of Jonathan Thomas and Iestyn Scourfield, but the latter could only make three runs before holing out to Patrick Bellerby in the deep off Hannon again, leaving his side on a precarious 57 for 4.
But then Thomas began to accelerate, hammering Hannon for a straight six, the first maximum of the day, and O’Connor repeated the feat against the same bowler in the 14th – but also survived a scare when Hannon put a sharp return catch down..
The batting pair took Whitland to 93 for 4 in the 17th over, when Andrew Miller took a decisive wicket, bowling Thomas for 31 as he tried to work the ball to the leg side.
O’Connor then took it upon himself to turn the tide, cracking two sixes of Hannon’s next over before being caught by Banner for 30 as he went big again.
That put the pre-match favourites firmly on top, and Banner returned to bowl Whitland captain Mathew Davies cheaply, while Andrew Miller removed Scott Newton (4) and Gregg Sleep (1) en route to figures of 3-21 – before Wayne Howells (3 not out) and Mark Lee (4 not out) edged the batting side to a final total of 125 for 9 in 22 overs.
Neyland first innings (154 for 5)
But he perished in the next over, first surviving a scare when bowler Sleep spilled a return catch, before Banner (18) sliced into the off side and captain Davies made no mistake with a fairly simple catch.
That brought in Ashley Sutton, and he and Miller kept the scoreboard ticking, whilst also picking up the odd boundary – but were unable to ever really get away against the tight bowling of Lee and Sleep, until the skipper launched Lee for a straight six in the 10th over.
But moments later, with Neyland on 59 for 1, rain brought a halt to proceedings.
It turned into an extensive delay as the players took an early tea, and when play resumed, Miller and Sutton had to try and pick up where they left off.
Sutton smashed Sleep for his first maximum, and then came a potentially big moment when he was dropped by the bowler off a straight drive.
Miller continued to impress, pulling Wayne Howells for a four to move to 48, before throwing away a half century in the 16th over, top edging the same bowler to a juggling Kevin Pearce at gully.
And in the same over, the momentum shifted as the same bowler trapped Sutton LBW for 32, leaving Neyland on 98 for 3.
Andrew Miller and Nick Koomen upped the ante again with a boundary each off Howells in the 18th over, but then Thomas forced Miller (8) into an edge to keeper Blain.
Koomen continued with a six off Howells in the 20th over, and Durrant then slog-swept Thomas for 4, leaving Neyland 138 for 4, a lead of 13, heading into the final over.
Koomen (24) became Howells’ third victim in his 3-54 haul, thanks to a superb diving catch from Mark Lee, but after new man Scott Jones took a single, Durrant crucially hit the last two balls of the innings for six, securing his side a 29-run lead in a vital cameo of 21 not out.
Whitland second innings (139 for 9)
Openers Blain and Davies came out positively, taking 12 off Lloyd’s first over, before Banner struck a blow – having Davies (2) caught behind by Sean Hannon as he looked to cut.
Pearce again came out in attack mode and hooked Lloyd to the boundary, but in the fourth over he fell for 13, edging Banner to the safe hands of Andrew Miller.
But Blain and Thomas then rebuilt matters, picking off gaps and scoring sensibly to take their side to 60 for 2 after nine overs.
And it was then that Thomas looked to seize the initiative, smashing Banner for two sixes in an over that yielded 16 runs.
But in the 11th over, Thomas was gone for 28, picking out Bellerby in the deep off the bowling of Durrant.
O’Connor (4) then gave Banner figures of 3-39, trying to cut a ball that was full and straight and was duly bowled.
That left Whitland 81 for 4 - and when moments later, Blain (26) tamely chipped an Andrew Miller delivery to brother Gregg, before Iestyn Scourfield holed out to Koomen off the same bowler for a duck, the final appeared all but over.
But skipper Davies and Newton then did their best to extend their side’s lead with some good running between the wickets, and took the score to 115-6 before Miller again struck, taking a return catch off Newton for figures of 3 for 39.
At that point, Whitland were 86 runs ahead, and Sleep made a quick 9 before being bowled by Patrick Hannon.
Davies kept going until the penultimate over, before being run out for 25, a brave knock that gave his side a glimmer of hope, before the final pair of Howells (9 not out) and Lee (3 not out) took things to 139-9, a lead of 110.
Neyland second innings 114-8
Few envisaged many problems for Neyland in their run chase, and skipper Gregg Miller, this time opening with Koomen, took few chances as they eased to 19-0 in five overs.
But then Miller (4) was somewhat needlessly bowled, missing a slog sweep off Lee.
It proved pivotal when in the same over, veteran Lee took a return catch off Sutton (2), and suddenly Neyland were 21-2.
Banner then joined Koomen and the pair accumulated slowly, before Banner was given a let off when he was dropped from a very difficult chance in the deep by O’Connor off Sleep.
Rather than look for boundaries, the pair picked the gaps and took their side to 51 for 2 in 12 overs, before Thomas entered the fray, and gave his side hope.
Banner (17) went for a big shot and was caught by Mathew Davies on the boundary, but it seemed to matter little as Andrew Miller joined Koomen in moving things to 73 for 3 in 17 overs.
The 18th over seemed to end all Whitland hope, as Koomen launched Howells for six, and then flicked a leg glance for 4, leaving his team needing 26 off four overs for glory.
But then Thomas turned the game on its head, with a dramatic over that yielded three runs and only three wickets.
Miller (13) drove straight to Howells at mid-on, before Koomen (44) was trapped lbw trying an audacious switch hit that simply didn’t come off and then Patrick Bellerby was well stumped by Blain for a duck, and suddenly Neyland were 88-6, and a game seemingly heading to an inevitable conclusion was on a knife edge.
The 20th over saw O’Connor throw down a wide which reached the boundary and was followed up with a four from the next delivery, but he then struck when Durrant (2) slashed towards the boundary and Pearce held his nerve, and the catch, to send Whitland supporters into raptures.
It left Neyland needing 12 runs off 12 balls, with three wickets in hand, and in a frantic 21st over, Patrick Hannon and Scott Jones scrambled five off five deliveries, before Thomas bowled Jones (8) to finish with superb figures of 5-20.
O’ Connor took the ball for the final over, and Patrick Hannon’s brother Sean survived a run out appeal as the pair took six of the seven runs they needed off the first five balls.
Whitland skipper Davies had little choice but to bring the field in for the final ball, but Patrick Hannon held his nerve to hammer the delivery back over O’Connor’s head to the boundary – sparking big celebrations amongst the Neyland players and supporters.
“I can’t quite believe it,” said Neyland skipper Miller afterwards, “because for three segments of the day we were brilliant, and then we batted ourselves into trouble.
"But we got there, and Whitland deserve great credit for making us fight."
His opposite number, Mathew Davies, said: “To lose off the last ball is a sickener, but I'm so proud of the team because to restrict a team like Neyland like we did in their second innings, when they only had 111 to chase, was a great effort."
In the post-match presentations, it was Whitland's Jonathan Thomas who was given man of the match, before Miller and his teammates were presented the silverware by Hugh Harrison- Allen, and were able to celebrate a Bowl win to add to the DR Morris title they captured last month.
But both teams deserve great credit for what proved to be an absorbing final, which produced the most dramatic of finales for both sets of players and supporters.
SCORECARD:
First Innings:
Whitland Batting
Dylan Blain ct Nick Koomen b Patrick Hannon 13
Paul Davies run out 14
Kevin Pearce ct Patrick Hannon b Nathan Banner 8
Jonathan Thomas b Andrew Miller 31
Iestyn Scourfield ct Patrick Bellerby b Patrick Hannon 3
Leighton O’Connor ct Nathan Banner b Patrick Hannon 30
Matthew Davies b Nathan Banner 3
Scott Newton ct Patrick Hannon b Andrew Miller 4
Greg Sleep ct Henry Durrant b Andrew Miller 1
Wayne Howells not out 3
Mark Lee not out 4
Extras 11
Total (9 wickets) 125
Neyland Bowling:
Gary Lloyd 5-0-26-0; Nathan Banner 5-0-23-2; Patrick Hannon 6-0-42-3; Andrew Miller 6-0-21-3
Neyland Batting:
Gregg Miller ct Kevin Pearce b Wayne Howells 48
Nathan Banner ct Matthew Davies b Greg Sleep 18
Ashley Sutton lbw b Wayne Howells 32
Nick Koomen ct Mark Lee b Wayne Howells 24
Henry Durrant not out 21
Andrew Miller ct Dylan Blain b Jonathan Thomas 8
Scott Jones not out 1
Extras 2
Total (5 wickets) 154
Whitland Bowling:
Greg Sleep 6-0-25-1; Mark Lee 5-0-4-0; Wayne Howells 6-0-54-3; Jonathan Thomas 5-0-34-1
** NEYLAND LEAD BY 29 RUNS ON FIRST INNINGS **
Second Innings:
Whitland Batting:
Dylan Blain ct Gregg Miller b Andrew Miller 26
Paul Davies ct Sean Hannon b Nathan Banner 2
Kevin Pearce ct Andrew Miller b Nathan Banner 13
Jonathan Thomas ct Patrick Bellerby b Henry Durrant 28
Leighton O'Connor b Nathan Banner 4
Iestyn Scourfield ct Nick Koomen b Andrew Miller 0
Matthew Davies run out 25
Scott Newton ct & b Andrew Miller 11
Greg Sleep b Patrick Hannon 9
Wayne Howells not out 9
Mark Lee not out 3
Extras 9
Total (9 wickets) 139
Neyland Bowling:
Gary Lloyd 3-0-22-0; Nathan Banner 6-0-39-3; Henry Durrant 3-0-18-1; Andrew Miller 5-0-29-3; Patrick Hannon 5-0-29-1
Neyland Batting:
Gregg Miller b Mark Lee 4
Nick Koomen lbw b Jonathan Thomas 44
Ashley Sutton ct & b Mark Lee 0
Nathan Banner ct Matthew Davies b Jonathan Thomas 17
Andrew Miller ct Wayne Howells b Jonathan Thomas 13
Henry Durrant ct Kevin Pearce b Leighton O’Connor 2
Patrick Bellerby st Dylan Blain b Jonathan Thomas 0
Scott Jones b Jonathan Thomas 8
Patrick Bellerby not out 11
Sean Hannon not out 3
Extras 12
Total (8 wickets) 114
Whitland Bowling:
Greg Sleep 6-0-18-0; Mark Lee 5-0-26-2; Wayne Howells 4-0-29-0; Jonathan Thomas 5-0-20-5; Leighton O’Connor 2-0-21-1