Sharp learning curve for newcomers

 
Umpires: Chris Stapleton & Allan Hansen
Venue: The Neyland Community Hub
 
There were four new teams out of the six taking part on Monday evening but there were still some excellent performances and the games were played in the best of spirits before Pembroke edged out Burton, Pembrokeshire Vets A used their know-how to comfortably account for an eager young Hook team which will be a force as they gain experience – and in the final match Hundleton comfortably won against another new team in Pembrokeshire Vets B.



 

Match One – Burton (86 for 5) lost to Pembroke (87 for 4)

 
Opening bat Jonathan Venables totally dominated the Burton batting with a massive 68 not out but not before he made a little bit of history for the club in this new venture as he ran out co-opener Richard James like a dog, without facing a ball, from the very first ball of the evening!
 
‘Veggie’ blitzed six fours and three sixes as he posed a threat to fielders and umpires with his straight driving but Jack Davies also departed for an early duck, bowled by Sam Davies, and Morgan Scale (3) and Dan Ridge (2) soon followed, the former bowled by Jon Rogers and the latter neatly stumped by Luke Butler with talented teenager Harry Malone the successful bowler.
 
Robert Webb (10) gave Venables some late support before he was caught by Sam Davies off Will Randall as Burton posted a reasonable score for their first appearance.
 
Fellow newcomers Pembroke made a much better start to their replay with skipper Jack Harries batting well, until Sam Davies departed for 19, caught by Ridge of Jack Davies; and Ridge also took another good catch to shift Jon Rogers for 8, with Venables also removing Luke Butler for 8 to finish with 2 for 9 from his only over.
 
Will Randall managed 9 not out and after Malone was bowled by Morgan Scale for a duck it was Harries (31 not out), who returned to the fray and guided his team home with an over to spare, assisted by 12 wides from a little erratic bowling by the Burton bowlers!
 


 

Match Two - Hook (93 for 4) lost to Pembs Vets A ((94 for 1)

 
Hook batted quite well overall to reach a decent score against the Pembs Vets A but their bowling didn’t match up as they conceded 18 extras, most of them from wides, as the ‘old timers’ made their target look relatively easy as they lost only one wicket and still had an over to spare at the end.
 
They lost Liam Miller early on, run out for 3, before Dafydd Bowen and Aled Phelps settled things down before Bowen was eventually adjudged lbw to Ian Milsom, whose accurate bowling was further rewarded when he bowled Liam Miller for a duck in his 2 for 18 stint.
Bradley Flood contributed 17 before he was well caught by Andrew Williams off Neil Williams.
 
Harry Makepeace also played a part with  14 not out and Aled Phelps, batting at No 3, finished on 37 not out as he retired on 25 but made a late return.
 
The Vets A only conceded one extra, however as Hook showed their youth, skipper Bowen apart, by running 21 threes alongside three fours and two sixes as Andrew Williams and Rob Nicholas bowled tight little spells for the Vets A.
 
The Vets A made an excellent start to their response by Neal and Andrew Williams before Andrew was bowled by Bradley Flood and Neil, rightly regarded as one of the better indoor batsmen, retired on 25.
 
But David Haynes worked up a huge sweat in his running between the wickets and ended on an undefeated 18 whilst Stuart Carpenter contributed 13 not out, including the most powerful six of the evening, and that plethora of extras undoubtedly played a part!
 

 

Match Three – Hundleton (88 for 4) beat Pembs Vets B (69 for 4)

 
Hundleton also showed the value of having previously played indoor cricket as they were asked to bat first and scored a healthy 88 for 4 before bowling and fielding well to restrict the ‘old war horses’ to 69 for 4.
 
Ben Adams led the Hundleton batting as he retired on 25 and came back to finish with 40 not out as team mates Davies and Lockyer chipped in with 12, well caught by keeper Martin Thomas off Alan Webster’s bowling, and Lockyer (15 not out) as they moved well from 31 after five overs to add 53 in the second half of their innings as Craig Williamson (0), Stu Midgley (3) and Jonathan Williams (7) were all run out.
 
But The Vets B suffered early setbacks as Webster departed for a duck and was soon followed by the next four batsmen as only opener Karl Rhead looked settled. Matthew Vaughan (8) showed a lack of pace as he was run out, Matthew Thomas (7) gave Davies a second catch and Julian Forster failed to score as Adams rounded off a good performance when Williamson took a catch.
 
Steve Thornton was there at the end with 4 not out and Rhead showed his class with an undefeated 40 but there were 24 dot balls, the equivalent of four wasted overs, as The Vets B finished 19 runs shy of their opponents.