Neyland A show their class alongside good wins for Llanrhian and Pembroke Dock B
Venue: Neyland Community Centre Hub:
Umpires: Rob Bellerby & Neill Crawshaw
Scorers: George Evans, Patrick Hannon & Nick Daley
In the latest round of games it was Neyland A who started off the evening with a bank as they proved far too strong and streetwise for a strong six from Pembroke Dock A, who saved an even heavier delight by the batting of Tom Grimwood.
There were runs aplenty before Daf Williams saw Llanrhian to a narrow victory over Neyland B – and Pembroke Dock B’s success against Haverfordwest was helped by the fact that The Town bowled 31 wides!
Match One – Neyland A too strong for The Dock A
Pembroke Dock A (56 all out) lost to Neyland A (58 for 2)
Neyland A confirmed their status as favourites to win the indoor title again as they proved far too strong in all areas of the game against a Pembroke Dock A side also considered to be one of the best three teams in the county.
The Dock A lost early wickets and were in dire straits at 26 for 5 before opener Thomas Grimwood surveyed the carnage at the other end and ended up with two balls left with 41 from 36 deliveries, 30 of those as the last man standing.
George Smith (3) and Rhys Daley (1) were both run out in the first 10 balls and skipper Scott Griffiths (4) danced down the wicket to Sean Hannon and was calmly stumped by Paul Murray.
Neil Gregory and Nial Brunton departed for ducks before Grimwood’s brave effort, which included the only four and six of the innings as Ross Hardy, Nick Koomen and Jack John all bowled tight spells without claiming a wicket.
Brad McDermott-Jenkins took a superb low return catch to finally shift Grimwood in his 1 for 8 analysis from eight balls – but it was skipper Sean Hannon who caused most damage as his one over reaped a 3 for 4 haul.
Neyland then showed The Dock how to do it with the bat as Paul Murray and Brad McDermott-Jenkins scored 24 in the first two overs before the latter slammed a ball straight at bowler Grimwood, who did well to deflect it on to the stumps to not only save another boundary by ran out the unfortunate Murray for 13!
McDermott-Jenkins reached 21 before he was a bit slow off the mark and was run out but Nick Koomen (10) and Ross Hardy (5) were not out at the end, assisted by eight wides, as Neil Gregory (0 for 15) and George Smith (0 for 19) conceded most runs alongside Rhys Daley, Scott Griffiths and Grimwood, who only gave away seven runs apiece as Neyland A won with plenty to spare.
Match Two – Llanrhian chase down a big Neyland B tally
Neyland B (111 for 3) lost to Llanrhian (112 for 5)
Daf Williams was the toast of his Llanrhian team mates as the opening bat ended up with 39 not out as he finished the game on his own with four balls still in hand after Neyland B pushed them all the way and perhaps looked favourites at the half way stage as they amassed 111 for 3 from their ten overs.
Openers Callum Power and Gregg Miller looked settled from the start as they ran well between the wickets and punished any loose deliveries, with Power rapping a four and two sixes and Miller an excellent straight six alongside plenty of threes.
Both retired on 25 but Sam Laugharne also looked good with two sixes in his unbeaten 25 before he retired and after scoring 50 runs in their first five overs they kept the pace up despite losing John Tennick (4), Rod Murphy for a duck, stumped by two yards, and Tom Pritchard (caught without scoring off the roof by Llion Williams off Karl Davies’s bowling.
Their demise brought back their openers and Power (41 not out) and Miller (38 not out) took them to a commanding total as Jon Strawbridge (1 for 12) and Karl Davies (1 for 21) were the Llanrhian wicket takers.
Llanrhian suffered an early set-back as they lost the big-hitting Jon Strawbridge for 5, bowled by John Tennick, who did well in helping out on the night, but Daf Williams was joined by Iwan Williams in a productive stand before both had to retire.
Karl Davies (12) and Llion Williams (4) were run out and last man Billy Clark was superbly caught at cover by Sam Laugharne off Gregg Miler, leaving James and Iwan Williams to return and take them level before James was caught off the wall for 29 to give Tom Pritchard a wicket.
But Daf Williams wasn’t frazzled by the prospect of a possible tie after so much effort as he played a strong shot into the off side to secure success in an entertaining tussle that was a credit to both teams!
Match Three – Town concede too many extras as the Dock B come good
Pembroke Dock B (122 for 6) beat Haverfordwest (90 all out)
Pembroke Dock B were good value for a comfortable victory over Haverfordwest but The Town’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact that they conceded 32 extras, the highest by miles so far in this year’s competition.
The Dock B made a good start to their innings as skipper Adam Phillips and Luke Murray, who reached 19 before he was caught by Jack Peters off Peter Soulsby but they maintained their momentum as Anton John (13) and veteran Nick Daley (23) batted well until they were run out.
Luke Murray retired on 25 but was eventually run out for 27 in a late thrust for runs where Owen Hughes (7) was caught by Rees off Town skipper Chris Phillips and Rob Hughes was run out without scoring but all those wides certainly didn’t help The Town’s cause.
Haverfordwest’s cause wasn’t helped when they lost big hitter Ashley James without scoring, caught by Anton John off Rob Hearne, before John shifted another potent threat in Dan Hopley for 11.
Worse was to follow as Soulsby was run out for a dick but Jason Stobbs (15) and Chris Phillips (16) gave good support to opener Jack Roberts, who managed an excellent 37 before he was caught by Anton John off Daley.
There were also 12 extras as John finished with an outstanding 2 for 11 stint alongside Daley (1 for 13), Luke Murray (1 for 15) and Hearn (1 for 21) so that The Dock B eased home by 32 runs, exactly the number of extras conceded by Haverfordwest!
