Neyland A continue to dominate Men’s Indoor Cricket
Umpires: Neill Crawshaw & Allan Hansen
Scorers: Natalie Thomas, Kacey Arran, Nick Daley and Patrick Hannon
Venue: The Neyland Hub Community Centre
Neyland A smash the venue’s scoring record
Match One: Neyland A (155 for 1) beat Pembroke Dock A (103 for 5)
Neyland A again showed why they are rightly considered to be one of the best-ever indoor teams in Wales with a crushing victory over a Pembroke Dock A team who are also no slouches in the game but although they had their moments were eventually under so much pressure that they lost by 52 runs.
Batting first, Sean Hannon’s team lost ace run maker Paul Murray in the second over for 16 made from only five deliveries but after launching Jake Davies for a straight six he tried to do the same next ball and lofted a catch straight back to the bowler.
But from then on it was a procession of batsmen coming in, running really well between the wickets and punishing things anything remotely loose so Nick Koomen (34), skipper Hannon (27), Brad McDermott-Jenkins and jack John all reached the retirement mark, with Patrick Bellerby also contributing 21 not out as last man.
It meant they finished up on a massive 155 for 1, comfortably the best-ever score at the venue, with five fours, four sixes and a massive 30 threes to their name – but still having missed out just a little because there were 12 deliveries not scored from to show Neyland A are still not quite perfect!
The Dock A had key run-maker Tom Grimwood run out for 13 but skipper Scott Griffiths raced to 25 and Rhys Daley anchored the innings so that they were up to the asking rate after three overs – but then Neyland really turned the screw in the fielding stakes and George Smith (0) was well caught by McDermott-Jenkins off Jack John, Jake Davies (10) was run out and veteran keeper Glyn Griffiths (9) suffered the same fate as he hared down the wicket but was sent back and simply couldn’t get back in time!
His son Scott and Daley returned to the crease but by then they were well behind the asking rate and McDermott-Jenkins took another stinger of a catch to shift the teenager for 25 off Bellerby.
Skipper Griffiths finished unbeaten on 33 but they were unable to hit any sixes, had six fours and 19 threes – but having 20 ‘dot balls’ in their ten overs was a key feature in their defeat!
The Dock Battle back in an absorbing clash with The Town
Match Two: Haverfordwest (108 for 5) lost to Pembroke Dock A (109 for 4)
The match between Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock A was arguably the best of the evening, certainly in terms of its competitive nature, as Haverfordwest opened with 108 for 5 and were in contention until the last ten balls, when The Dock had Tom Grimwood back to form alongside skipper Griffiths.
Mikey Jones (6) failed for once as he fell to George Smith but Chis Phillips (16) and Ashley James (21, bowled by Rhys Daley) batted well before Dan Hopley (run out for 9) and Jason Stobbs, caught by Scott Griffiths off Jake Davies, came and went – and it was left to Will Phillips to bat well for his unbeaten 28 alongside 17 extras, 15 of them wides a tally that included 19 threes, 3 fours and 2 sixes, plus 16 ‘dot balls’.
Grimwood and skipper Griffiths then both moved smoothly to 25 but again they lost Rhys Daley (3), Jake Davies (7) and Glyn Griffiths (3) in quick time before George Smith helped take The Dock to within sight of success with 21 before Chris Phillips took a sharp one-handed return catch.
It meant that Ashley James had to bowl the final over to Tom Grimwood (28 not out) with the scores tied but he bowled a wide and so The Dock claimed a good win to take their first win of the night whilst The Town had the first of two losses on the night!
Neyland A win again by 50+ runs
Match Three: Neyland A (128 all out) beat Haverfordwest (71 all out)
Neyland A completed their expected win double on the night but Haverfordwest will have been a little disappointed not to go closer after limiting the opposition to 128 all out in 9.8 overs.
Paul Murray and Nick Koomen sped to 25 apiece before Ross Hardy replaced a tired McDermott-Jenkins but could only muster 5 before he was run out by Chris Phillips – but the Neyland scoring machine revved up again as Patrick Bellerby smashed a rapid 25 and with Sean Hannon and Jack John departing for ducks, bowled respectively by Ashley James and Mikey Jones, it meant that the ‘big guns’ were back in action much quicker than might have been expected.
Murray reached 44 before he was caught by Jones off Hopley, Koomen was run out for 33 and Bellerby suffered the same fate on 42 and Neyland were all out for a decent, but not massive tally, especially since they had flown to 71 without loss in only five overs.
For the statisticians who like such facts, Neyland scored 5 fours but no sixes – and with an eye-catching 31 threes and a few singles - but with only eight deliveries from which no runs came!
Haverfordwest got off to a dreadful start to their reply as Ashley James (4), Jason Stobbs (2) and Chris Phillips (0) departed in the first two overs – and Peter Soulsby managed a single as part of the collapse but Dan Hopley (replacing William Philips) joined opener Mikey Jones, who had stood aghast at the non-striker’s end.
Hopley battled his way to 20 before he was run out and Mikey Jones showed what a good cricketer he is with 40 before he was caught by Nick Koomen off Sean Hannon as The Town were shot out for 71 in 8.1 overs.
They had just one four and one six alongside 14 threes, plus 16 ‘dot balls’ and 10 singles as Neyland won by 57 runs as reward for another powerful team performance.
