Back Row: Owen Phelps (Hook), Lewis Miller (Hook), Joe Phillips (Llangwm), Evan Watts (Haverfordwest), Jake Thomas (Narberth), Seth Willington (Hook), Shay Norcross (Narberth)
Front Row: Dom Asson (Llangwm), Rhys Power (Neyland), Lucas Davies (Hook), Niall Griffiths (Hook), Harry Fuller (Whitland)
Carmarthenshire Under 11s (129 for 7) lost to Pembrokeshire Under 11s (148 for 8)
On Sunday 28th August the Pembrokeshire under 11s team travelled to the picturesque Bronwydd Cricket Club for their return fixture with Carmarthenshire and came away with an excellent win to round off a successful season in style.
After a delayed start for rain, both teams put on an excellent display in a competitive 40 over match with some outstanding individual contributions. Pembrokeshire continued their excellent recent form to record a victory by 19 runs to the delight of coach Andrew Miller, team manager Jonathan Willington and their large band of supporters.
Watts leads county out of early trouble
Carmarthenshire captain Carwyn Axford won the toss and elected to field first on an excellent pitch but damp outfield. Pembrokeshire set out positively but soon found themselves in trouble at 21 for 3 as the pick of the Carmarthenshire attack, Callum Thomas (3 for 9), caused problems with his left arm swing.
Thomas removed Owen Phelps, Lewis Miller and Seth Willington in quick succession, showing excellent control. This brought Shay Norcross (28) and Evan Watts (76) together for what was to prove the pivotal partnership of the match. Having taken time to settle, Norcross and Watts then steadily got on top of the bowlers, scoring runs all-round the wicket.
Runs galore but halted late on
Their partnership was laden with hard hitting boundaries but perhaps marked out by the running between the wickets, which constantly put fielders under pressure and forced a succession of mistakes.
This pair added 72 runs before Norcross departed and none of the remaining Pembrokeshire batsmen was able to make a sizeable individual contribution. However, Harry Fuller, Rhys Power and in particular Dom Asson played excellent supporting roles as Watts continued his assault on the bowling. Pembrokeshire looked set for a big total when standing at 123 for 6 from 30 overs. However, only 25 runs came from the final 10 overs as Rhufon Phillips returned superb figures of 1 for 7 from 5 overs to halt any late charge.
Sustained accuracy pays off after tea
Following a wonderful tea provided by the Bronwydd ladies, Carmarthenshire set out to chase 149 for victory but the openers found it hard to get away against the sustained accuracy of Joe Phillips (0 for 15 from 8 overs) and Jake Thomas (1 for 10) who both gave it their all without the deserved reward.
Thomas struck to leave Carmarthenshire at 19 for 1 from ten overs, bringing Ben Williams (33) to the crease. Williams combined with Tudr Davies (27) in a solid partnership of 50 and then put on 25 with Steffan Williams (10).
Bowling rotation pays off well
Pembrokeshire rotated their bowlers to look for a breakthrough as Carmarthenshire began to build a healthy position. Niall Griffiths (0 for 19) went close as did Willington (0 for 8) with his leg spin. Lucas Davies (1 for 4) then made the breakthrough, supported by Miller (1 for 18) and Fuller (1 for 13), leaving Carmarthenshire needing 32 from the final eight overs.
Watts (1 for 11) then combined with the returning Phillips to tie down the batsmen with good accurate bowling. All of the bowlers were supported by an excellent team fielding display, Fuller and Phelps both claiming run outs with direct hits as the batsmen began to take risks with overs running out. It was left to Thomas to bowl the final over and join his teammates in celebrating an excellent performance and victory, in a match played in a great spirit.