Cresselly cruise to ninth Alec Colley Cup win
Burton 2nds (94 for 9 & 136 for 9) lost to Cresselly 2nds (177 for 1 & 55 for 0)
Umpires: David Loosmore and Richard Merriman
Scorers: Mark Venables (Burton) and Des Brace (Cresselly)
Venue: Treleet Ground, Pembroke
Cresselly Seconds’ greater fire-power and experience was very much in evidence as they comprehensively beat their counterparts from Burton to retain the Alec Colley Cup as they strolled home by ten wickets.
But Burton deserve every credit for the way that they stuck to their task in adversity and made Cresselly bat a second time, and played their part in an entertaining final watched by a good crowd.
Tight Cresselly bowling
Burton’s hopes centred around skipper Mike Venables, his brother Jonathan, Ross Edwards, Johnny and Phil Griffiths, all of whom have played first team cricket on a regular basis, but after batting first they could only muster 94 for 9 as Cresselly crowded them in the field to support sharp bowling by Jack Murphy and Sion Jenkins as wickets fell early.
Jonathan Venables (13) and Ross Edwards (two big sixes in his 24) were the only Burton batsman able to muster double figures as Jenkins (2 for 21) and Murphy (1 for 25) found admirable support from skipper Richard Arthur (2 for 22) and the effervescent Matthew Lewis (2 for 21).
Big hitting openers
Cresselly openers Scott Arthur and Neal Williams were soon on the offensive as they punished anything remotely short or over-pitched. They found the boundary with increasing regularity and sped into three figures in only 14 overs. Williams had 11 fours in his 93 as he tried unsuccessfully for a century but was run out with four balls remaining, whilst Arthur, who had unselfishly given Williams the strike in that final over, had three fours and four mighty sixes in his undefeated 66. It meant that Cresselly amassed 177 for 1 to give Burton a daunting tea interval deficit of 83 runs.
Brave Burton batting
Burton made a brave start to their second innings as Mike Venables blasted five fours in his 28 from only 18 balls but he went for one big hit too many and was well caught by opposing captain Richard Arthur off Jack Murphy’s bowling. Jonathan Venables had three fours in his 25 and Ross Edwards belted a speedy 16 but wickets kept falling at regular intervals and it wasn’t until the 15th over that Burton finally wiped out their deficit.
Johnny Griffiths treated the crowd to three monster sixes as he scored 32 not out in only 12 deliveries and Burton finished up on a respectable 136 for 9 to set Cresselly a winning tally of 54 runs.
Cresselly cruise home
Cresselly opened up with Scott Arthur and Rhydian Rees for their second innings and they were soon in the swing of things with boundaries aplenty as they sped to their target in only 8.3 overs, with Arthur on 26 not out and Rees undefeated on 24 not out.
It gave Cresselly victory by ten wickets and skipper Richard Arthur was absolutely right when he thanked his side for their commitment because they were on top virtually from start to finish against a Burton team which never really knew what hit them as the two-division gap between the sides was all too evident in the final analysis.
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