Cricket News . . . from PembrokeshireSport.co.uk

Well done Jenks and Co

The pitch at Treleet looked an absolute picture and played really well. There is always an enormous amount of work in hosting a final and Pembroke Cricket Club had done theirs superbly – so well done Kevin Jenkins, Paul Fraser and Jonathan Davies for all your efforts.

Great crowd

There is always a smashing atmosphere at the Alec Colley Final and this was no exception. Both teams brought their supporters, there was lots of cheering of big hits – and Cresselly again had their own trumpeter in Sion Jenkins, although his playing was a little limited because he was busy bowling and fielding for Cresselly!

Good communication

The crowd were kept well informed throughout the match by announcer Phil Thomas and there is no doubt that the sound system the County Club now has makes it easy to hear all about teams, scores, etc for the benefit of all around the ground. When Phil had to take a break for a while he also had a capable deputy in Micky Phillips, who showed a new facet to his many talents as he also did a great job.

Ninth win for Cresselly

This was Cresselly’s ninth winning of the trophy, whilst Burton have won it on two occasions previously.

Big hitting

There was also some very big hitting in evidence as no fewer than 16 sixes flew across the boundary. Spare a thought for Ross Edwards and Kevin Roberts, both of Burton, who took excellent catches but were forced to step over the boundary rope and so conceded a six. Biggest hits
Biggest hits came from Johnny Griffiths (Burton), who smashed three huge sixes in his 32 runs from only 12 balls in Burton’s second innings, whilst Cresselly opener Scott Arthur came a close second with a monster straight drive over the road. Neal Williams (Cresselly) and Ross Edwards (Burton) were other big six hitters.

Best catch

Matthew Lewis and Jack Murphy held very good catches for Cresselly but the pick of the day was Rhydian Rees’s running catch at long-on to dismiss Johnny Griffiths in the first innings. Rhydian also took another interesting catch in the same place to shift Ross Edwards in the Burton second innings – he clutched the ball to his chest and one could hear the thud as it hit his breast bone, but he bravely held on to the ball!

Ouch factor!

Burton’s veteran batsman Andrew Cromwell also experienced the ‘ouch factor’, both physically and mentally, because he sustained a groin injury whilst chasing a ball in the field and had to have a runner when he went in to bat – and Mike Venables was run out as his runner so poor old Andrew had to settle for a duck to add insult to injury!

Nice comment

I liked the witty comment from Graham Morris, the veteran Burton bowler who had earlier told me that this was his seventh Alec Colley Cup Final. “I should have stuck at six,” said Graham with a wry smile after the match, “but I did enjoy it!”

Youngest and oldest

Graham could also lay claim to being the oldest player on view but he has the enthusiasm of someone half his age! Toby Hayman was youngest at 12 years of age and he looked a good player, as did 13 year old Gavin Campbell – so Burton have two bright prospects for the future there.

Jack’s a star – at playing and tipping!

Cresselly also have their own star of the future in Jack Murphy, who at 14 not only bowled and fielded well but showed me that he is a far better forecaster than I am. A group of us were forecasting the score for Cresselly after Burton had totalled 94 for 9. I thought 140 would be a good score but Jack predicted 180 – and he was only three runs out – so well done Jack! My only consolation is that Matthew Lewis thought his team would do well to get 120!

Best fielder

Matthew Lewis certainly stakes a strong claim for this mention with his 100% in the field but although the Cresselly man was in top form I thought that Toby Hayman looked outstanding for Burton, despite being just 12 years of age, with his brilliant stops in the covers.

Best bowler

I would have to pick Cresselly left-armer Matthew Lewis there because he is so competitive as a ‘death bowler’ that he takes wickets and keeps runs at a premium. I thought Richard Arthur was also in contention alongside Jack Murphy but Matthew’s 2 for 21 and 4 for 37 really caught my eye.

Mike makes Neal man of the match

For many years the man of the match award has been donated by Mike and Pat Leighs, of Pembroke, and on this occasion Mike decided it should go to Neal Williams for his sparkling first-innings score of 93. Mike also rightly mentioned the performance of Scott Arthur, who scored 92 runs and was not out twice.

No wickets for Burton bowlers

There was one unusual statistics in the fact that no Burton bowler was able to claim a wicket throughout the game, since the only wicket to fall for Cresselly was a run out. But you certainly couldn’t fault the Burton bowlers for effort.

Tref’s on top form

Trefor Evans was again MC at the presentation of awards and the County Club chairman did his usual excellent job of thanking everyone for making it a good final – and it was just that!

Well done umpires – and scorers

Trefor rightly praised the other vital ‘teams’ involved in the final, the umpires and scorers. Out in the middle there was no doubt that David Loosmore and Richard Merriman looked the part in their crisp white shirts and new commemorative ties from the Pembrokeshire Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers. They did a great job, as did scorers Des Brace (Cresselly) and Mark Venables (Burton) in keeping the crowd and announcer informed of the scores.