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Ken Morris Cup Final:

Tom takes Carew to Ken Morris triumph

Carew Thirds (79 for 5 & 125 for 4)
beat Cresselly Thirds (93 for 8 & 49 all out)

Umpires: John Williams & Huw Davies

Scorers: Marcus Read/Ceri Brace & Des Brace

Venue: Narberth Cricket Club

Man of the Match: Tom Davies (Carew) Adjudicator - Paul Webb (Whitland)

Photographs by:- Ken Mathias

Carew Thirds retained the Ken Morris Trophy as they battled back from a 14-run tea-time deficit to comfortably beat neighbours Cresselly by 62 runs.

Leading the way for Carew was talented young all-rounder Tom Davies, who has fought back from injury to show he is well on the road to recovery as he bowled and batted quite well in the first half of the match but then took the game by the scruff of the neck afterwards as he top scored with 54 runs and then claimed 4 for 13 to put the skids under the Cresselly response.

He was the easy choice for adjudicator Paul Webb as man of the match and skipper Haydn Shapcott supported well with the bat before collecting the trophy in front of a big crowd at Narberth, who host the competition in memory of stalwart member Ken Morris. It was typically well-organised by Richard Howell, ably assisted by Chris Richards and Matthew Johns as ground staff, plus the tea ladies who produced a magnificent spread for everyone. But perhaps most important of all was the superb sportsmanship of both teams, with handshakes at the end of each innings and complete adherence to the umpires’ decisions.

Carew batted first and they had Davies (15) and Shapcott (41, including four fours and a six) as their main run-gatherers as 14 year old Harry Thomas and skipper Steve Davies (2 for 14) bowled very economical spells for Cresselly. Veteran bowlers Phil James and Richard Arthur also kept things tight so that Carew were never allowed to build any momentum and they had to settle for 79 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs.

Cresselly made a solid start via Harry Thomas and Steve Wilkins but they were never allowed to get on top in their stand of 50 from 12 overs as Tom and Steffan Davies bowled really well before Sean Whitfield and Greg Morris exerted a major influence. Matthew Whitfield used his gloves to good effect as he caught Wilkins (18) and Thomas (33) off Morris, and made it three catches off Morris when Luke Cole departed as one of four ducks in a row. Morris, playing in his father’s competition for the first time, ended with 4 for 23 and Sean Whitfield had 2 for 24 as Cresselly stood level at 79 for 8 with an over to go. But some lusty hitting by James Oakley (including two fours and a six in his 19 not out) helped them to a 13-run lead at tea.

Tom Davies and Shapcott again started well in the Carew second innings as they contributed 82 together in 14 overs before Davies departed with two sixes and two fours in his 54 alongside Shapcott’s 23 runs. Steffan Davies and Matthew Whitfield also made late contributions and Carew’s final tally 125 for 4 set Cresselly a challenging target to win.

Cresselly needed a good start if they were to chase 112 runs for victory but Tom Davies halted them in their stride as he shifted Harry Thomas, Nick Jones and Patrick Elliott in succession, quickly followed by Luke Cole after Steffan Davies had removed Steve Wilkins, Steve Davies and James Oakley at the other end to leave Cresselly in tatters at 30 for 6. Greg Morris pouched another two victims with his canny slow stuff and Cresselly were shot out for 49 in only 16.1 overs to give Carew Thirds a deserved victory.

Carew 3rds : First Innings Tom Davies st Nick Jones b Richard Arthur 15 Haydn Shapcott ct Harry Thomas b Phil James 41 Mark Hicks b Steve Davies 1 Lewis Hicks run out 9 Steffan Davies st Nick Jones b Steve Davies 0 Matthew Whitfield not out 5 Sean Whitfield not out 0 Extras 8 Total (5 wickets) 79 Cresselly 3rds Bowling: Ov. M. R. W. Harry Thomas 5 1 13 0 Richard Arthur 5 0 33 1 Steve Davies 5 0 14 2 Phil James 5 0 18 1   Cresselly 3rds : First Innings Steve Wilkins ct Matthew Whitfield b Greg Morris 18 Harry Thomas ct Matthew Whitfield b Greg Morris 33 Nick Jones b Greg Morris 0 Patrick Elliott b Sean Whitfield 0 Steve Davies b Sean Whitfield 0 Luke Cole ct Matthew Whitfield b Greg Morris 0 Richard Arthur ct Jeremy Griffiths b Steffan Davies 8 James Oakley not out 19 James Richards run out 1 Phil James not out 1 Extras 13 Total (8 wickets) 93 Carew 3rds Bowling: Ov. M. R. W. Tom Davies 5 1 19 0 Steffan Davies 5 1 24 1 Greg Morris 5 0 23 4 Sean Whitfield 5 0 24 2   Carew 3rds : Second Innings Tom Davies ct Patrick Elliott b Richard Arthur 54 Haydn Shapcott ct & b Steve Davies 23 Steffan Davies st Nick Jones b Richard Arthur 11 Matthew Whitfield not out 9 Sean Whitfield b Steve Davies 7 Mark Hicks not out 4 Extras 17 Total (4 wickets) 125 Cresselly 3rds Bowling: Ov. M. R. W. Harry Thomas 5 0 20 0 Phil James 5 0 24 0 Steve Davies 5 0 36 2 Richard Arthur 5 0 39 2   Cresselly 3rds : Second Innings Steve Wilkins ct Matthew Whitfield b Steffan Davies 5 Harry Thomas b Tom Davies 2 Nick Jones b Tom Davies 0 Patrick Elliott ct Jeremy Griffiths b Tom Davies 2 Steve Davies b Steffan Davies 1 James Oakley ct Sean Whitfield b Steffan Davies 2 Luke Cole b Tom Davies 2 Richard Arthur ct & b Greg Morris 5 James Richards lbw b Greg Morris 3 Ed James not out 5 Phil James ct Greg Morris b Johnny Harries 5 Extras 17 Total (all out) 49 Carew 3rds Bowling: Ov. M. R. W. Tom Davies 5 1 13 4 Steffan Davies 5 1 12 3 Greg Morris 2 0 6 2 Sean Whitfield 1 0 1 0 Luke Hicks 2 0 4 0 Johnny Harries 1.1 0 8 1