D R Morris Cup Final:

 
 
 

Herbrandston (141 for 6 & 102 all out) lost to Cresselly (171 for 6 & 76 for 3) by 7 wickets

 
Umpires: Gareth Brace & Neill Crawshaw
Scorers: Clarissa Lewis & Phoenix Phillips
 
Venue: Oatfield Park, Burton (Well done to Dan Llewellin, Luke Hayman. Dan Griffiths and Martin James for all their immense work!)
 
Man of the Match: Griff Jenkins (Cresselly)
Man of the Match presenter: John Hayman
Man of the Match adjudicator: Richard Merriman


 

FIRST INNINGS:

 

Fortunes ebb and flow as Herbie battle to a tidy score 

 
Herbie skipper Robbie Hood won the toss and it certainly looked as if his proactive decision to bat first might pay off as young openers Charlie Malloy and Harry Nicholas put on 36 by the sixth over with their excellent running between the wicket, writes Bill Carne.
 
Malloy looked full of runs as his 24 was made in only 17 balls but then he fell to a sharp piece of stumping by Neilson Cole, standing up to skipper Tom Arthur, after stroking three fours and a six.
Nicholas was also bowled by Arthur ten runs later, with 16 runs to his name and the run rate inevitably slowed as Herbie looked to consolidate.
 
There was another blow as key batsman Nathan Benner fell victim to keeper Cole as Ollie Arthur was the bowler, with the Cresselly youngster also shifting the big-hitting Kristan Bennett for a dock.
 
Dean John also looked dangerous but was well caught by Lewis Mason off Tom Murphy, who like Griff Jenkins looked sharp earlier, and at 66 for 5 it was Cresselly who were on top.
 
But Herbie rallied well via Jack Nicolas and Morgan Britton, another young player who hits the ball hard, and they shared a stand of 51 in quick time before Nicholas was given out lbw to Mike Shaw for a splendid 40 in only 31 deliveries, including five fours and a six.
 
Britton was even more punishing as he rasped four fours and a six in his outstanding 35 not out from only 19 balls – and Herbie had battled their way back into contention.
 

Cresselly storm to a smashing start

 
Cresselly openers Tom Murphy and Griff Jenkins were soon in the thick of things with their big-hitting exploits, initially by Murphy as he blitzed 48 in only 26 deliveries, with six fours and three sixes, one a glorious maximum over extra cover that for this onlooker was the stroke of the day – but when a half century seemed a formality Murphy went for one big hit to many and was caught by Dean John off a Nathan Banner full toss.
 
Banner also bowled Lewis Mason but Kyle Quartermaine was happy to play second fiddle to Jenkins, whose stroke play was far beyond his 16 years and included two lovely straight sixes alongside six fours before he was finally caught on the fence by Bennett off Harry Nicholas for 66 off only 48 balls.
 
Cresselly had raced to 90 at the half-way staged and had reached 130 when Jenkins departed. It was an innings as mature as any of his age I have seen in this county and there were five overs still left when they passed the Herbie total.
 
But it was to Herbie’s credit that they managed to limit Cresselly to an interval lead of 30, as they removed Quartermaine, caught by Banner off Malloy, and despite late runs from Alex Bayley, who was still there at the finish. Two extraordinary pieces of acrobatic fielding also deserve a mention as Banner and Malloy saved sixes by flinging themselves about!
 

SECOND INNINGS:

 

Dreadful start destroys Herbie’s hopes:

 
Herbie’s start to their second innings could not have been much worse because they lost their first four wickets. All key batsmen, before they had wiped out their first-innings deficit.
 
Griff Jenkins and Mike Shaw provided the perfect combo of pace and spin to share four wickets as Charlie Malloy, Dean John, Harry Nicholas and Morgan Britton failed to stay long.
 
Nathan banner and Jack Nicholas tried hard to redress the balance but when he showed his typical grit to reach 21, he fell to the canny slow stuff of Christian Phillips, who then removed skipper Hood from his next delivery to take the score to 64 for 6.
 
The experienced Phillips hadn’t finished there, however, because after top scorer Kristan Benn had slammed two fours and two sixes in his 31 from 21 balls, Phillips ten removed Rhys Power for a first-baller to finish with fine figures of 4 for 17.
 
Dai Malloy was last to go, trapped lbw by Tom Murphy, leaving Jack Nicholas stranded on 28 not out and his side shot out in 14.5 overs and with a lead of 73.
 

Cresselly lose three early wickets but stage a recovery

 
Yet Herbie refused to lie down and suddenly there was the faintest glimmer of hope as Harry Nicholas dismissed Griff Jenkins and Lewis Mason whilst Banner had Murphy adjudged lbw – and  Cresselly were shaky on  23 for 3, still needing 50 runs for victory.
 
But Quartermaine and Alex Bayley saw them home as the former finished undefeated on 17 in as many balls and Bayley was at his swashbuckling best with four boundaries in his 35 not out
from 19 balls.
 
County club chairman Martin Jones did a good job in the post-match ceremonies and it was appropriate that Tom Arthur should receive the magnificent DR Morris Cup from Graham Morris as a captain who has done a very good job for Cresselly, with exemplary field settings and useful contributions with the ball.
 
Man of the Match adjudicator Richard Merriman had no hesitation in naming Griff Jenkins as man of the match, with the glass trophy presented by sponsor John Hayman.
 
Graham and his wife Jane supplied their usual excellent tea for players and officials whilst Burton players Dan Llewellyn, Luke Hayman, Martin James and Dan Griffiths deserved high praise for their early-morning work in providing a beautifully-prepared ground and terrific pitch that was a vital part of an absorbing clash that was a credit to both teams and their supporters, the match officials, scorers and the Pembroke County Cricket Club!
 

SCORECARDS:

 
First Innings:
 
Herbrandston Batting:
Harry Nicholas b Tom Arthur 16
Charlie Malloy st Neilson Cole b Tom Arthur 24
Dean John ct Lewis Mason Tom Murphy 12
Nathan Banner ct Neilson Cole b Ollie Arthur 4
Jack Nicholas lbw Mike Shaw 40
Kristan Bennett b Ollie Arthur 0
Morgan Britton not out 35
Rhys Power not out 2
Extras 8
Total (6 wickets) 141
 
Cresselly Bowling
Mike Shaw 4-0-35-1; Griff Jenkins 4-0-24-0; Tom Arthur 4-0-27-2; Ollie Arthur 4-0-27
 
Cresselly Batting:
Tom Murphy ct Dean John  b Nathan Banner 48
Griff Jenkins c Kristan Bennett b Harry Nicholas 66
Lewis Mason ct & b Nathan Banner 4
Kyle Quartermaine ct Nathan Banner b Charlie Malloy 17
Alex Bayley not out 23
Ollie Arthur ct Charlie Malloy b Morgan Britton 3
Dan James run out 3
Extras 8
Total (6 wickets) 171
 
Herbrandston Bowling:
Charlie Malloy 4-0-39-1; Dean John 3-0-34-0; Robbie Hood 3-0-24-0; Nathan Banner 4-0-25-2; Harry Nicholas 4-0-29-1; Morgan Britton 2-0-14-1
 

SECOND INNINGS:

 
Herbrandston Batting:
Charlie Malloy lbw b Mike Shaw 5
Dean John b Griff Jenkins 1
Harry Nicholas ct Dan James b Griff Jenkins 6
Nathan Banner ct Kyle Quartermaine b Christian Phillips 21
Morgan Britton ct Kyle Quartermain b Mike Shaw 0
Jack Nicholas not out 28
Robbie Hood lbw b Christian Phillips 0
Kristan Bennett lbw b Christian Phillips 31
Rhys Power lbw b Christian Phillips 0
Atticus Kingston b Tom Murphy 3
Dai Malloy lbw b Tom Murphy 4
Extras 5
Total (all out) 102
 
Cresselly Bowling:
Mike Shaw 4-0-32-2; Griff Jenkins 4-0-12-2; Christian Phillips 4-0-17-0; Tom Arthur 4-0-34-0; Tom Murphy 4-0-7-2
 
Cresselly Batting:
Tom Murphy lbw b Nathan Banner 8
Griff Jenkins b Harry Nicolas 5
Lewis Mason ct Morgan Britton b Nathan banner 5
Kyle Quartermaine not out 18
Alex Bayley not out 35
Extras 5
Total (3 wickets) 76
 
Herbrandston Bowling:
Harry Nicholas 4-0-19-2; Nathan Banner 4-0-26-1. Kristan Bennett 2-0-13-0; Charlie Malloy 1.2-0-18-0.