Harrison-Allen Bowl Final:

 
 

Neyland (241 for 2 and 23 for 1) beat Carew (108 all out and 154 for 8) by 9 wickets

 
Umpires: Trefor Evans and Arthur Brady
Scorers: John Laugharne & Julie Davies
Man of the Match: Patrick Bellerby (Neyland)
Adjudicators: Robbie Thomas & Peter Bradshaw (St Ishmaels)
 
Venue: Cresselly Cricket Club
 
Most pundits pre-match felt that Neyland would beat Carew in the 2021 Bowl Final but it would have been a brave tipster who had forecast such a huge margin of victory as Neyland showed their all-round power with bat, ball and in the field as Carew couldn’t get off to their hoped-for big score as they were asked to bat first and were always on the back foot of what turned out to be a one-sided final.




 

Carew collapse after steady start

 
With the sun shining and both the pitch and outfield looking immaculate, it was telling that Neyland skipper Sean Hannon still had the strength of conviction to field after winning the toss.
 
Hannon's side have become well accustomed to chasing totals but if anyone needed reminding of the potential runs on offer, it came in the first over as Nick Davies' square drive raced to the boundary rope.
 
And in the third over Davies began to open up, at first fortunate as he edged Banner to the fence before playing a sublime front foot drive back over the bowler's head for six.
 
His partner Lewis Hicks survived a caught and bowled chance off the same bowler but in the seventh over, after Davies had reached 24 (three fours and a six), Banner did strike via a juggled catch in the deep from Patrick Bellerby.
 
That left matters at 31 for 1 but from there Neyland turned the screw, with No 3 Brian Hall surviving a scare when Banner dropped him on the boundary off Nick Koomen - only to then nick to keeper Hannon as he tried to cut a ball from Ross Hardy.
 
Rhys Davies came and went without scoring after quick work by Ashley Sutton instigated a run out and Banner atoned for his earlier drop with a superb take in the deep as Koomen dismissed Luke Hicks.
 
And the fielding highlights kept coming as a diving Bellerby caught Carew captain Shaun Whitfield as Koomen struck again - before opener Hicks, who had been confined to playing an anchor role with wickets falling around him - was caught low down by Ross Hardy off Koomen having reached 48 (seven fours).
 
James Hinchliffe and Iori Hicks did briefly steady matters though and when the latter took Banner to the fence in the first ball of the 21st over, Carew were 107 for 6 and a score of 120 plus was within their grasp.
 
But it was then that keeper Hannon took centre stage. Standing up to one of the sharpest bowlers in the county in Banner, he proceeded to take three razor sharp stumpings in five balls, seeing off Hicks (9), Sam Harts and Ceri Brace before in the final over, Patrick Hannon bowled Hinchliffe to end the innings.
 
It meant a final total of 109 all out and in such prime batting conditions, it was a score that looked well below par.



 

FIRST INNINGS:

 
Carew Batting:
Nick Davies ct Patrick Bellerby b Nathan Banner 24
Lewis Hicks ct Ross Hardy b Nicholas Koomen 48
Brian Hall ct Sean Hannon b Ross Hardy 3
Rhys Davies run out Ashley Sutton 0
Luke Hicks ct Nathan Banner b Nicholas Koomen 6
Shaun Whitfield ct Patrick Bellerby b Nicholas Koomen 3
James Hinchliffe b Patrick Hannon 11
Iori Hicks st Sean Hannon b Nathan Banner 9
Sam Harts st Sean Hannon b Nathan Banner 0
Ceri Brace st Sean Hannon b Nathan Banner 0
Sion Jenkins not out 0
Extras: 5
Total: (for 10 wickets) 109
 
Neyland Bowling:
Nathan Banner 5-0-31-4; Ross Hardy 6-1-21-1; Nicholas Koomen 6-0-30-3; Patrick Hannon 4.3-0-24-1.




 

Neyland show their batting power as Bellerby cuts loose

 
Carew needed early wickets in reply but things looked ominous for Whitfield's side as early as the second over when four byes was followed by Bellerby twice driving the skipper to the boundary.
 
Koomen followed suit in the next over as he clipped Davies for four and their start set the tone as the pair raced to 85-0 in nine overs.
 
Koomen was on 38, having hit three fours and two sixes, when The Rooks finally struck as he was well caught by Luke Hicks to give Sam Harts a wicket.
 
It was Harts who then briefly threatened to turn the tide when he trapped Ashley Sutton (9) LBW but then Hardy joined Bellerby - with the latter going on to produce one of the great individual knocks in a Bowl final.
 
He survived one hairy moment when he was dropped in close, but aside from that Bellerby was at his brutal best as he plundered 134 not out, cracking 15 fours and nine sixes.
 
Hardy was also in destructive mood, making an unbeaten 49 with three fours and five sixes, and the pair helped seal a record team score in a Bowl final by taking 36 off the final two overs from Whitfield and Hinchcliffe.
 
A score of 241 for 2 gave Neyland a lead of 132 at tea and in reality, the final looked over.

Neyland Batting:
Nicholas Koomen ct Luke Hicks b Sam Harts 38
Patrick Bellerby not out 134
Ashley Sutton b Sam Harts 9
Ross Hardy not out 49
Extras: 11
Total: (for 2 wickets) 241
 
Carew Bowling:
Rhys Davies 5-1-43-0; Shaun Whitfield 6-0-65-0; Sion Jenkins 1-0-25-0; Sam Harts 4-0-39-2; James Hinchliffe 4-0-43-0; Iori Hicks 2-0-21-0.




 

SECOND INNINGS:

 

Carew dig in to make Neyland bat again . . .

 
Carew are nothing if not battlers and although they lost Nick Davies (13) to Ross Hardy with the score on 20 they then had a partnership of 61 between Lewis Hicks and Brian Hall but the arrival of Henry Durrant on the bowling front saw a collapse where they lost three wickets for 8 runs to the left armer who didn’t get a bowl in the first innings but determined to play a key role.

Scott Jones gave real help with two excellent catches to shift Hall (18) and skipper Whitfield whilst Luke Hicks was clean bowled soon afterwards.

Lewis Hicks again top scored with a battling 47 (eight fours) before he was caught by Nick Koomen off Durrant, who completed a five-wicket haul as James Hinchliffe was caught by Patrick Bellerby.

Rhys Davies showed his typical grit with three fours and two sixes en route to 33 but then Geraint Rees, another bowler eager to get involved for the first time in the match, had him caught by Patrick Hannon – and later bowled Iori Hicks (a four and six in his 15) to return figures of 2 for 17.

The Rooks were taken past the total needed to make Neyland bat again as Hicks and Sam Harts (two sixes in his 13 not out) took them to 154 for 8, to leave a total of 23 needed for victory.



 
Carew Batting:
Nick Davies b Ross Hardy 13
Lewis Hicks ct Nick Koomen b Henry Durrant 47
Brian Hall ct Scott Jones b Henry Durrant 18
Rhys Davies ct Patrick Hannon b Geraint Rees 33
Shaun Whitfield ct Scott Jones b Henry Durrant 3
Luke Hicks b Henry Durrant 2
James Hinchliffe ct Patrick Bellerby b Henry Durrant 5
Iori Hicks b Geraint Rees 15
Sam Harts not out 13
Ceri Brace not out 1
Extras 4
Total (8 wickets) 154
 
Neyland Bowling:
Nathan Banner 5-0-46-0; Ross Hardy 6-0-30-1; Henry Durrant 6-0-36-5; Patrick Hannon 3-0-26-0; Geraint Rees 2-0-17-2
 

. . . All over in 3.2 overs

 
With an inevitable air of anti-climax about the fourth innings it was nice to see Sam Harts still determined to be involved as he followed up with the only two wickets of Carew’s first innings by trapping Scott Jones lbw for a single and showing his delight.

But Ashley Sutton and Ross Hardy hit a boundary apiece to set the seal on a keynote victory for Neyland as they added the coveted Bowl to the league title they won so dramatically the previous week and sent their vociferous supporters home happy.
 
Neyland Batting:
Scott Jones lbw b Sam Harts 1
Ashley Sutton not out 9
Ross Hardy not out 6
Extras 7
Total (1 wicket) 23
 
Carew Bowling:
Sam Harts 2-0-11-1; James Hinchliffe 1.2-0-10-0




 

And finally . . .

 
The Harrison-Allen Bowl was presented to skipper Sean Hannon after the rest of his team had received their mementoes from Mr Hugh Harrison-Allen, whose family presented the magnificent trophy, assisted by Nick Evans, the president of the Pembroke County Cricket Club.
 
Carew also received their deserved plaques as reward for doing so well in reaching their first final since 2012 and although disappointed at defeat were warmly applauded for their efforts in adversity.
 
The man of the match was chosen by Robbie Thomas and Peter Bradshaw of St Ishmaels and as Mr Thomas so adroitly put it, there were several players he could mention for making significant contributions but in the final analysis there could be only one winner – and that was Patrick Bellerby, who received the trophy from Joyce Thomas and Glyn Cole, who present the award annually on behalf of their family in memory of their late father John Cole.



 

Action pictures kindly supplied by Susan McKehon