Congrats to Neyland & Pembroke – County Reps in Welsh Finals!

 

Venue: Neyland Community Hub
 
Umpires: Neil Crawshaw & Huw Simpkins
Scorers: Johnny Lewis, Ginny Davies, Bobbie Neale, Sarah & Kacey Arran
 
 
 

Division One Play-Off:

 

Pembroke hold on to beat Hook

 

Hook (109 for 2) lost to Pembroke (110 for 2) by 4 wickets

 
 
Pembroke secured the second Pembrokeshire place in the Welsh Cup Finals, due to be played at Neyland this Sunday, as they beat Hook in an absorbing clash where the use of new pink balls caused problems for both team’s bowlers because of their ‘swing factor’ and 38 wides were the result as Pembroke conceded a massive 27 and Hook a much better 11 of them.
 
It might have made a difference to the final verdict but Pembroke showed why they came second in the season and Hook were third as their batting showed more consistency, especially in the last four overs, where the result was decided because Pembroke maintained their tempo but Hook lost theirs after looking likely to set a bigger target but lost their way a little.
 
Hook’s regular openers George James and Harry Makepeace ran well between the wickets and sped to their retirement targets as they had 64 without loss after six overs, with Krunal Patel (the top wicket-taker in the league, Jay Sutherland and Callum Davies struggled to control the ball – but hit back when Hook lost Charlie Holder and Owen Phelps (20) to run outs so that although their final tally set a reasonable tally it meant they could have expected at least 125 with so few wickets lost and so many wides gifted to them.
 
Pembroke also made a speedy start via regular openers Gareth Long and Luke ‘Mr Reliable’ Butler as they retired in good time and they had reached 60 without loss at the half way stage – but then lost Patel and Callum Davies in double-quick time to that father and son duo of Matthew and Charlie Holder, with dad pouching a hard-hit ball by Davies to give his son a deserved wicket.
 
But Pembroke had an unbeaten knock by Ceri Brace and then Butler returned alongside 15 year old Jay Sutherland to take Pembroke Home with an over to spare as they only missed out on 15 ‘dot balls’ whilst Hook failed to score off 32 deliveries to throw away their ‘wides’ advantage.
 
So, Pembroke reach the Welsh Finals for the second season on the trot and they could cause a few ripples there – if only their bowling attack can bowl straight and heap pressure on the opposition, rather than upon themselves!
 
Hook Batting: George James 27*, Harry Makepeace 27*, Owen Phelps 24, Extras 27
Pembroke Bowling: Callum Davies 0-16, Krunal Patel 0-20
Pembroke Batting: Luke Butler 33*, Gareth Long 25*, Ceri Brace 27*, Extras 11
Hook Bowling: Matthew Holder 1-19, Charlie Holder 1-23, Harry Makepeace 0-16





 





 






 

League Champions versus County Select Team:

 

Neyland maintain their winning streak

 

Neyland (124 for 3) beat Pembroke County Select (92 for 5) by 32 runs

 

Neyland maintained their vice-like grip on the county’s indoor cricket title in previous weeks but again showed their overall superiority with a comfortable win over a gritty County Select team as Sean Hannon elected to bat first, built a big total and then applied such pressure in the field that the Select players, all of whom are good players, but perhaps most of them still learning their indoor trade, were always behind the run rate and their three top batsmen were all run out.
 
Patrick Bellerby and Dai Davies showed the way to bat indoors as both reached their retirement scores with the minimum of fuss but then Patrick Hannon, the batting hero in their last game, was bowled neck and crop by Nick Daley for a duck!
 
Neyland soon settled back into their rhythm, though, as twin brother Sean Hannon joined Andrew Miller in scoring at a strong rate until Miller was run out – and although Jack John came and went Bellerby returned and the end product was a good score, assisted by 28 from ‘Mr Extras’!
 
Morgan Britton was the first Select batsmen to be run out before Harry Makepeace and Butler settled things down, but unable to keep the run-rate to the requited level and the pressure told as both were run out, soon followed by skipper Robbie Hood and Daley – but last man Krunal Patel produced an interesting cameo with some different stroke-play and he made sure that his team’s total was given an air of respectability.
 
It nicely rounded off an entreating evening of cricket and all four teams involved deserve every credit for being there – and making sure that the game was played in the right spirit at all times!
 
Neyland Batting: Patrick Bellerby 30*, Dai Davies 25*, Andrew Miller 20, Sean Hannon 15*, Extras 28
County Select Bowling: Nick Daley 1-15
County Select Batting: Harry Makepeace 22, Luke Butler 20,  Krunal Patel 26*, Extras 16
Neyland Bowling: Patrick Bellerby 1-7, Andrew Miller 1-15, Dai Davies 0-14