Two more wins for Cresselly and Neyland crush Tish

 
Umpires: Richard Jenkins, Rod Murphy & Danny Potter
 
Scorers:  Rachel Sander, Wendy Bradshaw, Cerys Jenkins & Danny Potter
 
Venue: Neyland Community Hub
 
The Pembrokeshire Ladies’ Indoor Cricket Programme continues apace and on Sunday there were two good wins for the powerful Cresselly team and Neyland were too strong for Tish Ladies, who are still learning a new game for them but are gaining in experience whilst also enjoying being part of the competition.
 
There was also a nice touch as both Cresselly and Neyland had good reasons for being a player short and Tish sportingly agreed that sisters Lena and Demi Jones could step in, both normally playing for Pembroke Dock, who have shown total support for the league, both in players and officials to help out Sam Rossiter as an outstanding organiser. WELL DONE THE DOCK!
 
 

Match One:  Neyland too strong for Tish learners

 

Neyland (123 for 1) beat St Ishmaels (19 all out)

 
Neyland Ladies showed what a strong team they have for 2022 as they scored a huge 123 for 1 against their counterparts from St Ishmaels, who found the accurate bowling and good fielding too much for them as they were shot out for only 19 runs – but they will learn from the experience and carry on with their enjoyment of match play as they have done so far.
 
Openers Opal Rainer and Caitlin Arran made an excellent start for Neyland as they punished any loose deliveries and ran well between the wickets before retiring with respective scores of 28 and 26 and Maddie Potter (13 before she was bowled by Carly Hallett) made a contribution before late runs from Lena Jones (25 not out) and Jade Louise Major (11 not out), alongside 20 extras, saw them move from 54 for 0 at the half way stage to their impressive finally tally.
 
Opening bat Rachel Maguire top scored for Tish with 9 alongside Extras (9) but Maddie Potter bowled really well to pick up a miserly 2 for from her two overs and she was supported by Jade Louise Major (1 for 1), Opal Rainer 1 for 7), Lana Jones (1 for 4) and Caitlin Arran (1 for 0) as the innings ended after 6.1 overs.
 

 

Match Two: Cresselly cruise as Tish show big improvement

 

Cresselly (135 for 3) beat St Ishmaels (62 for 3)

 
Cresselly cruised to a big total as proof of their strength in depth but opponents St Ishmaels showed a marked improvement with the bat as they used all their ten overs to compile a decent score.
 
Leading the Cresselly batting was Zoe Minnette, who stroked 12 threes and two boundaries in her superb 45 not out, returning after she had retired on 25 but returned when they lost wickets.
 
Phoenix Phillips, who hails from a well-known cricketing family, supported with an unbeaten 33 (8 threes and 2 fours), an amazingly mature innings from an 11 year old member of the regional squad, whilst Eleri Williams also batted really well for her 25 not out as Rachel Wilson (1 for 8) and Carly Hallett (1 for 28) were the pick of the Tish bowlers.
 
Hallett completed a cracking all-round performance as she also top-scored with 25 not out and there were 18 extras as Katy Smith and Sabrina Barrett also made minor contributions but tight bowling by Lucy Johnston (0 for 11), Phoenix Phillips (1 for 14), Jess Lewis (0 for 10) Eleri Williams (1 for 8) and Zoe Minnette (1 for 4) saw Cresselly to a comfortable win.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
 
 

Match Three: Cresselly easily win the morning’s decider

 

Neyland (81 for 5) lost to Cresselly (84 for 0)

 
With both teams having won their opening matches of the morning it was all to play for as Neyland and Cresselly sized each other up in what was thought likely to be a real tussle.
 
But in the final analysis Cresselly won with a little in hand after restricting their opponents to 81 for 5 and then reaching their target without losing a wicket and with two overs in hand.
 
Caitlin Arran top scored for Neyland with 37 before she was bowled by Eleri Williams and sister Sarah supported with 13 before she gave a return catch to Jess West but from then on no-one managed double figures, other than 13 in the ‘extras’ column as Lucy Johnson, Zoe Minnette and Demi Jones also bowled well.
 
In sharp contrast, Phoenix Phillips (26) and Jess Walters (25) both batted really well in tandem for Cresselly before retiring on 26 and 25 respectively as they sped to 51 for 0 in only five overs.
 
Lucy Johnson and Zoe Minnette supplied the coup de grace alongside 15 extras so that although Opal Rainer (only one run in her one over) and Lena Jones (0 for 6) bowled well for Neyland it was Cresselly who won with something in hand despite a couple of key players being unavailable.