Welsh Cup Quarter Final:

 

Penarth (133 for 9) lost to Neyland (142 all out) by nine runs

 
Umpires: Simon Green and Lyn Hall
Scorers: Ian Milsom (Neyland) and Morgan Barrett (Penarth)
 
Neyland produced an outstanding performance at Penarth to move into the semi-finals of this season's Welsh Cup, beating the home side which has recently gained promotion into the top echelon of the Premier League set-up for next season.
 
Neyland's performance was all the more creditable because they were without key players of the calibre of Paul Murray, Nathan Banner, Patrick Bellerby and Patrick Hannon so perhaps it wasn't surprising that they only used up 28 of their 30 overs, a 60-over match agreed beforehand because of the damp state of the Penarth pitch.
 

Miller brothers hold innings together

 
It was also a good toss for Penarth to win because it was inevitably an advantage to bat second as the wicket dried out - and Neyland's final total owed much to the batting skills of the Miller brothers after Nick Koomen was bowled early on by Nathan Piddock for only two runs.
 
Gregg and Andrew came together with just six runs on the board and they showed the necessary patience to build a score through waiting for the bad ball to score boundaries and run well between the wickets when the opportunity arose.
 
It was a policy that worked as they took the score to 65 before they were separated by spin bowler Richard Skone, whose father John was Pembroke born and bred, with Gregg striking four boundaries in his 35 and Andrew reaching 42 (three fours) before he was caught by Ryan Silvester off Skone, who ended up with a 5 for 30 haul as no other Neyland batsman managed double figures.
 

Showers disrupt both innings

 
Neyland's batting was interrupted once by a shower and Skone's son Will bowled six tight overs for only 25 runs as Morgan Humphreys grabbed 2 for 33 and there was a wicket apiece for Piddock, Silvester and Alex Langrish, with Neyland's final total boosted by  24 runs from 'Mr Extras'.
 
Neyland fielded well as their focus was twice broken by heavy showers and praise must go to George Evans for keeping wicket while skipper Sean Hannon bowled his six overs before returning to his glove work with a splendid 3 for 19 analysis.
 

Hannon leads by example

 
Evans took the first catch of the innings as Jack Thomas was shifted by Hannon, who also claimed the scalps of Nick Morgan and Jonathan Davies with the aid of two catches by Andrew Miller.
 
Henry Durrant had a bit of stick but claimed the key wicket of Penarth pro Ryan Silvester for only eight runs, again to an Andrew Miller catch.
 
Andrew Miller also caused his own brand of cricketing havoc as he finished his six overs with 2 for 17 and Nick Koomen removed danger man Richard Skone for 40 as Gregg Miller pouched the vital catch.
 
Geraint Rees also bowled very well for his 2 for 27 spell and the final over arrived with Will Skone (15 not out) and Piddock (9 not out) requiring 15 runs off Koomen's final delivery but managing only six runs so that Neyland moved into the last four of this prestigious competition.
 
Their reward is a home tie at the Athletic Ground on Sunday against Ynysygerwyn, who make the drop into division two as Penarth replace them for 2019. The match starts at 1.30 and it is to be hoped that the cricketing fraternity will turn out to support them in their quest for final place.
 
Neyland Batting:
Nick Koomen b Nathan Piddock 2
Gregg Miller b Richard Skone 35
Andrew Miller ct Ryan Silvester b Richard Skone 42
Ashley Sutton ct Jack Thomas b Richard Skone 3
Henry Durrant ct Jack Thomas b Richard Skone 9
Scott Jones ct & b Richard Skone 9
Steve Murray ct Nick Morgan b Morgan Humphreys 1
Sean Hannon b Ryan Silvester 6
George Evans run out 7
Callum Power st Jack Thomas b Alex Langrish 4
Geraint Rees not out 0
Extras 24
Total (all out) 142
 
Penarth Bowling:
Ryan Silvester 5-2-12-1; Nathan Piddock 4-0-21-1; Morgan Humphreys 6-0-33-2; Will Skone 6-0-25-0; Richard Skone 6-0-30-5; Alex Langrish 1-0-7-1
 
Penarth Batting:
Jack Thomas ct George Evans b Sean Hannon 2
Ryan Silvester ct Andrew Miller b Henry Durrant 8
Richard Skone ct Gregg Miller b Nick Koomen 40
Nick Morgan ct Andrew Miller b Sean Hannon 13
Jonathan Davies ct Nick Koomen b Sean Hannon 6
Tom Sidford ct Sean Hannon b Geraint Rees 2
Alex Longrich ct & b Andrew Miller 15
Jamie Whitcombe ct Ashley Sutton b Andrew Miller 8
Morgan Humphreys b Geraint Rees 1
Will Skone not out 15
Nathan Piddock not out 9
Extras 14
Total (9 wickets) 133
 
Neyland Bowling:
Henry Durrant 6-0-37-1; Sean Hannon 6-2-19-3; Andrew Miller 6-0-17-2; Geraint Rees 6-0-27-2; Nick Koomen 6-0-28-1