One of the highlights of my sporting year has always been the Harrison-Allen Bowl Final and the long wait for the 2025 champions has now  been and gone – and it gives me the chance to mention some of the highlights on and off the field – which I am proud to have done for three decades, with local papers initially and now, for the 18^th season, on our PembrokeshireSport.co.uk.



Well done Narberth – a fully deserved win

We must start with congratulations to Narberth for their thoroughly deserved win that brought to a halt Neyland’s amazing run of successes in Pembrokeshire finals, the first time Narberth can celebrate having the Bowl since 1959, so it has been a long wait. They batted, bowled and fielded better than Neyland after being asked to bat first – and skipper Lewis Hough was outstanding with the way he handled his bowlers and setting their fields to restrict too many boundaries.










Great venue in outstanding condition

As usual, congratulations go to Cresselly on producing a cracking wicket which produced 557 runs and to Richard Arthur, Phil James, George Richards and Glyn Cole we say well done – although we did miss Denis Chiffi, who has been sidelined in hospital. Denis was missed, with his welcoming manner and sharp wit – and I must tell him that I had taken my extra pen with me because it has become a bit of a tradition that ‘The Italian Stallion’ always pinches one off me!



County stalwarts deserve a mention

County club stalwarts who deserve a mention are Richard Merriman, who sat out on such a hot day doing his usual efficient job as announcer, and Peter Bettely, who assisted scorers Gwynneth and Kacey by keeping the scores up to date on ‘Play Cricket’ for those unable to attend.


I know two Narberth stalwarts in Richard Howell and Huw Simpkins, who had booked a weekend away with their much better halves, almost wore their batteries out. Peter is now 78 and still playing for the Wales Over 70s teams – and at the Bowl Final made sure he had a huge awning to keep him in the shade.


Also working away in the background were Steve Blowes, the Pembroke CCC secretary, and Martin Jones, recently installed as chairman for three years, who spoke well at the presentations – plus the others who manned the gates and did other jobs required in the background.











The ‘ MCG’ ground is now open, in memory of Maurice!

Cresselly Cricket Club now have a new second’s ground – right next door! It is typical of Cresselly’s go-ahead thinking that they have acquired the field just below the changing rooms and matches have already been played there. The club has decided to call it The Maurice Cole Ground, which is the perfect tribute to one of the great characters of the game there and across the county.



Dai Morris also remembered with a lovely bench

There are also two superb new wooden memorial seats sited along the hedge on the lower side of the main ground, one dedicated to Maurice and the other to David ‘Dai’ Morris, who also played for many years there, became an umpire and life member of the Pembroke County Cricket Club in recognition of his efforts.

Fraser Watson and I agreed that it is a wonderful way to remember important people in any club, and they have been beautifully placed by another great club servant in Phil James.












Loui’s class shone through with bat and ball

The man of the match was an easy one for umpires Trefor Evans and John Willington because Loui Davies was the clear winner. His masterful first innings of 72 included ten fours and a six and if he hadn’t been run out from a very risky single he could even have gone on to three figures He also bowled well to shade out other performances by Llew Jones, Ben Quartermaine and Matthew Johns.




 





Ben  battles through an injury . . .

Ben Quartermaine pulled a hamstring whilst bowling in the Neyland first innings but he limped out to bat in Narberth’s second spell at the crease – and managed to land three sixes on the clubhouse roof at a vital time where his side needed them to increase the tempo. He has been with the club for a long time and this gutsy display showed how the team were on the day.

 

. . . And Matthew shows age is no barrier

At 53 years of age, Matthew Johns played a huge role in his team’s success because he was always there to offer Lewis H some advice, and his canny slow bowling was a feature of their battle plan. In the first innings he had only conceded seven runs from almost two overs when he tried to stop a ball driven straight back at him and sustained a nasty cut to his hand. But he  was determined to bowl  in the second innings and claimed a massively important 3 for 22 spell in his six overs, which effectively ended Neyland’s last-ditch attempts. ‘Johnno’ has recently taken up refereeing rugby matches and is also showing his ability there, having already officiated at local finals.







Mum Gwynneth also featured in scoring – and post-match speaking

Gwynneth Jjohns and her husband Mike have long been great servants of Narberth CC and after over 50 years of scoring, mainly for the seconds, she was finally sharing the duties with Kacey Arran of Neyland. When she received her medal at the post-match presentation she also asked for permission to speak and she received a huge cheer when she raised her medallion aloft and said it was for her friend Emma, who was the long-time first-team scorer but had passed away after a long illness. Nice touch, Mrs J.













Three old-timers enjoyed the victory

Hubbie Mike and Gary Hughes, whose son Ben was a key wicket-taker, also took a walk down memory lane as they were joined by Rupert Baker, who played for the club for five seasons in the 1980s before work again moved him on. Rupert had driven down from his home in the South of England to cheer his former team on and I also spoke for a while to him about his fast bowling from a great height (he is 6’8” tall). All three were obviously delighted at Narberth’s success and it was great to see the big fellow still looking good and playing golf!

 

 

Three cricketing characters pass away

There was a minute’s silence for David Gibbs and Colin Holness before the match – and within a day came news of the sad loss of Brian Cook, who did so much for Whitland Cricket Club. PembrokeshireSport.co.uk sends our deepest sympathy to the families of three real gentlemen of sport.

 

Memorable day for Trefor

It was also a memorable day for umpire Trefor Evans, who is the current president of the Pembroke CCC and was equalling the late Cyril Venables’ record of six finals, after 30 years standing in the middle when he retired from playing at Whitland. He was joined by Jonathan Willington, officiating in his first final but forming an excellent team which ensured there were few histrionics from players, other than one silly comment from a player which was swiftly dealt with!

Sadly though, there was one unpleasant incident which I hate commenting on but has to be recorded.



Moronic comments have no right to spoil a great day out


Good natured banter has always been part of the final, as it is in test matches, but the bad language coming from a few louts on the club veranda is gradually creeping more into a special day for both clubs, their families and supporters, especially young children playing nearby, as it is starting to be considered a ‘Good day for a ‘P**s up’ as one non-playing supporter, not from either of the teams taking part in such an epic battle, slurred to me.

That is bad enough but what made it even worse for me was the way that it degenerated into shouting abuse at one player about a family member who has additional learning needs but fortunately wasn’t there on the day to hear a word used that showed how moronic the person(s) who shouted it must be.

I spoke afterwards to the player involved and he did well not to get involved, but his understandable shock and distress left a mark on me that I felt I had to write about – but to everyone else involved in our Blue Riband match – thanks for another great final!

It again throws up the debate about whether drink should be allowed all day, if at all, or should there be security guards paid to remove such louts from the ground.

Either way, something has to be done – and I hope the young man/men involved understand the shame they have brought on to their families, clubs and themselves!