Sutton and Bellerby steer Neyland home
PHOTOS:
Neyland celebrate dramatically winning the DR Morris Cup final against Haverfordwest
A delighted Sean Hannon
Man of the match Ashley Sutton with John Hayman
Sean Hannon and Graham Morris
Runners up Haverfordwest
DR Morris Cup Final:
Neyland (115-5 and 181-8) beat Haverfordwest (164-4 and 131-8) by 2 wickets
Umpires: Huw Davies and Dennis Chiffi
Scorers: Jayne Cole and John Laugharne
Venue: Oatfield Park, Burton
Announcer: Paul Webb
Man of the Match Adjudicators: John Hayman & Brian Griffiths
Neyland called upon all their reserves of grit and skill to retain the DR Morris Cup as Ashley Sutton took them from rank outsiders against Haverfordwest with ten overs left before departing just short of what would have been a deserved century – and then Patrick Bellerby struck a six from the very last ball of the match.
It was fairytale stuff and the delight from Neyland’s players and supporters as Bellerby’s superb strike flew over the rope at long-on was in sharp contrast to the despaired look from a Haverfordwest team that had led by a massive 49 runs on the first innings.
Amazing finale
Chasing an unlikely 181 to win, the defending champions got themselves to 175-7 with just two balls of Josh Wilment’s final over remaining, thanks in the main to a superb innings of 97 from Ashley Sutton that will be talked of for some time to come as he lashed seven fours and eight sixes.
Scott Jones was caught by Dai Davies off the penultimate delivery, but Bellerby managed to get to the striker’s end to face the final delivery with only a six enabling a Neyland win – and just when it seemed The Town had secured victory, Bellerby did just that!
Town start well
It was indeed a remarkable comeback after Neyland skipper Sean Hannon had won the toss and asked The Town to bat, and openers Adam James and Dai Davies wasted little time in showing their intent.
James (15) struck a four and a six before he was unluckily run out in the third over. Davies drove a ball back at bowler Gary Lloyd, and with James out of his crease at the non striker’s end, it deflected off the spinner and onto the stumps.
Jonathan Strawbridge (11) was also run out in more traditional fashion as he simply failed to complete a risky second run in time to leave The Town 47-2 in the sixth over – but then Ben Field joined Davies at the crease and this pair kept things ticking over at an impressive rate. They shared a stand of 61 before Field gave a soft return catch to Andrew Miller (1-22), having hit four boundaries in his classy knock of 32.
Good finish by Holliday and Potter
Davies went on to strike five fours and a six in his top score of 54 before being run out by a great piece of fielding from Scott Jones for 54.
That left Haverfordwest on 125-4 but Simon Holliday, who was scheduled to open the batting for The Town but arrived late due to work commitments, hit two sixes and two fours to make 32 not out – 14 of which came from the 19
th over off Henry Durrant.
He was supported by skipper Danny Potter (18 not out) as The Town posted a useful 164-4 from their 20 overs.
Slow start by Neyland . . .
Potter’s men assumed control early in Neyland’s reply, as opener Nick Koomen (6) was caught behind by Huw Scriven off Ajay Rev, whose slow left-arm stuff gave him excellent figures of 1-11.
Scott John was then joined at the cr
eas
e by the in-form Sutton, and the pair scored steadily before Sutton (33) was brilliantly caught on the boundary by Davies off the bowling of Wilment, managing to stay six inches inside the boundary rope whilst at full stretch above his head.
. . . and not enough runs from 20 overs
John, who had contributed a patient 30, soon followed, caught by Nigel Delaney off the bowling of Holliday before the all rounder had Nathan Banner stumped by Scriven before he had found his powerful form, to earn creditable figures of 2 for 27.
Wilment had even better figures of 2-13 as he clean bowled Andrew Miller (12) to leave Neyland struggling on 100-5, and Durrant and John Tennick were only able to add 15 in the final three overs – as Wilment was joined by James in keeping things tight at the death, helping The Town secure a first innings lead of 49, and putting them in a seemingly winning position.
Neyland show renewed vigour
But Sean Hannon’s men came out with renewed determination after the break, and Lloyd bowled James for 9 after the dangerous opener had hit two early boundaries.
No 3 Strawbridge (2) was run out for the second time in the match, before Koomen (2-10) dismissed opener Holliday (16) and Ben Field (0) in successive balls to leave The Town a little edgy on 40 for 4.
But Davies again formed the backbone of his side’s innings, hitting seven fours in his 39 before being stumped by Hannon off Durrant (1-32).
Delaney (3) and Scriven (6) both fell to Miller, who finished with figures of 2 for 20, and Banner dismissed Revu to leave Potter’s men on 115-8 – but it was the skipper himself who ensured they batted out their overs as he made 23 not out from 32 balls, and No 10 Wilment (12 not out) chipped in with two late boundaries to help take the score to 131-8.
Not a great start to such a huge target
That left Neyland needing 181 for victory, and they reacted by switching their order as Miller was promoted to open alongside Koomen but the tactic appeared to backfire when James bowled Miller (2), and Revu had Koomen (9) caught by Strawbridge as they slumped to 11-2 in the third over.
Then in the fifth over, came a crucial moment.
Banner and Sutton set off for a risky single, with The Town clearly thinking they had the latter out following a sharp bit of work from Davies – but Sutton survived the appeal.
However, Haverfordwest were still in charge of proceedings at that time as Revu completed another miserly spell with figures of 2 for 21 as he bowled Banner (9), before Clive Tucker dismissed Durrant (12) in the same fashion.
Sutton stars and Bellerby backs up well
Bellerby then entered the fray and although he and Sutton steadied matters, at the ten-over mark Hannon’s men were 66-4, needing an improbable 115 of 60 balls for victory - but it was then that Sutton turned the tide with a devastating counter attack.
With meticulous timing, he peppered the ball to all parts of the Oatfield Park ground – although he was twice given a lifeline when he was dropped on the boundary edge by Delaney and Strawbridge respectively.
And the misses proved costly as he and Bellerby took Neyland to 144-4 in 16 overs - and all of a sudden, a contest that had appeared a one-sided formality hung in the balance.
It was James who took the ball for the 17
th over, and after Sutton dispatched the first two balls for six, he eventually fell for 97 as he holed out to Revu, having played magnificently.
Amazing finish
In the same over, James (3-30) trapped Hannon lbw for a duck, and when John (9) was ran out in the 19
th over, Bellerby and No 9 Jones were left needing 14 off the last 11 balls for victory.
That equation became six off two balls, before Jones sliced a Wilment (1-54) delivery into the off side and was easily caught by Davies.
The batsmen crossed while the ball was in the air so Bellerby, who had already hit one maximum, needed to repeat the feat to prevent his side from relinquishing the trophy – and he duly obliged, hammering the ball back over Wilment’s head to finish 33 not out and secure a Neyland win in the most amazing circumstances.
Skipper Sean sings both team’s praises
“It was a fantastic game of cricket,” said Neyland skipper Hannon afterwards, “and I congratulate Haverfordwest for their part in it.”
“The crucial innings was the third one. We targeted keeping Haverfordwest to around 130 because we were confident we could chase around 180, anything more would have been a real struggle.”
Hannon also paid tribute to Bellerby and man of the match Sutton.
“Ashley’s innings was brilliant but fair play to Patrick to be able to do that at the end.
“He had hit one six already but then to do it to win the game, under that pressure, was incredible.”
Defeat was a bitter pill for Danny Potter and his team to take but their only minor consolation from defeat after being in such a strong position can be the fact that they played their part in such an entertaining tussle between the two best teams in the county.
SCORECARD:
FIRST INNINGS:
Haverfordwest Batting:
Adam James run out 15
Dai Davies run out 54
Jon Strawbridge run out 11
Ben Field ct & b Andrew Miller 32
Simon Holliday not out 32
Dan Potter not out 18
Extras 2
Total (4 wickets) 164
Neyland Bowling:
Gary Lloyd 4-0-31-0; Nathan Banner 4-0-36-0; Nick Koomen 4-0-35-0; Andrew Miller 4-0-22-1; Henry Durrant 4-0-40-0
Neyland Batting:
Scott John ct Nigel Delaney b Simon Holliday 30
Nick Koomen ct Huw Scriven b Ajay Revu 6
Ashley Sutton ct Dai Davies b Josh Wilment 33
Andrew Miller b Josh Wilment 12
Nathan Banner st Huw Scriven b Simon Holliday 2
Henry Durrant not out 11
John Tennick not out 10
Extras 11
Total (5 wickets) 115
Haverfordwest Bowling:
Ajay Revu 4-1-11-1; Adam James 4-0-31-0; Clive Tucker 4-0-27-0; Simon Holliday 4-0-27-2; Josh Wilment 4-1-13-2
SECOND INNINGS:
Haverfordwest Batting:
Adam James b Gary Lloyd 9
Simon Holliday ct Sean Hannon b Nick Koomen 16
Jon Strawbridge run out 2
Dai Davies st Sean Hannon b Henry Durrant 39
Ben Field b Nick Koomen 0
Dan Potter not out 23
Nigel Delaney ct Scott Jones b Andrew Miller 3
Huw Scriven ct Nathan Banner b Andrew Miller 6
Ajay Revu ct Nick Koomen b Nathan Banner 11
Josh Wilment not out 12
Extras 10
Total (8 wickets) 131
Neyland Bowling:
Gary Lloyd 4-0-37-1; Nick Koomen 4-1-10-2; Henry Durrant 4-0-32-1; Nathan Banner 4-0-29-1; Andrew Miller 4-0-20-2
Neyland Batting:
Andrew Miller b Adam James 2
Nick Koomen ct Jon Strawbridge b Ajay Revu 9
Ashley Sutton ct Ajay Revu b Adam James 97
Nathan Banner b Ajay Revu 9
Henry Durrant b Clive Tucker 12
Patrick Bellerby not out 34
Sean Hannon lbw b Adam James 0
Scott John run out 9
Scott Jones ct Dai Davies b Josh Wilment 5
John Tennick not out 0
Extras 4
Total (8 wickets) 181
Haverfordwest Bowling:
Ajay Revu 4-0-21-2; Adam James 4-1-30-3; Simon Holliday 4-0-34-0; Clive Tucker 4-0-38-1; Josh Wilment 4-0-34-1