Pembrokeshire Midweek T20 League:

 
Hook Black Diamonds are deserved winners of the 2023 Pembrokeshire Midweek T20 Cup as they totally outplayed Cresselly Doves in Sunday’s semi-final and then showed their battling spirit against host club Dock Fire as they were in some trouble after batting first but held on to win.
 
Both finalists enjoyed huge semi-final wins on a great day’s cricket which started at 10.30am and ended near 8pm as organiser Craig Butland made the concluding presentations to round off a superb season of T20 cricket that provided 37 midweek matches to encourage more cricket in the county, especially for players who might not always get a game on weekends!
 

Semi-Final One –

Doves wings clipped as Diamonds shine brightly

 

Hook Black Diamonds (223 for 2) beat Cresselly Doves (140 for 9) by 83 runs

 
Cresselly Doves must have regretted fielding first against Hook Black Diamonds because talented teenage brothers Lewis and Liam Miller were quickly into their stride with 49 off their first five overs and an impressive tally of 102 at the half way stage.
 
Their running between the wickets was excellent as they also punished anything remotely off line until the 15^th over before Liam was finally caught by Neil Gregory off Dylan John having stroked 10 boundaries in his 65 made from only 29 deliveries.
 
Brother Lewis continued to attack with Aled Phelps (20 not out) giving him the strike and he was finally out, bowled by Ryan Lewis in the 18^th over, for a superb 114 off only 59 balls, including nine fours and six sixes, plus plenty of twos as he tested the Doves’ fielding as they also conceded 19 extras.
 
To be fair to The Doves they tried hard to maintain the asking rate of over 11 runs per over but lost wickets regularly as Charlie Arthur (12), Josh Davies (27), Nick Cope (18) and Ryan Lewis (13) fell to Aled (1 for 28), Rhys (2 for 19) and Owen Phelps (1 for 27), whilst Jack Phillips was the pick of the Black Diamonds’ bowling with fine figures of 4 for 21.
 
Matthew Lewis and Ollie Arthur both chipped in with 21 apiece but The Doves were sent on their way as Hook showed why they might be considered favourites for the trophy.
 
 

Semi-Final Two –
 

Dock Fire punish rank bad batting by the Gavenyards

 

Dock Fire (156 for 6) beat Lawrenny Gavenyards (67 all out) by 89 runs

 
Dock Fire were equally good value for an unexpectedly  easy win over the Lawrenny Gavenyards, an unusual nickname given to them many years ago by late characters Jenkin and Peter Hall, of Carew fame.
 
The Fire set a reasonably challenging target of 157 for victory but their opponents’ response lacked conviction and they were shot out for 67 in only 15 painful overs for their committed supporters to watch.
 
Leading the way for The Fire was opener Jake Davies, who belted five fours and a big six before he holed out to Kyle Marsh off Rhys Eynon for 61 in 36 balls after the dismissal of Jake Griffiths (11, who was caught by Ryan Morton off teenager Ollie Lewis).
 
George Smith was run out for 16 and there was 21 apiece from Scott Griffiths (with Eynon claiming 2 for 31 again as the bowler) and Tom Grimwood (lbw to Troy Purslowe) – and the added bonus of 22 extras boosting the score.
 
It seemed a score that was within the reach of Lawrenny’s batsmen but they were soon reeling on 17 for 4 and then 35 for 5 as Scott Griffiths led The Fire by example with 3 for 13 in three overs. Kyle Marsh (15), Ryan Morton (12), Alfie Buckle (16) and Will Allen (10) all managed double figures but key run gathers Troy Purslowe and James Phillips both departed for ducks, the former run out.
 
There were wickets for every dock bowler but the most remarkable figures were George Smith’s 1 for 4 in four overs, two of them maidens, as the last four Gavenyards’ batsmen departed for 12 runs.





 

FINAL:

 

Hook Black Diamonds battle to victory

 

Hook Black Diamonds (140 for 8) beat Dock Fire (126 for 8) by 14 runs

 
Teenage brothers Liam and Lewis Miller had blitzed a tremendous opening partnership of 156 against The Doves, with Lewis scoring a brilliant century and Liam providing great support against a useful Doves’ bowling attack.
 
But in the final they were both back in the changing room with only seven runs on the board as Lewis was first to go from a boundary catch by Fire skipper Scott Griffiths off Tom Grimwood without troubling the scorers and then Lewis (3) was bowled by Neil Gregory.
 
Aled Phelps and George James (8) added 34 runs before the latter was run out in a total mix-up – and club captain Phelps departed with the score on 67 in the 12^th over, having struck six fours and a six in his 40 but dismissed by Fire skipper Scott Griffiths in an excellent four-over spell of 3 for 17, including next man in Harry Makepeace for a duck and Owen Phelps (6) to a mid-off catch by Jake Griffiths.
 
Jacob lay hit a six and four in his 17 before he was bowled by Nick Daley and these losses left The Black Diamonds in a perilous position at 82 for 7 before T20 captain Brad Flood was joined by Rhys Phelps and their eighth wicket stand of a priceless 58 in the last five overs elevated them to a good score, aided by some disappointing catching and fielding by The Fire.
 
Flood was content to give his younger partner the strike as much as possible and he ended up on 20 not out, including a straight six, whilst Rhys reached 39 before being run out from the final ball of the innings having stroked three fours and a six, as well as some excellent running between the wickets by the pair.
 
The Fire needed a strong start from their opening pair of Jake Davies and Jake Griffiths but suffered a blow when Davies (5) was caught by Flood off Aled Phelps. Griffiths belted three fours and a six in his typically aggressive 20 before departing with the total on 37, bowled by Aled Phelps in his excellent four-over stint where he ended up with 2 for 23.
 
George Smith (22) and skipper Griffiths advanced their total to 67 in 12 overs but The Black Diamonds fielded well and Smith was bowled by Owen Phelps, followed by the loss of Tom Grimwood (1), Adam Phillips (6), Rhys Daley (9) and Nick Daley (4) against Lewis Miller (2 for 21) and Rhys Phelps (2 for 14), whose analysis included the key wicket of Scott Griffiths for 47 with the score on 114, caught by George James having hit 47 (including eight boundaries).
 
It was the beginning of the end for The Fire as they could muster only 12 runs from their last three overs and so it was Hook Black Diamonds’ skipper Brad Flood who received the T20 Trophy from organiser Craig Butland to round off a memorable week where they had played in a special day to celebrate their centenary where eight famous internationals from the PCA Legends organisation was involved and a huge sum of money raised for a very worthwhile charity as a bonus!
 
SCORECARDS:
 
Hook Black Diamonds Batting:
Liam Miller b Neil Gregory 3
Lewis Miller ct Scott Griffiths b Tom Grimwood 0
Aled Phelps ct Tom Grimwood b Scott Griffiths 40
George James run out 8
Jacob Lay b Nick Daley 17
Harry Makepeace b Scott Griffiths 0
Owen Phelps ct Jake Griffiths b Scott Griffiths 6
Brad Flood not out 20
Rhys Phelps run out 39
Extras 7
Total (8 wickets) 140
 
Dock Fire Bowling:
Tom Grimwood 4-0-30-1; Neil Gregory 4-0-28-1; George Smith 4-0-31-0; Scott Griffiths 4-0-18-3; Nick Daley 4-0-30-1.
 
Dock Fire Batting:
Jake Davies ct Brad Flood b Aled Phelps 5
Jake Griffiths b Aled Phelps 20
George Smith b Owen Phelps 22
Scott Griffiths ct George James b Rhys Phelps 47
Tom Grimwood b Lewis Miller 1
Adam Phillips run out 6
Rhys Daley ct Jacob Lay b Lewis Miller 9
Nick Daley b Rhys Phelps 4
Craig Butland not out 3
Neil Gregory not out 4
Extras 5
Total (8 wickets) 126
 
Hook Black Diamonds Bowling:
Callum James 3-1-18-0; Aled Phelps 4-0-23-2; Jack Phillips 2-0-17-0; Owen Phelps 4-0-31-1; Lewis Miller 4-0-22-2; Rhys Phelps 2-0-14-2.