Venue: Neyland Community Hub
Umpire: Neill Crawshaw
 

Pembroke power to biggest shock win in five years

 
Pembroke’s 25-run defeat of champions Neyland A had cricketing pundits interested in the indoor game pondering when was the last time that Neyland had lost a match in the Pembrokeshire League, and the general consensus was that it was at least five years ago, and might even be closer to a decade since they have pouched the silverware on nine occasions in that time zone!
 
Pembroke’s success was all the more remarkable since this is their first season in the top echelon after gaining promotion last year but they have three outstanding exponents of the game in skipper Jack Harries, wicketkeeper Luke Butler and new recruit Gareth Long, supported by Sam Davies and Alan Webster amongst others.
 
Hook, the other team promoted from last season, also played well as they accounted for Neyland B by 58 runs. Neyland were once again only able to field five players and paid the inevitable price as Hook batsmen Liam Miller and Harry Makepeace took a heavy toll in the batting and then their team bowled and fielded well.
 

Pembroke (111 for 3) beat Neyland A (86 all out)

 
Pembroke got this match under way with excellent batting by Jack Harries (26 in 17 balls) and Gareth Long, both retiring before Luke Butler also added a quick fire 24 (15 deliveries) before the first wicket fell at 74 when he was caught by Sean Hannon off Brad McDermott-Jenkins.
 
It looked as if Neyland had fought their way back well as Jack John ran out Alan Webster (0) and Sam Davies (6) suffered the same fate following Paul Murray’s quick thinking.
 
Debutant Hassan Aziz ended on 3 not out in helping Long put on late runs, the opener blitzing three sixes in his cracking 42 not out from only 23 balls as nine extras took them to 111 for 3 – a useful, but not massive finally tally.
 
But it suddenly assumed huge proportions as Jack Harries showed why he is rightly regarded as one of the best exponents of indoor cricket by having Paul Murray and former captain Sean Hannon, two more of Pembrokeshire’s finest, caught from the first balls they faced. Murray was superbly caught off the back well from Butler’s dive to his left and scooping the ball up before it reached the floor.
 
Brad McDermott-Jenkins hit the next ball for three runs, which brought Sean Hannon to face Harries and he hit his first ball straight to a delighted Gareth Long – and BMJ quickly followed, bowled by Alan Webster for 5 – leaving Neyland teetering on the brink at 5 for 3.
 
But Neyland had one ace still up their sleeve in another former skipper, with Andrew Miller having been a great indoor player since Neyland started their climb to the top of the game in Wales and even further afield.
 
Miller settled things down and found a willing ally in Jack John in a stand of 48 before John was run out for 19 off 11 balls by keeper Butler – and Leo Power, a first team debutant on the day, chipped in with 8 before Long had him caught by Sam Davies.
 
They left the veteran all-rounder on his own and he showed his class with 48 off only 24 balls (one four) before he finally fell with ten balls left, appropriately run out by Jack Harries, whose bowling earned him figures of 2 for 11, alongside Webster (1 for 16) and Long (1 for 24).






 
 

Hook (106 for 5) beat Neyland B (48 all out)

 
Liam Miller and Harry Makepeace set off at a furious pace with the bat as both retired on 25 and eventually returned to the crease once the rest of their team didn’t really fire on all cylinders and Miller finished with 39 before he was caught and bowled by George Evans – and Makepeace ended up with an unbeaten 34.
 
Aled Phelps chipped with a quick-fire 13 but was run out, as was George James (4) before Daf Bowen and Seth Willington also scored four apiece as Corey Riley was the top Neyland bowler with 2 for 19 along with Jamie Smith (1 for 16) and Evans (1 for 16). In the Hook innings there were 20 threes and 7 fours in their 106 for 5 tally but also 23 ‘dot balls’, the equivalent of almost four out of ten overs unused.
 
Neyland got off to a steady, if unspectacular start through George Evans (23) and Corey Riley (10) but the former was run out and the latter was bowled by Aled Phelps (1 for 11) before Myles was caught by Liam Miller off George James (1 for 6) and Jamie Smith was bowled by Makepeace 1 for 0 in three balls.
Steve Murray is a very good indoor player but he failed on this occasion, bowled by Willington (1 for 7) as Neyland B were shot out for 48 in only 4.3 overs.