Llanrhian Ladies lift the Welsh title in Whitchurch

Llanrhian Ladies have been crowned the new Softball Welsh Cup 100 champions after coming through a dramatic finals’ day in Whitchurch recently.
 
Having beaten Llandeilo and Felinfoel to reach the final four, Katy Jenkins and her side came through two tense contests in Cardiff to beat both the host club and Newbridge to take the national title for the first time.
 

Semi-final: Llanrhian (122-4) beat Whitchurch-Heath (89-6) by 33 runs

 
Having initially been postponed due to inclement weather, finals day was eventually rearranged for September 20, and Llanrhian were asked to bat first in their semi-final clash with Whitchurch-Heath.
 
And the visitors were then given a flying start by openers Jenkins and Carrie Slack.
 
Both made an unbeaten 30, with Slack hitting four boundaries and Jenkins three, and were therefore forced to retire before the hosts rallied as Amanda John, Gill Robinson, and Abbie Ladd all departed for single figure scores. However, Sophie Phillips and Roanna Dewsbury scrambled runs off the final few balls to take the total to 122-3, a decent score given the early morning dampness of the outfield.
 
Llanrhian then comfortably defended their total, thanks in the main to the bowling of John, who took a hat-trick in her figures of 3-15 in 20 balls, while Sophie Phillips grabbed 2-13 as the hosts were restricted to 89-6. The batting was held together by opener Rabia Rafiq, who finished unbeaten on 28, but her side never looked like seriously challenging the total.
 

Final: Llanrhian (93-4) beat Newbridge (93-3) with six balls to spare

 
This time it was Jenkins who won the toss and opted to field, and the call paid off as John and Ladd (1-13) took early wickets.
 
Deb Stone proved to be the key player for Newbridge as she made her 30 in as many balls and had to retire unbeaten, and that stemmed the momentum as John came back on to take two further wickets for impressive figures of 3-10. Still, the Newbridge score of 93-3 appeared a tricky one to chase.
 
And so it proved as Jenkins (5) went early but Slack again attacked to make 28 in a stand of 41 with John.
 
After the opener was out, John continued to build and although Ladd (2) fell cheaply, the experienced all-rounder was joined by Gillian Robinson as the final stages became tense.
 
But after the pair got their side level, from the 94th delivery Robinson (10 not out) got the vital single to spark celebrations amongst players and the travelling club members and supporters, with John unbeaten on 26, having played a vital role with bat and ball.
 

Skipper Jenkins was delighted

 
It meant delight for Llanrhian having previously twice come up short on finals day, and after lifting the silverware captain Jenkins spoke to Pembrokeshire Sport.co.uk
 
"This was our third time at the Welsh Cup finals’ day and we were eager to do our best for the club, especially with it being the end of the 80th anniversary year.
 
"We really produced some solid bowling and fielding in both games and we knew that could make the difference. We faced some very good bowling on a slow field which made it hard to get boundaries so we knew we had to make every run count."
 
Praising those who went up with the side, she added: "We had a great crowd of family and supporters who travelled on the bus with us and it was a fantastic day at a great venue.
 
"It feels like a big achievement for us as a relatively small and new team in our fifth year of playing. We didn’t have much other cricket in the season with only a few teams in our own softball league so the 100 is always something we look forward to."
 
Llanrhian squad: Katy Jenkins (Capt), Carrie Slack, Amanda John, Abbie Ladd, Gillian Robinson, Roanna Dewsbury, Sophie Phillips, Vicky Grainge, Ellin Clift, Chelsea Ladd, Emer Russell.