Ormond Cup Final:

 

Cresselly (146 for 6 & 150 for 7) beat Pembroke (112 for 9 & 181 for 6) by 3 runs

 

Venue: The Gerald Hicks Memorial Ground, Carew
Umpires: Chris Stapleton & Huw Simpkins
Scorers: Diane Parry & Ginny Davies (with Bobbie Neale  operating the electronic scoreboard)
 



A large and appreciative crowd who turned out to cheer Cresselly and Pembroke Youth teams in this sizzling Ormond Youth Cup Final were treated to an afternoon of high-octane cricket, featuring some enormous six-hits, crazy run outs under pressure, the odd misfield or dropped catch – but above all, total commitment which went to the last ball of the final over before Pembroke almost provided the most remarkable come-back as they failed by just a boundary to reach a massive target of 185 for victory.
 

A number of cricketing pundits around the boundary agreed it might well earn the plaudit of the best Ormond Cup Final ever on a sun-swept Carew ground where host club Carew provided the perfect setting, as usual, and in front of a large crowd Cresselly seemed to have confirmed their favourites’ label by tea as they held a 34 run lead which might have been even more but for an astonishing number of extras which made up almost half of the Pembroke total.

 
A second innings Cresselly score of 150 seemed to have ensured a comfortable win but someone forgot to tell George Morgan and his Pembroke team that because their main batsmen, who had struggled before tea, went on the attack and what a finish as they needed a boundary to take the trophy in the club’s first appearance since 1990 – but Cresselly held their nerve to retain the silverware they won a little more easily in 2025.

 

Jenkins  and Arthur steer Cresselly towards a decent score

 
Cresselly skipper Tyler James elected to bat first and although they lost Ollie Rowlands early, they enjoyed a 50-stand between Griff Jenkins, who took only 23 balls to reach 44, including five fours and three huge sixes, and Ollie Arthur, reached 36 in good time alongside Lewis Mason (15) to keep the Cresselly run-rate high.

 
A high score seemed likely but with Logan Hall claiming three wickets on his home pitch, supported by tight spells from Oscar and Tyler Lewis,  Cresselly reached a solid tally of 146 for 6 thanks to cameos by Ollie Toy and Iori Thomas alongside 17 from ‘Mr Extras’.


 

Pembroke get off to a dreadful start

 
Pembroke needed a solid start to stay close at the interval but were rocked to the core early on as Arthur and Jenkins grabbed three wickets alongside a run out to have them in dire straits at 16 for 4, with 11 of them coming from extras.
 
At this stage opener Hall watched the mayhem at the other end but he put his experience of first-team cricket to good use, playing out the good deliveries and punishing the odd loose delivery with his five boundaries en route to an outstanding 47 – but just when he looked like achieving a cracking half-century, he was caught by Arthur off Jenkins.
 
Only Ollie Donohoe, with 10 not out, managed double figures thereafter as Cresselly kept the pressure on, other than the number of extras, of course!

 

Rowlands and Jenkins pile on the pressure

 
In stark contrast to the start of the Pembroke innings, Cresselly began their second spell at the crease with an opening stand of 71 in quick time, with Jenkins having struck another three fours and three sixes in only 29 balls before he fell to Hall – and although the tempo inevitably slowed a little as Arthur was run out and Lewis Mason was bowled by Oscar Lewis, both for 12 runs.
 
Rowlands certainly did his job with 33 runs and there were minor contributions from skipper James and Milo Jones so that with another 17 extras added to the tally, Cresselly reached 150 to set Pembroke a daunting final tally to chase.
 

Pembroke produce a terrific last-lap batting performance

 
But whatever coach Will Davies said to his Pembroke players it certainly worked before they faced the final 20 overs of the match needing to score over nine runs an over, with all their five top batsmen making considerable contributions – and all battled hard with the bat!
 
Logan hall departed for 15 but then Oscar Lewis stroked 42 in 30 balls (five fours and two sixes), whilst skipper Morgan hit 25 and Evan Clarke belted four boundaries in only 16 balls – and suddenly the pressure was on Cresselly that showed in a couple of misfields.
 
But the key innings came from Taylor Lewis as his 41 took only 20 balls (including four fours and three sixes) to take Pembroke in with a real chance but Cresselly just about held their composure enough as wickets fell at key times – and that final ball failed to reward Pembroke for their brave effort and gave Cresselly the coveted silverware in as good a final as one could wish to see at any level.
 
Tyler James received the trophy from David Rees, on behalf of brilliant long-term sponsors in Sandra Pidgeon and family, and it was good to see the camaraderie amongst the players to round off a splendid day of action-packed and no-nonsense cricket!







 

SCORECARDS:

 
First Innings:
 
Cresselly Batting:
Ollie Rowlands ct Oscar Lewis b Logan Hall 7
Griff Jenkins b Tyler Lewis 44
Ollie Arthur lbw b George Morgan 36
Lewis Mason ct Oscar Lewis b Logan Hall 15
Tyler James lbw b Logan Hall 1
Milo Jones ct Oscar Lewis b Logan Hall 3
Ollie Toy not out 10
Iestyn Thomas not out 13
Extras 17
Total (6 wickets) 146
 
Pembroke Bowling:
Oscar Lewis 4-0-26-0; Jay Sutherland 4-0-37-0; Tyler Lewis 4-0-20-2; Logan Hall 4-0-21-3; George Morgan 4-0-35-1
 
Pembroke Batting:
Oscar Lewis  ct Ollie Toy b Ollie Arthur 0
Logan Hall ct Ollie Arthur b Griff Jenkins 47
George Morgan b Griff Jenkins 0
Taylor Lewis b Ollie Arthur 2
Evan Clark run out 0
Jay Sutherland b Corey James 8
Ollie Donohoe not out 10
Dylan Lewis b Iori Thomas 0
James McNally b Iori Thomas 0
Cody Culshaw run out 2
Extras 43
Total (9 wickets) 112
 
Cresselly Bowling:
Ollie Arthur 4-0-16-2; Griff Jenkins 4-0-26-2; Lewis Mason 4-0-23-0; Tyler James 4-0-16-0; Corey James 2-0-11-1; Iori Thomas 2-0-10-2
 
 
 
SECOND INNINGS:
 
Cresselly Batting:
Ollie Rowlands b George Morgan 33
Griff Jenkins b Logan Hall 41
Ollie Arthur run out 12
Lewis Mason b Oscar Lewis 12
Tyler James run out 14
Milo Jones lbw b Oscar Lewis 11
Ollie Toy  ct George Morgan b Taylor Lewis 8
Iori Thomas not out 2
Rhys Barnes not out 0
Extras 17
Total ( 7 wickets) 150
 
Pembroke Bowling:
Jay Sutherland 4-0-42-0; Taylor Lewis 4-0-18-1; Logan Hall 4-0-26-1; George Morgan 4-0-30-1; Oscar Lewis 4-0-26-2
 
Pembroke Batting:
Oscar Lewis b Lewis Mason 42
Logan Hall b Ollie Arthur 15
George Morgan ct Tyler James b Ollie Arthur 25
Taylor Lewis b Cody James 41
Evan Clarke b Cody James 30
Jay Sutherland b Cody James 9
Ollie Donohoe not out 8
Cody Culshaw not out 7
Extras 4
Total (6 wickets) 181
 
Pembroke Bowling:
Ollie Arthur 4-0-20-2; Griff Jenkins 4-0-48-0, Corey James 4-0-36-3; Lee Mason 4-0-28-1; Tyler James 4-0-48-0