Harrison-Allen Bowl Second Semi-Final:

 

 

Whitland (163 for 6) beat Narberth (102 all out) by 61 runs

 
Venue: Kilgetty CC
 
Umpires: Chris Stapleton & Neill Crawshaw
Scorers: Ann-Marie Jenkins & Gwynneth Johns
 

It must be the ‘Year of the Underdog’ because Whitland gained a comprehensive win over current Bowl holders Narberth to join Lawrenny, who the previous evening beat favourites Carew – to set up an intriguing final at Cresselly on Sunday, August 29^th, 2026!
 
Positive Whitland build a challenging total
 
Whitland’s young skipper Gethin Scourfield won the toss and elected to bat first, perhaps in the hope that his team could build a big enough score to force Bowl holders Narberth to lose wickets through the pressure of a tough run chase.


And huis team got off to a good start as Kevin Pearce and Dylan Blain put on 52 for the first wicket before Blain was bowled by Llew Jones with three boundaries in his 22 made from 28 balls – and Geraint Jones briefly threatened to raise the bar even higher as he belted a six and four in the seven deliveries he faced but then Jones’ pace was too much for him and he was well caught by skipper Lewis Hough with the score on 64.
 
Jones eventually completed an impressive six-over stint as he had opener Pearce, caught by Jamie McCormack for an impressive 42 (six boundaries from 44 balls and having helped advance the score to 98 for 3.
 
Scott Newton chipped in with a cracking cameo as he struck two fours and three sixes from only 12 balls before being bowled by Ben Quartermaine, to help raise the run-rate alongside skipper Gethin Scourfield, only just out of his teens, who took the batting reins as he played some impressive shots to reach 46, including four  boundaries and two maximums but was run out in the final over just short of a deserved half century.

 
Only Llew Jones and Ben Quartermaine managed to really impress with the ball for Narberth but they deserved credit for only conceding four extras in 22 overs of pressure in the field!
 

Loui starts well but but Narberth collapse after looking in with a chance

 
Narberth also made a solid start as opener Loui Davies went on the offensive and this outstanding batsman stroked four boundaries en route to 19 of the first 28 runs before he fell to a vital catch  by Ethan Ryan off Cian Rees.
 
But there was little sign of the carnage to come as  Shay Norcross scored 15 (albeit off a pedestrian  31 balls) and Jamie McCormack looked strong in rapping four and two sixes in his 28 at a run a ball, although 17 year old Cian Rees was allowed to bowl his six overs for only 22 runs, including two maidens.
 
Then veteran medium pacer Wayne Howells called upon his huge experience (including a previous life with Narberth) and was joined by former skipper Matthew Davies, happily back in the area and sharing eight wickets for a combined total of 48 runs, which was amazing to see as  wickets tumbled to such a degree that Narberth were sot out with 5.3 overs left unused in their batting locker.
 
Only Llew Jones showed any fight as he came in at No 8 and biffed three big sixes before falling to a good catch by Geraint Jones of ‘Titch’ Davies as 70 for 1 became 75 for 6 (four ducks here). And three more came and quickly went at 95 and 96.
 
It was sad to see the Bowl holders, who had shown such spirit against Neyland earlier in the competition, to choose the semi-final to have a bad night.
 
But credit goes to Whitland, who have yet to win a league game after the first 12 matches so far – but showed true grit in this outstanding performance!
 

SCORECARDS:

 
Whitland Batting:
Kevin Pearce ct Jamie McCormack b Llew Jones 42
Dylan Blain b Llew Jones 22
Geraint Jones ct Lewis Hough b Llew Jones 12
Gethin Scourfield run out 48
Scott Newton b Ben Quartermaine 29
Matthew Davies run out 2
Ethan Ryan not out 3
Che Thomas not out 1
Extras 4
Total (6 wickets) 160
 
Narberth Bowling:
Loui Davies 6-0-49-0; Ben Quartermaine  5-0-34-1; Ryan Williams 5-0-51-0; Llew Jones 6-0-27-3.
 
Narberth Batting:
Shay Norcross ct Geraint Jones b Matthew Davies 15
Loui Davies ct Ethan Ryan b C Rees 19
Jamie McCormack  ct Scott Newton b Matthew Davies 28
Rhodri Dyer run out 3
Ben Quartermaine ct & b Wayne Howells 0
Kyle Williams lbw b Wayne Howells 0
Louis Hough ct & b Matthew Davies 6
Llew Jones ct Geraint Jones b  Matthew Davies 22
Jordan Howell lbw b Wayne Howells 0
Ryan Williams b Wayne Howells 0.
Matthew Johns not out 0
Extras 9
Total (all out) 102
 
Whitland Bowling:
Cian Rees 6-2-22-1, Geraint Jones 3-0-24-0; Wayne Howells 5-0-28-4; Matthew Davies 2.3-0-20-4