Cricket Feature match:

 

MCC (Wales) 148 all out) lost to Pembroke County Cricket Club  (150 for 4) by 6 wickets

 
Umpires: Steve Williams & Bob Miles
Scorer: Natalie Thomas (Haverfordwest)
 
Venue: The Athletic Ground, Neyland
 
Charlie Arthur and Paul Murray were the principal performers as Pembroke County’s excellent mix of experience and youthful talent saw them comfortably account for representatives on the Welsh branch of the MCC; the former responsible for shifting three top batsmen in the game’s first over and the latter stroking an unbeaten 73 helping to chase down the visitors 148 in 38 of their allotted 40 overs and the county team taking only 31 overs to reach their target.
 
Arthur struck  first by running out Ben Adkins for a duck from his third ball, clean bowling Ben Adkins next delivery and doing the same to Tommy Dalton from the final ball to reduce MCC to 0 for 3.
 
Watching all of this mayhem at the other end was Gareth Ansell, who had scored an unbeaten century two days earlier at Haverfordwest and whose father Barry played for Carew for many years and is back in the village again now – but he became Arthur’s third victim when he was caught by Patrick Bellerby for 16 from 49 balls to give the Cresselly youngster a splendid return of 3 for 18 from his six overs, one of them a maiden.
 
Order was restored to some degree as John Davies struck six boundaries in his 41 (56 balls) before he was bowled by Jonathan Rogers, and Charles Doley (bowled by Charlie Malloy for 36 in 45 deliveries and also containing six fours) in a partnership of 74.
The only other major resistance came from Simon Davies, before he was bowled by John Mansbridge, with Brad McDermott-Jenkins grabbing two wickets before appropriately it was the ubiquitous Charle Arthur who finished things off by running out MCC skipper Barrington for a single.
 

Inauspicious start from the county

 
The county also made an inauspicious start as in-form run-gatherer Patrick Bellerby was out for an eight-ball duck and harry Thomas went for 16 alongside other low scores from Kyle Quartermaine and Arthur – but then ‘Minty’ Murray was joined by Mansbridge and after coming together at 72 for 4 were still there at the end as  Saundersfoot all-rounder Mansbridge sensibly anchored the innings with five fours in his 29 not out, which took 57 balls of batting with real maturity, as Murray scored at a run a ball as he clouted nine fours and three very big sixes in his 73 not out on his home ground.
 
They were helped by 23 extras from the visitors as Pembroke County eventually won at a canter – leaving the visitors to reflect on what must have been their most disastrous start in many a year, perhaps ever!
 
 
 

 

SCORECARDS:

 
MCC Batting:
Gareth Ansell ct Patrick Bellerby b Charlie Arthur 16
Ben O’Neill run out 0
Ben Edkins b Charlie Arthur 0
Tommy Dalton b Charlie Arthur 0
John Davies b Jonathan Rogers 41
Charles Doley b Charlie Malloy 36
Sam Pearce b Brad McDermott-Jenkins 6
Simon Davies b John Mansbridge 22
Andrew Oliver b Brad McDermott-Jenkins 5
John L Davies not out 7
Clive Barrington Run out 1
Extras 14
Total (all out) 148
 
Pembroke CCC Bowling:
Charlie Arthur 6-1-18-3; Charlie Malloy 6-1-38-1; Jonathan Rogers 8-0-17-1; Andrew Miller 8-3-20-0; John Mansbridge 5-0-28-1; Brad McDermott-Jenkins 5-0-23-2
 
Pembroke CCC Batting:
Paul Murray not out 73
Patrick Bellerby ct & b Clive Barrington 0
Harry Thomas ct Tommy Dalton b Sam Pearce 16
Kyle Quartermaine b Sam Pearce 7
Charlie Arthur ct Gareth Ansell b Sam Pearce6
John Mansbridge not out 29
Extras 23
Total (4 wickets) 150
 
MCC Bowling:
Clive Barrington 6.2-4-24-1; John Davies 6-1-18-0; Sam Pearce 5-0-28-3; Charles Doley 4-0-29-0; Tommy Dalton 6-0-19-0; Andrew Oliver 4-0-19-0