11^th November 2024
 
Umpires: Chris Stapleton & Rob Bellerby
Scorers: Ginny Davies and Rachel Sander
Venue: Neyland Community Hub
 
 

Neyland A stroll to latest success

 

Neyland A (146 for 3) beat Pembroke B (73 all out) by 73 runs

 
Neyland A continued their remorseless march at the top of the table as they welcomed back experienced players Patrick Bellerby and Brad McDermott-Jenkins, who both played significant roles with bat and ball - and although Pembroke B gave their usual committed performance, they were behind on the required run rate from the first over and were shot out for exactly half of the Neyland tally.
 
Skipper Sean Hannon (10) was the first Neyland batsman to fall after he and Lewis Page had opened, with Andrew ‘Sparky’ Hay taking a sharp catch at mid-on but Dai Davies continued his excellent form as he and Page really increased the run rate with 26 apiece before retiring, Page having driven three nice straight boundaries in the process.
 
But the onslaught didn’t end there because Jack Jones had three fours and a six in his 27 before taking a rest, leaving McDermott-Jenkins (run out for 21 in 10 balls) and Bellerby even quicker with 25 in eight deliveries before he was run out from the last ball of the innings.
 
Pembroke B’s sole wicket-taker was Ceri Brace as he ended up with 1 for 44 as Andrew Hay (0 for 45), Andy Tait (0 for 29) and George Morgan (0 for 28) were their other bowlers.
 
Brace (23) and Will Davies (24, including two fours and a six) got the B team off to a solid start but they only managed to muster 42 runs by the half-way mark of their innings against Hannon (1 for 14 in three overs) and Jack John (0 for 12) as they bowled to their fielders.
 
Toby Bradley-Watson and Andrew Hay (a first-ball duck) came and went, as did Hassan Azziz, who was run out but stayed as non-striking partner to last man Tait (12), and suffered the dubious distinction of getting run out a second time in the same innings!
 
 
 
 

Daley (Jnr) helps Dock to victory in tense finale

 

Hook (118 for 5) lost to Pembroke Dock (119 for 4) by 2 wickets

 
Pembroke Dock beat Hook with just two balls left of a competitive match where Hook looked slight favourites for a while but then the Dock’s former captain Scott Griffiths, batting at No 6 in their order, showed why he needs to be far higher as he belted three successive fours and soon followed with another drive to the back wall - as Rhys Daley batted well in support.
 
It had been a similar story when Hook batted first, and they lost Liam Miller (11), George James (3) and Bradley Flood whilst the in-form Harry Makepeace retired on 26 - and then Owen Phelps added 28 that club old-timer Matthew Holder said was certainly not his best batting.
 
Then Mr H watched his 14 year old son Charlie chip in with 10 runs and partnered the returning Makepeace, who ended up on 54 not out and Hook finished on a far better total that at one stage seemed unlikely.
 
Adam Phillips left early when The Dock batted but Tom Grimwood and Rhys Daley both retired on 25 apiece before Nick Daley and new captain George Smith departed quickly, allowing Scott Griffiths and Tom Grimwood (back in action but soon getting run out on 31) to raise the tempo.
 
Rhys Daley then returned to the fray and he ended on 35 not out alongside Griffiths (23 not out in nine balls) with some exemplary running between the wickets as Owen Phelps (2 for 39), Bradley Flood (1 for 19) and Charlie Holder (1 for 21) were the Hook wicket-takers in a game they could well have won but didn’t quite have the commitment on the night, especially in the field, of their Dock counterparts!
 
 
 

Wood’s batting takes Pembroke A home

 

Llanrhian (96 for 4) lost to Pembroke A (97 for 5)

 
Pembroke A were without skipper Jack Harries and vice-captain Luke Butler for this match against the regular Llanrhian sextet but some powerful batting by Billy Wood saw them eventually squeeze through by a single wicket and with five deliveries still in hand.
 
Llanrhian batted first and opened well via Daf Williams and Karl Davies but the latter was denied a fourth retirement score on the trot when he was run out for 12, leaving Williams and skipper Iwan Williams to reach the retirement landmark with three boundaries apiece.
 
But there was pressure on the tail enders as Llion Williams was well caught by George Morgan off Sam Davies for a first-ball duck, Billy Clarke could only muster 5 not out from 11 balls, Matthew Bennett (9) was caught by Gareth Long off Wood and Daf Williams was run out on return with 30 to his name - and 96 runs was a smaller tally than Llanrhian might have expected at one stage.
 
Wood and Sam Davies then got Pembroke A off to a good start but Davies was caught behind by Iwan Davies off Bennett with two fours in his 17 - and they were soon under the cosh as veteran Phil Jones (2) and Morgan (7) were dismissed so that Callum Davies (run out,18) and Gareth Long (12, caught and bowled by Karl Davies) were needed alongside Wood on the run in.
 
But they still needed four to win when Wood found himself the last man standing but he didn’t get phased and eventually finished on 37 not out, including two fours and a six as Pembroke A knew they had come close to defeat - and Llanrhian were aware this was a game they could have won!