Indoor Cricket Final 2017

 
Indoor Cricket Final Week:

Neyland A show class to win indoor cricket crown by Bill Carne
Haverfordwest A (90 for 3) lost to Neyland A (93 for 3)

Umpires: Neil Croucher & Paul Webb
Scorers: Kirsty Hannon (Neyland) & Simon Williams (Haverfordwest)
Venue: Tenby Leisure Centre
Organiser: Peter Davies

Neyland A produced a splendid all-round team effort to beat their old rivals Haverfordwest A in the final game of the 2017 Indoor League competition, which was again sponsored by new County Club president Nick Evans and his Cricket Shop.

It was evident why these two old rivals are arguably the best in Wales because this was a high-class contest where batting, bowling and fielding was of the highest order, with Neyland marginally better in the field and taking the deserved verdict as a result.

Team captain Sean Hannon did his best from the outset by winning the toss and asking Haverfordwest to bat first and that outstanding Neyland fielding paid dividends as they gave terrific support to their bowlers in restricting The Town to 90 for 3 in their allotted ten overs.

Then opening bats Nick Koomen and Paul Murray launched a savage attack early on in the Neyland innings so that they were always ahead of the clock and although Haverfordwest battled hard they rarely looked likely to win with such an ordinary score to defend.

Ben Field was the undoubted pick of The Town batsmen with a quick-fire 26, including a six and a four, before he retired, with Simon Holliday chipping in with 25 runs before he was given run out, thanks to some quick thinking by Sean Hannon.

Nigel Delaney showed why he is held in such high regard in indoor cricket as he sped to 27 before having to retire but from then on the need for quick runs saw The Town under pressure as they managed to score only 15 runs in their final two overs whilst losing wickets to good run outs from Nick Koomen and Ashley Sutton.

Neyland survived a first-over scare with a close shave from a run out appeal but then Paul Murray launched a sustained attack in the second over which produced 20 runs that included three fours and two threes before he gave a sharp return chance to Clive Tucker that the veteran spin bowler gratefully accepted.

At the other end Nick Koomen moved swiftly to 27 and retired - and although Ashley Sutton was bowled by Holliday for 12 and Patrick Hannon's spectacular dive was in vain as Ben Field ran him out for a single - Neyland were in command.

They still had two overs left when it was appropriately Sean Hannon who rapped the winning boundary through the leg side to confirm Neyland A's right to again be champions of Pembrokeshire because they really are a powerful, well-equipped outfit!

Paul Webb, who was recently elected as chairman of the Pembroke County Cricket Club, presented the trophy to Neyland skipper Sean Hannon but before that he rightly praised both teams for their efforts alongside the other teams who took part, presented umpire Neil Croucher with a special trophy for his considerable efforts in officiating almost every match over the past two seasons, and Peter Davies for his enthusiasm and commitment as indoor league organiser in his inaugural season.

He also thanked scorers Kirsty Hannon and Simon Williams, plus PembrokeshireSport.co.uk and The Western Telegraph for their outstanding coverage of every week's matches, and Nick Evans for his continued sponsorship.

As well as the superb trophy for the winning team there was also a series of special awards, sponsored by Peter Davies and Mackie Hawkins, which Paul Webb presented, viz,
Most runs (Senior) - Simon Holliday (Haverfordwest A)
Most wickets (Senior) - Danny Potter (Haverfordwest A
Most runs (Junior) - Nikhil Mathias (Haverfordwest B
Most wickets (Junior) - Tom Pritchard (Neyland B)

After the presentations Neyland captain Sean Hannon said,
"I was delighted with the way that we played, especially with regard to our fielding, because Haverfordwest are a powerful batting line-up. They started steadily but we still restricted them to 37 runs at the half-way stage of their innings and our bowlers kept things tight so we had a target within our scope.

"At our half-way mark we had 63 runs on the board and were always on top from then on but fair play to Haverfordwest they made us battle all the way to the finish.”

Haverfordwest Batting:
Simon Holliday run out 25
Ben Field retired 26
Nigel Delaney retired 27
Danny Potter run out 5
Kieran O'Connor run out 3
Clive Tucker not out 0
Extras 4
Total (3 wickets) 90
 

Neyland Bowling:
Nick Koomen 2-0-22-0; Patrick Hannon 0-18; Sean Hannon 2-0-16-0; Patrick Bellerby 2-0-17-0; Ashley Sutton 2-0-12-0

Neyland Batting:
Paul Murray ct & b Clive Tucker 23
Nick Koomen retired 27
Ashley Sutton b Simon Holliday 12
Patrick Bellerby not out 12
Patrick Hannon run out 1
Sean Hannon not out 8
Extras 10
Total (3 wickets) 93
 

Haverfordwest Bowling:
2-0-16-1; Nigel Delaney 1-0-20-0; Kieran O'Connor 2-0-25-0; Clive Tucker 2-0-15-0; Danny Potter 1-0-17-0