Pembrokeshire U10s (127 for 10) lost to Mid Glamorgan U10s (128 for 4) by 6 wickets

 
Venue: Hook CC

Pembrokeshire and Mid Glamorgan under 10s produced an excellent game of cricket on a beautiful afternoon at Hook CC. The skills and spirit on show in front of a good crowd was a great advert for junior regional cricket.

Pembrokeshire were invited to bat first in this 30 over, 12-a-side match, finding themselves under pressure from good tight early bowling. Two early wickets set them on the back foot through the loss of Oscar Willington and Ollie Arthur, the latter unfortunately run out. Oscar Lewis (5) and Kiaran Sine (12) dug in and batted very patiently to try and build a platform for their team.

Unfortunate dismissal and extras galore

 
Cian Rees (8) came in and looked to play positively and was extremely unfortunate to lose his wicket. If the Mid Glamorgan umpire had read the LBW law, he certainly had not read the No-Ball law, with Cian caught off a clear no-ball but nevertheless dismissed. This problem also cost Pembrokeshire runs as a number of clear no-balls went uncalled by the same umpire.

Rhys Phelps (9) hit two lovely boundaries before being out to a smart caught and bowled by the excellent Cogbill (3 for 5), who also picked up the wickets of Dylan Sine and Louie Treadaway-Williams. He was clearly the pick of the bowlers, showing excellent control with his leg spin.

Sam Lynch looked really solid, putting on a good late partnership with Logan Hall (9). The final pairing of Jamie Keating (12 not out), who played some very nice shots, and William Harries ran very well to take their team to 127 at tea. Mr Extras had a busy day contributing 72 runs to the final total.

County battle hard Bird flies for Mid Glam

Pembrokeshire made a fine start to the defence of their total with an excellent bowling display. Openers Oscar Lewis and Cian Rees (1 for 9) bowled an excellent line. Skipper Oscar Willington and Kiaran Sine backed these two up as did William Harries (1 for 6) and Logan Hall. After 13 overs they had restricted Mid Glamorgan to 27 for 2, giving no width to the batsman. Cian clean bowled the opener and William picked up his wicket courtesy of a smart stumping from keeper Rhys Phelps.

With the pressure on the batsman, Ollie Arthur (1 for 15) picked up a further wicket and gave his team some real belief that victory was on the cards. However, Mid Glamorgan had an ace up their sleeve in Aaron Bird (48). It was easy to see why Bird is enjoying a successful season as he plundered runs all-round the wicket, showing maturity beyond his years.

He took his team to within a whisker of victory before he was dismissed by Louie Treadaway-Williams (1 for 15). He was well supported by Sam Watkins (14 not out) who played no less an important innings and eventually took his team over the line with two overs to spare.

Still on a learning curve

So, a defeat for the Pembrokeshire boys but a lot of positives to take away for coaches Steve Lewis and Jamie Phelps. Despite the heat, the ground fielding held up, with some excellent work from Oscar Willington in the deep where the ball followed him for a little while. The team as a whole bowled well with very few wides and in batting terms, with the top order under pressure, others stood up and played very positively.
So now it’s onward to the next challenge!

Team Photograph
Back Row: Sam Lynch, Dylan Sine, Logan Hall, Oscar Lewis, Louie Treadaway-Williams, Jamie Keating, Ollie Arthur
Front Row: William Harries, Phys Phelps, Oscar Willington, Cian Rees, Kiaran Sine