PHOTOS:
Delighted winners Haverfordwest 3rds
Runners up Carew (Pic by Susan McKehon)
Scorers: Alison Sanders and Jacob Knox
Umpires Allan Hansen and Huw Davies
Delighted Haverfordwest skipper Matthew Vaughan raises the Ken Morris Cup aloft
Kern Cunningham hits one of his 12 big sixes (Pic by Susan McKehon)
 

 

Ken Morris Cup Final:

Haverfordwest 3rds (119 for 8 & 164 for 4) beat Carew 3rds (103 for 5 & 102 all out) by 78 runs

Umpires: Allan Hansen & Huw Davies
Scorers: Alison Sanders & Jacob Knox
Venue: The Lewis Lloyd Ground, Narberth
Man of the Match Adjudicator: Gary Hughes
Man of the Match: Kern Cunningham (Haverfordwest)
 
Haverfordwest Thirds made it a club cup treble as they comfortably beat their counterparts from Carew to win the Ken Morris Cup, emulating their firsts in winning the Harrison-Allen Bowl and their seconds in pouching the Alec Colley Cup.
 

Both teams had the usual mix of talented youngsters like Max Rodriguez and Charlie Clinton (Haverfordwest), plus Iori Hicks, Dom Booth and Tom Lewis (Carew) – alongside veterans enjoying their day in the sun on a Lewis Lloyd Ground which looked a picture.

 
But it was Haverfordwest who held the key player in 21 year old Kern Cunningham, who smashed four sixes and two fours in a first innings’ 55 and was even more damaging after tea with an innings of 67 that was made from only 21 balls in 18 minutes, including eight huge sixes, four off as many balls from the unfortunate Jeremy Griffiths.
 
Haverfordwest rattled up 90 runs during his short stay and their final tally of 164 for 4, allied to a first-innings lead of 16 runs, set Carew an unlikely target of 181 runs for a Carew win.
 

Haverfordwest 119 for 8

Put in to bat, Haverfordwest made a disappointing start as Darren Thomas quickly removed Max Rodriguez and Charlie Clinton before Jasper Holmes found a willing ally in Cunningham, who announced his arrival with boundaries off the first two balls he faced.

Holmes eventually departed for 23 to give Thomas good figures of 3 for 19, whilst old-timer Kerry Waters (2 for 35) and teenager Iori Hicks (3 for 43) also got amongst the wickets.

But Cunningham sped to his half century in only 29 balls with two successive sixes that left the ground before he was caught by 14 year old Carew keeper Dom Booth.

Dean Flood and the ageless Micky Phillips contributed late runs as The Town finished on 119 for 8 from their allotted 20 overs.
 

Carew 103 for 5

Carew paired veteran left hander Mark Hicks with 16 year old Tom Lewis to open their batting, with Lewis adopting the anchor role and Hicks showing his strength on the leg side in an opening stand of 55 made from 11 overs.
Lewis departed for 11, stumped by George Thomas off Haverfordwest skipper Matthew Vaughan, who showed good line and length to take 3 for 18, ably assisted by Micky Phillips (only 14 runs in five overs) and Charlie Clinton (2 for 8).

Hicks belted two sixes and four fours, two of them awarded for hitting the famous tree at the Lewis Lloyd Ground, before he was bowled by Vaughan for 45 runs, and received assistance from Russell Knox (25), but Haverfordwest were allowed to bowl two maidens and Carew had to settle for 103, with only five wickets down.
 

Haverfordwest 164 for 6

Haverfordwest lost Jasper Holmes for a duck but ‘young guns’ Max Rodriguez and Charlie Clinton fired well with respective scores of 28 and 31 before Rodriguez was out ‘hit wicket’ to Iori Hicks, having hit three sixes and a four, and Clinton was caught by Thomas off Davies with five fours to his name.

It was positive stuff but the batting mayhem really started when Cunningham strode to the crease and smashed the ball to all corners of the ground and had supporters ducking quickly out of the way. His eight sixes saw balls fly out of the ground on several occasions and he lashed four off as many balls against experienced Carew bowler Jeremy Griffiths.

He reached 50 in only 18 balls and had sped to 67 from 21 deliveries during his 18-minute stay at the crease, without a single ‘dot ball’.

Phil Kirkby added late runs and The Town’s final score of 164 for 6 saw Aled Davies claim 4 for 44 in four overs, with a wicket each for Thomas and Hicks.
 

Carew 102 all out

Carew’s only hope of reaching such a massive target demanded an excellent start but they were soon at 14 for 2 as Mark Hicks and Darren Thomas departed early to Micky Phillips and Dean Flood.

Tom Lewis (three fours in his 24) and Aled Davies (37, including four fours and a six) added 45 runs but the run rate was never above six an over and after Phillips (2 for 29) and Flood (1 for 31) had bowled tightly it was Vaughan (3 for 28) and Clinton (4 for 14) who made sure of a comfortable win.

Jeremy Griffiths and Booth managed double figures for Carew, with Griffiths picking up an unusual six when he ran two and the return throw from the fielder had the tree involved for the third time as four runs are awarded if the ball touches it in play.

Carew were dismissed in their final over for 102 runs and so Haverfordwest were able to receive the trophy from Paul Morris and the excellent individual trophies were presented by his older brother Richard to round off an entertaining day’s cricket..
 

SCORECARD:
 
First Innings:

 
Haverfordwest Batting:
Jasper Holmes ct Adam Davies b Darren Thomas 23
Max Rodriguez ct Tom Lewis b Darren Thomas 4
Charlie Clinton b Darren Thomas 1
Kern Cunningham ct Dom Booth b Iori Hicks 55
Filgi Varghese ct Tom Lewis b Kerry Waters 2
Phil Kirkby ct Dom Booth b Kerry Waters 3
John Tooze b Iori Hicks 8
George Thomas b Iori Hicks 6
Dean Flood not out 10
Micky Phillips not out 4
Extras 3
Total (8 wickets) 119
 
Carew Bowling:
Darren Thomas 5-0-19-3, Harry Cook 5-0-19-0; Kerry Waters 5-0-35-2; Iori Hicks 5-0-43-3
 
Carew Batting:
Mark Hicks b Matthew Vaughan 45
Tom Lewis st George Thomas b Matthew Vaughan 11
Russell Knox not out 25
Harry Cook ct Phil Kirkby b Matthew Vaughan 0
Darren Thomas ct Filgi Varghese 1
Aled Davies ct Kern Cunningham 2
Dan Booth not out 2
Extras 17
Total (5 wickets) 103
 
Haverfordwest Bowling:
Micky Phillips 5-1-14-0; Dean Flood 5-0-28-0; Phil Kirkby 3-0-31-0; Matthew Vaughan 5-1-18-3; Charlie Clinton 2-0-8-2
 

Second Innings:

 
Haverfordwest Batting:
Jasper Holmes b Darren Thomas 0
Max Rodriguez b Iori Hicks 28
Charlie Clinton ct Darren Thomas b Aled Davies 31
Kern Cunningham st Dom Booth b Aled Davies 67
Filgi Varghese ct Dom Booth b Aled Davies 7
John Tooze not out 5
George Thomas ct Harry Cook b Aled Davies 6
Phil Kirkby not out 12
Extras 8
Total (6 wickets) 164
 
Carew Bowling:
Darren Thomas 5-0-23-1; Harry Cook 4-0-28-0; Aled Davies 5-0-46-4; Iori Hicks 2-0-21-1; Jeremy Griffiths 4-0-44-0
 
Carew Batting:
Mark Hicks ct Charlie Clinton b Micky Phillips 1
Tom Lewis ct Filgi Varghese b Micky Phillips 24
Darren Thomas ct Max Rodriguez b Dean Flood 3
Aled Davies ct Dean Flood b Matthew Vaughan 37
Russell Knox ct & b Charlie Clinton 3
Dom Booth b Charlie Clinton 10
Jeremy Griffiths b Charlie Clinton 11
Harry Cook st George Thomas b Matthew Vaughan 2
Iori Hicks b Charlie Clinton 0
Huw Benbow st George Thomas b Matthew Vaughan 0
Kerry Waters not out 1
Extra 10
Total (all out) 102
 
Haverfordwest Bowling:
Micky Phillips 5-0-19-2; Dean Flood 5-0-31-1; Charlie Clinton 5-0-24-4; Matthew Vaughan 5-0-28-3