History was made in the Peel Cricket Association round eight grade F fixture in Australia with a record breaking last wicket stand that saw them gain a victory that seemed totally unlikely until Halls Head’s last pair came to the crease against a Warnbro team that had batted first and totalled 199 for 6.
 
And there was a real Pembrokeshire interest since former Lamphey all-rounder Dave Lovell came in at No 10 with his side desperate on 61 for 9 and was joined by 13 year old son Joe in a stand of 168 before Lovell junior gave a return catch to Keith Rodwell with just five balls of their allotted 40 overs to go and with Halls Head having soared to 229 all out to secure victory on the first innings.
 

Huge innings from Dave

 
David, who coaches the club’s under 14 team which has Joe as a promising young leg-break bowler and so plays limited cricket these days, finished unbeaten of 123 - including 12 fours and six sixes - while his son hit a career best 36, having earlier taken 3-41 with the ball, including that of top scorer Rob Wallace (83).
 
After a 38-run opening stand Halls Head slipped to 61 for 9 and it seemed only a matter of time before they would lose heavily.
 
Dave, an accomplished cricketer who played Minor Counties’ cricket for Wales and for several of the top counties’ second XIs, coaches Joe’s under 14s team and only fills in for F-grade when required.
 “It was an awesome feat just on its own but to be able to do it with my son made it all that more special,” Dave said.
“Playing with your son in any sport is an honour and a privilege; I was just happy to coach his junior team.”
 

Joe delighted to see dad bat

 
Joe said he was really nervous when he came to the crease.
“Dad said if you stay out with me we can do this,” Joe said, “so I was really happy when we made it.
“It was special to do it with dad; people always had told me you should see your dad bat but I never had been able to.
“He played cricket in Wales; to see him bat close up was amazing.”
 

Captain’s delight

 
Halls Head’s F-grade captain Ashley Wyborn said the team were obviously worried they had thrown the game away.
“Our side was chasing 200 to win,” he said, “so it was a great effort.”
 
Wyborn said the Halls Head Cricket Club focused on developing young talent and had so far played eight boys under the age of 14.
“They gain experience playing against the men,” he said.
“They [the younger players] may not have the strength of the men but they are going to be really good cricket players when they're older.
“I’ve captained the lower grades for a long time and I get a real kick out of seeing the younger players go on and play A-grade and for Rockingham-Mandurah,” he said.
 

Sporting family

 
Joe said he liked playing in the senior grades compared to the juniors.
“In the seniors you don’t have to retire after 20 balls,” he said.
“It's tougher, some of the guys can bowl pretty quickly.”
In his junior cricket side Joe is yet to get out and he also plays soccer for Madora Bay and does triathlons.
 
His brother Sas (6) is also a keen sportsman and mum Sharon, who hails from Wales, works as a local school teacher and is the maths specialist and junior teacher, as well as looking after their three year old daughter.
 
PembrokeshireSport.co.uk would like to congratulate Dave and Young Joe – and wish the Lovell family a happy Christmas from cricket across our county.