LAWRENNY were victorious in the Harrison Allen Bowl Final on Saturday (Aug 31) as they won a tense game by five wickets.
It was their first Bowl win in 23 years and came as a great relief having lost the final last year and in 2019 and 2018.
Saundersfoot had beaten Neyland in their run to their first ever final and they played their part in a fantastic day for Pembrokeshire cricket.
It was a great day for it as sun shone on the excellent Cresselly pitch and a large crowd gathered for the game.
The experienced duo of Rob Bellerby and Dave Bonner were the umpires for the game and they welcomed both captains in for the toss.
It was Lawrenny who won it, choosing to bowl first, meaning they would have the final innings.
Saundersfoot started nervously as they lost three early wickets to slip to 10-3.
Tom Mansbridge was bowled by Rob Williams and Oscar Lewis then had Danny Caine caught by Will Allen.
And when Williams had Sam Franklin caught by Joe Kidney the first-time finalists were in trouble.
Nick Cope and John Mansbridge steadied the ship though as they added 83 runs for the fourth wicket.
Cope crashed five sixes and a four in his score of 47 but he was then caught by Troy Purslowe off the bowling of Lewis.
Soon after, Ryan Morton trapped Simon Stanford LBW and he also bowled Danny Brace who had hit one six for a score of 7.
John Mansbridge hit four fours and a six as he scored 36 but he then fell to the bowling of Purslowe.
Gareth Edwards did hit a four off the last ball of the innings as Saundersfoot finished on 118-7.
Lawrenny made a similar start to their innings, scoring just 20 from the first five overs.
Will Allen hit a four and a six in his score of 11 but he was caught and bowled by Sam Franklin.
Troy Purslowe did the same in his score of 10 before falling to John Mansbridge, leaving Lawrenny on 31-2.
Harry Thomas was joined at the crease by Will Nicholas and the pair added 54 runs for the third wicket as they looked to up the tempo.
Nicholas hit three fours in his score of 24 but he was then caught by Scott Helmich off the bowling of Tom Mansbridge.
Ryan Morton was run out by Simon Stanford as Lawrenny slipped to 89-4.
Thomas had hit three fours in his score of 40 but he was then caught by Helmich off the bowling of Nick Cope.
Joe Kidney was also run out as Lawrenny looked to build a lead.
But with the score at 101-6 in the 20th over, it did not look likely.
However, Tom Cole took over as he thumped two fours and four sixes in his unbeaten score of 37 from only 13 balls.
That propelled Lawrenny to a first innings score of 133-7, a lead of 15 runs.
Saundersfoot knew that they would need a good total to leave Lawrenny with a tough chase.
Saundersfoot started well, wiping out the lead with Simon Stanford and Tom Mansbridge sharing 32 runs for the first wicket in the opening five overs.
Stanford hit five fours in his score of 24 from 15 balls but he was caught by Will Allen off the bowling of Ryan Morton.
Soon after, Rob Williams bowled Nick Cope and when Morton had Mansbridge caught by Oscar Lewis on a score of 11, Saundersfoot had slipped to 45-3.
James Caine and John Mansbridge could only add another 19 runs in the next 5 overs as they struggled to put runs on the board.
Caine was then caught by Joe Kidney off the bowling of Finley Lewis, and, with the score on 64-4, Saundersfoot’s lead was only 49.
It got worse for them in the next over as Danny Brace was caught by Harry Thomas off the bowling of Oscar Lewis.
John Mansbridge made a patient 15 but he was then bowled by Morton to leave Saundersfoot on 79-6.
With only four overs to go they knew they would need a big innings from someone and it came from Yannic Parker.
He smacked five fours and a six as he made 29 from 12 balls before being bowled by Morton who finished with figures of 4-34.
Gareth Edwards hit two fours to finish unbeaten on 15 and Danny Caine hit a six to finish unbeaten on 11.
That gave Saundersfoot a score of 132-7, setting Lawrenny 117 to win the game.
Lawrenny’s final chase did not get off to the best of starts as they fell to 6-2.
They lost Will Allen when he was bowled by Sam Franklin and moments later, Harry Thomas was caught by Danny Brace off the bowling of Nick Cope.
Ryan Morton and Troy Purslowe added 26 runs for the third wicket but Saundersfoot struck again as John Mansbridge claimed the wicket of Morton who had scored 19 (14 balls).
Six balls later, Franklin bowled Will Nicholas to leave Lawrenny on 40-4 in the tenth over.
Purslowe and Tom Cole then shared 43 runs to tip the game back in Lawrenny’s favour.
Cole, much like his first innings, continued to find the boundary, hitting two fours and three sixes as he scored 32 from 18 balls before being bowled by Cope.
It left Lawrenny on 83-5 but try as they might, Saundersfoot could not take any further wickets.
Purslowe hit three fours and two sixes as he finished on 38 not out.
Joe Kidney hit a four to win the game and he fell to the floor in celebration.
Tom Cole was named as man of the match for his two innings and Lawrenny captain Ryan Morton was then presented with the Harrison Allen Bowl.
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