Relegation candidates Llanrhian 1XI (156-9) did the business against Pembroke 1XI (155-9), winning by a single wicket with 4 balls to spare on the final day. Pembroke chose to bat first, scoring a respectable century and a half fronted by George Morgan (44) and Luke Harries (33). Pembroke’s batsmen struggled mostly against the latter change bowlers with Rhodri Owen (3-28) and Gwynant Watson (3-15) taking three apiece. Opener Jack Jones (2-25) also pitched in with two of his own. Llanrhian went into teas with their job set out for them, beat Pembroke’s 155-9 for a chance of avoiding relegation; dependent on other results. Opener Paul Lewis (32) put up and important total, followed up by number three Jack Jones (48) and then by fifth batsmen Llion Williams (19) who between the three of them brought the game within touching distance. The bowling was just as competitive however with Billy Wood (2-32), Gareth Long (2-28) and George Martin (2-34) working together with the rest of the Pembroke attack to bring Llanrhian down to their final man. With the game down to the wire, Llanrhian’s Dafydd Williams (13no) and Rhys Meredith-Barrett (4no) found the strength to push the total over the line in the dying embers. Potential salvation for Llanrhian, who could now only rely on Narberth 1XI toppling Carew 2XI to save them from the drop. For Pembroke, this game sees the end of a season in which the side finished in a competitive 4th position, a platform they will be hoping to build upon in a promotion campaign next season.
St Ishmaels 1XI (183-8) confirmed their title win with a comfortable victory over Johnston 1XI (158ao). Batting first after winning the toss, St Ishmaels’ Phil Llewellyn (66) and Lewis Rhead (24) opened strong, the rest of the runs coming from a dispersed team effort. Roshan Aryaz (3-31) was the most dangerous of Johnston’s bowlers, Jack (2-47) and Steven (2-19) Mills following behind. Almost exactly opposite to Llanrhian, St Ishmaels had simply to win the game with their bowling to guarantee the title. Things did not immediately go to plan for Tish however, Lee Summons (51) opened with a quick 50, followed by Leigh Walters (36) and Steven Mills (31) who together made the game look almost within Johnston’s grasp. Slowly but surely the wickets did fall, Brennan Devonald (3-37) and Andrew Pawlett (3-40) traded dismissals back and forth before Steven Williams (3-24) swept away the lower order. Johnston ultimately fell short by 25 runs, perhaps only one or two individual performances away from denying Tish their title. Johnston end their season exactly middle of the pack, safe from either extremity.
Hook 1XI (100-2) put up a dominant 8 wicket win against Llechryd 1XI (97ao), finishing the game in only 28 overs. Hook fielded after winning the toss, an opportunity which the likes of Jack Phillips (3-22) and Bradley Flood (3-6) capitalized on. Opener Brennan Martin (2-17) also joined in the wicket taking. Tomos Lewis (23) was the only Llechryd batsmen to score above 15, the rest of the order petering out by the 26th over. Brennan Martin (47) put up a man of the match performance by also scoring a quick near-half century, with the two openers Callum James (18) and William Goronwy (17no) putting up the majority of the remaining total. James Smith (1-36) and Jaap Harris (1-27) took Llechryd’s two wickets. A final day to forget for Llechryd who end the season solidly mid table in 6th. Hook finish the season at 3rd, their loss against Narberth 1XI keeping them short of promotion in the end. Hook will no doubt be positive about their chances of promotion next season if they can maintain their form from the end of this year.
Bottom of the league Burton 2XI (318-8) shocked Cresselly 2XI (263ao) in a high scoring affair by 55 runs. Batting first after winning the toss, Burton set the tone with a big display. The star of the innings was Dan Ridge (120), who struck a massive 120. Matthew Davies (57) and Will Ridge (49no) put up another century between them, resulting in their side dwarfing their previous best total this season by over 100 runs. Cresselly’s bowling was not without merit, with Griff Jenkins (2-50) and Ryan Lewis (2-59) among the wickets. Cresselly went into the break with a very ambitious triple century to chase. While in the end they fell short, Cresselly made an impressive effort to match the total, with the two openers Neal Griffiths (78) and Griff Jenkins (79) getting almost halfway there between them. The rest of the team failed to replicate their feats however, as Matthew Davies (6-43) tore apart the middle and lower order with an impressive 6fer. Burton will take this game as some reprieve for their bottom place finish in the league, whilst Cresselly finish 24 points clear of the drop in 7th.
Nightmare against Narberth (276-4) for Carew 2XI (72ao) who found themselves devastated by the promotion candidates in a must win affair. Carew put Narberth in to bat after winning the toss, a chance which Narberth’s Loui Davies (138no) reveled in, scoring nearly a century and a half unbeaten. Lewis Hough (50) and Shay Norcross (49) piled on more runs for Narberth, Sion Jenkins (2-44) the only Carew bowler to strike more than once in reply. The second innings saw no change in the momentum of the match, with quality bowling from Llew Jones (5-9) and Lewis Jones (4-37) stopping Carew’s batsmen from really getting off the mark. Dai Rees’ (30no) unbeaten 30 ended up being the only total over 15 for Carew. This result sees Carew 2XI relegated from Division Two on the final day of the season, leapfrogged by Llanrhian 1XI by 8 points who buy themselves another year in the division. Narberth finish their campaign in 2nd, Where they join St Ishmaels in promotion to Division One.
Photo credit: St Ishmaels Cricket Club
