Narberth second team skipper Gary Hughes was full of praise for his team-mates after they stormed to victory in the final of the Alec Colley Cup. In last week's preview of the competition, the Otters' captain assumed that it was going to be a tight game with nothing between the sides; the reality was completely the opposite. Narberth romped home by the tune of 73 runs and Hughes couldn't fail to hide his delight at the result once he raised the cup aloft. "The first innings lead was important," he said. "I don't think we've won anything for 16 years or so, so it's nice to see the team do well, especially the youngsters. I'm absolutely delighted." What must have pleased him more was the fact that this really was a team effort. Narberth were more energetic in the field, they bowled with more control and purpose and their batting at times suggests that the future of the club is in good hands. The difference between the sides, apart from the strong team ethic, was without doubt the control and class of the two spinners. Cresselly skipper Richard Arthur was wary of their threat before the game and his prediction came true as Greg Morris and Matthew Johns took 12 of the 20 Cresselly wickets to fall. It was a feature of the game not lost on successful skipper Hughes. "Matthew and Greg were the difference; especially in the second innings when Cresselly were forced to throw the bat a little bit more. Fortunately for us we held on to all of our catches." Catches may win matches, but they mean nothing unless you score runs and Narberth did this to good effect in the first innings when they reached a creditable but not demanding total of 138-9. Cresselly must have thought it was their day when Dan Hughes departed with the score on 18 and had double cause for celebration when two further wickets fell with the score on 23, but number three Ceri Davies was not giving in easily. Treating the bowling with disdain, he smashed a quickfire 27, before veteran seamer Phil James enticed him into giving a catch to Simon Thomas. Star attraction Davy Johns came and went without troubling the scorers and at one stage Cresselly were well on top, with the score 64-5. Matthew Johns smashed a brief 19, but young Harry Allen rescued the show by hitting the Cresselly bowlers all around the park in an entertaining cameo of 32 to help push the score along. Matthew Lewis was Cresselly's most successful bowler with figures of 3-31, while Sion Jenkins took 3-43 and Phil James 2-15. In reply, Cresselly could only manage 93-9 as the Narberth quartet of Ben Quartermaine, Gary Hughes, Greg Morris and Matthew Johns kept the Cresselly batsmen at bay. Only Rhydian Rees with 11, Steve Davies with 13 and Steve Thomas with 23 managed double figures as Quartermaine took 2-26, Hughes 2-14, Morris 1-24 and Johns 4-24 in six miserly overs. It's always difficult for a team to come back after giving away a first innings lead, but conceding 45 runs with another 22 overs to go is virtual cricketing suicide; and so it proved to be. With runs in the bank, Narberth were able to start their second innings devoid of the pressures that a final can bring and expressed themselves as though they were batting for fun down the beach. Opener Andrew Williams got them off to a flying start as he smashed 40 runs in no time and together with opening partner Dan Hughes they put on 73 for the first wicket. After this brief start they lost their way a little as Cresselly's bowlers regained their composure, but still managed to reach 150-7. Davy Johns avoided the embarrassment of a cup final pair by racing to 10, while Harry Allen struck a confident 15, with Ben Quartermaine rounding things off with 14 not out at the end. This left Cresselly with the mammoth task of needing 196 to win, a total that even their first team would struggle to achieve. Their second innings got off to a poor start, losing their first wicket with the score on 13 as Scott Arthur was dismissed for eight, giving Harry Allen a catch in the deep off Hughes. Rhydian Rees and Simon Allen-Clark rescued things a little with a second wicket partnership worth 37, but once the latter departed for 23 the rot began to start. Steve Thomas struck 13 and Matthew Lewis 23 at the death, but their runs were in vain as Morris and Johns bamboozled them with their spin, taking 3 -35 and 4-27, respectively, as Cresselly were dismissed 73 runs short. Matthew Johns was adjudicated man of the match for his eight wickets over the two innings and his brief cameo with the bat in the first, but overall the entire Narberth team was just too strong on the day.
Presentation Ceremonies
During the post-match presentation ceremonies, Stanley Richards, president of the Pembroke County Cricket Club, presented commemorative medals to the umpire, Ray Kane, of Pembroke, and Rob Bellerby, of Neyland. In addition, he presented medals to the scorers, Idwal Vincent, of Narberth, and Des Brace, of Cresselly. Competition sponsor, Dick Parry, of Dyrham Service Station, Robeston Wathen, Pembroke cricket club, presented the Alec Colley Cup to Narberth skipper, Gary Hughes, and the medals to the winning team. Stanley Richards presented the runners-up medals to the Cresselly team. The presentation ceremony was compered by county chairman, David Morris, who thanked the competition sponsor, the Pembroke club for the use of the facilities and the teas and Kevin Jenkins and his colleagues for preparing such an excellent pitch to play the final. Man-of-the-match adjudicator, Kerry Waters, of Carew, referred to a number of quality performance by players of both teams, but nominated Matthew Johns, of Narberth, for his all round display with bat and ball and presented him with the Mike Leighs award.