Assistant secretary's report
Assistant secretary John Harries said: "Last season 542 games were arranged. From this a total of 327 were played to a conclusion, a 60 per cent completion rate. In addition, 90 games were drawn, with a further two games being tied, giving 16 per cent of games being drawn. A total of 95 games were cancelled prior to any commencement of play and a further 30 games which commenced but failed to be played to a conclusion due to the weather, in total 125 games were rain affected, 24 per cent. "It was unfortunate that four of the arranged games cancelled were not played due to one team being unable to field a side. "Division One tended to be a three-horse race, with Haverfordwest ending the season as champions; they were chased hard by Carew and Cresselly. It was a credit to Haverfordwest, losing only one game. Whilst at the bottom it was Pembroke and Hook in the relegation spots, but it was only Hook who went down as Haverfordwest 2nds won Division Two and saved Pembroke. "In Division Two, as stated, Haverfordwest 2nds took the championship, but the division was nip and tuck all the way, with Llangwm chasing hard, only to fail at the last hurdle, with Burton pipping them to the promotion post by winning at Johnston. There was only three points difference between the three teams. The base of the division saw Johnston and Herbrandston dropping to Division Three. "It was Fishguard who won Division Three, despite losing to Llechryd in the last game of the season, which saw these two teams being promoted at the expense of Whitland 2nds. At the lower end of the division, it was Manorbier and Maenclochog who went down to Division Four. "With Division Four, it was Cresselly 2nds who monopolised the division and gained a well- deserved promotion to Division Three. They were followed up by Kilgetty, whose march up the divisions continues. It was unfortunate that last year's promoted Burton 3rds along with Lamphey 2nds went down to Division Five. "Division Five was dominated by Haverfordwest 3rds, who went on to win the division, and made it a triple for the Haverfordwest club. They were followed to Division Four by the improving St. Florence. At the base of the division, Stackpole 2nds and Hook 2nds were relegated to Division Six. "Division Six is governed by the percentage rule, but we saw Herbrandston 2nds top the table from start to finish, and deservedly gained promotion to Division Five. They were followed by Narberth III, who narrowly pipped Haverfordwest 4ths to the post. "In Division One there were six scores in excess of 100, with Phil Kirkby, of Haverfordwest, with the highest score of 127. On the bowling front, there were two seven-wicket hauls, with the 7 for 9 by Ollie Cook, of Narberth, being the pick. Further to this, five players had six-wicket returns. "In Division Two there were five scores in excess of 100, with James Venables, of Burton, taking the honours with a magnificent 155. In addition there were two scores in the 140s. With the bowling, five players returned figures with six wickets, but Anthony Canton, of Stackpole, with 6 for 13 was the best. "In Division Three there were only three scores over 100,with a fine 128 by David Haynes, of Fishguard, topping the bill. On the bowling front, only two players took seven wickets, Jonathan Williams, of Hundleton, 7 for 34, taking the honours. "Division Four saw four scores in excess of 100, and it was the evergreen Graham Jenkins, of Kilgetty, who topped the sheet with two hundreds, one of 125 and another of 124. The bowling was taken by yet another Kilgetty player, Richard Prout, who produced the outstanding figures of 8 for 24. "In Division Five, four players recorded scores greater than a ton, but Gareth Loveridge 125n.o. from the Camrose and Spittal club was the best. It fell to one of our youngest players to show the way on the bowling front, namely young Ceri Brace from Carew with a fabulous 7 for 24 - what an example. "It was Division Six that showed the rest of the divisions how to score runs, with a grand total of ten scores in excess of 100, with the best being Billy Brant from Llangwm 3rds with a totally awesome knock of 176, especially in a limited overs match. There were also three players with seven- wicket returns, the best being Narberth 3rds' John Owen with 7 for 6. "It is interesting to note that the highest score in the whole league was recorded by Llangwm 3rds, who amassed the grand total of 346 for 3 in 40 overs, an excellent display of positive batting." Turning to the forthcoming season, he added: "This year's season starts on April 28 in a break with the traditional start in May. "This has been done to accommodate the first class match between Glamorgan and Surrey on Monday, May 28, at Cresselly, which should have been a league fixture date. The county executive felt that all cricketers in the county would wish to see this match, so it was a case of trying to compromise for this season. Various options were raised, but it was felt that the April start to the season was the best solution. "This year the league will consist of divisions one to five as normal, plus divisions six a and six b. This has been done to retain Stackpole 2nds and Stackpole 3rds within the league structure. The committee did not wish to lose any team out of the league, but had to adhere to the league rules. "It would be remiss of me at this point not to welcome Cresselly 3rds into the league; they will be playing home fixtures at the St. Florence ground. Division 6a will consist of seven teams and Division 6b six teams, "I would point out that the league tables in divisions 6a and 6b will be on the percentage rule this season. "It should be noted that only the one team from each of divisions 6a and 6b will gain promotion to division five "I would now like to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to all the clubs, and especially those club members who were responsible for telephoning in the results, and sending in the result cards. It was all brilliant last year and greatly appreciated, hence the low levels of fines. With a quick reference to the phone calls, all were in by 10.30 and this greatly assisted in the quick production of results and tables for distribution to the press and media. "I would also thank my righthand man, whom many of you speak to on a Saturday night, Lyn Smith, who conscientiously answers the phone, and helps with the production of the league fixtures and tables; his help is greatly appreciated. "It only remains for me to wish all the clubs and individual players all the best for the forthcoming season."