Division One
Tomorrow's (Saturday's) local derby between Lawrenny and Cresselly will take on a new significance in a top of the table clash. Both clubs have won four out of five league matches to date and share the leadership of Division One on 133 points, Carew are second with 116 with St. Ishmaels fourth on 109 and the defending champions Haverfordwest fifth with 107 points. Last Saturday, Lawrenny travelled to Pembroke where the home team were bowled out for 151 despite the efforts of Phil Stephens with 46, Daniel Scourfield with 40 and Will Davies with 25. For the visitors, Ian Jenkins took 3 for 13, Steve Lewis 2 for 15 and all-rounder Ceri Jones 2 for 42. Although none of the Lawrenny batsmen had a big score, six got into double figures as the visitors won by three wickets. Andrew Cole and Christian Phillips both scored 27, Hugh Griffiths 25 not out, Steve Lewis 23, Ceri Jones 15 and Rob Williams was 10 not out. Spinner Nigel Phillips took 4 for 36 for Pembroke supported by Anton John with 3 for 53. Cresselly had a comfortable six wickets win at home to Narberth who were bowled out for 128. Aron Keane top scored with 36 from just 35 deliveries before being caught by Julian Arthur off the bowling of Lyn Richards and another young middle order batsman Joe Allen scored 15. The innings was given a late boost with a knock of 26 by Ben Hughes and 14 by Ben Quartermaine. Lyn Richards, Huw Neale and Richard Harris both took two wickets with Neale bowling eight maidens in his first nine overs and Ryan Lewis mopped up the tail in a 3 for 35 spell. Narberth made Cresselly fight for the runs with Ollie Cook in particular causing problems as he took 3 for 32 in 12 overs. Whilst other Cresselly batsmen struggled Simon Cole reigned supreme with 80 not out, including two sixes and 12 fours to take his team to victory. Haverfordwest had the better of a drawn game at home to Neyland who held out on a total of 112 for 6 in response to a Haverfordwest total of 185 for 4. Danny Potter with 60 and Richard James with 22 had an opening stand of 53 and the runs continued to flow with David Davies scoring 50 and Phil Kirkby 27. Henry Durant took 3 for 49 for Neyland and then Greg Miller prevented Harfat from winning with his undefeated knock of 60 which included one six and eight fours. The only other batsman in double figures was Paul Murray with 13. Town skipper Adrian Griffiths took 3 for 15 in 12 tight overs. Like Lawrenny, the cricketers from St. Ishmaels are dispelling the notion that the Division One championship would be a three horse race involving Cresselly, Carew and Haverfordwest. The Tish bowlers did well at Burton and bowled out the home team for 112. Burton did recover from a total of 28 for 5 thanks to the efforts of Chris Campbell with 28, Richard Scriven with 24 and Mark Griffiths with 21. James Salter took 5 for 27, Andrew Williams 2 for 16 and Jonathan Pawlett 2 for 28. A second wicket partnership of 59 between skipper Peter Bradshaw and Stuart Kimpton set up a six wickets win for Tish when the visitors reached 115 for 4. Bradshaw scored 44 before being caught by Mark Griffiths off the bowling of David Murphy. Stuart Kimpton scored 29 and Jonathan Pawlett was 20 not out. It was a tale of two collapses and two recoveries at Whitland where the visitors Carew totalled 173 for 9 having been reduced at one stage to 57 for 5. Simon Wood with 60 not out, including one six and seven fours, and Phil Jones with 36 rescued the Carew innings in their sixth wicket partnership of 96 which ended when Jones was bowled by Mathew Davies. Earlier Ian Sefton had scored 33. Matthew Davies caused problems with his swing and had a deserved return of 4 for 38 supported by Mark Lee who took 3 for 28 from his 12 overs. Whitland were also in trouble. Skipper Paul Webb had been injured when fielding and came in number eight. He combined with Mark Lee in a match saving a sixth wicket partnership of 63 which was broken just before the end of the match when Lee was bowled by Darren Thomas for 29 in a Whitland total of 131 for 7. Webb was undefeated on 28 and earlier there had been useful contributions of 23 by Owain Davies and 19 by Paul Davies. For Carew, Tim Hicks took 2 for 26 and Darren Thomas 2 for 37.
Division Two
Saundersfoot swept the floor with the visitors from Lamphey who were bowled out for 36 in reply to a Saundersfoot total of 216 for 6. Grant Cole took three quick wickets but Saundersfoot recovered from being 26 for three through a fourth wicket partnership of 118 between Steve Cole and Steve Cook. Cook had a solid innings of 41 with six fours and Cole scored 80 before being caught by Jason Oatley off the bowling of Hywel Gibbs after hitting four sixes and 11 fours. The Saundersfoot innings accelerated as Danny Caine blasted 53 from 20 deliveries in an innings which included four sixes and seven fours. Grant Cole took 3 for 49 for Lamphey and Hywel Gibbs 2 for 41. When Lamphey batted, Gibbs was the only player in double figures with 12. Off-spinner Simon Stanford took 4 for 16 and David Parcell 3 for 7. In addition, Danny Caine took 2 for 12 and 13- year-old David Dunfee opened the bowling and bowled four overs without conceding a run. Carew Seconds had a welcome first win of the season to move out of the relegation zone. Like their first team, Carew Seconds had a poor start and were 8 for 3, but Mathew Phillips with 72 and Tom Davies with 24 added 56 for the fourth wicket. Towards the end of the Carew innings, Gareth Brace batting number at 11 scored 10 not out and hit one huge six off the last ball of the innings with the ball landing near the score box. For Stackpole, Mathew Jackson took 3 for 37 and Alan Webster 2 for 49. Stackpole travelled to Carew with 10 players and were dismissed for 91, but young Josh Davies scored 49 including four fours and two sixes before being bowled by Tom Davies. Young leg-spinner Ceri Brace took 3 for 16 and Steve Ive 3 for 30. In other Division Two matches, Llangwm won by 124 runs at home to Llechryd, Hook lost to Llanrhian by three wickets after being dismissed for 127 and Haverfordwest Seconds who are second in the table had the better of a drawn game away to Fishguard who are third. Before tea, Haverfordwest Seconds were bowled out for 196 and the match ended with a Fishguard total on 133 for 7.
Division Three
The leaders Herbrandston reached a total of 146 for 7 at home to Cresselly Seconds. Nathan Banner scored 40 and Jonathan Bennett 37 whilst there were 24 extras. Spinner Nick Davies, Mathew Lewis and Sion Jenkins each picked up two wickets for the visitors. The match ended in a draw, with Cresselly Seconds on total of 100 for 8. Jim Kinnear top scored with 28 and Simon Allen-Clarke scored 17. Nathan Banner, Jonathan Bennett and Kristan Bennett each picked up two economical wickets for Herbie. Whitland Seconds were bowled out for 85 away to Johnston. Daniel Newton was 19 not out at the end, and his younger brother Scott also scored 19. For Johnston, Richard James took 3 for 9 and Ross Dewstowe 3 for 19. In an exciting finish, Johnston won by one wicket upon reaching 86 for 9. Openers Chris Goodridge and John Summons scored 19 and 14 respectively. For the visitors, Stuart Harries took 3 for 6, Raff Williams 3 for 13 and Shaun Lynch bowled five overs for no runs and picked up two wickets. Kilgetty are taking time to settle in Division Three and were bowled out for a disappointing total of 56 after the visitors Camrose and Spittal had reached 126 for 9. Skipper Malcolm Arnold top scored with 34 before being bowled by Richard Prout who was bowling spin because of a leg injury. David Isaac scored 18 and Dave Morgan 14. Alan Townsend was the leading wicket taker for Kilgetty with 3 for 23. Although Graham Jenkins scored 32 before being caught by Dave Morgan off the bowling of Darren Osborne, he lacked the necessary support apart from 16 by Anthony Bevan. Darren Osborne had a match-winning spell of 5 for 25 with David Crane and Dave Morgan each picking up two wickets. Narberth Seconds' opener Chris Richards batted throughout the Narberth innings at home to Hundleton with a gritty knock of 45 not out. He was the only batsman to come to terms with rather difficult conditions in a depleted team although his opening partner Emyr Jenkins scored 16. Hundleton won by four wickets upon reaching 110 for 6 with Richard Allen 21 not out and Martyn Tweedie 21. Richard Howell bowled accurately to end with 4 for 19.
Division Four
A close match at St. Florence ended with the first victory of the season for bottom club St. Florence and the second defeat of the season for fourth placed Haverfordwest Thirds. Haverfordwest were put in on a drying pitch and found the going tough against some accurate pace bowling and top class fielding. Opening bowlers Ben McDonnell and Richard Jones restricted Haverfordwest to just 28 runs in their 16 over opening spell. Tommy Roberts and Peter Hall continued the pressure and it wasn't until the 28th over before 50 was on the board. By then three wickets were down, the third of these falling to a brilliant run-out by Adam Johns who threw the stumps down with just one to aim at. John Tooze made a creditable 31, but it wasn't until the last 10 overs that Haverfordwest threw caution to the wind and attacked the bowling with James Marchant remaining undefeated on 46 in a total of 124 for 6. Richard Jones took 3 for 38 from 11 and whilst Tommy Roberts didn't take a wicket, his nine overs only cost 17 runs. The St. Florence innings kept pace with the required rate of just over three per over as the pitch became slightly easier in the drying wind. The 50 came up in only the 18th over with just one wicket down, that of the unfortunate Peter Hall. Steve Hughes and Ben McDonnell put on 59 for the second wicket before Steve Hughes was bowled for 29. Ben McDonnell kept the pace of the innings moving as he lost two further partners before he was joined by Richard Jones. The two of them knocked off the remaining runs to give St. Florence victory in the 37th over with 127 for 4. Ben McDonnell finished the match with a boundary giving him a superb career best 71no and Richard Jones a whippet-like 12no. The most successful bowler for Haverfordwest was James Marchant with 2 for 12. Manorbier batted first at home to Pembroke Seconds and lost both openers early on with the score on 14. Jeremy Smith then walked to the wicket to steady the ship, but lost another two partners by the time the 13th over had arrived with the score on 39 for four with all four wickets falling to Leigh Jenkins. Will Davidson then provided good middle order support for Smith; they managed a partnership of 42, with Davidson accumulating 20 runs. Smith was then joined by the Neil Powling and they managed to get a useful partnership going before Smith was dismissed for 42. Another partnership developed between Phil Lawrence and Powling. Powling made a fine 21 runs, before Mark Meyrick had a more than useful cameo performance of 22 not out at the end to take the total onto 171-8 at the close. In reply, the visitors lost Simon Smith-Wrench with the very first ball from the zippy bowling of opener Davidson. Pembroke lost wickets consistently and could not get any partnerships going in the middle. The home side's fielding was sharp, and put pressure on the batsman as much as possible. Powling bowled a very good spell, finishing with 4 for 18 off his 12 overs. Will Davidson continued his fine form with good pace and accuracy and finished with three for 25 off eight overs. Top score for Pembroke was Leigh Jenkins with 16. Pembroke were dismissed for 68, and Manorbier won by 103 runs. Commenting to Observer Sport, club secretary Will Hughes said: "It was nice to see the old pro Phil Kidney have his first bowl of the season and take 3 for 16 off just under five overs. Phil is sweating a bit with all the competition for the bowling trophy this year and still has to get seven more wickets to qualify! Many thanks go to Flooky and Tiger for umpiring." Pembroke Dock won by three wickets at Lawrenny after restricting Lawrenny Seconds to a total of 137 for 7. Barry Phillips scored 45 with six fours and one six supported by skipper John Fuller with 31 and Jamie Phillips with 22. John Davies took 4 for 28 for the Dock and James White 3 for 43. All-rounder Davies also steered the visitors to victory with his undefeated knock of 35 backed up by Steve Hartley with 24 and Julian Edwards with 20. The evergreen Owen Williams took 2 for 21 and John Fuller 2 for 34 for Lawrenny. Division Five
Greg Morris scored 40 and Neil Rossiter 16 in a Narberth Thirds total of 133 all out at home to Carew Thirds at Llanddewi Velfrey. For the visitors, Dan Edwards took 3 for 20 and there were two wickets each for Ieuan Davies, Dominic Hicks and Caryl Brace. In response, Carew Thirds were dismissed for 66 as Neil Rossiter took 3 for 3. Mark Hicks and Ieuan Griffiths were the only batsmen in double figures with 18 and 11 respectively. Whitland Thirds were held to a total of 116 for 9 away to Camrose and Spittal Seconds. The experienced Colin John scored 31 and Nathan Evans had a useful knock of 22. For Camrose and Spittal Seconds, Rob John took 3 for 22, Gelly James 3 for 18 and David Maddocks 2 for 26. Maddocks also starred with a bat in a knock of 73 not out, including seven fours and three sixes to guide Camrose and Spittal Seconds to a six wickets win. The home team also picked up an extra bonus point on reaching 120 for 4. Carl Smith took 2 for 23 for the visitors. Lamphey Seconds picked up their second win of the season after bowling out the visitors Burton Thirds for 67. Lamphey skipper Andrew Skeels took 6 for 36 and Lewis Haines 2 for 0. In reply, the Lamphey team reached 69 for 3 to win by seven wickets. Lewis Haines had an attacking innings of 32, whilst Barry Dilworth provided ideal support with an undefeated innings of 27.
Division Six (a)
Saundersfoot Seconds had a comfortable nine wickets win away to Stackpole Seconds after dismissing the home team for 78. Phil Tallett held the Stackpole innings together with a fighting 36 as Yannick Parker took 4 for 22 for the visitors supported by Chris Hawkes with 2 for 16. A second wicket partnership of 68 between Paul Morris who was 43 not out with eight fours and Roger Stanford with 25 not out took the visitors to a winning total of 79 for 1. Fishguard Seconds were dismissed for exactly 100 in their away match against Hundleton Seconds. John de Groot top scored with 34 as David Pratt took 3 for 23 for the Hundleton team. Although Steve Williams scored 31 and Dean Williams 25, Hundleton Seconds were bowled out for 87 to lose by 13 runs.
Division Six (b)
Cresselly Thirds won by three wickets away to Pembroke Dock Seconds who were bowled out for 109. John Camani scored nearly half of his team's runs in his innings of 52. Ten of the Cresselly players were aged 16 or under and two bowlers who play for Cresselly under 13s did the bulk of the damage with the ball as Alex Bayley took 5 for 14 and Zach Cole 3 for 16. Opening batsman Jack Murphy another under 13 player remained firm at one end when Cresselly replied with a splendid innings of 34 not out and later he had some assistance from a more experienced player in skipper David Cherry who scored 24 not out. John Camani followed up his batting to take 2 for 22. Kilgetty Seconds would have been disappointed after being bowled out for 68 in their away match against Llanrhian Thirds. However, it was all smiles at the end of the match for the visitors after Llanrhian Thirds were bowled out for 54 and Kilgetty Seconds won by 14 runs.