Division One

Cresselly cricket ground was quieter on Saturday than it had been on the Bank Holiday Monday for the Glamorgan match. Nevertheless, the cricket was just as absorbing in the Division One local derby between Cresselly and Carew. The visitors set a challenging target with a total of 185 for 9. The early middle order batted consistently without any one player going to make a major score. All- rounder Wayne Cannon scored 41 with five 4s and a six before he was run out by a direct hit from the boundary by Cresselly opening batsman Andrew Harris. Opener Ian Sefton scored 33, Brian Hall 26 and Simon Wood 23. Two old heads in skipper Lyn Richards and Richard Harris took the pace off the ball effectively. Harris finished with 3 for 34 and Richards with figures of 3 for 35. Despite the early loss of Julian Arthur, Cresselly started like a train. However, when Simon Cole was caught by wicket-keeper Adam Hughes off the bowling of Simon Wood for 27, the run rate slowed down. Andrew Harris scored 30, Adam Chandler 23 and Phil Williams 18, but when Cresselly found themselves on 103 for 6 with 15 overs left, it was important for the home team to rebuild the innings. Despite a number of close shaves, Lyn Richards and Richard Harris did just that, in an unbroken seventh wicket partnership of 52 which gave Cresselly a full quota of batting bonus points and one more important draw point. Richards finished with 28 not out and Harris with 24 not out as the pair defied the attempts of the Carew bowlers to break the partnership. In matches between the two clubs, the tactics are different to that employed when the clubs face other opposition. The underlying principle is that "Whatever happens, we must not lose this game!" This could be seen with the tactics in the closing overs where Carew defended the boundaries to put the risk of a defeat out the question, but at the same time Richards and Harris picked up crucial singles which brought the score nearer and nearer to firstly 150 and then to another key figure of 155 for 6. Up until that point the Cresselly pair had also batted as if they had no intention of losing the game and did not succumb to the temptation of trying to take the bowling on. All of the Carew bowlers bowled tightly. All- rounders Tim Hicks and Simon Wood finished with returns of 2 for 38 and 2 for 29, respectively. It was an exciting game at Pembroke, even though Pembroke were bowled out for the modest total of 80 by the visitors, Neyland. Will Davies scored 21, Phil Hay 20, while the six- pronged Neyland bowling attack each picked up a wicket. Jeremy Charles took 3 for 42 and spinner Gary Lloyd 2 for 14. In the closing stages, Patrick Hannon showed what Neyland had missed during the time the young player was injured as he took 3 for 5 in just over five overs. Neyland also found runs hard to come by, especially off the bowling of Kevin Jenkins, who took 5for 17 in his 12 accurate overs. Another experienced player, Nigel Phillips, took 2 for 26, but Phil Sutton proved to be the Neyland hero, as he has been so often over the years. When wicket-keeper Sean Hannon joined Sutton at the crease 11 runs were needed from the last pair to win the match. Sutton grasped the nettle and hit three 4s from four deliveries bowled by Perry Phillips, the only runs the young bowler conceded, to win the match for the visitors. Sutton finished with 37 not out, but Neyland remain in the relegation zone. St. Ishmaels have looked a good side in the making for the last two or three years. The well-balanced team showed their combined worth on Saturday on their visit to Haverfordwest where the Haverfordwest batsmen were bowled out for just 65 runs as they grafted until the last over. After the early order failed, Nick Dyer with 18 and skipper Adrian Griffiths with 16 gave the team total a degree of respectability. It was top quality bowling by the varied Tish bowling attack. James Salter, who has impressed many an impartial judge this season, bowled his heart out and conceded just 13 runs in his 10 overs, while his opening partner, Jonathan Pawlett, took 2 for 13 in his 12 overs. Off-spinners Daniel Flynn and Andrew Salter picked up the rest of the wickets, with the 14-year-old Salter taking 5 for 23 and Flynn took 2 for 14. Skipper Peter Bradshaw continued his good form for Tish to score 25 not out and with Andrew Palmer scoring 24, the visitors won by eight wickets. Whitland's batsmen prospered at home to Burton, with two left-handers, Paul Webb and Paul Davies, being in excellent form. Skipper Webb led the way with a solid innings of 64 not out, supported by Paul Davies with 35. On the departure of Davies, Kevin Pearce maintained the momentum with his knock of 24 not out, while earlier, both David Lee and Mathew Davies had scored 17. The Whitland bowlers had the Burton batsmen on the rack at 42 for 6 chasing a Whitland total of 180 for 3. However, Steve Jones has been in these situations before and he stood between Whitland and victory with his fighting innings of 32 not out. Jones batted in tandem with Jonathan Morgan, who scored 23, and the pair added 41 for the eighth wicket to salvage a draw as they took the Burton total to 115 for 8. Mathew Davies took 3 for 25, Bobby Webb 3 for 24 and Iestyn Scourfield 2 for 22. There was an interesting game at Narberth where the visitors Lawrenny bowled out the Narberth team for 97. Ian Hughes and his brother Marc had given Narberth an excellent start with an opening partnership of 47, which ended when Ian Hughes was stumped by Christian Phillips off the bowling of Ian Jenkins for 27. Richard Adams went quickly trapped leg before wicket to Steve Lewis and then Marc Hughes was caught by Steve Lewis off the bowling of Ian Jenkins for 20 having faced 71 deliveries. From that point onwards, the Lawrenny bowlers were on top, but teenager Kyle Quartermaine resisted in his innings of 19 before being bowled by former Narberth player Ceri Jones. All of the Lawrenny bowlers were reluctant to concede runs. Spinner Ian Jenkins did most of the damage with his 5 for 32 spell, supported by skipper Steve Lewis with 2 for 26. All-rounder Ceri Jones finished off the innings by taking 2 for 6 in his two overs. Lawrenny did not have things all their own way in reply as wickets fell at fairly regular intervals. Opener Andrew Cole was bowled by Ollie Cook after scoring 21 and his opening partner Simon Cole had been bowled earlier for 15. The middle order was taken out by the spin of Matthew Johns and the seam of left arm bowler Ian Hughes, but Ceri Jones made sure of a Lawrenny victory with his undefeated innings of 33, which included three sixes, supported by Hugh Griffiths, as the pair took the total from 70 for 6 to 98 for 6. Ollie Cook ended with figures of 2 for 42 and spinner Matthew Johns took 2 for 21.

Division Two

Saundersfoot had a significant nine wickets win away to Fishguard who had been restricted to a total 106 for 9. Jonathan Strawbridge scored 38, supported by skipper Nigel Morgan with 17. Saundersfoot skipper Chris Parker was restored to first team duties and took 4 for 16 from his 12 overs. In the Saundersfoot reply, the stylish Paul Mansbridge scored 54 not out, supported by Mike Franklin with 46 not out, as Saundersfoot reached a winning total of 110 for 1. Carew Seconds appeared to have recovered their winning ways in division two. The visitors Lamphey were dismissed for the modest total of 81 as Nick Cope took 4 for 6, young leg spinner Ceri Brace 3 for 31 and Rhys Davies 2 for 13. Opener Paul White was the pick of the Lamphey batsmen with his innings of 25, which ended when he was caught by Joe Kidney off the bowling of Nick Cope. A third wicket partnership of 49 between Adrian Harries and Mathew Phillips set up a seven wickets win for the Carew team. Although Phillips was bowled by leg spinner Paul White for 31, Harries held things together with his knock of 39 not out as the Carew team cruised home. In other division two matches, the match of the day between Llangwm and Haverfordwest Seconds ended in victory for Llangwm. The visitors Haverfordwest Seconds were dismissed for 127 in response to a Llangwm total of 196 for 9. Somewhat surprisingly, Hook lost to Stackpole. Batting first, Hook totalled 167 for 9, but the visitors Stackpole won by three wickets. Llechryd went down by 53 runs at home to Llanrhian after the visitors had totalled a 159 for 9.

Division Three

League leaders Herbrandston had a comfortable eight wickets win at home to Hundleton after bowling out the visitors for just 57. Paul Hood ripped through the Hundleton innings with a devastating 5 for 16 spell. In reply, Nathan Banner scored 25 not out in a Herbie total of 58 for 2. Cresselly Seconds lie in second place after a comfortable nine wickets win away to Johnston. A good all-round bowling and fielding display resulted in the Johnston team being restricted to a 110 for 9. Richard Davies scored 31 not out with five 4s, Steven Mills junior 23 and there were 18 extras. For the visitors, Jacob Davies took 2 for 19 and skipper Richard Arthur 2 for 25. The Cresselly opening pair of Damian Arthur and Rhydian Rees put on 85 for the first wicket, before Rees was dismissed for 39 having hit two 6s. The left-handed Arthur was undefeated at the end with 50 not out, an innings which included seven 4s. Whitland Seconds kept in touch with the division three leaders after defeating Burton Seconds by 39 runs. The visitors scored 200 for 9, with both openers Edward John and Jonathon Thomas scoring 40 and coincidently they both found the boundary seven times. They received support from Dylan Blain with 38 and Simon Davies with 23 not out. John Griffiths was the pick of the Burton bowlers with a 5 for 55 spell. In reply, Burton Seconds were bowled out for 161 as Simon Davies took 4 for 37, Howard Bevan 3 for 44 and Daniel Newton 2 for 34. Gareth Bevan hit two 4s and two 6s in an innings of 39 for the Burton team, supported by Richard Phillips with 29 not out and James Scale with 27.   Division Four

Pembroke Dock had a comfortable eight wickets victory at St. Florence inside 20 overs. Put in on a drying pitch, St. Florence openers Peter Hall and skipper Steve Wilkins made steady progress until both were dismissed for 15 apiece. That triggered a middle order collapse which saw the Saints slump to 50 for 6 in the 20th over, but from there, the tail wagged, if ever so slightly. Young batsmen Ed Merriman, Will Thomas and Rhys Jenkins provided dogged resistance as St. Florence managed to bat out their allocation of 40 overs to score 77 for 9. Will Thomas batted particularly well to top score for St. Florence with an undefeated 19, his best score so far for the club. The pick of the Dock attack were Nick Daley with 3 for 5 and all-rounder John Davies with 4 for 19. Pembroke Dock also started steadily and, although losing one early wicket to the bowling of Ben McDonnell, their top order batsmen were particularly adept at rotating the strike with quick tight singles. When the Dock's second wicket fell, again to the bowling of Ben McDonnell, the game seemed in the balance, but the entry of number four batsman Julian Edwards turned the game firmly in the Dock's favour. He hit two 6s in one over and fours galore in his undefeated innings of 42 in an excellent demonstration of batsmanship. Opener Nick Daley played a good supporting role, finishing with 18 not out as the Dock finished on 81 for 2. Ben McDonnell finished with 2 for 24 from his eight overs for St. Florence. Jeremy Smith was in scintillating form for Manorbier as he dominated the Lawrenny Seconds' bowlers in his innings of 134. As a result, the visitors amassed a total of 250 for 7, with Smith getting valuable support from Jonathan Hughes with 55 and Will Davidson with 22. For the Lawrenny team, Steven Rees took 3 for 32 and Simon Webb 4 for 44. A battling innings of 61 by James Phillips, which included 10 fours, backed up by skipper John Fuller with 24 and Alun Evans with 19, enabled Lawrenny Seconds to hold out for a draw on a total of 159 for 6. For Manorbier, Justin Evans took 2 for 22. A maiden century by opener Rhydian Wyn took Crymych to a total of 195 for 5 declared at home to Pembroke Seconds. Wyn was one of a number of volunteers from other clubs who helped the Cresselly ground staff prepare for the Glamorgan match recently. The young opening batsman had a quality innings of 106 with 20 fours. He was backed up by Jacob Lloyd with 21 and David Deardon with 16. Sean Powell took 2 for 42 for the visitors, who were bundled out for 58 in reply. The swing bowling of Eurig Lewis bamboozled all of the Pembroke batsmen and only three reached double figures. Skipper Simon Smith-Wrench and the experienced John Harries both reached 13, with Sean Powell scoring 12. Eurig Lewis took 6 for 11 and the spinner Nick Davies took 2 for 13.

Division Five

Lamphey were bowled out for 76 at home to Whitland thirds who won by six wickets. At one time the Lamphey team were in the healthy position of being 73 for 3. However, when the very experienced Gwyn Phillips came on to bowl, in just nine deliveries, he took five wickets for one run as the Lamphey batsmen had no answer to his match- winning spell. He was backed up by Mathew Webb with 3 for 4 and Robert Merriman with 2 for 24. Lamphey skipper Andrew Skeels attempted to hold things together in his fighting innings of 44. In reply, the visitors reached 78 for 4, with Ian Thomas scoring 47, including a six and nine 4s, supported by Nathan Evans with 22 not out. Skeels took 3 for 24 in his eight overs. Carew Thirds scored 136 for 5 at home to Burton Thirds. Mark Hicks scored 35, James Hinchcliffe 23, Richard Cope 26 not out and Rob Whitfield 20 not out. Graham Morris took 2 for 45 for the visitors, who were bowled out for 109 in reply. Ben Huxley top scored with 49, but no other batsman reached double figures as Rob Whitfield took 5 for 15 and Luke Hicks 5 for 40.

Division Six (a)

The match between Saundersfoot Seconds and Fishguard Seconds could not be played as the Saundersfoot pitch was too wet.

Division Six (b)

Pembroke Dock Seconds had a comfortable five wickets win against lowly Stackpole Thirds, who were bundled out for 39. Mohammed Khan took 4 for 5 for the Dock, supported by Alan Phillips with 4 for 16 and Steve Alford with 2 for 9. Although Wayne Marshall took 3 for 14 for the visitors, the Dock reached a winning total of 40 for the loss of five wickets. Cresselly Thirds travelled west to play Llanrhian Thirds at St. Davids. Top quality bowling by Jack Murphy with 3 for 8, Sam Harts with 2 for 9 and Huw Evans with 2 for 13 resulted in the Llanrhian team being bowled out for 46. Cresselly Thirds cantered to a nine wickets win, with Jack Murphy showing his all-round prowess in scoring 19 not out.