This Sunday (August 14) Lawrenny will play Burton in the final of the Dyrham Service Station Alec Colley Cup at Pembroke. The match starts at 12.30 pm and admission is £4 (£2 OAPs and children). The umpires are Peter Perry, of Tenby, and Terry Sandy, of Keeston Hill, both of whom are unattached. Burton have reached the final six times, but to date have only won once when they defeated Kilgetty in the 1999 final. Lawrenny have only reached the final on one occasion when they lost to Whitland in 1995. Currently, the Burton team lie in second position in Division Three and Lawrenny are in mid-table in Division Four, although still have an outside chance of promotion. Both teams have a mixture of youth and experience. Burton skipper Dean Hayes has been bowling well, along with Mike Venables, Jonathon Venables, Mathew Davies and Ian Woods. Left-hander Andrew Cromwell has batted consistently, with some high scores, James Scale and Chris Campbell are also reliable batsmen and wicketkeeper Will Scriven is following in the footsteps of his elder brother Huw, who kept wicket for the Pembrokeshire team in Ireland this week. Lawrenny captain Alun Evans has had the privilege of leading his team to the final for only the second time in the club's history and has made a good impression during his first year as captain. He will open the bowling in the final and has excellent support in the form of the evergreen Owen Williams, John Fuller, Stephen 'Pascoe' Rees and leg-spinner Phil Cole. Wicketkeeper David Jones and early order batsman Chris Williams can be relied on to play key roles with the bat and Lawrenny have two brilliant fielders, teenagers James Phillips and Ben Cole, who are used as sweepers because of their speed and good arms. Lawrenny caused the shock of the competition by knocking Haverfordwest out at the semi-final stage. Second division Haverfordwest were the favourites to win the Alec Collley Cup this year, but if Lawrenny can repeat that form, team spirit and commitment, then they could be in with a shout of lifting the Alec Colley Cup for the first time.
Lawrenny squad
Alun Evans (captain): Opening bowler and attacking right-hand batsman. Steve Campbell (vice-captain): Fine attacking opening batsman. John Fuller: Excellent all-rounder. David Jones: Opening batsman and still an excellent wicket-keeper who can stand up to all the bowlers. Chris Williams: Club chairman and early order batsman who is at his best in a crisis. Steven Cole: Powerful right-handed batsman. Stephen Rees: Like David Jones, Chris Williams and Owen Williams, he is a former first team player, opening bowler and versatile batsman. Phil Cole: Spinner who turns the ball both ways and who made a difference in the semi-final. Phil Williams: Reliable and experienced left-handed batsman who can also keep wicket. Ben Cole: Fast and furious bowler who he is a brilliant fielder. Owen Williams: One of the most reliable and accurate bowlers in Pembrokeshire over the years who still hates to go for more than two an over in league cricket. James Phillips: Son of Saundersfoot all-rounder Barry Phillips. He is worth his place in the team for his fielding, but can also score runs. Brad Jenkins: Son of first team all-rounder Ian Jenkins. Brad is a player to watch in the future. Jonathon Beef: A right-handed batsman who has been developing this season. Malcolm Thomas: The club's scorer and groundsman who has been scoring for Lawrenny for over 10 years and who acted as scorer for Pembrokeshire during their Irish tour this week.
WERE YOU THERE?
Were you there when Lawrenny and Burton made cricket history in 1989? The Alec Colley Cup semi- final was tied three times before Burton booked a place in final, only to lose to Cresselly. The three fixtures aroused the interest of cricketers throughout the country and even reached the pages of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack the following year where three matches were reported on page 860. Many local cricketers will recall that Burton batted first on each occasion and the first three encounters were all tied, with respective scores of 97, 92 and 91, before Burton had the edge in the third replay with a nine wickets win.