Cresselly

139 for 8 and 170 for 3

beat

146 for 6 and 92 all out

by 71 runs

Cresselly's preparations for this year's Alec Colley final wouldn't have filled the team with confidence as they lost to their opponents in the final, the previous day in the league.

Their self-belief would have been tarnished even further during the tea interval as Haverfordwest continued the weekend's dominance over Rhydian Rees's men by securing a first innings lead.

The lead may only have been a small one, seven runs in fact, yet it was still a deficit they had to overcome; so it was all smiles for the Town as the scones and cakes were consumed.

Cresselly could only muster a score of 139 for 8 in their first dig, with Avron Roulstone stifling their attacking flair, taking 3 for 14 off five overs. Nigel Delaney backed this up with three wickets of his own and Idris Davies chipped in with a brace.

Scott Arthur top scored for Cresselly, hitting an entertaining 39 that included one maximum and four 4s. Rhydian Rees struck 24 as he shared a second wicket stand of 71 with Arthur, before young Jack Murphy gave a glimpse of what was to come with a cameo knock of 19.

Haverfordwest's openers wasted no time in getting stuck into Cresselly's bowlers, despite Sion and Steffan Jenkins taking three wickets between them.

Adam Raymond hit a six and two 4s in his 24, putting on 40 for the first wicket with Andrew Phillips, who hit a more sedate 17. Big-hitting Richard Scriven displayed a few deft touches among the hurly burly of his unbeaten 31 that included one maximum and four boundaries, with Matthew Lewis (2 for 27) bowling well to restrict the Town to 146 for 6.

Whatever Cresselly had for tea obviously did the trick as they came out in the second innings intent on winning the game.

Arthur was again instrumental in getting the team off to a flyer as he struck 28, yet the winning partnership came later as skipper Rees, together with 14-year-old Murphy put Haverfordwest to the sword.

Rees continued his good form with an unbeaten 61 that included five 4s and a six, while Murphy hit a sublime unbeaten 42 that shows why he is so highly rated.

Together they put on 104 and the Town had no answer to their class as each shot ran the opposition fielders ragged.

In reaching 170 for 3, they set Haverfordwest a target of 164 to win, a tough challenge, but not an insurmountable one.

Good bowling backed up by brilliant fielding ensured they got nowhere near. Cresselly took five brilliant catches in the deep that helped Steffan Jenkins record figures of 4 for 6 off just three overs and Matthew Lewis figures of 5 for 26 off just five.

Nigel Delaney threatened to steal Cresselly's thunder with a hard-hitting 29 and James Morris showed tenacity in his 21, but Cresselly's turnaround, led by their skipper Rees, ensured this was never going to happen.

Unsurprisingly, for his contributions in both innings', Rees was made man-of-the-match, yet he played down his involvement in the win to praise the efforts of his team and, of course, the talents of Jack Murphy.

"We were always in the game, even though we were behind at the break. I knew that if we could bat to our potential, we could turn it around. It was a fantastic team effort.

"Jack is a fantastic player and he showed that today. He's a huge talent for the future, while our fielding in the second innings was nothing short of brilliant.

"It's a fantastic feeling to win and I'm a bit lost for words to be honest. It was a great team performance."