Wales v Middlesex

As reported in last week's Observer (page 20 - 'Rain puts damper on Wales v Middlesex clash'), the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy match at Lamphey was spread over two days. Middlesex scored 277 for 6 in the first innings, which ended just before 8 pm on the first day of the match, with man-of-the-match Jamie Dalrymple scoring a brilliant innings of 104 not out. When Wales batted, much depended on the form of early order batsmen. Unfortunately, Alun Evans, the most likely Welsh batsman to score quickly enough to put Wales into contention, was dismissed for 14 after being caught by Jamie Dalrymple off the bowling of Chad Keekan. Although opener Andrew Jones attempted to cement the Welsh innings together in his battling knock of 42, Gareth Rees fell for 12 and the middle order were blown away by the pace of Nantie Hayward and Melvin Betts, together with the late swing of Lance Klusener. There was no late resistance in the tail who succumbed to the pace of Betts and the spin of Paul Weekes, with the result that Wales were dismissed for 103, giving Middlesex victory by a margin of 174 runs. Middlesex will now play Glamorgan in the third round of the competition at Lord's on Wednesday, May 26. Ironically, during the course of play on the second day, the wind died down, the skies cleared and the match ended in bright sunshine and blue skies. Although Wales lost, the occasion was a great success despite the weather and fully justified the decision of the Wales team management in staging the match in Pembrokeshire. In fact, during the post-match presentation ceremonies, Wales captain Colin Metson gave more than a hint that Wales could return to Lamphey again next year should the Welsh team reach the same stage in the competition. Colin Metson - WALES CAPTAIN

Colin Metson, captain of Wales Minor Counties, said: "The main thing for the players is to enjoy the day and to pit their wits against the better cricketers. For the younger players, the chance to bat against Nantie Hayward or Lance Klusener and the other Middlesex players such as Melvin Betts, who looked the quickest of the bunch, is a special moment. In addition, the standard of Middlesex fielding made runs hard to come by. "It is a huge step up. We should have perhaps got 150 or 160. We were never looking to get 278 - it would have been a monumental effort. "At one stage we were 60 odd for 1 and we thought we could get 150 or 160, and it would have been a good effort. It was a bit disappointing that the middle order players got themselves in and then got out. "We bowled well against Middlesex and the two opening bowlers, Nick Swetman and David Towse, held Middlesex to 28 off 12 overs even when the restrictions were in place and this was a tremendous effort. "Perhaps it did not work in our favour that we had to come off at that stage (rain held up play from 3.10 pm until 5.30 pm). The Middlesex batters were able to think about things such as 'What are we doing wrong? Why are we not scoring quickly enough?' "When play restarted they began to play more shots. It was a super start for us. Then Middlesex got themselves going. However, Smithy (Tony Smith) came on and got two wickets. The first wicket was a good wicket, that of Paul Weekes, but the second was more fortuitous when Owais Shah was dismissed. Smithy bowled a tidy spell of 10 overs for 40 odd and brought us back into the game. Middlesex bat all the way down the order. "Lance Klusener did not come off yesterday, but he was due to come in, Simon Cook gives it a tap and David Nash bats in the top six in championship cricket. "We needed to get them 20 for 2. Once they got to 100 you knew that they were going to get a score of some type. To be fair to our bowlers, 240 or 250 would have been more acceptable. They got after the fifth bowler a bit. Three bowlers bowled well, and it was a case of trying to look for the right mixture for the fifth bowler. On being asked about the dropped catches, Colin Metson said: "Would you want to be catching in that weather. Yesterday was bitterly cold and after 6 pm it became very difficult as it was dark as well as cold. We just wanted to get the 50 overs in. Perhaps we played beyond the right playing conditions to get the 50 overs in, but with the wind and the cold, when the ball was up in the air I would not want to be under it. We put down four or five chances, but none of them was easy. It is just a pity that the start was delayed because of the wet run up."

Owais Shah - Middlesex Captain

Middlesex skipper Owais Shah said after the match: "Congratulations to the ground staff in making the game possible after the torrential rain in the days leading up to the match. "Wales have got some good bowlers with a lot of potential. Our coaches were quite impressed. "The batters did not shine in this game, but that can happen. "It has been a good trip. We came here as favourites and we did our job and I am quite happy with our boys." Looking forward to the next round when Middlesex play Glamorgan at Lord's, he said: "Glamorgan are a good side and have been near the top of the Sunday league in recent years. It is going to be a tough game. When you play against another county you know what you are up against, but we still back our plan."

John Emburey - Middlesex coach

Middlesex coach John Emburey said: "Middlesex enjoyed the visit to Lamphey. It was quite a journey for us coming to one of the outposts of cricket. "Cricket followers do not get first-class cricket down in this part of the world. The nearest first- class ground is at Cardiff or at Swansea on the occasions when Glamorgan play at Swansea. It is still a long way for Pembrokeshire supporters to travel, and probably the same distance for supporters in this area to travel to Cardiff as it is for us to come down to Cardiff from London. "It is a pleasure coming to these smaller grounds. They can become banana skin matches because you don't know how a club ground is going to play. "Obviously we get spoilt at Lord's with the pace of the ball coming on and a very good outfield. "The ground staff at Lamphey worked very hard and the club has made us very welcome. We have enjoyed the two days that we have spent here. "Obviously we got the result that we wanted, so it has been a good two days." Looking forward to the Glamorgan match at Lord's, he said: "We have not had a great record against Glamorgan in recent years in one day cricket. We realise it will be a tough game as Glamorgan are a very good one day side. "Middlesex have not had the best record over the last five or six years in one day cricket. We have got to the stage now where the players know their own games a little, and we have become a lot more confident in one-day cricket.

John Green - Lamphey secretary

John Green, Lamphey secretary, said: "It was a great team effort and hard work to stage this fixture, but we are very pleased with the way things went. "The response from everyone at the Lamphey club was superb. The ladies did us proud with the catering arrangements, while club chairman Andrew Skeels and club president Keith Edwards, together with their colleagues on the ground staff, pulled out all of the stops in the face of adverse weather conditions to get the match started. "The club would also like to thank neighbouring cricket clubs for their help. Derek Lloyd, of Carew, responded to a call at 7 am in the morning and helped us for two days using the Carew club's water hog, while cricketers from Pembroke Dock helped the ground staff and with car parking and general stewardship. "Hugh Colley and Dan Duffy, of Haverfordwest Bluebirds, were also of great assistance, as were Texaco and Pembrokeshire County Council. "We were also delighted to have complimentary reports about the wicket." Concluding, he said: "Now that the big match is over, we can concentrate on getting our act together in the league with a view to consolidating our position as a Division One team."