A team of young cricketers from Whitland have been crowned Pembrokeshire Under 13 Inter Cricket champions for the second year running.

The pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Taf outplayed the rest of the competition to win the Pembrokeshire finals.

The team went on to represent the county at the national finals at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff last week, where they finished runners-up for the second year in a row after losing to Cowbridge School in a thrilling final.

The Dyffryn Taf squad were rewarded for their efforts by winning 10 tickets, donated by the Cricket Board of Wales, to watch a day's cricket during the first Test of the Ashes at the Swalec Stadium this summer.

Sixty pupils from seven secondary schools took part in the Pembrokeshire Inter Cricket tournament, which was organised by Sport Pembrokeshire - the sports development arm of Pembrokeshire County Council.

Three regional festivals were initially held within Pembrokeshire, with the winners of each progressing to the final hosted by Greenhill School and held at Tenby Leisure Centre earlier this month.

Ysgol Dyffryn Taf defeated both Greenhill and Ysgol Y Preseli teams in hard fought games to take the title.

Clr. Rob Lewis, cabinet member for sport and leisure, said the festival had been a great success and reflected the increasing popularity of the game.

"Although teams are competitive, the emphasis of schemes such as Inter Cricket is very much on participation and enjoyment," he said.

Inter Cricket is an initiative of the England and Wales Cricket Board, aimed at bridging the gap between Kwik Cricket - designed for children between five and 11 - and the traditional hardball game.

It aims to increase participation levels, particularly among 12 to 14-year-olds, and is designed to be fun, fast and exciting, as well as reward genuine cricket skills.

Cricket development officer Matthew Freeman said the regional festivals had been a great success and had been played in the right spirit by all those who took part.

"It was fantastic to see such a high level of cricketing skills being demonstrated by the youngsters," he said.

Dyffryn Taf PE teacher, Dylan Blain, said that all eight members of the school's team deserved special praise for batting, bowling and fielding fantastically - not only on the final day, but throughout the Pembrokeshire rounds.