Sefton steers Carew home (From Western Telegraph)

Sefton steers Carew home

Carew (111 for 2) beat Cresselly (107 for 7)

Umpires: Ray Kane and Trefor Evans Scorer: Dave Richards (Cresselly)

An excellent innings of 58 by opening batsman Ian Sefton steered Carew to a comfortable eight-wicket success against neighbours Cresselly in this traditionally hard-fought clash, with the visitors always under pressure after Carew skipper Darren Thomas had done the first vital job of the day by winning the toss and asking Richard Harris to bat first.

It meant that Cresselly were forced to endure the worst of the conditions on a damp pitch and they struggled to 107 for 7 in their allotted 45 overs as James Owen and Thomas exploited the conditions to the full before canny spin bowler John Canton played a major role with three wickets as Cresselly always found it hard to penetrate the Carew fielding cordon.

Owen struck early as he removed openers Julian Arthur and Phil Williams, followed by the in-form Damian Arthur as he made the ball zip about in his 12-over spell that produced fine figures of 3 for 21. Thomas shifted Lyn Richards cheaply and Canton shifted Simon Hart so at 42 for 5 Cresselly were in a parlous state.

But Richard Harris batted well alongside son Mark, scoring an unbeaten 33 that included a six and two fours.

Harris junior joined Ryan Lewis in being removed as part of Cantons 3 for 24 analysis.

Carew openers Sefton and Nick Scourfield batted well to reach 46 before the latter was caught for 20 by Lyn Richards off Mark Harris, but Simon Wood joined the fray and with Sefton advanced the tally to 89 before Sefton was bowled by Richards, having hit three sixes and five fours in a match-winning knock of 58.

Wood and Steve Cole were able to steer Carew past the three-figure mark and they reached their target from only 23.2 overs, to climb the table with a second successive good win.

CRESSELLY

J. Arthur c R. Scourfield b J. Owen 3 P. Williams c D. Thomas b J. Owen 12 D. Arthur b J. Owen 14 L. Richards c P. Jones b D. Thomas 3 R. Harris not out 33 S. Hart lbw b J. Canton 2 M. Harries c P. Jones b J. Canton 14 R. Lewis b J. Canton 10 J. Griffiths not out 6 Extras 10 Total (for 7 wkts) 107

Bowling: D. Thomas 11-3-23-1; J. Owen 12-6-21-3; J. Canton 12-4-24-3; R. Scourfield 10-2-30-0.

CAREW

I. Sefton b L. Richards 58 N. Scourfield c L. Richards b M. Harries 20 S. Wood not out 19 S. Cole not out 4 Extras 10 Total (for 2 wkts) 111

Bowling: J. Caine 5-0-18-0; L. Richards 8.2-0-37-1; S. Jenkins 3-1-17-0; M. Harris 7-0-34-1.