Carew close gap with emphatic win (From Western Telegraph)

Carew close gap with emphatic win

Carew (110 for 3) beat Haverfordwest (109 all out)

Umpires: Les Hastings and Dave Morris Scorers: Martyn Cole and Jayne Cole

Carew significantly closed the gap in terms of points at the top of the table as they beat leaders Haverfordwest by seven wickets - acting skipper Rob Scourfield doing his job well for The Villagers by winning the toss and asking the opposition to bat.

It was always going to be important on a wet wicket and Scourfield maintained the club's 100% success rate in this area as well as bowling really well to pick up five wickets that helped Carew limit The Town to a tally that was eminently reachable.

But it was an all-round team effort from Carew because they also bowled and fielded well, encouraging each other like the Carew of old and keeping a tight rein on the early Haverfordwest batting, with Simon Wood and James Owen making sure that they could manage only 40 runs from their first 20 overs.

Wood was also involved as he held on to a catch at mid-on off Stephen Ive to dismiss Town skipper Jonathan Twigg for 15 - and wicket-keeper Barry Ansell took a superb one-handed catch to get rid of Phil Sutton off the bowling of Owen just when Sutton looked likely to cut loose.

Ansell took a low catch to shift Phil Kirkby off Ive, who had excellent figures of 2 for 13 off six overs, and with Steve Phillips and Paul Thomas also departing cheaply The Town had slumped from 50 for 1 to 71 for 6, the bulk of the runs coming from opener Andrew Phillips, who was adjudged lbw to Rob Scourfield for 34, his innings including two sixes into the hedge at long-off.

Scourfield finished up with 5 for 24 in 9.1 overs, including the scalp of Dai Davies, the only other Haverfordwest batsman to stay for long with 20 before he holed out to Aled Davies at long-on - and a final total of 109 in 43.1 overs was unlikely to challenge Carew's powerful batting line-up.

Nick Scourfield dropped anchor for Carew after tea and opening partner Ian Sefton scored 21 before he was out with the score on 29, bowled by Kirkby. But visiting hopes of a break through were dented as Simon Wood showed what a superb acquisition he has been by following up his useful bowling stint with an excellent innings that saw him dropped when he was in the twenties but then able to take control, adding 45 vital runs before Nick Scourfield finally departed, caught by Sutton at mid-off with Clive Tucker as the bowler.

Wood saw Steve Cole dismissed for a duck, bowled by Adrian Griffiths but finished with an unbeaten half century as he was joined by Tim Hicks in taking Carew to 110 for only three wickets - and 28 points to The Town's paltry four.