Wood stars as Carew retain Bowl (From Western Telegraph)

Wood stars as Carew retain Bowl

Carew (111 for 8 and 134 for 4) beat Haverfordwest (124 for 5 and 86 all out) Umpires: Les Hastings and Hilliard Davies Scorers: Sue Phillips (Carew) and Jayne Cole (Haverfordwest)

Carew retained the Harrison-Allen Bowl as they showed typical grit to fend off a strong challenge by Haverfordwest, who led by 13 runs at the half-way stage but were unable to maintain their challenge as Carew fought back for the third - and decisive - time to snatch a deserved win by 35 runs.

It was very much a team performance that gave Carew the coveted silverware but leading from the front was Simon Wood, the talented all-rounder who batted well in the second innings in support of Steve Cole and produced two bowling spells that saw him claim six wickets from only 25 runs in 12 overs.

His 2 for 11 and 4 for 14, plus innings of 16 and 30 not out, saw him chosen as man of the match.

Yet a Carew win seemed unlikely after they had lost the toss and been asked to bat first on a wicket that was inevitably a little damp after the previous week's awful weather.

Ian Sefton danced down the track to spinner Clive Tucker and was neatly stumped by Huw Scriven, who then took a good low one-handed catch off Simon Williams' bowling to get rid of anchor man Nick Scourfield for a duck.

Williams also bowled Wood and danger man Steve Cole in a 3 for 18 spell and when Matthew Johns removed Phil Jones, the Carew tally stood at a decidedly shaky 36 for 5 wickets.

Tim Hicks became Johns' second scalp, in a 3 for 35 analysis, after he had scored 21 runs from 26 balls, adjudged lbw, but then Aled Davies commanded centre stage as he has done so many times, settling in and then striking three imperious sixes in a late charge which produced 34 runs from the last two overs. Barry Ansell stayed to the close and a final score of 111 for 8 was far more than Carew might have expected at the half-way stage of the innings.

Haverfordwest openers Jonathan Twigg and Phil Sutton made a steady start with 19 runs from their first five overs but then skipper Twigg became bogged down and both Sutton and Karl Rhead departed to 'leg before' decisions and Twigg followed at 38 having used up 47 balls for his ten runs.

Carew captain Darren Thomas finished with superb figures of 1 for 8 in six overs (two maidens), and with only 45 runs from 15 overs, The Town needed a boost which they found in the form of Phil Kirkby.

He smashed six mighty sixes in an innings of 57 not out after being dropped at 26 by Simon Wood in front of the changing rooms, his runs made in only 36 balls. Four of his sixes soared over the boundary in the final over from the unfortunate Tim Hicks, who conceded 27 runs in a five-over stint that left him with 0 for 62 as Haverfordwest finished 13 runs ahead on 124 for 5 wickets.

It took Carew openers Nick Scourfield and Ian Sefton almost six overs to make up the deficit but then they ran really well in a stand of 50 which was interrupted by a the run out of Scourfield for 23 from a fine direct hit on the stumps by Twigg at the clubhouse end.

Aled Davies was well stumped by Scriven off Matthew Johns and Sefton fell to a good boundary catch by Karl Rhead - and when Tim Hicks was caught in the deep by Steve Phillips it looked decidedly shaky since four wickets had fallen in the space of seven runs, with Johns having taken three of them.

But then like the other Town bowlers he suffered as Steve Cole and Simon Wood combined in an unbroken stand of 77, the pair running well between the wickets and striking anything loose as they put on almost 60 runs in the final four overs, with Cole having three fours and three big sixes in his unbeaten 45, with 20 runs in the final over as Carew finished 121 ahead on 134 for 4.

Wood's contribution was a useful 30 not out but he made an even greater contribution at start of the final innings as he broke the back of the Haverfordwest response with a splendid 4 for 14 haul.

He had Karl Rhead beautifully caught by Tim Hicks in the covers, bowled Dai Davies and then had Kirkby caught behind by Barry Ansell from a bottom edge.

Kirkby had already rapped another six as a warning of the threat he posed and the Carew relief was evident as he departed, followed soon afterwards by Phil Sutton, who had looked comfortable in accumulating his 15 runs.

At 41 for 4, The Town were looking shaky but their hopes of another swing in fortunes were dashed as Rob Scourfield joined the fray and grabbed 3 for 17, including the wickets of Matthew Johns and Huw Scriven in successive deliveries - with Clive Tucker out next ball as he was run out in a mix-up from a miss-field.

John Canton and Darren Thomas also picked up late wickets as Haverfordwest captain Twigg was last to depart from his No 7 berth, bowled by opposite number Thomas to give Carew their deserved victory in what had always been an absorbing battle between the top two teams in the county.

FIRST INNINGS CAREW I. Sefton st H. Scriven b C. Tucker 7 N. Scourfield c H. Scriven b S. Williams 0 S. Wood b S. Williams 16 S. Cole b S. Williams 5 P. Jones b M. Johns 3 T. Hicks lbw b M. Johns 21 A. Davies not out 34 D. Thomas c P. Sutton b M. Johns 4 B. Ansell not out 6 Extras 15 Total (for 8 wkts) 111 Bowling: S. Williams 6-0-18-3; C. Tucker 6-0-24-1; M. Johns 6-0-35-3; P. Kirkby 3-0-15-0; S. Phillips 1-0-11-0.

HAVERFORDWEST J. Twigg c T. Hicks b R. Scourfield 10 P. Sutton lbw b D. Thomas 14 K. Rhead lbw b S. Wood 3 P. Kirkby not out 57 D. Davies b S. Wood 5 S. Phillips b R. Scourfield 5 M. Johns not out 4 Extras 26 Total (for 5 wkts) 124 Bowling: D. Thomas 6-2-8-1; T. Hicks 5-0-62-0; S. Wood 6-1-11-2; R. Scourfield 5-1-32-1.

SECOND INNINGS CAREW I. Sefton c K. Rhead b M. John 24 N. Scourfield run out 23 A. Davies st H. Scriven b M. Johns 0 T. Hicks c S. Phillips b M. Johns 4 S. Cole not out 45 S. Wood not out 30 Extras 8 Total (for 4 wkts) 134 Bowling: S. Williams 6-0-24-0; C. Tucker 5-0-35-0; M. Johns 6-1-36-3; S. Phillips 5-0-34-0.

HAVERFORDWEST K. Rhead c T. Hicks b S. Wood 4 P. Sutton b S. Wood 15 D. Davies b S. Wood 8 P. Kirkby c B. Ansell b S. Wood 7 S. Phillips b J. Canton 10 A. Phillips b R. Scourfield 9 J. Twigg b D. Thomas 7 M. Johns b R. Scourfield 6 H. Scriven st B. Ansell b R. Scourfield 0 C. Tucker run out 0 S. Williams not out 1 Extras 19 Total (for 10 wkts) 86 Bowling: D. Thomas 5.4-0-23-1; S. Wood 6-1-14-4; J. Canton 5-1-21-1; R. Scourfield 4-0-17-3.