Cresselly win elusive Harrison-Allen Bowl (From Western Telegraph)

Cresselly win elusive Harrison-Allen Bowl

Cresselly (183 for 4 and 86 for 2) beat Carew (111 for 5 and 153 for 9)

Umpires: Alan Hansen and Dave Loosmore. Scorers: Lois Howlett-Dyer and Nick Scourfield.

After 21 long years Cresselly finally reclaimed the Harrison-Allen Bowl as they produced a super-charged all-round team display to snuff out the challenge of neighbours Carew in an entertaining final that was played on Sunday after postponement the previous day because of the weather.

Cresselly skipper Lyn Richards led the way with a splendid individual display that earned him the man of the match award, with other big-time performances from Ryan Lewis, Simon Cole and Richard Harris that carries their colleagues through to a deserved victory.

Carew won the toss and elected to bat but in contrast their big guns never really fired and there were individual cameos that caught the eye, rather than their collective effort, as they simply didn't score enough runs in their first innings and generally bowled and fielded less well than might have been expected.

Richard Harris and Phil James applied the early brakes on the Carew run-rate as Brian Hall made a bright enough start in an opening stand of 40 but Robbie Hicks found runs hard to come by before he finally holed out to Simon Cole off Harris for 9 made in 28 deliveries.

Carew were on 47 for 1 at the halfway stage of their innings as Harris finished with 1 for 13 in six miserly overs where he took the pace off the ball and cleverly varied his length - and Stefan Jenkins provided another boost for Cresselly as he bowled Simon Wood for eight runs.

Hall departed at 75 with 48 runs to his name, including five fours and a six, as Ryan Lewis followed Harris's example and bowled well from the scorebox end, removing Hall and Phil Jones in his 2 for 21 analysis. Damian Arthur took a cracking boundary catch to shift Tim Hicks off the bowling of Richards as only Ian Sefton (22 not out) looked settled so that Carew ended their first 22 overs on 111 for 5, perhaps 40 runs fewer than they would have hoped for.

But Cresselly openers Julian Arthur and Richards certainly found it equally difficult at the start of their riposte before Arthur chipped a catch straight to Rob Scourfield off Darren Thomas with his score on 14 (27 balls) and the total on 28 after seven overs.

Lyn Richards looked a little out of sorts but he grafted hard and his endeavours were rewarded as he found form and accelerated the run-rate alongside Simon Cole.

After being only 52 for 1 at halfway they both hit out sensibly and shared a vital stand of 102, with Richards blasting a big six over cover to reach his 50 but departing soon afterwards he was caught at mid-wicket by Phil Jones off Wood for 52 (four fours and two sixes).

His demise brought Ryan Lewis to the crease, moved up the order because of his big-hitting prowess - and he showed his capabilities by blasting 40 runs in only 16 balls before he op-edged a delivery from Hicks and was pouched by keeper Barry Ansell having completed some major damage to the Carew bowling figures.

Cole moved almost quietly past his 50 and was finally bowled by Hicks for 57, made in only 46 balls and containing seven fours and a six, and another vital component in Cresselly's massive 183 for 4.

It says much for Carew that they came out after tea determined to make a game of it, but soon fell foul of Harris (senior) as they slumped from 26 without loss to 28 for 3 as he took a sharp return catch to shift Brian Hall, bowled Robert Hicks first ball and again had Tim Hicks beautifully caught at deep mid-wicket by Damian Arthur.

Ian Sefton and Simon Wood managed to redress the balance a little in a stand of 65 but Wood was bowled by the ubiquitous Lewis for 26 and Sefton followed seven runs later as he dumped a low full toss from Stefan Jenkins into the waiting arms of Adam Chandler, a good catch at long off which removed Sefton for top score of 45 in 41 balls (four fours and two sixes).

Phil Jones showed what he could do with a late 27 not out after being dropped early on by Richards as the only fielding blemish in the Cresselly display as Phil James took a cracking one-handed catch at short cover to remove Steve Cole. Darren Thomas contributed 17 but was bowled by Richards and Neilson Cole beautifully stumped Rob Scourfield from a wide, both off Lewis as the burly all-rounder finished with 4 for 43.

Carew's final tally of 153 for 9 left Cresselly requiring 83 runs for victory and they headed in the right direction as Julian Arthur and Richards contributed 54 runs before Richards was adjudged lbw to off-spinner John Canton having scored 37 runs (six boundaries).

Arthur was also bowled by Canton for 15 but Simon Cole (16) and Adam Chandler (11) took Cresselly home in 16.3 overs, with Chandler ending the match in style as he blasted a six to give his side a commanding victory by eight wickets.

It was a powerful display by Cresselly and confirmed their status this season as the limited overs Kings of Pembrokeshire Cricket.

Final Scoreboard First innings

CAREW B. Hall b R. Lewis 48 R. Hicks c S. Cole b R. Harris 9 S. Wood b S. Jenkins 8 I. Sefton not out 22 T. Hicks c D. Arthur b L. Richards 3 P. Jones b R. Lewis 7 S. Cole not out 2 Extras 12 Total (for 5 wkts) 111 Bowling: P. James 4-0-28-0; R. Harris 6-1-13-1; S. Jenkins 4-0-25-1; R. Lewis 5-1-21-2; L. Richards 3-0-17-1.

CRESSELLY J. Arthur c R. Scourfield b D. Thomas 14 L. Richards c P. Jones b S. Wood 52 S. Cole b T. Hicks 57 R. Lewis c B. Ansell b T. Hicks 40 A. Chandler not out 0 Extras 20 Total (for 4 wkts) 183 Bowling: D. Thomas 6-0-26-1; S. Wood 6-0-37-1; J. Canton 3-0-27-0; R. Scourfield 3-0-35-0; T. Hicks 4-0-50-2. SECOND INNINGS CAREW I. Sefton c A. Chandler b S. Jenkins 45 B. Hall c&b R. Harris 6 R. Hicks b R. Harris 0 T. Hicks b R. Harris 1 S. Wood v r. Lewis 6 D. Thomas b L. Richards 17 S. Cole c P. James b R. Lewis 6 P. Jones not out 27 R. Scourfield st N. Cole b R. Lewis 10 B. Ansell b R. Lewis 0 J. Canton not out 2 Extras 13 Total (for 9 wkts) 153 Bowling: P. James 2-0-19-0; R. Harris 4-1-18-1; L. Richards 4-0-32-1; R. Lewis 6-0-43-4.

CRESSELLY J. Arthur b J. Canton 15 L. Richards lbw b J. Canton 37 S. Cole not out 16 A. Chandler not out 11 Extras 7 Total (for 2 wkts) 86 Bowling: D. Thomas 3-0-14-0; S. Wood 3-0-12-0; T. Hicks 3-0-18-0; J. Canton 5-1-19-1; R. Scourfield 2.3-0-22-0.