Cresselly (191 for 2) beat Carew (187 for 6) by 8 wickets

CRESSELLY remain firmly in the chase for the top-echelon silverware by dint of this relatively comfortable win over near neighbours and old rivals Carew, having eight wickets and almost three overs in hand when they passed their opponents tally.

Carew made a slow start after losing top run-gatherer Ian Sefton second ball, but ‘Mr Reliable’ opening bat Nick Scourfield kept them heading in the right direction with 91 (nine fours and two sixes).

He found some support from Lewis Hicks (29), Tom Davies (26) and skipper Rhys Davies 15 against the bowling of Tom Murphy (2 for 16), Brad McDermott-Jenkins (2 for 57), Mike Shaw (1 for 37) and Ryan Lewis (1 for 61).

Cresselly’s reply had an opening stand of 101 from Adam Chandler (five fours and a six in his 46) and Matthew Morgan, whose fine 60 contained nine fours and a six.

Rhys Davies bowled his 12 over for a miserly1 for 16 and Neil Gregory pitched in with 1 for 57 but there was no further success for The Rooks as Iwan Izzard (36 not out) and Brad McDermott-Jenkins (35 not out) showed how the new breed of batsmen at Cresselly are playing – and seriously dampened their opponents’ lingering hopes of the title!

Umpires: Steve Blowes & Dave Brandon.

Scorers: Glyn Cole & Julie Davies.

Blain belts Llanrhian in easy Whitland win

Whitland (147 for 1) beat Llanrhian (144 for 5)

AN impressive innings by Dylan Blain helped Whitland complete an easy demolition job on Llanrhian as they restricted the basement battlers to 144 for 5 and then strolled to victory for the late loss of a wicket when they were approaching the finishing line.

Llanrhian skipper Paul Lewis certainly led by example as he scored the majority of his team’s runs, striking 11 fours and a six before he was out for 85, assisted by veteran run-maker RV Jones (20) and Julian Harries (20 not out) but tight bowling from Greg Sleep (2 for 23), Mark Lee (1 for 25) and Leighton O’Connor (1 for 31) restricted them to 144 for 5 in their 45 overs.

Anthony John (1 for 40) claimed the only wicket for Llanrhian as he shifted Leighton O’Connor for 48 (six fours) in a partnership of 136 – but Kevin Pearce just had to walk to the wicket and watch Blain end up on 96 not out, with eight fours and five sixes, to ease Whitland to an early win.

Umpires: John Williams & Ian Phillips.

Scorer: Janice Webb.

Town keep their nerve at the top of the table

Johnston (150 all out) lost to Haverfordwest (151 for 3) by 7 wickets

HAVERFORDWEST retained their place at the top of the table as they travelled the short journey up the road to Johnston and secured a victory at Glebelands with seven wickets and over 11 overs to spare.

Dan Sutton looked impressive early on for Johnston before he was dismissed for 37 alongside Steve Mills (21) and Nathan James (33), but Adam James continued his excellent bowling form for the season with an important 5 for 37 haul.

Simon Holliday chipped in with a slightly expensive 3 for 64 alongside slow-bowling partner Clive Tucker (2 for 15) and Haverfordwest seemed pleased that they had restricted the powerful Johnston batting line-up to a score that was reasonable, but not huge.

The Town lost Ben Field early on but Simon ‘Doc’ Holliday and Nitin Mathias steadied things down until Mathias was adjudged lbw for an attractive 40 (seven fours) – and skipper Danny Potter chipped in with 29 as Holliday carried his bat throughout the innings for an undefeated 61 that contained nine boundaries.

Dan Sutton (1 for 260, Chris Fitzpatrick (1 for 27) and Lee Summons (1 for 28) claimed a wicket apiece for Johnston but they were unable to halt Haverfordwest’s quest for the silverware.

Umpires: Robert Ridge & Arthur Brady.

Scorers: Steve Mills & Jayne Cole.

Bellerby bashes makeshift Llangwm

Neyland (161 for 2) beat Llangwm (160 all out) by 8 wickets

LLANGWM had most of their first team attending a wedding and paid the inevitable price against a Neyland team seeking as many points as possible in their quest to retain the title they have won for the past two seasons.

Alistair Platten used his experience to good effect with 28 runs as Llangwm struggled to 83 for 7 against Nathan Banner (3 for 20), Gregg Miller (1 for 9) and Andrew Miller (4 for 56), whilst Sean Hannon handed the wicket-keeper’s gloves to Nathan Banner and claimed 2 for 43 from his canny slow stuff.

George John had six fours in his late 32 alongside Dan Morgan’s powerful 30 (three fours and two sixes), and 23 extras helped Llangwm to a respectable 160 all out.

Neyland lost Scott Jones early on to Phil Llewellyn, who bowled far better than his 1 for 37 might suggest, but then Patrick Bellerby and Sean Hannon shared in a stand of 130 in which Hannon played the support role with four boundaries in his undefeated 41 and Bellerby slammed 15 fours in his excellent 105 before he was caught off the bowling of Dan Morgan with just two runs needed for an easy victory for the current champs!

Umpires: Trefor Evans & Dai Morris.

Scorer: John Laugharne (Neyland).

Lawrenny hold on for vital draw points

St Ishmaels (213 for 8) drew with Lawrenny (195 for 8)

LAWRENNY showed a bit of bottle as they held on for a draw at St Ishmaels and effectively ended their relegation worries as both team below them were slammed.

Robbie Thomas showed his versatility as he took on the emergency role of opening bat for Tish and contributed a nicely-compiled 41 (seven boundaries) as Andrew Williams also demonstrated his batting ability with 50 runs (six fours). Dean John was clearly a man in a hurry with 28 in only 11 balls, including three sixes, alongside other useful contributions from Andrew Pawlett (23) and Dan Howells (22).

Alistair Edwards was the chief wicket-taker for Lawrenny with 4 for 59 and there were also wickets for Rob Williams (1 for 33), Jamie Lewis (2 for 51) and Simon Cole (1 for 35).

Lawrenny were always behind the clock against Dean John (4 for 44), Andrew Pawlett (2 for 44) and Jordan Milich (1 for 20) but Ade Harries (20), Simon Cole (seven boundaries in his 46), Rob Williams (22) and then Ian Jenkins (51 not out, including five fours and a six) saw Lawrenny to safety.

Umpires: Allan Hansen & Rob Bellerby.

Scorers: Wendy Bradshaw & Malcolm Thomas.