Neyland beat Cresselly at Oatfield Park to win the DR Morris Cup

Neyland were worthy winners of the DR Morris Cup as they beat Cresselly by the 106 runs at Oatfield Park, Burton, to draw the curtain down on the 2016 season.

The teams had been disappointed with three postponements of this popular competition but the weather relented and on a lovely day for cricket, Neyland showed the full might of their batting line-up with massive scores in both of their 20-over innings, leaving Cresselly to chase an unlikely 254 for victory.

Neyland started their first innings with a bang as Nick Koomen and Patrick Bellerby shared an opening partnership of 99 runs in 11 overs and the former belted six fours and four sixes in his 68 before he was stumped by Neilson Cole, who also caught Bellerby for 69 (five fours and four sixes).

They lost Steve Murray and Andrew Miller for ducks but Nathan Banner hit three towering sixes en route to a speedy 24 that helped take his side to 192 for 9, despite three wickets apiece from Ryan Lewis and Iwan Izzard.

Cresselly’s reply was hindered by the early loss of top batsmen Adam Chandler and Alex Bayley before Iwan Izzard (33) and Matthew Morgan (12) tried to redress the balance.

There was also 29 not out from Phil Williams and double figures from Ryan Lewis and Cole but there were two wickets apiece for Banner, Patrick Hannon and Andrew Miller, but, more importantly, they only conceded 58 runs from their combined 12 overs to earn Neyland a tea-interval lead of 67 runs.

Cresselly’s only hope was a collapse by Neyland in their second innings but although Patrick Bellerby departed cheaply there was no halting Neyland’s progress as Koomen (42, including three sixes), Banner (another three sixes in his 28) and Ashley Sutton (19) set the platform for Andrew Miller (40 not out) and Steve Murray (35 not out) to send their score soaring to 182 for 4.
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wan Izzard was moved up to open for Cresselly but fell to a splendid boundary catch by veteran Lyn Rees before Chandler and Ryan Lewis featured in a high-scoring stand where Lewis rapped four fours and two sixes before he was bowled by Bellerby for 49.

Chandler played some lovely shots in his 69, including five fours and four sixes but when he departed the loss of wickets at the other end was decisive after Phil Williams was run out without facing a ball.

Banner was again the bowling hero for Neyland with splendid figures of 4 for 21, with a wicket apiece for Miller, Bellerby and Lloyd.

Man of the match adjudicator Paul Webb, vice chairman of Pembroke County Cricket Club, gave the trophy to Patrick Bellerby for his first-innings batting, steady bowling and five catches.

But the return of Banner was another huge plus for Neyland as he scored runs quickly in both innings and was a potent force with his pace bowling to show how much he was missed during the run-in to deciding the league title.

Neyland skipper Sean Hannon received the trophy from Graham Morris, on behalf of the Morris family, to give his team a record breaking fourth straight DR Morris Cup win.

First Innings:
Neyland Batting
Nick Koomen st Neilson Cole b Iwan Izzard 68
Patrick Bellerby ct Neilson Cole b Lyn Richards 69
Steve Murray ct Ryan Lewis b Iwan Izzard 0
Ashley Sutton ct Alex Bailey b Sion Jenkins 0
Andrew Miller ct Neilson Cole b Iwan Izzard 8
Nathan Banner ct Lyn Richards b Ryan Lewis 24
Sean Hannon run out 4
Patrick Hannon b Ryan Lewis 0
Geraint Rees b Ryan Lewis 1
Lyn Rees not out 1
Gary Lloyd not out 1
Extras 16
Total (9 wickets) 192
Cresselly Bowling:
Lyn Richards 4-0-25-1; Tom Arthur 4-0-47-0; Sion Jenkins 4-0-34-1; Ryan Lewis 4-0-39-3; Iwan Izzard 4-0-34-3

Cresselly Batting:
Adam Chandler ct Gary Lloyd b Patrick Hannon 13
Alex Bailey ct Patrick Bellerby b Patrick Hannon 7
Iwan Izzard ct Patrick Bellerby b Andrew Miller 33
Matthew Morgan ct Nathan Banner b Andrew Miller 12
Phil Williams not out 29
Ryan Lewis ct Patrick Bellerby b Nathan Banner 12
Neilson Cole ct Sean Hannon b Nathan Banner 10
Lyn Richards not out 4
Extras 5
Total (6 wickets) 125
Neyland Bowling:
Gary Lloyd 4-0-24-0; Patrick Hannon 4-0-17-2; Nathan Banner 4-0-22-2; Andrew Miller 4-0-19-2; Geraint Rees 1-0-16-0; Patrick Bellerby 3-0-25-0

Second Innings:
Neyland Batting:
Nick Koomen ct Iwan Izzard b Tom Arthur 42
Patrick Bellerby ct Matthew Morgan b Tom Arthur 3
Ashley Sutton ct Adam Chandler b Sion Jenkins 19
Nathan Banner ct Sion Jenkins b Lyn Richards 28
Andrew Miller not out 40
Steve Murray not out 35
Extras 18
Total (4 wickets) 185

Cresselly Bowling:
Lyn Richards 4-0-32-1; Tom Arthur 4-0-27-2; Ryan Lewis 4-0-10-2; Sion Jenkins 4-0-59-1; Iwan Izzard 4-0-29-0

Cresselly Batting:
Iwan Izzard ct Lyn Rees b Garry Lloyd 6
Adam Chandler ct Patrick Bellerby b Nathan Banner 69
Ryan Lewis b Patrick Bellerby 49
Alex Bailey ct Nathan Banner b Andrew Miller 8
Matthew Morgan b Nathan Banner 5
Phil Williams run out 0
Neilson Cole ct Nick Koomen b Nathan Banner 1
Sion Jenkins st Sean Hannon b Nathan Banner 1
Tom Arthur run out 0
Stefan Jenkins not out 3
Lyn Richards not out 1
Extras 6
Total (9 wickets) 146
Neyland Bowling:
Gary Lloyd 3-0-30-1; Patrick Hannon 4-0-22-0; Patrick Bellerby 3-0-27-1; Andrew Miller 4-0-39-1; Nathan Banner 4-0-21-4; Geraint Rees 2-0-8-0

Umpires: John Williams & Trefor Evans.
Scorers: John Laugharne & Teagan Cartwright.