Playing season ’19 came to a close with comprehensive wins for our 2nd XI v Ammanford at Marespool and our ‘A’ XI v Civil Service at their Sketty Lane arena, whilst the 1st XI were narrowly defeated at Ammanford Park after an excellent match!
In a game reduced to 35 overs per side after overnight rain delayed the start, Ryan Aingworth chose to bat first. There followed a slow beginning to the innings, and loss of early wickets – MCC 34-3 from 14 overs.
The 1st XI now needed some application if any sort of target was going to be posted…and Max Phillips duly obliged! First, he and Gavin Williams (12, 1 four) added 34, followed by a breezy stand of 65 from 45 balls with Aneurin Norman (25, 1 four & a huge six). Max was eventually run out for an excellent 69 (8 fours & a six)..after a flurry of late wickets, MCC finished on 159-9 at tea.
In reply, Ryan’s bowlers bowled tightly, as they had to if there was to be any chance of a win. With danger men Phil Fisher and Dan Roberts (expertly run out by himself!) out and the board reading 60-3 from 12, MCC were in with a shout. A steadying partnership followed, however…117 was the score when Jack Straw (1-20) broke through! Dan Lewis-Williams (4-31) did his best with late wickets but it was the home side who edged home with just two balls to spare – 163-7!
At Sketty Lane, our ‘A’ XI stormed to 80 all out on a “sporting” wicket..top scorers were Ben Francis (16), Carl Lawrence (14) and Sean Davies (17). In reply, Civil Service were bowled out for just 56! Phil Roche (5-13) grabbed a hat-trick, whilst Dave Martin & Paul Kenealy weighed in with 2-20 & 2-8 respectively! After a fine season, our “A-Team” thoroughly deserved their 4th position in the table!
At HQ, the 2nd XI trounced Ammanford by 116 runs to consolidate their finishing in the runners-up spot! Batting first, MCC notched 204-7 before bowling the visitors out for 88!
Ben Lloyd (65no, 4 fours) top scored for our boys whilst, in the spirit of end of term sharing, Gareth Baglow (21, 3 fours), Pete Tuckett (23, 3 fours), Ben Jones (29, 3 fours), J-P Cronje (17, 1 four), Adam Lewis-Williams (12) and Jamie Sheldon (11, 1 four) all chipped in.
In reply, and very thirsty by now, Adam Frangakis-Williams (1-12), Jamie (1-26), Sam Harris (4-26) and J-P (4-22) ensured that Ammanford’s innings was wrapped up inside 32 overs! Top work all round!
So, let’s all look back on a good year for the Club, from the All Stars group of 83 5 – 8 year old lads ‘n lasses on a Saturday morning in May and June, through all our Junior age groups (Annual Presentation Evening next Friday, 6th) and, of course, to our three Senior sides..really well done to all the players, umpires, scorers & coaches!
Finally, a HUGE thank you must once again go to all those volunteers who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the Club throughout this year! There are so many (yet not enough!) to mention, from ground staff to bar staff, from the Committee to those who voiced opinion, both helpful and not so helpful (!), from afar, from tea providers to administrators, from cleaners to service suppliers, from supporters to sponsors..the list goes on! No helpers = no Club..simples!
There remains a lot of work to do, however, especially during September & October so any volunteers for that period would be more than welcome! This will include manning the end of the Annual Macmillan Round Gower Walk by 1000 walkers on Sat 14/9, “putting the ground to bed” for the winter (re-seeding & top dressing the square etc) and also emptying the storage containers ready for their removal from Marespool after some 40 years excellent service! The new garage will then be built in October & November….!
To those who either cannot help during the off-season or can, yet choose not to help during the next eight months, winter well, folks…see you in April!