Ryan Aingworth’s 1st XI continued their recent fine form with an impressive 5 wicket victory at Pontarddulais this afternoon (29th)!
Winning the toss, Ryan elected to let his bowlers loose first on a damp track, in a game reduced to 36 overs per side. His men had to be patient, however, as “Bont” put on 43 for the first wicket before Jack Straw struck..Alex Thomas (17) caught by Gavin Williams.
Ten runs later, the Deadly Duo struck again to reduce our hosts to 53-3, after Ryan had helped himself to a victim in between! 43 runs were then added before Jack now became the catcher, to enable Max Phillips to dismiss the dangerous home skipper, Cameron Herring..96-4.
There was a 6th wicket partnership of 36 but wickets generally fell at regular intervals to see Bont close on 152-8 from their 36 overs. Despite the wet ground, MCC’s fielders had been terrific..7 catches were held and very little was given away whilst 7 bowlers dominated the bat almost throughout the innings.
Jack (2-32), Ryan (3-27), Max (1-31), Ben Jones (1-37) and Gavin (1-2) had enjoyed themselves. Mention should also be made of 16 year old Adam Lewis-Williams’ efforts..although wicketless, the opening bowler conceded a mere 14 runs from his spell of 5 early overs!
After the self-catering tea break, the Club lost an early wicket on 12 but there were few scares after that.
Refusing to be distracted by the loss of his opening partner, wicket-keeper Chris Matthews carried his bat to finish with a highly accomplished 65no (8 fours) from 88 balls faced, on what Ryan described as a “really tough deck”. Gavin (21, 1 four), Max (16, 1 four & a six) and Eddie Extras (29) were the main contributors at the other end as MCC ended proceedings with over 7 overs to spare. A great team effort again this week!
At Marespool, the 2nd XI also eased to a fine victory over Pontarddulais.
Batting first, Pete Tuckett’s Men amassed 185-5 from their 40 overs. After the first wicket fell at 28, 16 year old Sean Davies (37, 1 four) and J-P Cronje (45, 4 fours) added 76 for the second wicket..104-2. Further double figure contributions came from Joe Phillips (12, 3 fours), Ernie Extras (39), 17 year old George Lloyd (18no) & Adam Frangakis-Williams (26no, 4 fours). These two undefeated guys added an invaluable 34 runs at the end of our innings!
In reply, Bont never recovered from being reduced to 15-3 from 10 overs after the interval, as Adam (eventually 3-17) and Rhys Davies (1-16) got to work. Wickets continued to tumble However, from 55-7, the tail wagged somewhat in that 51 runs were added before “Tuck’s” Boys eventually won by 79 runs in the 34th over..our guests had been bowled out for 106. Apart from Rhys and Adam’s contributions, Jamie Sheldon (1-22), Sam Harris (3-25), J-P (1-2) and 15 year old Joe Holland (1-8) shared the remaining wickets. Another impressive all-round team performance!
Next Saturday (5th) the 1st XI play host to Swansea, the 2nd XI travel to St Helen’s and the ‘A’ XI take on Llandarcy at The Recreation Ground in Pontardawe.
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