What an end to Season 2022..for the fourth Saturday of the last five, each of our three Senior teams won their league games!
Star performance of the day (27th) was that of 1st XI skipper Aneurin Norman, who’s incredible knock of 129 from 107 balls faced must go down as one of finest to have been played at Marespool to date!
Coming in with the board reading 32-3 after choosing to bat first, and 51-4 soon after, “Noddy” produced an absolute masterclass in early patience and later brutal hitting to see his side through to a final score of 250 against Gorseinon! His first 50 runs came off 73 balls, whilst his next 79 runs were picked up from just 34 balls. Altogether, he struck 13 fours and 7 sixes!
Max Phillips (21, 2 fours & a six) was the next highest scorer, adding 63 with his captain. And Mike Jarrett (15no, 1 six) did very well coming in at number 10, batting sensibly to add 79 essential runs with Aneurin.
In reply, “Gors” got off to a rapid start..72 runs had come from nowhere before the first wicket fell. And our visitors were certainly in the driving seat at 137-1 when the second wicket was taken. Thereafter, MCC tightened up and made life harder for Gorseinon.
The pressure gradually told as the total soon read 167-5. A stand of 56 for the 6th wicket, however, swung the game in “Gors'” favour before two crucial wickets fell in quick succession..229-7. Tight bowling at the end saw Gorseinon run out of time as they finished on 243-7. MCC were home by 7 runs after a fine game of cricket!
Mike (1-28), Adam Frangakis-Williams (1-43), Jamie Sheldon (1-49) and Greg Thomas (3-44, and a run-out) shared the wickets but mention must also be made of Max & Jack Straw whose respective stints of 10 wicketless overs cost a mere 66 runs..just over 3 an over!
At Carmarthen, Joe Phillips led the way as his 2nd XI cruised to an emphatic victory by 76 runs.
Joe top scored with 71, whilst Jon Brearley (51), Rhys Davies (22) and Alex Davies (12no) also did well..191 all out in the final over.
In reply, the home club succumbed to Rhys (1-13), Kapilan Radhakrishnan (1-20), Alex (1-15), Sam Harris (3-24), Ben Jones (3-27) and Jacob Nicklin (1-13)..115 all out inside 36 overs. Good work, lads!
The latest hat-trick of wins came after a low-scoring affair at Murton where our ‘A’ XI saw off Baglan, to win by 4 wickets.
Eight man Baglan were dismissed for 66 in the 20th over. Dave Martin (2-12), Theo Morris (1-15), Joe Board (3-20) and Tony Dowrick (1-14) were the only bowlers required to do the damage.
In reply, Eurig Morgan’s Men lost 6 wickets in overtaking this score in the 21st over. Vineet Sabharwal (23, 5 fours) and Phil Roche (24no, 2 fours) rescued the situation after the board read 21-3 at one stage.
So, the 1st XI finished 4th in Premier League Division 2, a point behind Cowbridge, the 2nd XI ended in 4th spot too whilst the ‘A XI ended their season, guess where (!), 4th in Division 5 of the SWCA! Great efforts all round!
Finally, a massive “thank you so much” to all those who contribute to the year-round running of our fine Club. This includes all those within Junior & Senior cricket, on the ground, within the Clubhouse and from home! And, of course, to all our Members, parents and many personal & corporate donors..where on earth would we be without each of you?!