Carew entered the driving seat as we enter the final game week of the Cricket season, with their win against Cresselly seeing them leap into first place. With the home side winning the toss, Cresselly chose to bowl first. This gave Carew the opportunity to score a massive score of 271. Brian Hall was one of two Carew players to pick up a half century, as he top scored with 70. Morgan Grieve was the other Carew batsman to reach the milestone, as he added a further 52 for his side. Dan James (2-29), Tom Arthur (2-40) and Charlie Arthur (2-47) all picked up two wickets each, however Carew continued to add runs to the total. With Shaun Whitfield (37), Tim Hicks (35) and Simon Wood (34) all adding further runs, this saw Carew reach 271-8 off their 45 overs. Carew then carried on their momentum with the ball, limiting Cresselly to 105 before they were bowled all out. Shaun Whitfield (3-36) and Rhys Davies (2-11) were the pick of the bowlers for the away side, with Charlie Arthur (29) the only Cresselly batsman to reach a 20+ score. This result sees Carew go ten points clear of Cresselly at the top of the table, meaning a Carew win against Neyland in their final game will seal the title.

Whitland narrowly lost by 22 runs as they hosted Lawrenny in a close encounter. The hosts chose to bowl first and it was opening bowler Glopal Ramasamy who started well. He picked up his first wicket with his fourth ball, his first wicket of three which included the dismissal of Finley Lewis (43) who was striking the ball well from number seven. Ramasamy’s opening spell saw the visitors fall to 28-2 at the beginning of the innings. However, number four Will Nicholas (52) formed a partnership with opening batsman Oscar Lewis (50) as the two shared a partnership of 91 to guide the score to 119-3 before Nicholas’ dismissal. Tom Cole (47) and Finley Lewis then shared a partnership of 85 for the seventh wicket, which aided Lawrenny in reaching 270-9 off their 45, with captain Kevin Pearce helping to limit Lawrenny with his 2-35. It was Pearce who helped Whitland get underway with the bat, as he top scored for the home side with 68. He shared multiple partnerships before he fell for the fifth wicket, the highest of which was his 85 partnership with number three Jamie Thomas. It was Rhys Eynon who picked up the wicket of Pearce, as he also picked up the wicket of Glopal Ramasamy (28) as part of his three wicket haul (3-48). With Whitland needing 55 off the last five overs, Oscar Lewis (3-55) stepped up with three wickets, including two wickets for only one run in the 42nd over and helping to bowl Whitland out in the final over for 248, with Rob Williams (2-39) taking the final wicket. Whitland sit 11 points clear of Haverfordwest, meaning that a win against winless Llangwm would secure their division one status for next season.

Whitland’s relegation rivals Haverfordwest also lost as they travelled to Neyland. The home side chose to bat first at the Community Hub. Haverfordwest first change bowler Rhys Sewell picked up important wickets of key Neyland batsmen when he came into bowl, as he finished with figures of 2-48. This left Neyland’s score showing 104-4 following opener Paul Murray’s 26 which got Neyland off to a good start. Dai Davies entered at number three and remained at the crease until he fell for the sixth wicket with the score at 187, scoring 36 off his 74 deliveries. It was captain Chris Phillips who picked up the wicket of former Haverfordwest player Davies, with Phillips picking up the figures of 2-28. Alan Webster entered at number six for Neyland, scoring the only half century of the match as he ended with 50 off 59 balls. Jake Merry (2-47) was the man to put an end to his knock, picking up his first of two wickets. Neyland were able to reach 206-8 off their 45 overs, giving Haverfordwest a difficult total to chase down. The task did indeed prove to be difficult for The Town, with only one player managing a 20+ score. That was Williams Phillips, who entered at number nine to score 41 before he was dismissed for the final wicket as Haverfordwest were bowled out for 134. Alan Webster picked up wickets key Haverfordwest batsmen at the top of the order, as he finished with 3-22. He was backed up by Andrew Miller (3-20) and Dai Davies (2-23) as Neyland cruised to a 72 run victory. As I mentioned previously, Haverfordwest will be praying for a Whitland defeat at the hands of Llangwm next weekend if they hope to remain in the division next season.

Herbrandston won by a monstrous 299 runs against Llangwm at Pill Parks. The home side lost the toss, meaning it was another week of bowling first for the Three Salmons. Herbrandston opening batsman Harry Nicholas scored the majority of the runs for the visitors, scoring 175 not out which equated to over half of his sides runs. Further runs came from Robert Hood who entered at number six, as he scored 44 before he was bowled out by Manny Davies, who was among the pick of the bowlers for Llangwm with 2-49. Dom Asson was Llangwm’s best bowler on the day however, with his 2-36 being the best figures out of the Llangwm attack. In response, Llangwm were swept aside by the two Herbrandston opening bowlers. Dean John (5-12) and Charlie Malloy (5-15) both enjoyed five wicket hauls as they bowled Llangwm out for 29. A comprehensive victory for Herbrandston, which sees them sit in fourth place, six points behind Saundersfoot in third.

Burton travelled to the afforementioned Saundersfoot with survival already confirmed. They chose to bat first, rotating the batting order from previous weeks. Opening bowler Sam Franklin (3-13) helped limit Burton to 29-5. Martin James (40) then came to the crease, later joined by Toby Hayman (62), with the two sharing a partnership of 48 before James was dismissed for the eighth wicket with the score on 103. It was Nic Cope who picked up the breakthrough wicket of James, as he picked up figures of 2-51. Toby was then joined at the crease by brother Luke Hayman, as the two enjoyed a partnership of 86 before Toby was dismissed, another key wicket for Nic Cope, as Luke remained at the crease to score an unbeaten 37 as they reached the tea break. John Mansbridge (2-28) took a further two wickets to limit Burton further as the away side finished their innings on 191-9 off their 45. In reply, Tom Mansbridge (30) and Nic Cope (53) shared an opening partnership of 56 before Mansbridge fell for the first wicket. This saw eventual top scorer Sam Franklin (73no) come to the crease, as his 120 run partnership with Cope took them to 176, before John Mansbridge (14no) came to the crease to join Franklin and pass the target for the loss of only two wickets.

Saturday 23rd August Fixtures

Fixtures with a ^ are games impacting the League Title.

Fixtures with a * are games impacting league relegation.

^Carew v Neyland
^Herbrandston v Cresselly
Lawrenny v Saundersfoot
*Burton v Haverfordwest
*Llangwm v Whitland

Photo: Lawrenny Cricket Club Match Winners