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As the cricket season draws to a close it’s once again time for the county’s most prestigious prize to be contested - the Harrison-Allen Bowl. This year’s final is set to take place on Saturday 29th August at Cresselly Cricket Club, starting at 12 noon.
Last year’s final was infamously plagued with bad weather causing multiple postponements, which should be avoided this year after a summer of sun which has contributed to great games and high scoring across the season. In the top flight we saw Saundersfoot smash their way to the title this year in convincing fashion, picking up countless centuries along the way.
The Harrison-Allen Bowl has a knack for throwing up unusual finals and this year is no different. Last year’s trophy, contested earlier this summer, saw the fairytale story of Narberth who were a Division Two club at the time, defeating one of the county’s most successful cup sides, Neyland in that postponed final.
This year will see Whitland take on Lawrenny, two of the bottom three sides in the top division. For Whitland, it’s a chance of redemption after finishing rock bottom. Lawrenny managed to avoid the drop after a poor start, sealing their status in style with a fantastic final day victory over local rivals Cresselly. They’re no strangers to Pembrokeshire Cricket’s ultimate prize having lifted the trophy as recently as 2024 when they defeated Saundersfoot in the final.
Lawrenny
Rewind a couple of months and it looked very possible that Lawrenny would be joining Whitland on their way to Division Two, but an emphatic final day victory over Cresselly saw their place guaranteed in style.
Their survival can be largely attributed to the signing of Charlie Arthur who since signing back for the club has been instrumental with bat and ball.
Lawrenny have faced a tough path to the final, defeating Division Two champions Hook in the Quarter-Finals and Carew in the Semi-Final with a 6-run victory. Instrumental in both of those wins and for his club across the season has been Ryan Morton (33, 3-49 v Hook, 5-32 v Carew) and he could be instrumental once again in the final after Captaining them to success two years ago.
Whitland
Following their relegation, Whitland will probably be seen as the underdogs for this contest but will take inspiration from their Semi-Final performance against Champions Narberth as well as their defeated opponent’s unlikely success in last year’s competition.
This really is a competition that can provide some magical stories and Whitland will be relying on the form of key players such as Mathew Davies who has contributed with bat and ball across the competition to get his team to the final. Gethin Scourfield’s total of 48 runs was key to their Semi-Final victory, with Geraint Jones 5-wicket-haul against Burton vital in a fantastic early victory in the competition’s second round.
Final Thoughts
As alluded to above, this really is a competition where we have come to expect the unexpected. That being said, Lawrenny will undoubtedly be favourites given their recent success and upturn in league form with some fantastic second half of the season victories.
That’s not to write off Whitland though, who have some fantastic players of their own and have showed what they are capable of by knocking out the current champions.
The club's first and only Harrison-Allen trophy came 14 years ago back in 2012 where they defeated Pembrokeshire titans - and favourites on the day - Carew to lift the silverware. They'll be hopefully for a similar inspired performance for the big occasion this Saturday.
With two innings, a fervent crowd and the magic of the cup at play - here’s hoping for an entertaining affair to end the season on a high.
