Brecon’s 1st XI hosted Chepstow’s 2nd XI, with the visitors winning the toss and electing to field, writes Dan Gee.

Rowan Starkey opened with James Davenport, but after a communication breakdown, Davenport found himself run out for 15. Starkey fell for 11, and Kieron Marmion for 16. Skipper Rhys Pritchard departed for a golden duck, leaving the weight of responsibility with Himal Saud.

Brecon's Himal Saud
Brecon's Himal Saud (.)

He duly answered the call and made yet another half-century before falling victim to the excellent Kumar. There were starts for Andy MacDonald and James Mitchell, but nothing of substance, and Brecon were all out for a below-par 156 after 35 overs.

In reply, Chepstow showed signs of folding but were indebted to the wand of Kumar. His unbeaten 72 created the spine of a chase that threatened to look in trouble but was always in control.

Brecon took six wickets, with the superb Sudhir Chand taking two. There were two for Marmion and one apiece for Mitchell and Rayhan Uddin, but the low total meant Chepstow could chase it down in 27 overs, putting Brecon back in a relegation dogfight in the process.

The 2nd XI travelled to Usk, with captain John Kenchington making a return. Brecon batted first and were in deep trouble at 50/5. This brought Chairman Mike Haire and Ryan Morgan to the crease.

The pair’s perfect balance of defence and attack dragged Brecon to respectability. Haire fell in the thirties and brought Brecon RFC’s Ben Pritchard to the crease. His counter-attacking double-figure cameo allowed Morgan to reach a season’s best of 57.

Brecon’s tail folded, but Tom Scott-Lowe finished unbeaten, 98 short of a century. On a questionable astroturf wicket, 165 was a total that could be defended.

Usk’s reply got off to a poor start. Huw Griffiths took an early wicket, Morgan bowled with pace, and Dan Witcomb with skill. Just like Brecon, the home team found themselves five down in the fifties. While two more wickets fell, the runs came at a respectable rate, with the young gun Noah Sanderson duly supporting his senior partner Ceri Wynne.

The nervous energy at times turned into tension, and a feisty thriller began to unfold. Having expertly taken a stumping off Pritchard, Scott-Lowe took a sharp catch off the bowling of Witcomb to finally account for Sanderson.

This left Usk eight down, but the new pair continued to score, and while Brecon fielded well, chances didn’t materialise. There were fewer than ten runs to get, and it looked like a tight Usk win was in the offing.

With Morgan injured while fielding and Kenchington unable to bowl, Brecon needed to find two overs. This meant it was time to gamble, and the ball was tossed to the unreliable Dan Gee.

In the 37th over of the game, the gamble paid off as Gee opened the door by bowling Price. Brecon were delighted but needed to finish the job.

And Derek Osborne did just that. As Usk’s final batter played on, Wynne was left slumped at the non-striker’s end on an unbeaten half-century, unable to get his team over the line.

A four-run win for Brecon in Monmouthshire, and another 18 points to help the charge up the table.