MARCHES LEAGUES

Builth Wells 1sts 292 all out

beat Luctonians 261 all out

Builth Wells 1sts tore up the form book as they gained a welcome victory against perennial rivals Luctonians 1sts in another high-scoring encounter at Garth Road

Choosing to bat first Builth got off to a fast start as Steve Anderson (50) recorded his maiden 1st X1 half century and with Winston Williams (43) added 93 for the first wicket. The momentum continued with Dylan McPhee blasting 90 off 55 balls and Sam Williams (29) and Aled Powell (36) helped take Builth to 250-3. But Luctonians battled back and reduced the Bulls to 292 all out with Pete Griffiths (3-35), Jake Davies (2-33) and Matt Bengry (2-77) sharing the spoils.

In reply Lucs, after the early dismissal of Duncan Platford to McPhee, rebuilt steadily as James Platford (43) and Will Maund threatened to take the game away from Builth. McPhee (3-46) returned to remove the dangerous Platford and centurion Maund (108). Steve Powell (32) and Jake Davies combined to give their side some late hope but Sam Williams (2-65), Rob Wall (2-52) and season debutant Henry Edwards (2-44) gave Builth the points by 31 runs.

Delighted Bulls skipper Sam Williams added “All aspects of our game went well today and its always good to beat a strong Luctonians”

Builth 2s promotion hopes in Division 3 took a dent as they succumbed to a lowly Bartestree and Lugwardine 3rds as home opener Chris Frith punished some poor catching with an unbeaten match winning 101.

Batting first on the all weather track Builth were indebted to Paul Rowe (92) as wickets fell regularly. Eurig Towns (13) gave much needed support before debutant Terry Dickson (29) struck late runs to hoist Buith to a defendable but under par 190 all out. For the home attack Connor Berry (4-29) and Sid Hughes (3-46) did the damage.

Builth looked to put the home side under pressure but a weakened bowling attack were unable to keep Frith in check. Mike Berry (25), Ed Pritchard (19) and Ian Lunt (19no) gave valuable support as the toiling Builth attack wilted in the heat. Veteran Kevin Hall (2-24) plugged away and there were wickets for Ben Cripps and Arthur Davies but to no avail as B&L 3s strolled to a comfortable six-wicket win.

Disappointed skipper Stuart Cripps said: “It’s probably the worst we have played all season and dropped catches cost us but we battled to the end.”

Builth 2s look to get their promotion hopes back on track as they welcome Canon Frome 2s to Breconshire with the 1sts looking to complete a double as they make the return visit to Luctonians 1s on Sunday in a rearranged fixture.

Almeley 1sts v Glangrwyney 1sts

Glangrwyney maintained their winning ways in their return match with Almeley where they found wicket-taking harder than of late, failing to remove the last man. However the 24-point winning draw reinforces their pole position in division 2. On winning the toss, the visitors’ batted first and achieved maximum batting points in the final over of the innings against resolute home bowling. The stand-out performer was Nathan Byrne with 64 who kept the innings together and ensured that first use of the pitch would not be wasted. Maximum batting points were achieved with Barry Sharpe racing to 30 and adding 30 runs with last man Jules Hardwick in the final few overs.

In reply, Almeley struggled to maintain the required run rate against disciplined bowling and were content to bat out time for bonus points in a losing draw rather than go for the win. Best bowling figures again came from Jules Hardwick with 2-13 with four maidens in nine overs, with Jimmy Herrick 2-25, Nicki Jones 2-27 and Mike Devoy 2-31 also among the wickets. The result keeps Glangrwyney well clear of second-placed Canon Frome as the season enters its second half. Next week’s game is home to Luctonians 2nd XI.

Glangrwyney 2nds v Bosbury 2nds

A comprehensive win by nine wickets was set up by the bowlers and Brian Skinner’s 49 not out on another hot afternoon at the Camp. Captain Jim Astle invited nine-man Bosbury to bat first on winning the toss where initially the opening bowlers toiled in the vast open spaces of their home cricket field which again looked glorious. Haydn Davies’ spell went wicketless but gradually the other bowlers chipped away at the visitors’ innings with good catches being taken by John and Ed Hooper, the former a fine slip catch, with another two catches for wicketkeeper Astle. The pick of the bowlers were Eddie Harding with 3-13 and returning old-boy Eryl Cooke 3-4. A very early tea was taken when the innings closed after only 22 overs.

In reply, once the home team got off to a good start, this small total was impossible to defend with only nine fielders and the fast outfield. The innings was never allowed to dawdle in the heat with Skinner intent on dispatching anything within reach which meant that the winning runs were struck before the 15-over drinks break. This maintains Glangrwyney’s home record and raises them to fourth in the division, still with a game in hand. Next game is away to fellow promotion hopefuls Hay-on-Wye.

SOUTH EAST WALES CRICKET LEAGUE

It was a busy weekend for Brecon Cricket Club 1st team which produced mixed fortunes with a narrow defeat on Saturday against league leaders Miskin Manor by 15 runs and a thrilling victory over Usk by five runs on Sunday.

On Saturday the Miskin innings was restricted to 210 for 6 by the tight bowling from the home team with only their skipper Carl Whitely with 73 being comfortable. Leading the way with the ball for Brecon was Gethin Phillips with two wickets and Sam Williams, James Mitchell and Ceitho Williams with one each.

The Brecon reply suffered a couple of early setbacks but captain Matt Williams fought hard for the cause with 42 and received good support from Gethin Phillips (29). It was however the lower middle order that gave Brecon a shout with Andy MacDonald (45), Sam Williams (36) and Tom Wood (19) combining to give the League leaders plenty to think about. Unfortunately, for the home team it was not just enough as the innings fell 15 runs short.

The momentum of Saturday’s strong showing against the League leaders did not look to be have carried over to the Sunday fixture against Usk when the Brecon batting collapsed to 116 all out. Whilst Andy MacDonald (18), Will Trumper (16), Richard Lovering (14), Gethin Phillips (14) and Tom Jones (13no) all got starts no one went on to a big score. The Brecon bowling then put on another master class and when Matt Williams induced an edge from Usk’s final man into the safe hands of Richard Lovering at slip a famous victory was completed by five runs and was greeted by a roar from the players and home supporters.

The Brecon bowling was spearheaded by Tom Jones’ 5-31 and supported by a hostile spell of 3 for 26 from Richard Lovering with only Neil Perret (35) offering any long term resistance from Usk before Lovering produced a fine ball to dismiss him. The win moves Brecon off the bottom of the table and next week they visit bottom team Tondu in what could be a season defining encounter.

The 2nd team away at Cardiff Gymkhana lost their unbeaten tag which had lasted for over a year when they went down to a 76-run defeat. Batting first the Gym’s innings went through three distinct phases. The first a rapid start with 70 runs coming from the first seven overs, then a collapse induced by fine bowling from John and Steve Kenchington with 4 for 35 and 2 for 14 respectively, and finally the last two wickets added 114 for a total of 225 all out.

The Brecon reply never mounted a challenge with John Kenchington (31) being the main contributor with support coming from Dan Marshall (24) and Tom Marshall (22) as the innings fell away to 149 all out.

Next week the 2nd team are at home to Blackwood Town one of their main promotion challengers.