Brecon’s Sunday team has helped blood many young players, brought back a few old faces and given some a safe space to try the game for the first time, writes Dan Gee.

It’s also been a chance for teams to make their triumphant return, and on Sunday against Hay-on-Wye, skipper Ed Bevan took it one step further and arranged a burger-heavy BBQ.

Steve Covington, Huw Griffiths, Mohammad Hassan and Derek Osborne were all in the runs, with wickets for Jacob Pooley and a debut victim for Josh Williamson.

Brecon came out as eventual winners, but the main result of Sunday’s fixtures this season has been a bubbling community of families old and new who are calling the club their home.

On Saturdays, though, results matter, and for the 1st XI, each one is beginning to matter more and more. With poor availability, Rhys Pritchard did well to pull together an eleven that travelled to Creigiau.

Batting first on a bowler-friendly pitch, Brecon never got out of first gear. Greg Webber, Pritchard and Sam Williams were the only batters to make it into the twenties, with Extras top-scoring with 29. The home team were excellent with the ball and restricted their visitors to a hard-to-defend 131 all out.

The reply was somewhat brutal, with Creigiau reaching the target one ball into the 17th over for the loss of just three wickets. Brecon’s 1st XI find themselves deep in a relegation battle and will hope availability and form can improve.

The 2nd XI, meanwhile, are on the charge and have the lofty heights of Division 8 in their sights. Hosting Great Western Railway CC, Bridgend, and bowling first, they hoped they could railroad their way through the visitors.

And as Brecon Little Theatre and co. banged out the tunes in the distance at Brecon Pride, the 2nd XI got to work. GWR played their shots and paid the price. Tom Marshall, Griffiths and Rayhan Uddin each bagged a pair, with Dan Witcomb notching one more victim as he seeks to top the wicket-taking table. There were two catches for Andrew Kinsey, and fresh off a hundred for the Welsh Over-70s, Gwyn Price bowled with hostility to mop up the tail, with the visitors finishing with a chasable 152.

What unfolded in reply was both chaotic and unbalanced, but effective. Huw Thomas clobbered 22 off one over on his way to 70, and was ably assisted by absolutely no one bar Griffiths, who finished with 35 not out.

Brecon reached the total in the 28th over and, in doing so, ascended to third in the table, one point behind their opposition for the day.

As the season reaches its climax, both teams will need to tap into the Sunday XI’s community spirit, but for very different reasons.