HARRISON ALLEN BOWL
QUARTER FINAL
St Ishmaels 156-6 beat Lawrenny 155-5
ST ISHMAELS overhauled a competitive Lawrenny total with two overs to go to secure a semi-final fixture against Neyland, who won a tight game against Carew to seal their own spot in the Harrison-Allen Bowl semis.
A solid start from Lawrenny saw their openers put on 34 before a freakish run out. Kurtis Marsh (15) mistimed a drive straight to Andrew Pawlett, only for the fielder to drop the catch. However, Pawlett had the presence of mind the batsmen lacked.
Having set off for the run following the mishit, both batsmen were guilty of ball-watching and found themselves playing a game of ‘will-you/won’t you’ in the middle of the pitch.
Despite downing his chance, Pawlett’s throw was gathered and Marsh was on his way for a long walk back to the pitch side.
Fellow opener Henry Thomas kept the score ticking over with Kyle Marsh and brought the score into the sixties before Marsh, on 10, sliced Andrew Pawlett into the deep and into the hands of Jonathan Pawlett, who made no mistake with the chance.
With Pawlett bowling tidily, pressure grew on the Lawrenny batsmen and he removed the visitors’ key man, Thomas, clean-bowled for 33 well-made runs.
Next man in, Ryan Morton departed for two and Lawrenny were well and truly on the rack at 73-4 and in danger of subsiding to a well-below-par total.
However, Jamie Phillips and Joe Kidney dug deep and put on a rollicking stand of 62 which included plenty of big hits, particularly from Kidney who blasted his way to 40 before departing to Sean Williams with an over to go. Phillips kept up the momentum on his way to a fine undefeated 36 as Lawrenny closed their innings on 155-5.
Opening bowler Rob Williams then gave Lawrenny precisely the start they needed in the field, claiming the wickets of Bradshaw and Devonald before a spanking boundary catch by Henry Thomas off Steff Lewis left the hosts struggling at 22-3.
With Tish in all sorts of trouble and staring right down the barrel of a rare towsing, someone needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck for the home team and rebuild.
Home skipper Phil Cockburn showed he was the man for the job. Alongside Jonathan Pawlett (41) he added 87 to get Tish within striking distance of the Lawrenny total.
After Pawlett departed caught behind, Cockburn was joined by Jack Nicholas who blasted a fine six before departing run out for 15.
With three overs left in the game and the home team nineteen runs short of victory with four wickets in hand, it looked as though the game could end towards a testing finish.
The momentum remained with Phil Cockburn, however; the Tish skipper powered away a six off Kurtis Marsh in the twentieth over to bring up a real captain’s half-century and then pinched a single to put Andrew Pawlett on strike.
Pawlett proceeded to belt the only two balls he faced for a brace of sixes to end the game and seal a great comeback win for Tish.
RHEAD LEADS SEMI-FINAL CHARGE
Alec Colley Cup – Quarter Finals
St Ishmaels 77-2 beat Saundersfoot 74-6
A BLISTERING 54 not out from Karl Rhead led St Ishmael’s Second XI to the semi-finals of the Alec Colley Cup.
While each of the visitors’ top order showed attacking intent and hit some sparkling boundaries, none of them hung around long enough to build an innings of the sort of substance which would set the home side any sort of competitive target. Big sixes were not enough on their own to construct a team total as Saundersfoot’s innings stuttered to a below-par 74-6 at the end of their innings.
Tish’s bowlers, Kevin Bowen, Danny Flynn, Stuart Carpenter and Steve Williams bowled with good control and Saundersfoot’s final total owed a lot to the grit of veteran bat Paul Mansbridge who scored an undefeated 19 in the visitors’ cause.
A target of 75 to win didn’t look anywhere near enough to challenge the home team. However, Nav Kawale bagged Bowen and Flynn to give Saundersfoot early hope of an upset win.
Rhead soon set about his task, smashing 46 of his 54 not out in boundaries (including three sixes) while Carpenter chipped in with his own maximum to see Tish home in the 13th over.
The homesters’ reward is a semi final this Sunday against a strong Haverfordwest outfit, who brushed aside a game challenge by massive underdogs Pembroke Dock in the last round,
