Abergavenny 1st XI continued their winning streak on Saturday with a 6 wicket win away to Ponthir, however they did not have everything their own way. Bowling first after winning an important toss Abergavenny bowled Ponthir out for just 107 as David Clarke claimed 4-23 while skipper Geraint Leach claimed 2-10 and Daniel Cooke 2-9. The other two wickets fell to run outs thanks to a direct hit from Morgan Bevans and some good fielding from Ponthir old boy Gareth Burkitt. For Ponthir Aled Burkitt scored 21 while Matt Adams top scored with 23.
In reply, Aber started disastrously as they slumped to 16-4 with Jones, Glenn, Harrison and Bevans all back in the pavilion as Ponthir made use of the helpful wicket and in particular Matt Dennehy who claimed three wickets. Enter the fray Daniel Cooke who took the game by the scruff of the neck and wrestled the initiative back in Aber’s favour with some hard hitting and a fantastic array of shots as he smashed his way to 73 not out off just 30 balls. Cooke’s knock included 13 fours and 3 sixes as he scored 70 runs in boundaries including 6 fours in one over! Cooke put on an unbroken partnership of 92 with Gareth Burkitt who contributed just 12 as Aber reached their target in just 15.4 overs as Cooke punished all the Ponthir bowlers finishing the game with a huge six straight down the ground.
Aber were indebted to Cooke to get them to the win and it leaves Aber requiring just three points next Saturday against Barry Athletic to be crowned champions and complete a very good season for the team with the club bouncing back from last year’s relegation. Overall a good team performance from the bowlers but a superb individual performance with the bat saw them to the win.
