Abergavenny Cricket Club First XI started their league campaign with a 72 run win against Cardiff Gymkhana on Saturday at Avenue Road.
After losing the toss Abergavenny were asked to bat and openers Will Glenn and Morgan Bevans put on 111 for the first wicket before Glenn was bowled for a well made 62. Bevans soon followed to a good catch for 49 and Aber started to struggle slightly against the slower bowlers finishing 200-9 from their 50 overs.
Bevans soon followed to a good catch for 49 and Aber started to struggle slightly against the slower bowlers finishing 200-9 from their 50 overs.
In the field Aber got off to a great start with Adam Harrison claiming 3-37 and some good fielding putting the Gymkhana batters under pressure. Leg spinner Sam Clarke bowled a good spell to take 4-23 and new signing Ross Melrose, who has joined the club from Himley CC, claimed 3-18 as Gymkhana were bundled out for 128 in just 33.5 overs.
Overall a good start to the season for Aber and hopefully they can build on this performance next weekend when they travel to Radyr.
On Sunday the first team welcomed local neighbours Usk to Avenue Road in the Welsh Cup and put them to the sword with a resounding 117 run victory.
Aber lost the toss and were asked to bat first and Will Glenn took advantage with a fantastic knock carrying his bat for an unbeaten 136 as Aber racked up 277-4 from their 40 overs.
Glenn was supported well by skipper Geraint Leach 51 and David Clarke 37 as the Usk bowlers went to all parts of Avenue Road with 31 boundaries being hit in the innings.
In reply Usk limped to 160-8 with young 14 year old off spinner Lewys Wilkes-McCarthy impressing on his first team debut by taking 2-29 with some good control. Also to take wickets for Aber was David Clarke 3-19 and Sam Clarke 2-36. Aber youngsters Dylan Beaumont Welsh and Ben Morris also bowled well with no reward. For Usk top scorer was Neil Perrett with 37.
Abergavenny 2nd XI began their league campaign at a blustery Chepstow CC on Saturday and were blown away in the final phase of the game to go down by 115 runs.
The emphatic nature of the result does not tell the whole story as the Beavers were in the game for long periods but just could not maintain their challenge in the final 20 overs.
Aber skipper Steve Brown lost the toss and home counterpart Jon Huws had no hesitation in batting first. The track and the outfield were very hard and dry for early May which meant a par score was expected to be around 225.
Beavers youngster Ben Morris had other ideas though and picked up 2 wickets in his first over, both caught well at slip by the nimble Andy Timpson.
Morris was unlucky not to pick up a third wicket, but the chance went down at 2nd slip, with the beneficiary, Bostock, going on to make a solid 61.
Skipper Brown was in the enviable position of having 8 bowlers to rotate, but having lost Francois Lodder to a rib strain when in a good rhythm, no one else was able to take control until wily seamer Gareth Powell (3-30) produced a magical 9 over spell to wrestle back some initiative for the Aber team.
However, Jones (71) and skipper Huws (32) had taken the Chepstow score to 180-3 with 12 overs to go and a score well in excess of 250 was looking a distinct possibility.
Brown turned back to spin and was instantly rewarded as young leggy Tom Pipe took 2 good wickets and Timpson 1 which wrestled back the impetus for the away team. Ben Morris returned for a second spell and picked up a 3rd wicket to leave the Chepstow innings at 219-9 which represented an excellent come back by Abergavenny.
Beavers openers Powell and Nathan Holley made a promising start and the pursuit of 220 for victory looked well within range, however, Powell misjudged the line of a Tim Rees delivery and found himself on his way back to the pavillion for 13.
When Ieuan Fury, on his Beavers comeback, fell soon after it was left to Steve Brown (29) and Nathan Holley (23) to steady the ship.
After Holley departed, Brown and Griffiths (22) took the score along to 96-3 with more than 20 overs remaining in the run chase.
At this stage, the game could have gone either way, however, young Chepstow off spinner Lewys Jones showed the benefits of pitching the ball up as he first dismissed Griffiths, followed by Brown in the next over.
The equation was now looking very different as the injured Lodder was unable to bat leaving the Beavers effectively 100-6. Jones continued to torment the Aber batsmen and finished with 5-24 as Aber lost their last 7 wickets for only 8 runs in the space of 5 overs.
The final margin of defeat and the rapid middle order collapse was a little harsh on the young Beavers side, but there were a number of positives to take out of the game as Aber look to immediately reverse their fortunes with a home game against Pentyrch this Saturday (13th May).
Abergavenny Cricket Club third team gained their second win of the season with a 6 wicket victory at Builth Wells 2nds. Aber lost the toss and were put into field by the home skipper. Builth made a good start to their innings scoring 43 in the 11th over before losing a wicket as Kyle Holmes caught the ball at gully off Meici Jones.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as Aber ripped through the middle and lower order. K Holmes, Alex Holmes, Jonty Heffaran and Lewys Wilkes-McCarthy all claimed one wicket but Gavin Nash was the star of the show taking 5-22 off seven overs as Builth Wells were bowled out for 88 in the 34th over.
Aber made the worst possible start to their run chase losing John Lamont for a golden duck. Drew Heffernan (8), Jones (2) and Owain Bradley (15) were all dismissed as Aber looked in a little trouble still needing 50 runs to win. But Builth couldn’t take any more wickets as A Holmes (20 not out) and wicketkeeper Ashley Curtis (30 not out) got Abergavenny over the line.
Next up for the thirds is a home game against Goodrich 2nds at the Crickhowell cricket ground on Saturday.
