Aberystwyth (185 for 9) beat Dolgellau (184 for 8) by one wicket

THERE will be no league matches played this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, but cricket is most definitely back - with all local matches having sanitising breaks every six overs.

On Sunday, Dolgellau travelled to Aberystwyth for a friendly fixture, their first match of the ‘new normal’, and it turned out to be a close affair, with Aberystwyth winning by just a single wicket from the penultimate delivery of the match.

Visiting captain Stuart Evans opted to have first use of a good batting track, and his side made a total of 184 for 8 from their 40 overs, with each bowler being limited to 8 overs. Aberystwyth responded with 185 for 9 from 39.5 overs, scoring 104 runs from their last 14.5 overs to successfully reach their winning target.

Phil Leeds, batting as low down as number seven, top scored for Dolgellau with 61, before he retired not out in the latter part of the innings. There were other double figure contributions, but no other batsman managed to reach twenty.

Opener Greg Smithies hit 4 boundaries in his 19 runs, Jonathan Lloyd made 17, Stuart Evans made 16, including a six, Jaco Oosthuizen put on 15, Morgan Yorke 14 not out and Will Hannam made 11.

For Aber, spinner Nat Burrell claimed 3 wickets for 25 from his 8 overs and youngster Titus Mathew took 2 for 32. Skipper Ted Trewella, 1 for 21, James Breese, 1 for 31, and Tom Williams, 1 for 38, were the other wicket takers, and there was a catch apiece for Mel Jones and Jim Vaughan as the visiting team closed on 184 for 8.

After 20 overs of their reply, Aberystwyth stood at 58 for 1, but some hard hitting in the middle order by Tom Williams, 32, and James Breese, 28, gradually increased the run rate, both batsmen striking a six and 3 fours in their knocks, taking advantage of some slipshod fielding by the visitors. Opener Anthony Burrell top scored with 40, Mel Jones made 20, Jim Vaughan 12 and Trewella also 12.

It went from 173 for 6 to 177 for 9 with 3 overs left, but the last pair, Adam Shaw 6 not out and Titus Mathew, 2 not out managed to take their side to the winning line with 1 ball to spare, reaching 185 for 9.

Leeds was top wicket taker with 5 for 49, while 4 bowlers had one wicket each. Oosthuizen had 1 for 18, Sam Williams 1 for 23, Jonathan Lloyd 1 for 27 and Smithies 1 for 28. There was a stumping for Stuart Evans and a catch for Oosthuizen and Smithies as Aber won by one wicket.

• ABERYSTWYTH’s Colts played their annual fixture against The Forty Club last Tuesday, and were beaten by 64 runs, when all out for 144 at the Geufron.

The Forty Club had won the toss and elected to bat first, with solid knocks from the top three batsmen, Nick Morgan 44, Rob Saunders 23, and Andi Price 16.

Further contributions from Rob Mathias, 18, Reuben Price, 45, and Neil Reardon, 25 not out helped the visitors to 208 for 7 after 40 overs. Zaid Khan took 2 for 39, with Titus Mathew, Omar Syed, Matthew Ashton and Dan Graison also taking single wickets for Aberystwyth.

In reply, the top order of Steffan Davies, 41, Tom Constantine, 22, and Dylan Jenkins, 38, made good progress, but Austin Thomas, 16, was the only other batsman to make double figures as Aberystwyth were dismissed all out for 144 in 36 overs.

Lee Parry returned 4 wickets for 15 runs, Nick Morgan took 2 for 10, Andi Price 3 for 6, and Anthony Evans 1 for 35.

• ABERAERON beat Talybont Rachels by five wickets at the Geufron on Saturday, after the hosts had posted 243 for 7 after 40 overs.

Ben Harper, 41, Vinod Mathew, 41, Tipin Joseph, 26, Huw Davies, 43, and Phil Abraham, 40, hit out for Talybont, despite the wickets falling to Jacob Jenkins, 3 for 43, and J Beauchamp, 3 for 42.

Aberaeron finally reached a winning 247 for 5 in 39.5 overs, thanks to number three bat Jacob Jenkinson’s 99 not out. Support was provided by Alexander Pitchford, 12, Chris Strange, 25, Neil Snowdon 43, and Josh Roper 25 not out, with wickets falling to Dave Barrow, 2 for 25, Vinod Mathew and Huw Davies.