Gorseinon (304-4) beat Aberaeron (160-4) by 144 runs

Aberaeron travelled to Gorseinon for a Welsh Cup round two match, but were well-beaten when only managing 160 for 4 in response to the hosts’ 304.

After a rainy start to the day, which saw Aberaeron lose opening batsman John Fice to car troubles without a ball being bowled, the Sunday fixture eventually started an hour later than scheduled.

Gorseinon won the toss and elected to have first bat on a grassy track. Runs flowed early on for the South Wales Premier Division Two side, only briefly checked by a Hywel Rees slower ball, which deceived their opening batsmen, caught at backward point by Arif Saad.

The introduction of Neil Snowdon and Paul Hughes restored an element of control, Snowdon taking an early wicket with a bouncer fended to Dave Floyd behind the stumps, then taking a catch on the square leg boundary off the bowling of Hughes. Paul Hughes was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 8-1-38.

This proved to be only a temporary respite, however, as Gorseinon’s opening batsman Kieran Howells settled in on the way to a big century. Ably supported by Kieran O’Connor, who scored 75 not out in a stand of over 150 runs, they took the home score towards the 300 mark.

A brief cameo over from Alex Pitchford resulted in a wicket, bowling the dangerous Howells for 167, and figures of 1-1-7. Gorseinon eventually closed their innings on a formidable total of 304 for 4.

Aberaeron began their reply cautiously against challenging bowling. Pitchford fell early, bowled off an inside edge for 2.

Chris Strange, in at number three to join Dave Floyd, looked to counter attack with some clean hitting. A stand of over 50 runs was ended when Strange was caught on the long off boundary for 32.

With tricky spin from both ends, Aberaeron were always struggling to keep up with the required run rate, with Steffan Rees falling for 4. Hywel Rees decided to hit out against the spin, combining fine paddle sweeps with some more agricultural heaves to take the total past 100.

Dave Floyd almost carried his bat, falling in the 37th over for 38 runs. Neil Snowdon and Hywel Rees saw out the remaining overs with some occasional big hits, interspersed with some comedic running. Aberaeron closed on 160 for 4, a creditable performance against a good team. Hywel Rees finished top scorer on 61 not out and Neil Snowdon 14 not out.

Dave Floyd was man of the match for a solid performance behind the stumps, including a catch, and his steady 38.

Aberaeron (95 for 3) beat Aberystwyth Seconds (91) by 7 wkts

ABERAERON dismissed Aberystwyth Seconds for 91 in their Saturday match in the Girasol Homes West Wales Conference, before notching a seven wicket win with a successful reply of 95 for 3.

Paul Hughes (3 for 19), Hywel Rees (2 for 8, 4 maidens) and Paul Graham (2 for 19) took Aber wickets at regular intervals, with Louis Fice, Neil Snowdon and Sion Lewis claiming one wicket each.

The only runs of note were scored by Dylan Jenkins (20) , Zaid Khan (19), Steffan Davies (13), Pat Daniel (10) and Malcolm McHough (10) with double figures.

Aberaeron recovered from the early loss of Alex Pitchford, caught by Pat Daniel diving forward off Nigel Salmon’s bowling, with a stand between Dave Floyd (38) and Neil Snowdon (47 not out) who pushed the scored along to 73 for 2.

Floyd, who hit five boundaries, lost his wicket when caught by Iwan Roberts, from the bowling of Malcolm McHugh.

The hosts, however, passed the post with seven wickets to spare, with Zaid Khan claiming the only other wicket when Steff Rees was caught by Pat Daniel. Snowdon, named man of the match, hit the winning runs in the 25th over.