Aberystwyth forced their way to an unlikely 6 run victory in a nail-biter of a finish at Aberaeron in the Fine & Country WWCCC.

Aberaeron (226) lost to Aberystwyth (232-9) by 6 runs, West Wales Conference sponsored by Fine & Country

Aberystwyth won the toss and Jim Vaughn chose to bat first and set a target. Steff Davies wasted no time in attempting to do so as Aberystwyth raced to 50 in the fifth over. Steff chanced his arm once too many though and was caught in the deep for 39 by Rhys Jon James off the bowling of Steff Rees.

One brought three as Simon Mitchell bowled Matt Salter for 10 in the next over then had Anthony Burrell caught and bowled 3 balls later.

Josh Roper then applied further pressure as he removed Noa Jones caught by Neil Snowdon for 0 in his first over and followed up with a wicket maiden in his next, removing Adam Shaw for the third duck of the Aberystwyth innings. At 71 for 5 Aberystwyth were in danger of collapsing but the experienced duo of Jim Vaughn and Nigel Salmon prevented any further panic as they embarked on a match defining partnership.

The pair battled through 23 overs, initially defending and eventually opening up to take Aberystwyth past the 200 mark and ensure maximum batting points. The return of Simon Mitchell eventually saw the end of Nigel Salmon bowled for a determined 66 and again three balls later Simon struck to remove Ioan Morris for 4.

Simon’s last over, the 40th of Aberystwyth’s innings followed the same pattern as his previous two wicket taking ones. A wicket from the third ball - Omair Syed bowled for 6 - was followed by a second wicket from the 6th ball - Michele Watson bowled for 1 to leave Abersytwyth 232/9.

In reply, Aberaeron stuttered early on as, after one boundary, Josh Roper was victim to a stunning leaping catch by Ioan Morris in the covers. Steff Rees fell cheaply too, spooning a shot of his pads to Nigel Salmon at square leg. As in the Aberystwyth innings, an experienced pair was called upon to restore the innings - this time Dave Floyd and Hywel Rees. From 15 for 2, Hywel and Dave added 124 runs in 20 overs with Floyd contributing 55 before falling to the off spin of Omair Syed.

Jamie Davies was called upon next to try to bring the target closer within reach and wasted no time, smashing two huge sixes before miscuing an attempt for a third, Rhys Jones holding on to a high pressure catch to give Nigel Salmon his first wicket.

Neil Snowdon joined Hywel and the pair appeared to be steering Aberaeron to a comfortable victory as they took Aberaeron to within 50 runs with 10 overs remaining and with wickets in hand. Salmon however induced Snowy to slice one up to Omair at point just when he was getting going with 18 runs to his name.

That wicket exposed the young Aberaeron lower middle order to a situation they have not experienced many times before, having to steer the team home in a chase. With the experience of Hywel still there the odds were still in Aberaeron’s favour.

However, both Morgan Ashton and Ifan Rishko were bowled by Nigel Salmon, after hitting a boundary each, to leave Aberaeron 7 down with the total just shy of 200. Simon Mitchell had dropped to number 9 and was a reassuring presence for Aberaeron in a tight finish.

Jim Vaughn, sensing that this was the opportunity to close out the game, gambled and brought Noa Jones back in the 35th over, meaning that he would have to use a more occasional bowler in the 40th if the game were to come down to the wire. It was a sensible ploy as wickets were Aberystwyth’s only hope as Hywel would almost certainly have been able to ensure 28 runs were scored in 30 balls.

Despite conceding a 4 from a high full toss, to give Aberaeron 5 runs, Noa regained his composure and sent the next delivery crashing into the top of off stump to bowl Hywel for a splendid 79. The loss of the skipper was a hammer blow to Aberaeron but with Simon and Rhys Jon James combining to take 8 runs from Anthony Burrell’s next over, Aberaeron closed to within 20 runs of victory with 24 balls remaining.

Noa again began his next over in wayward fashion, with a no ball and 2 wides coupled with 2 singles giving Aberaeron a further 6 runs. Again, Noa regained his composure and bowled the more experienced batter Simon Mitchell for 8 to leave Aberystwyth 1 wicket away from a famous victory.

Paul Hughes was Aberaeron’s last hope and he managed to survive Noa’s final delivery of his 7th over to leave Rhys Jon to attempt to score the runs off Burrell. Three scampered 2s and a single in a chaotic over featuring inside and outside edges, dropped catches and overthrows, all to gasps and cheers from the captivated audience, left Aberaeron on 226 with 12 balls remaining, requiring only 6 runs.

The batters knew that if they could get to the 40th over, they would have a good chance of victory. Rhys Jon faced Noa Jones with the game on the line and defended the first ball. The second, however, was a beauty, beating the defence to light up the leg stump and leave a distraught Rhys Jon staring at the sky in disbelief. It was a brave effort by the Aberaeron number 10 in only his second bat for the team, but his 10 runs were ultimately in vain as Aberystwyth celebrated a 6 run victory.

It was a grandstand finish to an exciting match featuring several stand-out performances. Both captains, Jim Vaughn and Hywel Rees top scored for their teams, with 76 and 79 respectively. Dave Floyd also had another fine day with the bat with 55 runs. Simon Mitchell took 6-54 from his 8 overs but the two players who combined to win the match for Aberyswyth shared player of the match. Nigel Salmon was crucial to getting Aberystwyth to a defendable total with 66 runs and then chipped away at the middle order to finish with 4/48. In any normal scenario this would ensure the plaudits were his alone, but Noa’s final three over spell, under immense pressure, to deliver the wickets of Hywel Rees and Simon Mitchell and then the match winning wicket, to finish with 4/26 meant that a joint award was made.

[Report by Arif Saad]