ABERYSTWYTH CC travelled to Pwll to play Dafen Welfare CC’s 3rd XI on Saturday, hoping to follow up their South Wales Cricket Association campaign opening win over Gorseinon last week with a victory on the road.

With a few regulars unavailable, Aberystwyth gave senior 1st XI debuts to talented junior cricketers 12-year-old Wil Jones and 13-year old Kali Rourke.

A youthful Aber side also included 13-year old Ted Jones, and 14-year olds Jerom Jito and Bryn Williams.

The (slightly) older Mel Jones was playing senior league cricket alongside his two younger sons for the first time.

Dafen Welfare won the toss and on a hot sunny day, elected to bat first.

It was immediately apparent that there were runs to be made with a fast outfield ensuring that batters got full value for their shots.

Patrick Daniel struck an early blow for the visitors however, removing opening batter Alex Powell without scoring and going on to complete an excellent opening spell of 8 overs, 2 wickets for 32.

At the other end Bryn Williams beat the bat repeatedly without luck. Jim Vaughan bowled tidily to keep the scoring rate in check but it was the introduction of debutante Kali Rourke that proved vital as she removed top-score Max Thorne for a classy 52.

Rourke bowled 4 overs, taking a maiden senior wicket while conceding just 13 run; a brilliant performance.

A direct hit run-out from Vaughan removed the dangerous Tom Lavender and Aberystwyth’s spinners, Jerom Jito and Steffan Roberts, well-supported by tidy wicket keeping from Gareth Lanagan, combined to strangle Dafen’s middle order in the latter overs, Roberts finishing with 2-20 in 8 overs. Dafen finished on 166-7 off 40 overs.

Mel and Ted Jones were asked to open the batting, and the father-and-son combination came up trumps for Aber.

With few alarms, they played themselves in before shifting over to the offensive and finally grinding down the opposition attack.

Cara Thorne bowled superbly in the opening 10 overs, conceding just 11 runs, but runs began to flow at the other end and the result was soon put beyond doubt.

A brilliant display of batting saw Mel Jones finish on 93 not out, Ted Jones on 40 not out, and the victory target of 167 was reached in just 27 overs without the loss of a wicket.

The match was notable for stand-out performances from junior and female cricketers on both sides. Aberystwyth CC would like to thank this week’s match sponsor, the Ship and Castle pub, for its generous support.

After two games, Aberystwyth find themselves top of SWCA Division 9 by a single point and looking forward to the visit of Penygroes 1st XI to the Geufron next week.