ABERYSTWYTH made it nine wins from nine outings this term with a hard-fought victory in a low scoring encounter away at Gorseinon on Sunday, writes Jim Vaughan.

Gorseinon skipper, Paul Elliott, won the toss and elected to bat first but found Aber’s opening bowler, Bryn Williams, on top form, and was bowled by the second ball of the match.

Williams and Dave Wilcockson kept Aber well on top in the opening exchanges, ripping out the Gorseinon top order with two wickets apiece.

With Gruff Sedgwick striking as well, courtesy of a fine outswinger and a sharp catch in the gully from Iwan Roberts, the home side found themselves in dire straits at 40-5 after 15 overs.

Thereafter, Aber’s youthful bowling attack continued to chip away at the lower order.

Aron Bishop, Ted Jones and Iestyn Roberts all picked up wickets before Williams and Sedgwick (2-15) returned to mop up the tail.

Williams finished with the excellent figures of 8 overs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets for just 15 runs as Gorseinon were dismissed for 101.

Any thoughts that the run chase would be straightforward quickly evaporated as Gorseinon’s opening bowlers Tomas Fenton-Wright and Dylan Elliott exerted huge pressure on Aber’s top order.

Elliott bowled an immaculate eight over spell of left-arm spin to pick up 2 wickets for 15, while Fenton-Wright passed the bat several times, and though unlucky not to take a wicket, went for just 5 runs in his opening 6 overs.

Runs were hard to come by and when Lucas O’Brien struck in his first over, Aber had struggled to 18 for 3 off 13 overs.

The experience of Mel Jones now came to the fore.

Having weathered the opening spells of Gorseinon’s top bowlers, Jones began to accelerate the scoring as the half-way point of the innings approached.

Run-rate wasn’t really a concern, but falling wickets certainly were, and when Anand Jayajothi and Soham Girish struck in quick succession either side of the drinks break, Aber found themselves wobbling at 64-5.

Dave Wilcockson then settled a few nerves by despatching his first ball out of the ground for 6.

He and Jones then combined to make short business of the remaining runs, advancing from 64-5 to the winning target of 102 in 6 more overs.

Wilcockson raced to 19 not out in just 13 deliveries, while Jones finished with a match-winning 52 not out.

Aberystwyth’s 5-wicket win leaves them 42 points clear of second-place Penygroes CC and 57 points clear of Swansea 3rds.

With bottom of the division Dafen Welfare 3rds scheduled to visit the Geufron next Saturday, things are certainly looking positive for Aberystwyth’s promotion prospects this season.