THE finish was as close as they come at Aberaeron where Talybont reached 268 for 7 - only for the home batsmen to go on to win by one wicket on 269 for 9, with just two balls to spare in the last over.

The Talybont innings was dominated by a superb 125 from Vinod Matthew, who was then forced to retire due to injury, but Steffan Rees took centre stage for Aberaeron with another fine knock of 108.

Talybont had been put in to bat by Aberaeron on a fine, warm day at the seaside, and there were wickets in the first and second overs, with Andy Copeland caught by Chris Strange from bowler Simon Mitchell for 4, and Josheff Joshi caught by Alex Pitchford off bowler Neil Snowdon 2, as Aberaeron got off to a great start.

Despite Mitchell continuing with a fiery spell for Aberaeron, and many balls passing the bat and flying down to the third man area, Vinod Matthew and Sojan Varghese managed to survive the storm and score well when given an opportunity.

They managed a great third wicket partnership, until Mitchell caught Sojan for 38 on the mid-on boundary off Paul Hughes.

Another great catch in the deep, this time by Jon Evans, then dismissed Anish, again off the bowling of Hughes, and a sharp piece of close fielding by Chris Strange also had Graison John run out.

Steffan Rees then got his reward for some excellent fast bowling when Huw Chambers was bowled out for 13 runs.

Throughout all this, Vinod Matthew continued to amass runs, before he eventually had to retire after a taking a hit from the ball on 125, after an innings with lots of attractive and powerful hitting.

Talybont Rachels finished on 268-7 after a run out during a final ball scramble.

The Talybont opening bowlers kept a good line with the swinging ball, and they were soon rewarded with the wicket of Alex Pitchford, who had made 15, before being caught behind off Anish’s bowling.

Phil Abraham (2 for 57 from 9 overs) soon had opener Jon Evans trapped lbw.

Batters three and four, Steffan Rees and Chris Strange, however, managed to steady the ship, and push on the scoring.

Anish had Strange caught behind after a quick fire 41 (7 fours and 2 sixes) before he could take the game away from them.

Two more quick wickets, another caught behind for Phil Abraham and a cleaned bowled for Simon Lloyd-Williams put the visitors right on top, with 150 runs still needed and Aberaeron 5 wickets down.

Only Steffan Rees was left as a recognised batsman for Aberaeron, as Euryl Rees was away tending to farming duties, but Simon Mitchell joined Rees for a long and productive fifth wicket partnership.

Mitchell, primarily a bowler for the team, initially took a supporting role, but grew in confidence and scored 5 fours in his 32, before caught behind off Anish.

Steffan Rees then started another partnership with Sion Lewis, and it looked like they may reach the target together, until Lewis was bowled by Anish for 13.

Steven Evans, only called up on the day, and hence was an unknown quantity to all, defended well and took opportunities to score - and Aberaeron were looking favourites, as Steffan Rees was regularly hitting boundaries to keep on the rate.

With 30 runs to go, Rees edged one off Lloyd-Williams and was caught behind for a great knock of 108, with 9 fours and 6 sixes - his first century for Aberaeron.

With Paul Hughes, seemingly the last man, coming to the crease, the game was in the balance. He hit his second ball straight for 4, and hopes were raised.

With Euryl Rees on his way back to the ground, Hughes managed to survive just long enough before Simon Lloyd-Williams bowled him for 5, breaking the bail!

Euryl Rees joined Steven Evans and they managed to bring to game to seven runs needed from the final over - and scored the winning run with just two balls to spare, to clinch an unlikely victory.

Evans finished on 15 not out, and Rees on 7 not out when the target was reached.

It had been a great match played in a very good spirit, despite the tension, with Aberaeron eventually winning by one wicket, mainly thanks to centurion Steffan Rees in the face of excellent bowling.

The pick of the bowling for Talybont was Anish with 4 wickets for 62 off 9 overs, Simon Lloyd-Williams 3 for 42 off 8 overs, and Phil Abraham 2 for 57 off 9.

All the bowlers had to thank their wicket-keeper Sojan, who took 5 catches, all genuine edges, and some requiring dives.