Ted Trewella steals the show as Abereron beat Aberystwyth 2nds

On a day of sunshine and showers, Aberaeron defeated a spirited Aberystwyth 2nds by 142 runs.

Aberystwyth II (162-5) lost to Aberaeron (304-8) by 142 runs, West Wales Conference sponsored by Fine & Country

Hywel Rees won the toss and chose to bat first on a sun-baked strip. Anirudh Krishna took the new ball and bowled with good pace and movement to trouble both Steffan Rees and Alex Pitchford. Despite both Anirudh and Gruff Jones producing the occasional snorter to beat the bat, the Aberaeron batters were able to survive and got value for their shots against the 10-person Aberystwyth fielding side.

Aberaeron having reached 75 in the 11th over, Anirudh delivered the perfect out swinging delivery which beat the defensive shot of Alex Pitchford to clip the top of off stump.

Dave Floyd came out at 3 as Nigel Salmon made his first bowling change - Pranav joining his brother in an all Krishna attack. The younger Krishna was immediately effective as he took two wickets in his first over.

The first was fortunate as Steff Rees, having brought up his 50 with his seventh 4, miscued a hook at a full toss, gloving it onto his body for the ball to pop up to the wicketkeeper Ioan Morris. The second had no element of fortune as a leg break beat left handed Hywel Rees’ defence to the first legal delivery he faced to bowl him for 0.

Anirudh struck three overs later, trapping Dave Floyd in front with another swinging delivery to leave Aberaeron in trouble at 87/4 in the 15th over.

Ted Trewella looked to consolidate with Jamie Davies playing his usual attacking role. Good field placement and tight bowling denied Jamie his scoring opportunities and the reward was another wicket for Pranav, bowling Jamie for 9.

At 128/5 Aberaeron were in danger of a below par score but Kevin Regan and Ted Trewella wasted no time in turning the tables on Aberystwyth and taking the attack to them. The pair doubled Aberaeron’s score in 17 overs to take them to 256 before Regan fell just short of his half century, top edging a sweep to Anthony Evans to give wicket keeper Ioan Morris his second catch.

Ted Trewella had already raised his bat for his hundred – his first big score of the season, having top scored in the Championship last year – and, joined by Josh Roper, accelerated in the final three overs to take Aberaeron past 300.

Pranav came back to bowl his 8th over, the 38th and final one of a rain shortened innings. Despite the batters taking 10 from the first four deliveries the youngster held his nerve and had the last laugh as he bowled both Josh Roper (18) and Morgan Ashton to claim a five wicket haul and the match ball.

The covers came back on for a second time as the players enjoyed tea but there were no further delays during Aberystwyth’s attempt to chase 304 in 38 overs.

Nick Allen and Nigel Salmon were first up to face Steff Rees and Simon Mitchell. The rain on the surface during the day and a slightly slower outfield posed extra challenges for the batters. After a tight first four overs, Steff struck in the fifth, bowling Nick for 2.

Captain Salmon and Gruff Jones looked in good touch, seeing off Steff (1-23 from 6) and Simon’s opening spell (0-12 from 5) but the introduction of Josh Roper brought immediate reward. Two fast swinging full deliveries accounted for Salmon (17) and then the in-form Graham Saunders first ball.

Anirudh defended the hat-trick ball then led a rebuilding effort with Gruff Jones. The pair shared a 60 run stand before Gruff spooned up a return catch to Morgan Ashton to fall on 41, with Aberystwyth just shy of a 100.

Ioan Morris was the number 6 bat and looked classical in defence, punching the occasional boundary and runing hard with Anirudh to help to add a further 40 runs together. Anirudh fell just short of a half century as the returning Simon Mitchell induced a fine edge from a lifting delivery that was held by wicketkeeper Dave Floyd.

Michele Watson (10*) and Ioan Morris (30*) ensured that Aberystwyth got their 4th batting point and denied Aberaeron a third bowling one as Aberystwyth closed on 162/5.

Pranav Krishna was considered for player of the match for his 5/56 but the standout performance, rescuing Aberaeron from a precarious position to take them past 300, was from Ted Trewella. His match-winning 133 not out came from 83 balls and featured 14 fours and 5 sixes.

Aberaeron were grateful to Aberystwyth for laying on a barbecue after the match and the players of both sides enjoyed a social evening that demonstrated the spirit the match was played in.

Aberaeron go second and with Rachel’s Talybont having handed Tywyn their first defeat it looks like a three-horse race for the title with three rounds of matches remaining, though AU Commoners will feel they have an outside shot if they can win their remaining fixtures.

Report by Arif Saad