Barry Wanderers v Brynmawr THE WANDERERS made their second longest trip of the season up to Brynmawr to be greeted by a gale force wind! On losing the toss, Wanderers were asked to field.

James Hassett and Mike Ashton opened the bowling with a variation of pace and slow stuff.

Ashton meanwhile tempted the dangerous Windross with his change 'flight' ball and he was easily stumped by the impressive Jamie Keir. The Hartland brothers followed soon after - both to Ashton and with skipper Fenton taking a wicket off his first ball the home side were in trouble at 88 for 4. A stand of 63 between skipper Adlam and vocal opener Evans ensured a good recovery.

Enter the fray young Luke Denning - making his official debut at 11 years old. With the skipper making a decision to give the youngster a bowl, it reaped rewards. With his dad Mike conceding 10 off his first over, his son conceded just three, and then went on to take three wickets for 26 runs off four overs - a truly sensational effort and a great prospect. Brynmawr were all out for 204 - a fine effort!

The Wanderers reply began with Smith and George, the former going for a duck chasing a wide one. Lanagan was next in and he and George added 132 for the next wicket before Lanagan went for 57 soon followed by George with 62.

With Tim Sanders (16) and James Hassett (17) the only other batsmen contributing the Wanderers fell short by just two runs.

Barry Wanderers 1st XI v Isca Crows 1st XI On a very humid day at Hayes Point, Isca skipper Kevin Perkins won the toss and put the Wanderers in to bat. Pete Coleman and skipper Stuart Jones started slowly for a change; the tight line and length causing problems for the normally destructive batsmen. Coleman departed for 10, bringing Ed Sherriff to the crease, and he played beautifully, clipping one shot off his legs for six. The partnership blossomed but in the 26th over, Jones was given out plum lbw, much to his displeasure, for a fine 44.

Sherriff fell quickly after for 45, and wickets started to fall. New batting prodigy Ben Collins managed to score 13 and get out in just five balls, bringing in Andrew Ferguson to steady the ship with a grafted 32.

Tim Sanders and Neil Mantell finished the innings in style with some big hitting, leaving the Wanderers on 205-8 off their 45 overs, 20 or 30 runs short of what they would have liked.

Isca started brightly, losing just two wickets in the first 22 overs and progressing well above the required run rate.

The spin twins Jones and Mike Denning were being hit for big boundaries. After the 34th over, Isca were 166-4 and were well in the driving seat.

Ben Collins was superb in the field, and the Wanderers suddenly looked motivated and fired up, skipper Jones bringing the field in to try and get some quick wickets.

The skipper was so desperate he brought on Ferguson, who bowled superbly returning figures of 3-23 to tear the heart out of the Isca batting line-up, with Mantell and Hassett backing him up. The match was on a knife edge with Isca needing 18 off the last two overs, with two wickets in hand. Up stepped Hassett, who after being hit to the boundary, bowled out the skipper Perkins, for a tremendous 68. The next ball bowled out Harris, leading the Wanderers to victory in dramatic fashion.

A superb battling performance gave the Barry side the maximum 26 points, which will surely maintain their 3rd division status next season.

Barry Wanderers 2nd X1 v Blaengarw 2nd X1 Last Saturday took the Wanderers up to the top of the Garw Valley to play Blaengarw. Their small attractive ground, carved into the hill by the local miners, had a view over the town and looked spectacular. Wanderers won the toss and elected to bat first.

Wanderers, looking to post a good score, started well until Smith (for the second week running) somehow managed to divert a leg side full toss onto his stumps.

Blaengarw's first change of bowling was to prove a decisive moment in this game. P Roberts, bowling inch perfect line and length and ably supported by youngster J.L. Hardwick, tied the Wanderers' batsmen down. G. Whiting, weathering the storm, went on to make an excellent 40.

Wanderers, in an attempt to break out of this stranglehold, rejigged the batting order but it was to no avail. Wickets fell at regular intervals, only a cameo of 15 from J. Cross lifting spirits briefly. Wanderers were all out for 149 in the 45th over. The Blaengarw bowling attack had done its job well - could Wanderers match them?

Opening the bowling for Wanderers A. Fenton and D. Morgan bowled with pace and guile, keeping the batsmen well below the asking rate, Morgan bowling his 12 overs for just 29 runs and claiming two wickets.

M. Ashton joined the bowling attack and took two more wickets. It was at this juncture that a most extraordinary event took place. A. Page on 49, having earlier shown signs of stress, had a disagreement with his batting partner and, in an animated fashion, walked off the field and had to be given "retired, out"!

Despite Wanderers' best bowling endeavours, P. Roberts having earlier bowled so well, took Blaengarw to victory with an unbeaten 37.

Next week Wanderers are on the road again, playing Great Western at Bridgend.

Barry Wanderers v Barry West End Sunday brought the West End to Hayes Point looking to avenge their defeat the previous week. Skipper Fenton won the toss and elected to bat on a cracking surface.

With regular opener Coleman running late, it was up to Chris Sanders and Brian Gist to rediscover some form. The bowling was good and a patient stand of 34 ensued before Sanders was bowled by a beauty by Miller.

Gist soon followed after a comical run out but Mike Denning put paid to some short bowling and scored a rapid 29 before trying one too many. Tim Sanders with 6, Jamie Keir 0, Coleman 4 and Larry Lawrence with 4 didn't trouble the scorers too much and the home side were in the mire at 86 for 7.

The rejuvenated Benjamin Collins scored a sensible 35 and with Hassett contributing 11 and skipper Fenton 10 - before he was bowled by a daisy cutter - the Wanderers struggled to 150 off 40 overs - 40 runs short of a decent target.

West End lost a wicket in the 4th over, Howell going for 9 caught by Coleman (after a juggling display) bowled Collins. Neil Holmes scored a steady 15 before he succumbed to the youthful Lawrence. With Ashton and Sanders also getting in on the action, the West End were poised at 104 for 5.

Enter Fenton who destroyed the bottom order with a superb spell returning figures of 5 for 4 off 16 balls and West End were all out for 125.

Barry Wanderers v Monkswood - President's Cup On another glorious evening, Wanderers made the mini bus trip up to Monkswood for the annual President's game. With one too many at the pub before the game, Fenton and Denning struggled through the journey!

Wanderers fielded first and restricted the home side to 112 for 4 off their 40 overs. Glyn Watkins and John Storey put on 65 for the 1st wicket before Lyndon Walters' (3-1-7-2) miserly spell allowed the Wanderers to exert some late pressure.

With the Wanderers openers dismissed in the 2nd over (dazzling sun!) it was left to Denning and Fenton to establish a victory platform. The pair added 66 runs off just six overs before both fell to veteran Tony Warren.

Only 16 runs were to come off the next 6 overs and a tight finish saw Walters and George show experience to guide the President's XI to victory with three balls to spare.

Midweek League Games The last two midweek games have seen mixed fortunes for the Wanderers. Against the Athletic Wanderers scored 169 off 20 overs with Coleman scoring 35 and George 61. In reply, Fenton took 3 for 21, Hassett 2 for 10 and Jones 2 for 4 in a comfortable victory by 80 runs.

Against Pentyrch it was a very different story. Pentyrch blasted the Wanderers out of the game in the first 8 overs, amassing 85 clearly up for revenge for the earlier in the season defeat - their only one to date.

With restrictive bowling from Fenton 2 for 28, Hassett 2 for 37 and Jones 2 for 34, Pentyrch finished on 184 - which could have been a lot worse.

But for a late flourish from Paul Swannick (25) and Mantell (41n.o.) the Wanderers score could also have been a lot worse - ending on 142 off 20 overs and losing by 42 runs.

Barry Wanderers v Dinas Powys - Midweek Cup Semi-Final The pressure game of the fortnight was the semi final against local rivals Dinas Powys. Skipper George won the toss and elected to bat on the unpredictable Common.

Ex-Dinas boy 'Hot-Tub' Jones scored a useful 24, Andrew Ferguson 23 and Fenton chipped in with a quick 18. But the Wanderers were in trouble at 98 for 7.

That man again Collins entered the fray and blasted a rapid 31. He was supported by Hassett who scored a just as important 15 to take the score up to 148 off 20 overs. Probably 25 runs short of where the Wanderers hoped they would be, but credit to Dinas who bowled well.

Cole and Fenton opened the attack for the away side and it wasn't until the final ball of Cole's 3rd over that he struck - bowling the dangerous Wingren for 15 and finished with 1 for 25.

In the next over Fenton struck twice, one quicker one and one slower one, and in his final over took another to return figures of 3 for 18. James Hassett bowled well for 1 for 27.

Dinas were helped along by Denning - his three overs costing 40 runs! Collins bowled the last over and conceded just 10 when Dinas needed 16, the Wanderers qualifying for the final on August 4 at Penarth's Athletic Field to face the might of Creigiau.