8:00am Thursday 5th July 2012
BOTH Barry Athletic Cricket Club 1st and 2nd XIs suffered defeat on Saturday at the hands of Brecon, and Sunday brought an end to their Welsh Cup adventure.
Barry 1st XI faced bottom of the league Brecon at home and welcomed back Lee Morgan who missed out against Abergavenny in the Welsh Cup. Having won the toss, Barry put Brecon into bat and found themselves in a very strong position after 20 overs.
Once again, excellent line and length from both Peter Hellyar (two for 20) and John Gee (one for 21) from 10 overs each restricted the opposition to 41 for three at 20 overs. Resilience came from both Kenchington (21) and Williams (77no) as Barry faltered in the field and let the opposition back into the game. With Williams' big hitting, Brecon found themselves at 175 for eight after their 50 overs.
Feeling the total 'gettable' on a very hard and fast outfield, Barry were dealt a major blow when Williams dismissed both Baker and White early on to leave them 25 for two off eight overs. The quick wickets of both Jones and Gadd followed and left Barry struggling at 38 for four in the 13th over.
Taking the score on to 100 for four, Provis (44) and Morgan (23) battled hard for 20 overs until both fell cheaply to poor dismissals. The tail kept hopes alive and, with contributions of 17 not out from Gee and 13 from Hellyar, the unexpected seemed possible until the latter was trapped lbw and Barry were left 16 runs short.
Brecon: 175-8 (Kenchington 21, Williams 77 no; Hellyar 10-20-2, Jones 10-21-2) Barry: 159 a/o (Provis 44, Morgan 23; Williams 10-25-2, Hudman 8.4-33-4)
SECONDS
MARTIN Baker's 2nd XI struggled at Brecon, where they were unable to pick up a point in a nine-wicket defeat.
Having been asked to bat on a track that offered a huge amount of uneven bounce, wickets fell regularly and with not many runs on the board, this proved to be a nightmare come true for the Stags. Despite the batsmen's efforts, the controversial pitch proved too difficult to play on and the Stags were bowled out for just 65, with Craig Brock top scoring with 15.
The Brecon innings was a contrast, with the intervals of showers aiding the pitch and removing the uneven bounce. 'Lady Luck' shone down on the home side, with lbw appeals being controversially turned down by the umpires.
The efforts of the bowling partnership of Dafydd Frost and Steve Sherlock brought the only reward of the innings, with a 'jaffa' of a ball from the latter swinging in and nipping away to claim Brian Skinner's off stump. The pitch got easier to bat on, which proved to be most decisive for Brecon as they closed on 66 for one from 23.2 overs and claimed 19 points.
The Stags now look to push on and aim for a top-half finish with three successive home matches against candidates predicted for relegation; starting against Ponthir next Saturday at the Barry Oval.
Barry: 65 a/o in 40.5 overs (Craig Brock 15) Brecon: 66-1 in 23.2 overs (Gwyn Price 33 n/o; Steve Sherlock 9-0-29-1)
SUNDAY
ON Sunday Barry entertained current cup holders Swansea in the regional final.
After losing the toss, Barry were put into bat and again were in a difficult position when both openers fell to leave them at 39 for two after 12 overs. Again Provis (47) and Morgan offered resistance and pushed the total towards 100 with the help of some big hitting by Jones (22).
The innings was a stop-start affair where the entire team found it hard to come to grips with the turn and accuracy of the Swansea attack. Wickets fell regularly towards the end of the innings as Barry were bowled out for 137 off the final ball.
Swansea came out in a very aggressive mood but were pegged back quickly when they realised that it wasn't going to be as easy as first thought. Another great opening spell by Hellyar kept Barry in the game and restricted the opposition to 78 for one at drinks.
Resuming after drinks with a lot of heart, Barry took regular wickets and restricted the opposition to singles. This frustrated the big-hitting opposition but Barry finally lost the game in the 39th over with the score at 141 for four.
Barry can hold their heads high after fine Welsh Cup performances but must now focus on the league where results need to improve.
Barry: 137 a/o (Provis 47, Jones 22; Hubschmid 9-34-3, Brogan 9-12-1) Swansea: 141-4 (Hayden 45 n/o, Pass 30; Hellyar 9-27-1, Baker 9-39-2)
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