ON A mixed weekend for Centurions, the 1st XI won an entertaining match against Ponthir at Sully, but the 2nd's were demolished by Ponthir 2nd XI.

On Sunday Sully were knocked out of the Village Cup by Pentyrch.

Centurions Win at Burnham Avenue

The 1st XI beat Ponthir to register their first win of the league season, thanks in the main to a 72 from Santosh Singh. Santosh and Shae Ellis (29) shared a century first wicket stand to give Centurions a solid base. But a mini collapse had the home side reeling at 127 for 4. However, Bruce (47) and Pavel (7) took the score along to 164 before Bruce was dismissed by Norman. A spirited approach by the remaining batsmen meant that maximum batting points were achieved, with the innings closing on 227 all out.

In reply, Ponthir lost opener Price - LBW to Santosh for 2, with the score on just 10. But even though they never gave up it was only a matter of time before Shae Ellis (3 for 38) had Norman out for 13 via a spectacular catch from Owain Lovering. At drinks it had moved on to 80 for 4 and Centurions were right back in the mix. Following this, Ponthir put on another 45 runs for the 5th wicket, when Pavel bowled George for 34. The visitors began slipping way below the required run-rate, but in the end, although eventually losing, they denied Centurions maximum points with a stubborn rearguard action by the number 10 and 11 batsmen. In the end the score was 190 for 9.

Sully Centurions 227 all out Ponthir 190/9

2nd XI

The 2nd XI travelled to Ponthir and for the second week running were several players short. In fact only 6 men were available. This was to prove disastrous as the team were skittled out for just 36. The best thing one could say is that the team were able to make it past the 20 over mark. In reply the hosts took just 4 overs to knock off the required runs, for the loss of one wicket, via a run out. Hopefully there will be more people available in the weeks to come.

Ponthir II 38 for 1 Sully II 36/5 (all out)

Out of the Cup at the first hurdle

On Sunday, Centurions welcomed Pentyrch to Burnham Avenue for the Village Cup and were knocked out at the first hurdle. Batting first, openers Lloyd Bruce (14) and Pavel (34) made a decent start, reaching 39 before both were out within a few balls of each other. Tom Davies and Shae Ellis put on 28 for the third wicket and were looking settled when a disastrous call left Ellis stranded and he was run out for 7. Davies went in the 20th over for 23 to leave the score on 80 for 4 at drinks. Owain Sullivan and Dave Sylvester put on 10 before Sylvester was LBW for 6. This turned out to be the catalyst for a monumental collapse as the last 5 wickets went down for just six runs, leaving the total at 96 all out in the 31st over. For the visitors, Brett Hole (3 for 17) and Lori Matthews (2 for 0) did most of the damage, with the rest of the wickets being shared between the remaining bowlers.

The Pentyrch innings got off to a terrible start, with Shae Ellis (2 for 36) and Emma Davies (1 for 12) bowling an accurate line which had the visitors reeling at 7 for 3 after just 8 overs. However, this was to prove to be a false dawn, as Pentyrch skipper Steve Matthews (41 not out) and Dominic Tallis (37 not out) weathered the storm and steered Pentyrch to a 7 wicket victory in the 20th over. Centurions wish Pentyrch good luck in the next round.

Sully Centurions 96 all out Pentyrch 97 for 3

Weekend Teams

On Saturday Centurions have a couple of local derbies against Barry Athletic, with the 1st XI away and the 2nds at home. Both matches start at 12.30pm

1st XI (From) L Bruce, T Davies, S Singh, B Spear, Q Ferdouz, S Shokeen, A Kulkarni, O Sullivan, S Ellis, S Bidurguppa, N Jones, N Cuddihy, H Binikram

2nd XI (From) DW Sylvester, P Thomas, I Thomas, C Bruce, E Davies, P Harrison, M Fisher, R Griffett, L Pyke, S Morse, R Bennett, G Hicks, L Burnett, J Bryan, H Miller

On Sunday there is a friendly against Capel CC at Burnham Avenue – 1.30pm start. Would all players please let Dave Sylvester know their availability?

Nets continue on Thursdays at Burnham Avenue, commencing at 6pm. We have now taken delivery of the new portable net, thanks to a grant from Community Chest.

Match ball sponsor this week is ‘Wheels’ – Cardiff Road, many thanks for their support.