ABERGAVENNY bounced back from a disappointing opening day defeat against local rivals Usk to claim a draw at Sudbrook in Saturday's Thomas Carroll Premier Division encounter. The home side enjoyed the better of the action, amassing a total of 269-5 at the end of their innings. Carl Morgan made 76, Robert Voke 69 not out and skipper Mark O'Leary 69. For Abergavenny, Gavin Heritage was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 3-54. In reply, Jonathan Newell made 47 for Abergavenny, but the visitors were always behind the run rate and never looked like reaching their target, finishing on 200-5 at the close. Alan Dewfield remained unbeaten on 46 and James Schofield scored 44 not out. Dean Wallace took 2-38 for Sudbrook and Abergavenny's cause was not helped by the loss of two men through run outs. The Avenue Road side will look to get get back into the winning habit when they face two home fixtures this weekend. On Friday night, they entertain Cefn Forest in round three of the John Macey Knockout Cup, followed by a league match against St Fagans on Saturday. The club was further boosted by the selection of captain Keith Newell and star batsman Andrew Jones for the Wales team that faced Nottinghamshire in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy last week. Jones, who skippered the side, has been averaging 56 for the club this season, but unfortunately he fell for a duck after opening the batting for the national team. Former Glamorgan all-rounder Newell scored ten as Wales slipped to a six wicket defeat against the County Championship Division One side. l ABERGAVENNY SECONDS clinched their second successive victory with a comfortable home win over Sudrook last Saturday. The visitors won the toss and batted, taking advantage of some lack lustre Abergavenny bowling to rush to 50 off the first ten overs. Andy Timpson came into the attack and bowled Bates (32) in his first over and soon put the brakes on the scoring. The other Aberga-venny bowlers struggled, but with Timpson and Rhys Hayward's leg spin at the other end, Sudbrook began to self-destruct. Hayward picked up two quick wickets, with two more for Timpson as Sudbrook stuttered to 130-7 off 32 overs. Bajada was the only batsman to show any resolve with a hard-hitting 41, however when Hayward tempted him into a loose shot, Atkinson gobbled up the catch. With a low score on the cards, the Abergavenny attack failed to press home their advantage, and Phillips (16no) and Simmonds (22) helped the away side to a creditable 200 off their 50 overs. Hayward finished with great debut figures of 4-35 off ten overs, with Timpson grabbing 3-25, and there were also two wickets for Mark Coles. In reply, Steve Brown and Ryland Wallace saw off Sudbrook's only bowling threat of Simmonds and soon took control of the match. Wallace was particularly ruthless off anything short. The 100 came up in 25 overs, and soon afterwards Wallace reached a deserved half-century. The score rattled along to 131 before Wallace was dismissed for 62, and it was then Brown's turn to reach his 50. Brown and John Phillips then increased the tempo of the innings. Phillips looked in good nick as the pair looked to guide the home side to victory, before Brown fell for 66 with just 19 runs required. Phillips (30no) and Viveash (8no) then saw the Beavers home with more than five overs to spare to complete a very comfortable victory. The Beavers travel to St Fagans next week and will look to continue their unbeaten start to the season. l ABERGAVENNY FOURTHS recorded a fine win over third-placed Barry Wanderers at Llanvapley on Saturday. The pitch was extremely slow to begin with and most of the Abergavenny batsmen were out playing too soon. The senior pro Dick Brown started his season with a proficient 17 and shared a good partnership with a clean hitting Joe Hrastelj who made 22. Llanvapley looked exquisite and after a careful start young Tom Viveash blossomed to hit a powerful 52 not out. Abergavenny's youngsters contributed fully as usual and impressed. Overall a score of 134 in 45 overs looked just about par. With Barry Wanderers on 75 for no wicket, Abergavenny looked dead and buried but young Nathan Byrne took a couple of quick wickets to reduce the visitors to 77-2. Barry then collapsed dramatically to 120 all out thanks to aggressive bowling from Nathan (6 for 35), and Havard and Shearman with two apiece. The fielding was sharp and the team face a derby battle with Brynmawr next week.
