ABERGAVENNY'S first team showed their naivety of top flight cricket on saturday and lost a game they had dominated for long periods.

Aber skipper Steve Brown won the toss on a damp morning and asked Sudbrook to bat first.

Will Owen making his home debut for the Beavers showed good pace and control in an opening spell of six overs which saw him take the wicket of Craig Cullinane.

Ross Lewis, fresh from his ton the week before, found things far less to his liking this time out as Nathan Byrne and Gavin Heritage followed Owen's lead by keeping things tight.

Lewis' patience was finally breached when he attempted a pull off Heritage and was caught behind for 31.

Beavers were still firmly in control after 40 overs when the visitors found themselves 140-3.

However, the fact that Sudbrook had kept wickets in hand was a key feature of the last 10 overs where some improvised shot making together with some lusty blows saw Sudbrook blaze a trail to an imposing 240-4.

Aussie Julian Lane made 113*, Mark O'Leary 40 and Carl Morgan 33* in the closing melee.

Beavers felt they were still firmly in the game at the mid game interval, and this was acutely evident during the first five overs of the Aber innings where they found themselves 40-0. However, Chris Ashling accounted for Greg Fury for 18 when he looked set for a big score.

This did not serve to derail the Beavers innings, as South African import Richard Levi found himself acclimatizing to the Welsh weather and enjoyed a 52 run partnership with James Schofield at a run-a-ball.

Schofield (47) looked particularly fluent, with sublime on drives the pick of his repertoire. Schofield lost his wicket with the score at 94 which brought Steve Brown to the crease, unfortunately Brown pulled his hamstring attempting to complete his first run which resulted in him having to bat with a runner for the remainder of his innings.

At 120-2 off 22 overs, the Beavers were again in the box seat to complete victory, however, one over from left arm seamer John Lewis changed the course of the game.

Lewis bowled Levi (43) through the gate with a ball that nipped back, then had Tonto Evans caught behind.

With Brown (32)struggling on with the middle order the Beavers lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 193 with six overs left, Dean Wallace mopping up the tail with 5-29.

The end result did not reflect on how close the game was, and the meagre five points that Aber take from the game serves as a harsh reminder that life in the top division is a far cry from the sedate pace of division one.

Beavers must harden up quickly if they are to mount a challenge for a top five finish. That quest begins next week with a trip to St Fagan's.

ON Sunday Abergavenny went through to the second round of the Welsh Cup with a convincing win against Penarth.

Everyone played a part in this win with James Schofield scoring 27, Andrew Jones(53), Greg Fury(49), Marc Evans(25), Chris Hartland(29no) and Owen Dawkins(43).

A total of 245-6 always looked and impressive score and Penarth needed to bat well to chase the score down.

After the tea interval opening bowlers Jon Denning and Nathan Byrne started well.

Denning had his first wicket of the afternoon in his second over with the batsman playing on to his stumps.

Byrne, who bowled a good line and length, then followed up with a smart catch by Jones in the gully.

He finished with impressive figures of 9-2-24-4 as Penarth slipped to 49-7. But some late order hitting got Penarth up to 109 all out with Dai Windross picking up a wicket and young Dan Hartland taking two wickets on his first team debut as the Beavers won by 136 runs.

Aber now play the winners of Llantwit Major v Newport tie which will be played this coming Sunday.