AN incredible unbeaten 54 off 17 balls from skipper Steve Brown, including six sixes and four fours, helped guide Abergavenny CC 2nds to a 115-run away win over an Usk Friendly XI.

Opener James Morris also cracked 50 retired not out as the visitors compiled a huge 301-7 off their 40 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

And they then bowled out their derby rival hosts for 186 in 32.1 overs.

Morris and Nathan Holley made a great start, the former firing 50 in 67 balls, including two sixes and six fours, before departing unbeaten.

Holley also cracked 43, with six fours and a six, before being bowled by Ryan Lloyd two short of his 50.

Lloyd saw off the next three batsmen as well, all to catches, Archie Eccles holing out for 17, Shunryu Sheehan going for three and Mihla Sibanda for 21, caught by Arvind Aswani, to leave the visitors on 184-4.

Adil Gatrad scored seven before holing out to Chris Sheehan off a Darren Lloyd ball, But Brown’s innings proved devastating, and Usk were grateful to see him bow out undefeated after a whirlwind cameo.

William Eccles also added a brisk 36 off 41 deliveries before holing out off an Aswani delivery.

And Aswani struck again in the same over, his only one, to see off Dylan Beaumont-Welsh for 18 to a catch as the innings came to a close, with the 301 total including 57 extras.

Usk used an amazing 10 bowlers, with Ryan Lloyd’s four wickets coming for 64 runs off six overs, while Aswani’s two scalps came for three runs off one over.

Darren Lloyd’s single wicket also came for 16 off three overs.

In reply, Usk had the worst start as Ryan Pugh bowled Gethin Thomas for a duck, while fellow opener Ryan Price soon followed, caught by Sibanda for four off a Shunryu Sheehan ball (5-2).

Joe Peacock and Luke Hilditch steadied the ship though, moving the score past the 50 mark and closing in on a hundred when Sibanda struck again, clutching a catch off a Dylan Beaumont-Welsh ball to dismiss the latter for 19 (85-3).

And there was no keeping Sibanda out of the game as he gobbled up another chance to quickly see off George Atkinson for a duck for Sheehan’s second wicket (92-4).

Peacock posted 65, including 12 fours, before retiring unbeaten, while Darren Lloyd had added 15 when Sibanda bowled him.

Chris Sheehan kept the momentum going to help Usk close in on 200, but none of the last four batsmen could make an impact.

Adil Gatrad scattered skipper Arvind Aswani’s stumps for four and Will Eccles stumped Gareth Evans for the sane score off another of his deliveries.

Sheehan was bowled by Archie Eccles for 41, but another Eccles/Gatrad stumping of Ryan Lloyd for a duck brought the innings to a premature close well short of the target.

Gatrad’s three wickets came for 30 runs off six overs, while Sheehan took 2-21 off five.