ABERGAVENNY travelled to Sudbrook on Saturday hoping to complete the double over Sudbrook. Skipper Geraint Leach lost the toss and Sudbrook chose to bat first and accumulated 241-6 in their 50 overs as skipper Mickey Martin carried his bat for 111 not out with some good support from Scott O’Leary who got 35 not out.

For Abergavenny skipper Leach bowled a miserly spell of 10-2-14-1 and leg spinner Sam Clarke bowled 10-4-26-1 as they slowed down the run rate after Sudbrook had got off to a good start. WIll Glenn also claimed 2-40.

In reply Abergavenny got off to a great start with Andrew Jones and 14-year-old Morgan Bevans both scoring 50, however Sudbrooks’s spinners kept the run rate climbing and after Dan Cooke fell for 23 it was left to young wicket keeper Lewis Holley to try and help Abergavenny towards their target.

Holley scored a very good 47 off 42 balls but fell in the final overs as Abergavenny tried in vain to reach the target of 242 eventually finishing their innings 229-8, losing by 12 runs.

Next week Abergavenny finish their league campaign by travelling to bottom of the league Radyr hoping to finish their season with a win.

LLANARTH hosted Pontymister & Crosskeys (P&C) in their final league fixture of the season.

The visitors had secured the runners-up berth and had won the reverse fixture comprehensively so the Trees were motivated to put up a better showing.

After rain in the lead up to the match both teams were eager to bowl first, unfortunately the away captain called correctly and was very happy to insert.

Llanarth welcomed Ron Baxter back to the scorebox, after a few weeks of illness and caring duties, but one of his first tasks was to ink in Mark Baxter’s caught behind dismissal for single figures.

Graham Davy (2-28) then struck two more blows to reduce the Trees to 38-3, and this was before the trio of fine P&C spinners got to work. When they were called into action the home batsmen barely had an answer on a pitch offering considerable turn and bounce.

Wickets fell at regular intervals with only David Lomax (72*) offering resistance with an innings of sublime survival against torture by twirl. It wasn’t the first time that Lomax had been the bedrock of the innings as he completed a magnificent season by averaging a scarcely believable 152.33. At 104-9, Chris Jones being the chief-destroyer with 5-13, it all looked lost but Tom Heath kept Lomax company and they added 23 for the final wicket to allow the Trees to partake in another superb tea with 127-9 on the board.

Post-tea Glenn Hamilton boosted home hopes by bowling the dangerous Luke Armstrong. Hamilton then took a super diving catch at gully to grab a second wicket, but James Baker (31) and Zulfiqar Ali (28) saw P&C through to 84-2 before Chris Powell (3-7) and Tom Heath (2-12) turned the match on its head. The pair bowled superbly, in tandem, to engineer a collapse of five wickets for 13 runs as P&C stumbled to 95-7 to put the match right back in the balance.

After decimating the Llanarth batting Chris Jones (26*) then joined his captain Mark Baker (15) and the pair took no chances with resolute defence, amid mounting tension, as they inched their team towards the winning post.

Try as they might the Trees could not make any further breakthroughs until the scores were level and Baker spanked a full toss, for what he must have thought were the winning runs, only for Hamilton to pluck it out of the air with another fine catch.

The final over commenced with one run, needed and two wickets left but any hopes of an even more exciting climax were ruined when Jones punched the first ball through square-leg for four to complete a fine all round performance and win the match for P&C.

Llanarth ended their season in fifth place which, following two promotions in three seasons, was a commendable effort and certainly something to build on.

IT was a disappointing weekend for Usk as both the first and second teams lost to their respective opponents from Newport Fugitives.

At the Athletic Club Ground visiting captain Matthew Evans won the toss and elected to field. Despite the loss of an early wicket, Usk were well placed at 62-1 while Owen Watkins (43) and Henry Lewis (32) were at the crease. Both fell, and a top order collapse saw Usk then struggle to 112-6.

A rally by the lower order managed to get the hosts up to 170 all out from 49.5 overs. For the Fugies Nazir Ahmed and Ross Madden each picked up three wickets.

The Fugies’ chase got off to a poor start as Jason Cook claimed a wicket in the first over before a run had been scored. For a while it was nip and tuck while the Fugies struggled to put a significant partnership together.

At 91-4, it was anyone’s game. It was from this point that the Fugies took control. Opener Richard Jones (69*) and skipper Evans (22*) took the score up to 149 without further loss after 30 overs.

With the game having already been affected by rain, bad light prevented any further play and the Fugies won by 54 runs under the Duckworth Lewis Method.

Meanwhile over at the Fugies, the hosts batted first. The Usk bowlers made a promising start as they reduced the Fugies to 47-2. This was as good as it got for Usk as Philip Meredith (100*) and Cameron Emmott (101*) put together an unbeaten third wickets partnership of 214 to take the Fugies up to 261-2 from 45 overs.

Meredith’s innings came off 131 balls and included 12 fours and two sixes, while Emmott’s came off 96 balls and included 14 fours. Both of the wickets to fall went to Dominic Rees.

Usk’s reply got off to a terrible start as they lost a wicket before a run had been scored. Mark Tamplin (103*) and Matt Hancock (73) then got Usk right back in the game as they posted 152 for the second wicket.

Once Hancock fell other batsmen came in and made starts; however, Usk ran out of overs and finished on 221-4; a defeat by 40 runs. Tamplin’s knock came off 117 balls and included eight fours, while Hancock’s came off 113 balls and included seven fours. For the Fugies, Andrew Rothwell picked up a brace.

Usk’s firsts and seconds are now safe from relegation. They will be hoping to finish their league season next Saturday with victories. The firsts entertain Blackwood, while the Seconds visit Lisvane. Both games begin at 12:30pm. On Sunday Usk entertain Radyr in a friendly, which begins at 2pm.