LLANARTH maintained their winning start to the season in fine style when entertaining third placed Maesycwmmer on the weekend.

Skipper Heath, eager not to alter a winning formula, lost the toss for the fifth consecutive time and the Trees were inserted on a classic damp green top.

Lomax and Baxter were charged with ensuring a good start and had to be watchful on a pitch that was keeping low and offering seam movement that made the occasional delivery a jaffa. Baxter, unfortunately, took watchfulness too literally as he watched a nip backer knock back his off stump in a gross error of judgement that terminated the opening partnership at an even 50.

As penitence he elected to undertake 25 overs of umpiring duty but this actually gave him the best seat in the house to view an excellent partnership between Lomax and A Dewfield (60). Lomax was classical in compiling his innings whilst Dewfield was, well classical Dewfield, in mixing belligerent power with taking singles off the final ball of an over.

The partnership had realised 126 for the second wicket when Dewfield departed, stumped, attempting to put the spin of Owen over the practice nets.

With 10 overs to go Llanarth were superbly placed at 182-2 for something big but lost Lomax for a magnificent 94, there was no hint of jug avoidance as it took a fine yorker to remove him.

A mixture of good death bowling and fielding saw six wickets fall in those final 10 overs for the addition of only 42 runs, despite Wharton clubbing 25 including four boundaries in an over from the otherwise tricky Mosley.

Nevertheless the Trees could enjoy the fine spread for tea having put 224-8 on the board and the wicket still offering plenty to the bowlers. 

A large crowd was present at the game viewing proceedings before a hog roast and disco to celebrate the 50th birthday of club legend Dave Trett.

None there could have imagined how the Maesycwmmer innings would turn out, indeed the first four overs passed without incident as the openers tried to negate the swing of Banaras and Lomax.

Then Moore, seemingly not noticing the low bounce in the wicket throughout the entire 45 overs of the Llanarth innings, decided to pull a ball that was barely short enough for the shot on a hard track and was clean bowled.

There then followed an exhibition of exemplary swing bowling by the Llanarth duo, it was as if each of them had the ball on a string. Willow was beaten continually and stumps were shattered regularly as the batsmen had no answer to such deadly accuracy allied with movement.

Banaras claimed 5-20 and Lomax 4-9 as Maesycwmmer were shot out for 33 in just 13.1 overs, seven of the victims were clean bowled and one lbw as Llanarth claimed maximum points for the first time this season.

The shortness of the Maesycwmmer innings was of particular relief to A. Dewfield who was keeping wicket for the first time in a decade, to be fair he did a fine job, even standing up to both seamers towards the end of the innings, and the early finish certainly extended the drinking time for the aforementioned Trett's 50th celebrations.