Pembrokeshire 15s (93-5) beat Carmarthenshire 15s (85-6) by 8 runs

Pembrokeshire survived a tense final over to record an excellent victory over Carmarthenshire in the late evening gloom at Narberth on Friday.

Skipper Jacob Owen took responsibility for bowling the final over with Carmarthenshire needing 13 runs to win, and to the delight of the home side three wickets fell with only five runs scored.

Pembrokeshire batted first and openers Owen Phelps (3) and Harry Fuller (15) made a steady start. Jacob Owen (14) replaced Phelps and pushed the score along against some accurate bowling before Seth Willington (6) came in and looked to up the scoring rate before partner Fuller lost his wicket.

Luc Owen (10) and Willington batted positively before the latter fell to an outstanding catch from Steffan Williams - and the last few overs saw William Phillips (17 not out) and Harry Makepeace (9 not out) jplunder vital late runs and at 93-5, Pembrokeshire were certainly in the game.

In response, Makepeace (1-10) took the early wicket of Carwyn Axford, and in tandem with Phillips bowled with excellent accuracy. Runs were hard to come by, but the Carmarthenshire batsmen didn’t panic, rotating the strike and biding their time. Gruffydd Jones (35) played a superb innings, this very talented young player included from the Under 13 squad.

Change bowlers Luc Owen (1-15) and Dom Asson kept the pressure on and nipped out a couple of wickets, leaving Carmarthenshire needing a challenging 60 off seven overs. Jones then opened up, playing several superb shots to the boundary and Rhufon Phillips (17) supported well.

There was a comical moment when Phillips went for a big hit and the ball went vertical off a top edge, with keeper Willington frantically spinning around to locate the ball only for it to land on top of his helmet. Even Willington, along with everyone present, managed to see the funny side!

Having plundered 47 from six overs, this left only 13 needed from that tense final over. But Jacob Owen and his team held their nerve as Makepeace and Willington executed run outs, Asson took a good catch, and victory was sealed by eight runs.

Coach Mathew Titch Davies was all smiles afterwards: "It was great to see the guys holding their nerve and communicating well in the closing overs. Given how little cricket has been played, there was some real quality on show this evening."

Pembrokeshire: Jacob Owen (c), Owen Phelps, Seth Willington, Harry Fuller, Luc Owen, William Phillips, Harry Makepeace, Dom Asson, Will Nicholas, James Price, Oli Bujega.