SOUTH WALES PREMIER LEAGUE

SOUTH Wales Premier Cricket League Division One champions Newport took advantage of the reduced fixture schedule to close the gap on leaders Cardiff with a three-wicket victory over Penarth.

Newport won the toss and put newly promoted Penarth in to bat. Nick Morgan top scored with 33 for last year’s Division Two champions while Anush Patel (17) and captain Jonathan Davies (15) both chipped in to bolster the score.

But Josh Ashton bagged 4-20 and Callum Taylor boasted 3-22 as Penarth were dismissed on 115.

Taylor continued to trouble Penarth as he scored an unbeaten 45 while captain Matthew Norris added an extra 19 to help Newport reach 116-7 to claim victory. Oliver Pike managed 3-15 but the champions proved too strong. And Newport’s day got even better when current leaders Cardiff were forced to abandon their game with Port Talbot Town.

The capital-based side looked good for victory as they hit 231-7 after being put in to bat with Alex Milton claiming nine fours on his way to 67. Umar Malik added 52, which included a six, with Alun J Thomas scoring a further 40 to help the table-toppers build a strong lead.

Richard Edwards impressed with the ball for Port Talbot as he claimed 3-40 with Lewis B Jones (1-36), Daniel Rowe (1-34), Barney Huxtable (1-14) and Michael Samuel (1-27) claiming the other wickets. Anthony Thomas hit nine in reply after 4.2 overs for Port Talbot before play was stopped with the rain coming down and the decision was made to then abandon the game.

It was the same for Tata Steel and Newport Fugitives in Division Two. The Fugitives managed to hold on to top spot with a Duckworth-Lewis victory over St Fagans with John Chorley top scoring with 36. Gareth Weatherall and Andrew Leering each took three wickets as Fugitives were bowled out on 188 after 36 overs.

But Gareth Rees helped St Fagans reach 86-4 before the game was abandoned 23 overs into the second innings.