AMMANFORD GET OFF TO A FINE START
AMMANFORD got off to a victorious start to their 2021 South Wales Premier Cricket League campaign when they beat Neath by five wickets at the Park.
Home skipper Alun Evans invited Neath to bat after winning the toss, and it proved a wise decision as local schoolboy Owen Davies made early inroads into the Neath line-up, taking the first three wickets with the score on 19.
A brief recovery took Neath to 66-4, but thereafter a steady fall of wickets from controlled spells of spin bowling put Ammanford back on top and Neath were dismissed for 154 after just 40 of their allocated 50 overs.
Scott Matthews top-scored for Neath with 34, supported by Adam Sylvester (30) and Joseph Koonerevans (22).
For Ammanford, Evans and Matthew Fisher took two wickets each following Owen Davies’s 3-21.
Ammanford were able to bat for 11 overs before the tea interval, during which time they amassed 55 runs for the loss of two wickets.
It was during the interval that confusion began to reign as rain began to fall.
The teams were unable to resume play until 7.25pm, the latest a match could restart.
The Duckworth-lewis system was invoked and Ammanford were set a target of 80 in 20 overs.
This meant they had nine overs in which to score 25 runs.
Dan Roberts, who had looked so good before the interval, was dismissed for 19, and it was left to Rhys Davies (11no) to accept the anchor role and ensure, with help from Josef Davies (12no), that Ammanford passed Neath’s score inside 18 overs.
However, it seemed Duckworthlewis demanded that the game continue for 20 overs for a result to be valid.
Ammanford were in the unprecedented position of having to bat for a further two overs despite having overtaken their allotted target. They finished on 88-5.
None of this will matter since a win is a win and the best way to start the season.
On Saturday, Ammanford the trip to Pontarddulais.
Bont’s season got off to a bad start as they lost by eight wickets to Port Talbot Town off the last ball of the match.
Bont were indebted to half-centuries from Ioan Phillips and Jack Butler as they recovered from a shaky start to reach 215-8. Daniel Rowe took 5-30.
Chasing a revised target of 197 off 36 overs, Port Talbot claimed victory in a thrilling finale as Anthony Tomas and Barney Huxtable both scored half-centuries. make