DAFEN CLINCH DERBY DELIGHT

BRONWYDD’S topsy-turvy season continued as they went down at home to South Wales Cricket Association division one basement boys Llangennech.

The result was difficult to understand as it came after excellent victories against Gowerton and Tata Steel.

Bronwydd won the toss and elected to bat first, but that decision backTHE Llanelli town derby at Dafen Park in division one of the South Wales Cricket Association was a low-scoring affair, but the hosts did enough to secure a 29-run victory.

Llanelli won the toss and put Dafen in to bat, a decision Llanelli skipper Craig Howells must have thought was the right one when the hosts slumped to 23-2.

But thanks to 27 from skipper Matthew Evans, 30 from George Lavender and 32 from Phil George — the only ones in double figures — Dafen managed to get to 127 before they were all out in 45.5 overs. Alex Symmons (4-27) and Iwan Rees (3-10) were the destroyers-in-chief.

But that small total proved way too much for Llanelli, who slumped to 3-3 and never recovered, despite a battling 49 from Rhidian Morgan at No. 5, and they were skittled out for 98 in 24.3 overs.

Phil George proved unplayable and had the superb figures of 6.3-2-55, assisted by Jonathan Randell’s 3-55.

Llanelli are fourth in the table and Dafen seventh.

Also in the top flight, bottom-butone Gowerton (158) were well beaten by Maesteg Celtic (234-7) in the Llynfi Valley.

Drefach are fifth in division two following their seven-wicket loss at home to Maesteg.

Drefach captain Dafydd Humphreys won the toss and opted to bat, a decision he must have rued as his team were shot out for 102 in 31.1 overs despite 47 off 43 balls from opener Rob Seymour. Leigh Davies with 19 was the only other batsman in double figures as Chris Hicks took 4-26 and Andrew King 3-11.

Then despite 3-41 from Ben Mitchell, Maesteg eased to 104-3 in the 28th over.

There was better news for Felinfoel, who eased to a straightforward win at home to Baglan in the same division.

Foel skipper Rohan Nangalia won the toss and put the Port Talbot visitors in to bat, a decision that proved correct as they slumped to 63 all out in 29.2 overs with just two men in double figures. Anthony Mathias took 4-15, Craig Richards 3-16 and Julian Griffiths 2-8. fired when they lost James Cale with only two runs on the board.

A recovery from that poor start was led by Gareth John, who looked in little trouble against a bowling attack who were giving the batsmen very few loose balls to score off.

Wickets fell at regular interval and only John (20), Carwyn Jones (12) and Oli Furneaux with 10 showed

Then, despite Thomas Davies taking 3-26, Foel eased to 64-3 in 14.5 overs, Andrew Thomas hitting 25 and Griffiths 19 not out. The win leaves Felinfoel in sixth place, 20 points behind Dafen.

In division four, Llanwrda stayed top of the table and on course for their fourth promotion in successive seasons since joining the South Wales Association after a four-wicket win at title rivals Gowerton Seconds in a low-scoring encounter.

Gowerton were shot out for 87 in 29.3 overs as skipper Nigel Clarke took 5-14, David Cumming 3-3 and Garan Williams 2-21. any resistance as the remaining batsmen could only muster 27 between them to give the final total of 79 a very disappointing look. Michael Jones took four wickets and Aamir Ikram and Mathew Jones both claimed three.

The visitors’ reply got off to a far better start as the opening pair put on 37 for the first wicket.

The Towy Valley side didn’t have things all their own way in reply and were in trouble at 57-5, but an unbeaten 21 off 13 balls by Llandovery RFC player Garan Williams settled their nerves as they eased to 91-6 in 20.3 overs. Clarke also made 21 and Adrian Davies 19.

Fourth-placed Llangennech Seconds kept in the promotion hunt with a six-wicket home win against Merthyr Tydfil Seconds.

Merthyr made 145-8 in their 50 overs, Iwan Hicks the most successful bowler with 3-17. Mike Lloyd chipped in with 2-16 and Rhydian SoadyJackson with 2-14.

With James Cale and Callum Collins-Davies taking a wicket each a miracle looked possible, but David Williams had other ideas as his 58 not out included 10 boundaries, three of which were maximums, to steer Llangennech home by eight wickets.

Bronwydd are sixth in the table, 17 points clear of new bottom side Briton Ferry Steel. Ynystawe batsman Carl Roberts on his way to a century against Carmarthen Wanderers in the South Wales Premier League. The Swansea Valley side won by 83 runs. Picture: Phil Davies.

Llangennech then had Ceiran James in form with the bat, his 61 not out containing seven fours and a six as Llan timed their chase to perfection, reaching 147-4 in 38.5 overs.

In the same division, Llandeilo proved too strong for Kidwelly Town in a nine-wicket victory.

Tight home bowling restricted Kidwelly to 116-6 in their 40 overs, Neil Davies top-scoring with 33, assisted by John Ogilvy (28) and George Elks (26). Nick Harries took 2-25.

Llandeilo skipper Robert Davies made light work of the chase, hitting an unbeaten 60 as the home side eased to 117-1 in the 24th over.