Seasiders shine in Welsh Cup on wet weekend

A FOURTH-ROUND tie against Gwalia Welsh Cup holders Swansea is Barry Athletic’s reward for toppling Abergavenny.

The round three tie had been abandoned seven days earlier because of rain but not was going to stop the Barry boys this time.

Mochdre, Pontarddulais, Panteg and Ynystawe also booked their places in the next stage of the competition with wins yesterday.

Barry’s 31-run triumph sets them up for a mouth-watering home clash against Swansea to determine which club from section six of the draw will go through to the last eight.

If beat Swansea on July 1, Barry would then face either Panteg or Ammanford in the quarter-finals where the winners of the cup’s eight sections face off.

Knocks of 77 and 71 from Steve Provis and skipper Nathan Baker respectively, plus Rhett Jones’s 43, set Barry on their way to 252-8 with the Abergavenny bowlers sharing the wickets between them.

In reply, Dan Cooke (74) and a half-century from Abergavenny captain James Schofield wasn’t enough for the visitors and Billy Usswald’s 3-37 helped Barry limit their opponents to 221-7.

In the other third round matches last weekend, Clydach came up just short against Panteg, going down by six runs chasing 161 for the win.

The Torfaen club had Carwyn James (56) and Chris White (31) to thank for getting them to 160 as Brian Fisher (3-32) and Chris Dunne (4-20) kept them in check. Replying, James Garland’s 48 was in vain as Ackter Balouch took 4-38.

Ynystawe of the South Wales Cricket Association claimed the scalp of Swalec Premier League strugglers Ynysygerwn, coming out on top by 48 runs at Maes yr Afon near Swansea.

The hosts complied 200-7, Rowan Evans scoring 68, before bowling the visitors out for 152 with Sion Jones the pick of the bowlers with 3-33. Evans also took a wicket and conceded just nine runs from his nine overs.

Pontarddulais conceded their tie with Dafen Welfare and in North Wales, Mochdre overcame the challenge of Prestatyn by eight wickets. All bar one of the Mochdre attack chipped in with at least one wicket as Prestatyn made 114.

Joe Chaplin’s 38 and an unbeaten 41 from Gareth Davies steered the visitors to victory with plenty of time to spare at Beach Close. Four remaining round three games are scheduled for Sunday, including Sully Centurions’ clash with Gowerton and Cardiff’s encounter against Cresselly.

Merthyr Tydfil-based Hills Plymouth were knocked out of the South Wales Cricket Association Thomas Carroll Cup by Skewen.

Replying to Skewen’s not so promising 121 all out, Hills folded completely and were skittled out for a paltry 46. If it hadn’t been for Chris Shopland’s 30 it could have been a lot worse.

As for league action last weekend, it was almost non-existent as the rain that swept the nation forced the cancellation of virtually all club cricket on Saturday.

In North Wales, Llanrwst earned a winning draw against Llandudno seconds to extend their lead at the top of division two while in division two, Abergele saw off Carmel & District by 24 runs with bowler David Moulson taking 6-16 for the former.