National Village Cup Semi-Final:

Carew CC (133 all out) lost to Sessay CC (136 for 3) by 7 wickets

Carew’s hopes of an appearance at Lords Cricket Ground for the final of the National Village Cup Competition were ruined at the very last hurdle as they went down to a seven-wicket home defeat at the hands of Sessay Cricket Club in front of a very big crowd.

Sessay, who hail from North Yorkshire, had first appeared in the final a number of years ago and actually won the competition in 2010 as proof of their powerful pedigree, and showed their determination to overcome the obvious long distance by playing their league game early on Saturday and then driving down to Cardiff for an overnight stay.

It left them with a leisurely run down to Carew on Sunday, bringing with them plenty of supporters who were quite rightly impressed by the warmth of the Carew welcome.

Carew skipper Rhys Davies won the toss and elected to bat, with Tom Scourfield rapping two early boundaries but then departing for nine runs to Tim Hall.

Experienced run-makers Ian Sefton and Nick Scourfield set about redressing the balance but found it hard going against a very disciplined Sessay bowling attack in which Hall conceded only 17 runs in seven overs, skipper Mark Wilkie claimed 2 for 27 in his nine overs and Stephen Langstaff picked up 2 for 11 in his five hours.

Sefton eventually departed for 22 and Nick Scourfield top scored with 35 but the major influence in the Sessay attack was Liam carver, who grabbed 5 for 30 in 6.5 overs.

Only Brian Hall (19), Rhys Davies (13) and Luke Hicks (14) could muster double figures and in one seven-over spell Carew managed just 8 runs as the pressure mounted on their young side and they were dismissed for 133 with seven balls remaining of their allotted40 overs.

In sharp contrast, Sessay made a far better start as skipper Wilkie and Matthew Till punished anything remotely loose – and the Carew cause wasn’t helped as they conceded 19 wides (including two lots of five runs) as this pair rattled past the century stand before Till went for one big hit too many on 105 and Tom Davies took a good catch to shift him for 52 (five fours and three sixes.)

Rhys Davies followed this scalp with the cheap wickets of Simon Mason and Nick Harrison in his 3 for 49 analysis but Wilkie cut his sixth boundary to the fence to finish on 47 not out and take his side to the final.

The Carew side were clearly disappointed to get so close to Village Cricket’s big day but they can take ample consolation from the fact that they played an immensely powerful and very experienced side – and certainly gave 100% in the club’s cause!

Carew Batting:

Ian Sefton b Mark Wilkie 22

Tom Scourfield ct Chris Till b Tim Hall 9

Nick Scourfield b Stephen Langstaff 35

Brian Hall ct Matthew Till b Mark Wilkie 19

Tim Hicks ct Mark Wilkie b Liam Carver 1

Tom Davies ct Jacob Spencer b Liam Carver 2

Rhys Davies ct Nick Harrison b Stephen Langstaff 13

Sean Whitfield ct & b Liam Carver 3

Luke Hicks ct Stuart Pearse b Liam Carver 14

James Hinchliffe b Liam Carver 2

Iori Hicks not out 0

Extras 13

Total 133 (all out) in 38.5 overs

Sessay Bowling:

Tim Hall 7-1-17-1; Stuart Pearse 5-0-24-0; Mark Wilkie 9-2-27-2; Matthew Till 6-1-23-0; Liam Carver 6.5-0-30-5; Stephen Langstaff 5-0-11-2

Sessay Batting:

Mark Wilkie not out 47

Matthew Till ct Tom Davies b Rhys Davies 52

Simon Mason b Rhys Davies 1

Nick Harrison b Rhys Davies 10

Jacob Spencer not out 1

Extras 25

Total (3 wickets) in 20.4 overs

Carew Bowling:

Rhys Davies 8.4-0-49-3; Sean Whitfield 6-1-22-0; Iori Hicks 2-0-16-0; Tom Davies 2-0-33-0; James Hinchliffe 2-0-11-0

Umpires: Steve Davies & Rhodri Jones

Scorers: Julie Davies & David Langstaff

Venue: Carew Recreational Ground