Tywyn (139 – 2) beat Talybont/Rachels 2nds (137 all out) by 8 wickets
West Wales Cricket Club Conference
REIGNING champions Tywyn swept Talybont/Rachels aside in an efficient display at the Vicarage field.
Having been awarded the 2023 trophy before the match, Tywyn shrugged aside the loss of the toss on the bouncy artificial pitch, with Tal/Rach openers Graison John and Sumesh Antony facing accurate bowling adversaries in Sion Francis and Morgan Yorke.
Runs were difficult to come by, the outside edge being beaten several times.
With the score on 10, John tried to take the initiative, but his attempted hit over long on off Yorke produced a skier which Jaco Oosthuizen took calmly.
Joseph Thomas fell to the same combination with the score on 17.
The first bowling change also brought success, with off-spinner Lafras Vuuren trapping Jestus Jerry in front.
Tal/Rachels skipper Anun Menon has already shown he has the calmest of temperaments, and the next few overs saw an attempt at rebuilding, and Antony showing deft touch in playing a couple of lovely leg glances to the boundary.
The introduction of Oosthuizen into the attack proved his downfall, the bowler producing a booming inswinger to scatter his stumps.
Antony had fought hard for 18.
Vuuren continued to trouble the batsmen with the variation in his flight, and it was no surprise when he dismissed the experienced pair of Huw Chambers and Phil Abraham with successive deliveries to leave the batting side tottering on 40-6.
Luckily, the same pair that had rescued Tal/Rach the previous week came to the fore again, with Menon playing the length impeccably, and Bava Vasu taking a very divergent approach during a fascinating contest with Vuuren.
He hit his second ball for four, and threatened a big shot every delivery.
He eventually cleared long on for his first six, and then scored 19 in a single over off Oosthuizen, hitting him out of the attack.
Ed Hughes proved the nemesis, despite a further two pulls going over the boundary.
Bava picked out Jack Williamson at deep midwicket, the latter pulling off an excellent juggling catch to dismiss the batsman for 49.
Menon and Bava had put on 62, and Menon now showed his ability to organize the tail as well, despite losing Milton John and Reben Rajan to the leg-breaks of Williamson.
With last man Viben Thomas proving hard to dislodge, Menon hit 17 off a Hughes over and had made his way to 37 when he sliced Williamson to backward point and Maslin took the catch with the total on 137.
All Tywyn bowlers had contributed well, the spinners Williamson and Vuuren both taking 3-15 and Yorke 2-15.
Sion Francis and Dave Jenkins opened the batting, and Milton John and Bava set their own puzzles for the batsman.
John, in particular, was difficult to play. Francis tried to hit him off his length, but picked out Bava at mid-off in the third over.
Bava also got rid of Jenkins by bowling him with the score at 18.
Williamson and Vuuren now came into their own as a batting combination, and showed contrasting methods to counter the bounce.
Williamson used his reach to get to the pitch, and drove powerfully, whilst Vuuren showed skilled judgement in leaving several deliveries on length, much to the frustration of the bowlers.
He was also ruthless on the short ball, and even a slow outfield was of no hindrance to a couple of his square cuts.
Both batsmen had no hesitation in hitting the bowlers over their heads either, with Williamson clearing the boundary once and Vuuren three times.
With the score mounting, Tal/Rachels turned to Jerry with his bouncy wrist-spin as a last roll of the die.
Despite keeping the batsmen quiet, he could not dislodge them and Tywyn cantered to an easy win, reaching the target in the 27th over. Williamson was unbeaten on 39, and Vuuren capped an impressive debut with an unbeaten 79.
The champions had put down an impressive marker for the season.