South East Wales Cricket League Division Three - Monmouth First XI (235-9) lost to Monkswood First XI (272-4) by 37 runs

MONMOUTH Cricket Club First XI slipped to fourth place in the South East Wales Cricket League Division Three on Saturday following a disappointing 37-run defeat away at local rivals Monkswood.

On an overcast day, play was delayed half an hour as a shower past through, and Monmouth, sponsored by JD Wetherspoon, won what looked an important toss and asked their hosts to bat first on a tricky looking wicket.

Despite this, Monkswood openers Mike Jones (31) and Matt Malson (94) got their innings off to a flier, racing along to 51 off just six overs before Jones fell to young left arm spinner Ben Davies (2-42). Malson innings was particularly brutal and his 94 consisted of some eight fours and three sixes as he regularly punished the all too frequent poor deliveries from the Monmouth attack.

In truth it was a poor display across the board from Monmouth as several mis-fields and dropped catches would ultimately prove costly. With the ball there were wickets for spinner Aled Jones (1-43) and debutant Tom Yallop (1-37), but some late blows from Rod Jones (56 not out) and Haydn Simmons (33 not out) saw the hosts post an impressive looking 272-4 off their allotted 45 overs in some tricky batting conditions.

In reply Monmouth knew they would have to bat well to challenge that score, and openers Josh Grey (36) and Adam Roberts (45) put 51 on for the first wicket before Grey fell to man of the match Matt Malson (2-40). Ultimately Monmouth then struggled to keep up with the required run rate, and the regular fall of wickets meant that not even the explosive hitting of debutant Tom Yallop (46) and some late order fireworks from Raj Kuttappu (40) could see Monmouth challenge the target, and they were forced to settle for securing maximum batting bonus points as they closed on 235-9 off their allotted 45 overs.

With the ball and in the field Monkswood were excellent, and there were wickets for Haydn Simmons (1-38), Gareth Trumper (2-43) and Tim Probert (3-48). The result sees Monmouth slip from second to fourth place in the league, but with both Whitchurch and Dinas Powys matches being called off due to rain it means there are just nine points now separating the top four teams with eight matches left and all to play for in this topsy-turvy season.

Next Saturday, Monmouth return to the MCG looking to put in a much improved performance as they host Caerphilly-based Machen, with a 1pm start.

Anyone interested in playing cricket for Monmouth should send an email to [email protected]