The Beamer

I wondered in the summer whether the rivalry between Carew and Cresselly was as intense as it once was, there is afterall reason to believe it isn’t. In recent years more players have moved between the clubs. Cresselly players play for the Rooks in football (seperate from the cricket but still Carew) and along with many from Lawrenny, a lot live in the same estate in Sageston so they’re all neighbours. In fact, that estate could lay a claim to having the strongest team in the county. After the debacle of the final game of the season it’s fair to say that intensity has been renewed although it pales into insignificance to what many Carew players will feel towards the County Executive Committee after the verdict of Tuesday’s disciplinary hearing was announced. Carew have been charged with ‘Acting in a manner calculated to prejudice the good name and interests of Pembroke County Club' while Brian Hall has been charged with ‘Not playing in the spirit of the game’. As a result...

Cresselly were right. Carew’s decision to declare with the score on 18-1 in the final game of the season was at odds with their title of champions of the county, but setting up a disciplinary committee to investigate the match is an unnecessary inconvenience and expense. Pembroke County Cricket has to be seen to do something of course but what they can actually do about it remains to be seen. Reports online (and there’s been plenty of them) suggest the county club could expel Carew for what they did, fine them up to £500 or reprimand them but neither will reverse the decision made on a day that promised so much yet delivered so little so the question has to be asked; just what is the point? It’s been claimed Carew deliberately lost the match and the result will suggest they did but there was no guarantee that Cresselly would have passed the total even though they needed just 19 to win. As unlikely as it would have been given Cresselly’s superior batting, they could have su...