Carmarthen Wanderers were the winners of the second ever Aled Davies Memorial tournament on what proved another superb tribute to one of the great men of Pembrokeshire cricket.
With all games played under the new Hundred format, there was a fitting final as the Wanderers took on host club Carew, running out winners by 17 runs to claim the trophy on their first appearance in the tournament.
That had followed The Rooks edging to a thrilling two-wicket win in their first game against rivals Cresselly, whilst the South Wales Premier side themselves had already showed their intent with a nine-wicket win over Lawrenny.
But the day was about considerably more than the cricket, with a prize raffle, plus sponsorship and donations, helping raise a grand total of £3,613.17 for the Aled Davies Memorial Fund. This money will now be used to support local causes over the next 12 months.
There was also a six-hitting competition held in-between the semi-finals and final, won by Liam Rogers of Carmarthen Wanderers, and an All Stars Cricket session for youngsters that was organised by Cresselly’s Stefan Jenkins.
Before the start of the final, tributes were paid to another great of both Carew and Pembrokeshire sport, with a minute's applause held in memory of Gerald Hicks, who died in April.
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It was Hicks who fittingly, had made the Aled Davies Memorial Trophy ahead of the 2021 tournament, with both men so well renowned in local circles for their ability as well as their character.
And the sense of occasion was summed up afterwards by Tom Davies, the son of Aled and the main organiser of the event, and also a crucial player for the Wanderers in both their matches.
He thanked everyone for their support, including Carew for staging the tournament, the umpires and scorers, Gray-Nicholls and all the kit sponsors, and PBE Fuels for funding the match balls.
There were also special mentions for Clive James, who produced the programmes, Richard Scriven who entertained as usual with his work as DJ on the day and Ross Grieve, who took over photography duties.
Also in the post-match presentations, Ceri Davies then spoke about the best performances during the final and announced Thomas as the Man of the Match - and then in a poignant moment it was Aled’s wife, Wendy, who presented him with the Aled Davies Memorial Trophy.
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