A local cricket team was removed from a South Wales tournament despite winning their match in the quarterfinals.

Wildboar Centurions CC faced Pontardawe 2nd XI on July 21 in the South Wales Intermediate Cup and outran their opponents in 17.3 overs.

However, Centurions fielded an ineligible player which prompted Pontardawe to appeal to the South Wales Cricket Association for the result to be overturned.

In a post on X, Wildboar Centurions CC wrote: “Despite facing the challenge of fielding just nine players, we chose to honour the spirit of the competition and made the journey to participate rather than conceding the match.

“Winning the toss, we elected to field and despite a limited bowling line up, restricted Pontardawe to 146 for six. Thanks to some excellent efforts from Delwyn Jenkins, Huw Littlewood and Jonathan Edwards.

“In our innings, a remarkable partnership of 130 runs for the second wicket between Callum Thomas and Dale Westcott led us to victory in just 17.3 overs. Post-match, we enjoyed the social aspects of Pontardawe’s family fun day.

“Unfortunately, the result has been overturned and Pontardawe has been awarded the game following a complaint made by the hosts regarding the eligibility of Trystan Leech."

Trystan was deemed ineligible by South Wales Cricket Association due to insufficient league appearances in both this season and the prior one.

Trystan did not bat or bowl in the match, yet his appearance prevented a walkover from being awarded to Pontardawe.

Centurions have also revealed that on the day of the match one of their regular players was forced to leave the ground 45 minutes before start time as his wife had fallen ill in hospital.

According to Centurions, Pontardawe were aware that Trystan was called to play as a last minute replacement.

“Conceding the match would have negatively impacted Pontardawe’s family day, causing them significant revenue loss,” the Centurions also wrote.

“We stand firm in our belief that we played in the true spirit of cricket. We regret the outcome but remain proud of our players commitment and determination to win comprehensively with eight regulars and a mid-week player.”

The match between Centurions and Pontardawe was hotly contested with both teams getting penalised for unsportsmanlike behaviours such as appealing for a double hit and an attempted Mankad.

South Wales Cricket Association were approached for their reasoning to expel Centurions out the cup and said:

“We received an enquiry as to the eligibility of one of their players. An investigation found that the player in question was ineligible to play in the Cup Competition.

“Our Cup rules state that any team playing an ineligible player will be expelled from the competition.”

Pontardawe Cricket Club were also approached for comment.