South Wales Premier League Cricket Port Talbot Town (224-5) beat Ammanford (223-7) by five wickets Ammanford continued their disastrous league form when they lost at Port Talbot by five wickets on Saturday. The fixture was the first of a crucial series of matches against lower placed clubs which Ammanford desperately need to win to avoid the humiliation of being dumped out of the Premier league while reigning champions.

Things started badly when Ammanford lost the toss and were put in to bat. Openers Rhydian Harris and Rhys Culley put on 40 before Culley was dismissed for nine. He was quickly followed by Jack Murphy and skipper Alun Evans who had a rare off day and was caught by Glamorgan's Chris Cooke off the bowling of ex-Glamorgan man Ian Thomas for one.

Matthew Fisher came in at five and steadied the boat, putting on a much needed 66 for the fourth wicket with Harris.When the opener was bowled for 74, Craig Maloney continued the good work with Fisher, and the pair posting a further 60 runs before Maloney (43) was out caught trying to push the pace.

With the score still four short of 200 and overs running out, Ammanford needed a strong injection of runs to challenge the strong Port Talbot batting order. Fisher was looking very good, but a slightly lofted drive which would have gone to the boundary six feet in either direction instead went straight to a fielder and he was out for 61. With the score on 211 for six, the remaining batsmen, coming in fresh, were unable to add more than a dozen runs from the remaining four overs and Ammanford closed on 223 for seven.

Their supporters, and probably their players as well, had the ominous feeling that the home total would not be sufficient. They were right. Port Talbot got off to a decent start with an opening stand of 42 before Jack Murphy captured the key wicket of Ian Thomas (20). Unfortunately, this signalled the arrival at the crease of Glamorgan's big-hitting one day specialist Chris Cooke. Together with opener Sean Griffiths, he quickly took the score past the hundred mark before Griffiths was bowled by Evans for 52.

Cooke took on the mantle and blasted 70 runs, supported by Anthony Thomas (32). With the score on 181 for three and plenty of overs in the bag, Port Talbot's remaining batsmen could knock off the residual runs almost at leisure. They managed it with five wickets and five overs remaining. Ammanford are now 21 points adrift in the relegation zone with only Swansea below them.

They entertain the club immediately above them, Bridgend, next Saturday at the Park in another crucial encounter.