A career best 67 not out from 16 year old Ben Williams was the shining light in an otherwise lacklustre performance against a Porth side previously struggling in the league.
The visitors won the toss and batted very sensibly. They set out to get 4 an over from the first 25 and that they achieved. Rogerstone then settled on the tactic of limiting the total to 200 and that was almost achieved, with Porth 206-4 at the close. The highlight was a 99 from Porth opener Williams, who was denied his third ton of the Summer when he hit a full toss straight to Alan Hughes. That was the first of two wickets in two balls for Richard Fair. Rogerstone were tidy in the field, all the bowlers bowled straight, there were only 5 wides, no dropped catches and no byes. It was very much Game on at Tea.
The less said about Rogerstone's batting display the better. Both openers were out with only 4 on the board and by midway through the 27th over only 5 runs had been scored by any batsman except for young Ben Williams.
After a tough start to the season, Ben showed guts and determination to bat throughout the innings for a morale boosting 67 not out - his first half century at any level. "It's a confidence thing with Ben" said proud dad and mentor, Andy Williams. Hopefully Ben will use this as a platform to become a dangerous performer.
The last over summed up Rogerstone's tepid performance on a beautiful mid-summer's day. Needing two runs for a third bowling point and facing a novice bowler, Rogerstone managed just 1 to finish 139-7.
As young bowler, Jasmine Smith said, "The weather was perfect for a great game of cricket. Unfortunately, we failed to do it justice."