SATURDAY is best forgotten for Penarth Cricket Club, with all four sides coming a distant second to various opponents.

The 1st XI hosted Sudbrook and, after several off the field mishaps, the visitors elected to bat and were dismissed for a very gettable 210. Tom Sidford and Ryan Sylvester took three and two wickets respectively, with the rest being shared around. The Sudbrook innings was well anchored by Ross Lewis, with an excellent 99, deprived of his100 by an excellent leg side stumping by Sam Docherty off the bowling of Sidford.

In reply, Penarth slumped to 22 for seven in the face of some hostile bowling by Thorne. Only Jon Davies, with a battling 45, troubled the scorers and Penarth were dismissed for 98 in 26 overs to lose by 112 runs.

The Seconds visited Sudbrook in the reverse fixture, with the home side batting first and scoring 259 for six, with Joe Voke hitting 54 and Rob Crimp taking two for 20.

In reply, Penarth quickly fell behind the required run rate and finished on 177 for six, with contributions from Callum Carson (57), Morgan Humphreys (27) and Conrad Adams (24). Sudbrook won by 82 runs.

The Thirds played Crumlin at the Athletic Field and, winning the toss, asked Penarth to bat. This proved to be a good decision when Penarth were dismissed for a mere 126, with S Veal taking three for 12. Only Tom Parkinson with 35 and Pete Docherty (23) really got in, while a series of three run outs did not help the cause. Pete Doc admitted to being responsible for two of them when pressed later in the bar!

In reply, Crumlin had little trouble reaching the target, with Veal once again doing the damage with 72 out of a total of 127 for three.

Playing Lisaven Fifths at Llandaff Fields, Penarth Fourths, batting first on a very slow track, were skittled out for 86. Geoff Thomas (24) and Paul Elias (12) made a promising start but, once the latter went with the score on 27, the floodgates opened. Thomas was involved in yet another disastrous run out with captain Mark Frost, and only a rearguard action by Tony Duffy and Matt Frost allowed the score to reach 86.

In reply, Lisvane passed the total for the loss of only one wicket in 17 overs.

Hopefully, Penarth can get back on course this week after a few days of running practice and a lecture on pre-match preparation. The Firsts and Seconds play Pentyrch, the Thirds visit Tredegar and the Fourths take on Mountain Ash at the Athletic Field.