A MAN of the match performance with bat and ball from Scott Matthews helped Penarth to a comprehensive victory at Ynysygerwn on Saturday.

It was a win which enabled the Bears to leapfrog their opponents and regain second spot in South Wales Premier division two.

Asked to field first Penarth made a decent start when Ryan Sylvester bowled the dangerous Yuvraj Odedra for 11 in the third over.

Having been handed the new ball for the first time in a while Matthews made the most of the opportunity and with the ball swinging both ways it was no surprise when Liam Davies drove him to the safe hands of Richard Skone at gully.

Skone was kept busy when he affected the direct-hit run out of Sam Mogford for 14 before taking another catch off Matthews to remove MIchael Cowdrey for 7 from the very next ball.

At 51 for 4 the hosts were up against it and a watchful partnership between Alex McCormack and Ryan Evans followed as they tried to rebuild.

Matthews completed his spell of 10 overs with 2 for 20 as the pressure built before the Ynysygerwn batsmen looked to accelerate after the 25 over drinks break.

The partnership was worth 63 when Mark Thomas grabbed a sharp caught and bowled chance to remove McCormack for 39 and the wickets of Josh Griffiths and James Thomas followed, both to Will Skone, to leave the hosts 123 for 7.

Will Skone picked up a third wicket shortly after and Morgan Humphreys claimed the ninth wicket with his first ball before Ynysygerwn scrambled some valuable runs from the final two overs, and Evans reached 50, to finish 183 for 9.

Having fallen short in a similar chase a week ago Penarth might have expected to find such a chase a challenge but Matthews and Sylvester settled any nerves with a stunning opening partnership.

Matthews settled particularly quickly with a flurry of early boundaries and the home side had been through six bowling options in the first 15 overs, including conceding 24 from the 10th, as the batsmen dominated.

The score had reached 121 in just 18 overs when Sylvester was eventually dismissed, bowled by Mogford for 43.

Jack Thomas rode out an aggressive spell from returning opening bowlers Prentice and Odedra to finish 21 not out but Matthews continued to be the star of the show, taking boundaries all around the ground and was unbeaten on 90, from 88 balls, when Penarth reached their target with almost 20 overs to spare.

Penarth will hope to consolidate their league position with a visit to Newport Fugitives next Saturday.

The second team continued their fine form at the top of the league with a crushing 125 run victory over Newport.

Opener James Erasmus top scored for Penarth with 51 in a fine opening partnership with Dafydd Manley who made 32.

Lewis Ingram and Nathan Piddock continued their good form with 38 and 45 respectively and despite losing their way slightly later on Penarth still managed a useful 250 for 9 from their 50 overs.

The result was assured almost as soon as the Newport reply began as Piddock and Rhys McGowan reduced them to a remarkable 16 for 7 in the opening overs.

Liam Williams showed some resistance with 62 and Oskar Rice made 28 but nobody else managed double figures and Newport were bundled out for 125 with Piddock claiming 5 for 14.

With the fourths out of action the third team made it a perfect weekend with a 12 run victory over visitors Crumlin.

Keith James made 52 and stand-in skipper Luke Tilbrook 34 before a useful 17 not out from Mark Frost helped Penarth to a competitive 169 for 7 from their 40 overs. Crumlin were always in the game and up with the run rate but a regular flow of wickets enabled Penarth to wrap up a narrow victory as the visitors were all out just 12 runs short but with a full 5 overs remaining.

This week the seconds host Cardiff and the fourths Cynon Valley while the thirds travel to Blaengarw.