AFTER their Herculean last-over victory against Pontypridd last week, Abergavenny approached their local derby against Usk with renewed vigour and a determined intent.

This fixture usually produces some of the best cricket of the season, and Saturday was no different.

Abergavenny captain, Gavin Heritage, won the toss on a scorching afternoon and decided to bat. Usk struck quickly when Will Glenn miss-hit a lofted drive to mid off and in walked Tamoor Zafar. Already recognised as a great talent, Tamoor established himself as a key run-scorer for Abergavenny last week with a tough century and was hoping to build on his form.

Abergavenny's batting line up had been bolstered further by the return of Andrew Jones, who has long been the rock of their innings. Tamoor and Jones quickly began to dominate the bowling, as glorious drives were followed by dismissive pull shots.

With the scoring rattling along to reach 160-1, Usk looked in serious trouble until Jones failed to properly connect with a short ball and found the hands of the mid-wicket fielder, falling for 73. However, this had no effect on Tamoor, who continued to dispatch the Usk bowlers to all corners of the ground and beyond. Six balls were lost in the last few overs as each one in succession flew out of the ground. To whatever the bowlers tried Tamoor had the answers. Abergavenny's middle and lower order contributed well to a series of quick-scoring partnerships as the total flew to 314-9 off their 50 overs.

Abergavenny's huge total put pressure on the Usk batsmen from the start, as the required run rate crept up with every tight over.

Opening bowler Nathan Byrne had been finding his form and fitness in recent weeks, but proved to be the spearhead Abergavenny were looking for this week.

By bowling tight lines with aggression and movement Byrne took the edge of Usk's star batsman, Iain Clayton and Abergavenny saw an opening.

Despite several gritty partnerships by the Usk batsmen, the wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, with Andy Clarke, Scott Greaves and Tamoor taking two wickets each. Oliver James was the standout batsman for Usk, scoring a well-fought 58 off just 61 balls, before he fell to a stunning catch on the boundary by Dinesh Rex.

Clarke and Byrne mopped up the tail and Abergavenny celebrated a fantastic 50-run victory. Having climbed to fourth in the league, Abergavenny look to another 'crunch' game next week at Avenue Road against fifth-placed Sudbrook.