IT was a weekend to forget for Usk CC as both the first and second teams were beaten by their counterparts from Newbridge on Saturday. The following day, Usk then lost narrowly in the Welsh Cup to Blackwood.

At Newbridge, the hosts won the toss and chose to bat. This looked a smart move as the openers, James Morgan (50) and Cael Jones (75) set Newbridge on their way. However, Ollie James had other ideas as he removed both openers, and picked up three more wickets for good measure. With Richard Rees and Neil Perrett also chipping in with wickets, Newbridge were restricted to 239 all out in the final over of their innings.

In reply, plenty of Usk batsmen made starts without anyone going on. James (46) and Alex Head (49) made the most notable contributions, as Usk finished on 226-9 from their 50 overs; a defeat by 13 runs. Meanwhile in Usk, the seconds batted first and made 199-7 from their allocated 45 overs. Newbridge chased this down for the loss of just two wickets.

On Sunday, hosts Blackwood batted first in the Welsh Cup tie, which had been reduced to 35 overs per side due to poor weather. The hosts batted first, and were in deep trouble early on, as they collapsed to 31-5 after 10 overs. From this position, Blackwood rebuilt and did well to reach 184 all out. James Aston helped himself to five wickets. In a close fought game, Usk fell just short as they made 177-6 in reply

Usk will hope to return to winning ways on Saturday, when the firsts entertain Pontypridd, and the seconds travel to play the same opponents. Both games begin at 12:30pm.