The forecast rain circumvented the LCG and allowed the fourth-placed Trees to complete their first home fixture of the year, this at the exact halfway point of the season. They were facing basement dwellers Blaina and were keen for a victory if only to ensure that they could begin the second half of the season looking to challenge the top three rather than looking over their shoulders towards the relegation trapdoor. The visiting skipper won the toss and invited Llanarth to have a bat, a decision that almost paid off when Lomax bunted the third ball of the innings to square-leg where the offering was spilled, a mistake that the fielder would regret for the full 45 overs. Baxter (63), looked out of sorts in gathering his first 20 runs but found some authority after that and raised his half-century, as the pair combined for another century opening partnership, before holing out to long on. Lomax continued to pile on the agony for Blaina as he constructed a fine knock with minimum fuss but maximum effectiveness, he brought his century up with an excellent sweep for four and was ably assisted by both Dewfields and Proctor as Llanarth looked for a total beyond the reach of the visitors. Lomax finished with a super 114 not out from 126 balls and the final total of 240-4 was one that the Trees were confident of defending. Following a lovely tea the Blaina openers initially showed some intent, albeit with some interesting strokeplay, and a few boundaries were struck in the opening half-dozen overs. The intent was matched by luck as Lomax found the edge of both openers bat only to see the nicks fly through the corden. Llanarth coach Proctor was providing opener Meek with a constructive, but accurate, critique of his batting technique and it was no surprise when he mistimed a drive off Banaras to be taken by James. After the first wicket any intent from the batsmen quickly evaporated and the only numbers ticking on the scoreboard were the passing overs. The run rate stagnated and Llanarth were left to try to winkle out the wickets as Blaina were content to block out time. Ed James (2-25) bowled with lively pace and in conjunction with the wily spin of Powell (4-22) reduced the visitors to 101-7. But despite the best efforts of 14-year-old Mear with his left-arm seamers and some leg-spin from skipper Heath, no further breakthroughs were achieved and the innings closed on 132-7 to give Llanarth victory by 108 runs. Next week the Trees will face a severe test when they host Crumlin, the Conference 2 champions of 2013 and currently unbeaten this season, as they look to retain the title.