THE season ended in double delight for Newport after they won the Macey (Gwent) Shield and the Macey South-East Wales Final.

The Spytty Park side on the toss in the Gwent final against hosts Usks and elected to bat with openers Josh Waughington and Imran Hassan laying the perfect foundations with 83 for the first wicket.

Hassan was run out for 33 (four fours and one six) but Waughington continued to bat with great authority before he was also run out for an excellent 48 (eight fours) off just 35 balls with the score 91-2 off 12 overs.

Morgan Bevans was joined by Mujahid Ilyas and they plundered the Usk attack with a partnership of 54 in less than six overs.

Bevans scored 28 off 28 balls but it was Ilyas with an unbeaten 45 in just 24 balls that really hurt Usk, with the Newport innings closing on 164–5 off their 20 overs. The pick of the Usk bowlers was Mika Ekstrom, who took three late wickets for 27 runs.

The Usk reply was soon in total disarray slumping to 16-5 off six overs against the superb Newport attack of Mike Clayden and Haznain Nawaz.

A few minor partnerships followed but the game was already over at 62-9 before a final flourish by the Usk tailenders took the final score to 114-9, leaving Newport winners by 50 runs.

An impressive Newport performance saw Clayden take 2-5, Mohammad Akhtar 2-9 and man of the match Waughington 2-19.

As Gwent Macey Winners, Newport played Whitchurch Heath, who won the toss for choice of venue.

Newport, electing to bat, were in no mood to release their grip on the trophy they had won a year previously.

The early wicket of Hassan gave Whitchurch early hope but when Morgan Bevans joined Glamorgan legend Mark Wallace, Newport quickly gained control.

Wallace who had scored an unbeaten century against Llanarth in the semi-final was again giving a masterclass of T20 batting. The pair had put on 75 together before Bevans was out for 32 (25 balls).

Wallace was still in command, as he was joined by young prospect Jack Hope-Bell. Excellent placement and fine running between the wickets was a feature of the partnership, which saw Hope-Bell score a very good 40 in 32 balls as the score rattled up to 164-3 (18.3overs).

Wallace went on to score a magnificent century, scoring 25 off the remaining 9 balls to bring up his unbeaten century (105 not out, 63 balls, 13 fours and 4 sixes) and the Newport innings closed on 190-3 off their 20 overs.

Whitchurch in reply were a little shell shocked, losing early wickets to young Ollie Langford 2-20 and Josh Aston 2-14, slumping to 42-6 (9.2 overs). Mohammad Akhtar with 3-20 finished the innings off with Whitchurch ending on 103-9.

The two cup wins rounded off a fine season with Newport finishing third in the South Wales Premier League with young Glamorgan all-rounder Callum Taylor finishing top of the batting and bowling stats.

He scored a fantastic 976 league runs at an average of 81.33, which included a top score of 196 not out, scoring three 50s and four centuries. He took 37 wickets at an average of 18.81.

While disappointed to lose in the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup to Port Talbot, it was a memorable year for Michael Clayden and Mujihad Ilyas who scored a record partnership of 284 runs in 229 balls in an early round game against Sudbrook.

Next season Newport will hope to retain all their present squad with a few additions, particularly in the bowling department.

A further boost for Newport will hopefully see the second XI take up their place in the SEWCL Division Two, a real boost in the club's aim to produce top young players ready for the Premier League.