Match Report vs Dinas
Powys 25 June 2023 @ The Common (Skipper Luvvers, report
Pablo)
The Casuals ascended to the blissful Dinas Powys greenery
on a bight sunny day with a slight breeze, or so we thought,
as Rob and I turned the corner to the car park we spied a
sand coloured dust bowl where the ground used to be and upon
arrival I walked out to look at the pitch and nearly got blown
over by the force 8 gale which was to howl all day.
There was some conjecture about starting time, but I will
others squabble about that (Steve), most of us got there on
time, Foxy arrived twice, firstly to park his car on the roadside
which he deemed was far too precarious due to the short boundary,
so he arrived again at the car park behind the clubhouse,
safe? Surely.
I don’t know who won the toss, but my feeling was
both teams were quite happy that we batted first with Handsome
Steve Biggs and Jim to open the innings. I umpired with Dave
White for the first 20 overs. The clouds rolled in and it
even spotted with rain for a moment or two and it got rather
chilly for about 40 minutes.
Dinas did not have the strongest side I have ever seen and
their opening bowler from the bottom end bowled half trackers
that Jim took a liking too, swatting them away for quite a
few 4’s. Steve was steadier but playing very well both
contending well with some very variable bounce on the odd
occasion that the bowlers put it where they wanted it to go.
The first thing of real note was the LBW shout at Dave’s
end off the first change bowler, I was at square leg and heard
a particularly woody sound which led me to say to square leg
“apart from the fact he hit it, it may have been close”
only to look up to see Dave’s finger pointing skywards.
It was very windy and I can see how Dave didn’t hear
it but it was bloody obvious to me and quite a few other fielders
that Jim had hit it, Jim actually restrained himself quite
well I thought and mentioned to Dave that he hit it as he
was walking off muttering to himself as he stalked off only
to be recalled by the opposition captain as he was about 20
yards from the clubhouse. Common sense prevailed; I think.
Just after this Steve had his first life, dropped in a circus
like fashion at mid-wicket, he was to be given two more lives
during his innings. The opening partnership ended in the 13th
over when Jim went for a shot that he had successfully completed
before but got a top edge too, it held up in the wind and
he was caught for 39 at mid on, a good catch in the swirling
gale.
The skipper joined handsome Steve for a great partnership
of 133, of which Gaz made 87 including five 6’s and
nine 4’s, a very entertaining knock, rightly dispatching
some not very good bowling into various roads, carparks and
fields scattered around Dinas. Narrowly missing Dave White’s
magnet, oh sorry car and the aforementioned Foxy mobile which
had been moved to a safer location only to be missed by a
matter of feet by the first six bowled by a the tall leg spinner.
Gaz eventually holed out at very deep mid-wicket which was
a bit of a surprise because we all thought he had hit it well,
but it may well have caught a gust of wind and held up.
191 for 2 in the 30th over, Whilst the skip went mad at
one end Steve had played very well and was on 55 when Gaz
departed, playing very sensibly with a wide array of shots,
his innings contained eleven 4’s by the time he was
out in the 36th over having accelerated after getting to 50
making a fine 80, he had been dropped twice more but they
were difficult chances which would have been well held if
they were taken. Good innings handsome Steve. The other Steve
had arrived on the skippers departure, it didn’t go
that well for him to be fair, the pitch at Dinas has exactly
the wrong dimensions for him, the straight boundaries are
long and the square ones short, not suiting the “shot”
as we all know it, so the ones he did connect with (and there
were not that many” went for singles, eleven of them
along with one 4 and two 2’s ending 19 not out off the
10 overs he was in. There were a few bat throwing situations,
and many get on with it’s from the boundary as he himself
had opined when waiting to go in.
So, in the 36th over when Handsome Steve was out caught
(I can’t remember where or how I am sorry) we had reached
238 bringing Robbie (AKA Rupert, an army thing I am assured)
to the middle to join Steve. In his less than four overs he
managed 18 runs before falling to the last ball of the innings
bowled having a go at one, with three 4’s.
Steve 19 not out, 10 overs. Rupert 18, 4 overs !!!! I will
leave conclusions up to the reader as far as that is concerned.
Cardiff Casuals 265 for 3 off the 40 overs.
Tea was self-provided as is the norm, a shame as the Dinas
Tea’s used to be excellent with a fine selection of
sandwiches, cakes and beverages from memory, alas I think
such days are over now.
The Dinas Powys innings was over within 22 overs and just
over 90 minutes and we were all done by 5.45 thank God, the
wind was horrendous to bowl into and Cheese, me and Robbie
found that out pretty quickly. The bowling with the wind was
opened by Rob, hurrying through his overs as best as he could
hauling in three wickets as he went, the first was LBW, after
another shout had gone by which may have been even more out,
then Luvvers caught a slip catch, you have to be in it to
win it Will, and a clean bowled with the batter swiping across
a straight one.
Meanwhile, Cheese was struggling up hill against the wind
and being quite unlucky he bowled well for his 5 overs conceding
18 in trying bowling conditions, Rob’s 5 went for 6,
a great effort by him. Dave White bowled next with the gale
and was unlucky in getting no return in his 5 over spell for
14 runs after beating the highest scorer on numerous occasions.
I bowled my assorted stuff into the gale at the other end,
bowling two and another slip catch for the skip (sorry Will)
ending on 5 overs 3 for 28 having been spanked for a huge
6 and a few 4’s. The last bowling partnership was Ross,
or “sticky” as he will now be known and Robbie.
I have no Idea where sticky came from, I missed that, it may
be because he keeps taking wickets whenever he bowls, I don’t
know, anyway, he got the batter who looked like he could play
caught at cover by the skip, 3 catches and 87, a good day
out for him. His other wicket was bowled, a decent ball to
be fair leaving Ross’ figures as 2 overs 2 for 16. Robbie
bowled 8 balls into the wind, getting 2 wickets as well, one
caught at cover by handsome Steve, which was a bit of a dolly
which he made look a tad difficult and the last wicket bowled.
Dinas Powys, all out for 90 in the 22nd over.
Pub, drink, shower, home in that over, I was home to see
Cat Stevens at Glastonbury, easily the low point of my day.
Last edited by Paul on 26 Jun 2023 05:27 pm, edited 1 time
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