MARK
STEPHENS |
developing
- coming along nicely thanks |
Shakes,
lately Bagpuss, and derivatives thereof. |
Opening bat and frustrated
off-spin bowler. All our captains have been seamers lately! |
Once described as
Roath's answer to Chris Tavare but I have branched out
- see below. |
Pre-raphaelite:
colourful, flowing, romantic, voluptuous (Fat???) and
back-to-basics. Inventor of the 'shakey dab' between cover
and 3rd slip. |
Llandaff
North, Bedlinog, St Fagans 5th's, Lord Mayor's XI, ONS
(v cazh) |
Since
Tuesday May 7th 1996 (my debut match v Dow Corning at
Rhoose) officially but all my life really. |
Roughly
228 by the end of the 2004 season. Only my brother is
sad enough to have played more games. |
An appetite
for tea and a thirst for runs. Also the chief route planner
for the cazh diaspora at away matches. |
Kevin
Maxwell |
Cardiff
rugby club fan since 1978, real ale, visiting every pub
in cardiff, collecting wisden, stats (check the cazh stats),
take-aways, skitles, reading and a bit of the politics
mullarky. |
I like
pies - that's not a statement, more a way of life. I also
like all the major food groups you find in Roath after
9pm. |
Stranglers,
New Order but I'm pretty eclectic. I've seen The Damned
3 times now. |
Oh heck
there's loads, and I'm not counting the 2002 cazh video.
How about Annie Hall, LA Confidential, When Harry Met
Sally, Soylent Green, A Matter of Life and Death, Philadelphia
Story, Godfather I and II, Groundhog Day, Inherit the
Wind, It Happened One Night, Shop Around the Corner, She
Wore a Yelow Ribbon
.
I'm a film nut,
particularly the old b/w ones from the golden age. |
Watching
my garden grow. I don't actually do anything to it, just
watching it grow is pleasure enough. |
CD:
the latest Embrace album which I haven't listened to properly
yet.
DVD: 'The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. I recommend
it. Jim Carrey's best film.
|
Jack
Kerouac can recite tales of the Beat generation ('On the
Road' is a great novel), David Niven can tell me all his
film stories and Jack Hobbs can wax lyrical on the golden
age of cricket.
Or Dan, Goughy and Muff can put the world and cazh cricket
to rights if we go to the Spoons. |
Is that
with or without a pie? |
Probably
when I was 4 or 5 in my grampy's back yard. I honed my
game against my brother in our own back yard and once
got a triple-ton! |
My best innings was my 75* against L&A off 18 overs
in a Shield game. It was just one of those days when
everything clicked.
I also bowled a wicket maiden against BA in the penultimate
over of a Shield game in 2002. JF conceded 5 off the
last over and we won by 1 run.
Best performance by a fellow Casual has to be either
Foxy's 40 against Barry Wanderers in 1997 when we were
under presure and he just kept belting Mike Ashton down
the ground, or Steve's 50 against Lampeter on tour.
They were just lots of fun. Forget the 'great' innings
and the hat-tricks, this is real cazh cricket.
|
BA above ranks pretty high. I also enjoy boring the
opposition to death in long partnerships (with TH at
Rogerstone and with Goughy at Pontcanna against the
Cavaliers) but they were personal favourites.
I suppose it has to be that first win against Sully
in 2002 when none of us thought we had a chance. We
bowled them out for 170-odd somehow. Then after a fine
tea we just went mad with the bat. Muff and JF were
inspired and very un-cazh. Of course two weeks later
they absolutely murdered us.
|
St Fagans,
Pentyrch and Cowbridge are good wickets but the most memorable
moments are my first glimpses of Clytha (with the stately
home in the background) and Llanvapley. I do miss not
playing at St Mellons. |
Funnily
enough it's Stevo. Now Steve isn't the best cricketer
in the world (no, seriously) but he just keeps trying
and he always turns up - a captain's dream. He's getting
some good runs this year but he is getting scared of the
ball in his old age
(Only kidding mate).
My brother cos no-one else has scored over 500 in the
back yard in one innings. |
Padre.
How can you drink that much, fall asleep, and still score
a fifty!
John Furnham. How can you eat that much, fall asleep and
still score a fifty! |
- The Gazza fall obviously.
- Some of my colleagues think it was funny when I
ran in to Rob at Stone!
- Rob dropping to his kness and kissing the ground
on turning up at Pye Corner after a marathon driving
expedition with Geoff Male.
- When the captain of Dinas Powis refused to declare
after a rain break so he could get his hundred - and
then we got him out caught on 96.
- Steve Stokes grabbing his heart while running between
the wickets at the Cathedral School - and then pulling
his fags out of the breast pocket of his shirt.
- When my bat broke at Baltonsborough and it nearly
hit the guy at square leg.
- Dave opening the bowling against the Ram Inn. Sorry
mate.
- Pitch invasion by some farm animals (cows?) at Rudry.
|
- Gazza doing his famour tuba requests one Friday
in Pumsaint.
- A huge JF six over the trees at Pumsaint.
- The house party night at Pumsaint. I will always
remember what me and JF could see and they were grey!
- The Friday night in Taunton with Dan, Pad and Gazza.
Pad got annoyed when Dan was having a lot more success
with the ladies (waits for this to be edited out by
Dan). That was also the night I lost the hotel key
|
I always look out for the following away fixtures:
Clytha, Colwinstone and Llanvapley as they are usually
very good. Excellent cake at Colwinstone, and Clytha
treat us to food from the restaurant.
|
We have
fun and that's what its all about |
Nah,
the question makes no senses
Sorry |
Running
the country by now |
I miss
not having an after match pint at the Halfway. The whole
team used to turn up and on occasion we had a Dylans night.
The bar staff were also excellent. The Spoons or Wenvoe
Arms are not quite the same.
But I'm quite happy that Pad doesn't force me to drink
in Kiwi's or the Philly any more. They were mad times. |
In Marks younger days he was the blo-football champion
of all Wales and represented them in the Blo Football
World cup in 1989. He made it through the group stages
but lost to the Dutch competitor in the second round,
who was using the side of mouth 'suck and blow' method
(now commonly favoured by most leading players including
reigning British Champion - Dave 'The Legend' Stubbs)
but in those days it was revolutionary and caused much
controversy. It almost meant that Shakes was re-instated
and allowed into the next round, but much Dutch protests
denied him this.
Shakes was forced to retire in 1996 due to on going
problems with his technique - he couldn't keep food
out of his mouth long enough to play a game!
|