Match Report vs Eclipse 04 August 2020 @ St Fagans (Skipper Will, report Jim)

The Cazh turned up at St Fagans to take on Eclipse on what was a dark, murky Tuesday evening, with the heavens threatening to open at any point. That, coupled with being told that the game was to be played on the back pitch, led to a sense of trepidation in the ranks! To the surprise of all, however, the pitch was dry and had been rolled, with the outfield cut to a decent length, so some initial worries were forgotten about!

Predictably for this season, Will lost the toss and the Casuals were asked to field, with light rain starting to fall as they took to the field, with Dan opening from the top and Dave ‘Flat’ White from the bottom. The first few overs were largely uneventful. A few dot balls, the odd leg-side delivery, a slapped boundary here and there, mis-fields due to the rain making the surface and ball greasy. However, the arrival of a spectator bellowing “C’mon the Casuals!” loud enough to be heard across the channel in Bristol (no prizes for guessing who) appeared to spark a little life into the Cazh, with Flat White in his final over tying one of the openers up in knots, with a few bat-pads just evading the fielders.

After 7 overs, with Dan bowling 2, Flat White finishing his 3 over spell, and DT toiling away, still no wickets had fell. Enter Steve B, who after struggling to find the pitch with his first few deliveries, bowled one of the openers with a brilliant yorker. This brought the Eclipse captain, and key player, to the crease. DT, bowling his final over next, drew the Eclipse skipper out of his ground, the ball going through him and into the gloves of James, who whipped the bails off with the batsman scrambling. The appeal was made with confidence, the batsman looked very worried, but the square leg umpire, perhaps through a lack of attention or fear of giving his captain out for 0, kept the finger down, a decision that would prove costly!

Over 9 did produce a second wicket, however, with Steve beating the bat of the other opener, with James quickly gathering and taking the bails off for the stumping. Having rotated the strike well, the fourth man in for Eclipse attempted one too many as he hit the ball straight to DT who circled the ball before picking it up and throwing in the direction of the skipper, by this is time the batsmen had decided to steal a 3rd run, however, now the ball was in the hands of Will, he unleashed his arm with a direct hit run out at the non-striker’s end. Eclipse’s captain felt he needed to take the game to the Cazh now, slapping the ball about the field, using the slippery conditions for fielding to his advantage. George almost had him, but unfortunately Dan couldn’t quite hold on to the catch having made his way in from the boundary, whilst Steve was left with a few sore ribs after being struck at cover. Richie picked up the wicket of the number five batsman, plumb LBW, but the main Eclipse man managed to make his way to 50 and retire, with no wickets falling after, meaning they closed their innings on 138-4 off 18.

Dan 3-0-19-0
Dave W 3-0-17-0
DT 3-0-17-0
Steve B 3-0-26-2
George 2-0-25-0
Richie 2-0-15-1
Patrick 2-0-16-0
Stumpings: James
Run-Outs: Will

The rain decided it would stop before the Cazh went out to bat, with the outfield drying up rather quickly, giving Eclipse less slippery conditions to field in. Skipper Will assessed his options and sent out Martin and Rob to open up. Martin started fluently, rocking on to the back foot and punching the ball through gaps in the off-side, but got bowled top of off when attempting one too many, sending the skipper out to the middle. After nudging the ball around to rotate strike, Rob’s defence was breached by a good yorker in the 4th over to make the score 19-2. James was next in to partner Will, but could they repeat their 78-run partnership from the weekend? The answer would be no, as Will was caught at short cover for a quick 18, 35-3.

James was next to fall a few overs later, playing on after chasing a short, wide delivery from the spinner in the 10th over. The run rate was getting away from the Cazh, with over 10 an over required. Richie and Patrick batted steadily, with Eclipse giving little away with their bowling. Richie found the middle of the bat a few times, sending a couple of deliveries down the ground to the boundary. The partnership was broken soon after though, Richie being bowled. Steve was next to fall, caught at mid-on after taking a swing at a short ball, that was close to a no-ball for the second bounce, had Steve not hit it! George came in and, with Patrick, added a few runs to end the Casuals innings on 90-6 off 18, Eclipse winning by 48 runs.

Martin – b10
Rob – b3
Will – ct18
James – b8
Richie – b20
Patrick – no5
Steve B – c1
George – no2
DNB: Dan, Dave W, DT

A few factors could be considered in the result here. The different weather conditions for each innings, with the rain making the fielding tough for the Cazh. The Eclipse captain, who amassed 53, surviving a stumping appeal on 0, could’ve changed the game. Or, perhaps to quote Will from last season, we’re simply crap at chasing!

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