Match Report vs Dinas
Powys 31 July 2022 @ The Common (Skipper Luvvers, Report
Steveo)
It was warm and pleasant midday - despite a little early
rain -as we found our way to one of our quirkier local grounds.
Some of us forgot which turning to take to reach the common
but for once O'Reilly wasn't the last to arrive as we waited
for Naren to turn up. Another late casual to arrive was Richie
who was here just to umpire and keep score ( sorry, just to
sit in the sun and watch).
Deputy skipper Luvvers was in charge for the day and either
won or lost the toss I can't recall, but batting was the order.
As we prepared ourselves we surveyed the peculiar little ground
and noted once again that barely a square yard was flat and
that the rise and fall of the hillocks meant it was always
full of surprises. Other surprises included watching the youthful
oppo team members practising with a catching cradle as we
got exhausted doing up our pads.
Batting Order
R .Davies
G Loveridge ©
W Mason Wilkes
S O’Reilly
N Marigonda
J Hodkinson wk
R Owens
D Lewis
T Bluff
P Stephens
D Thomas
With that top order we could surely expect a big start and
decent total. – hatfulls available with the narrow boundaries
to the off and leg sides, although the top and bottom ends
were sizable distances.
Rhys mainly kept Luvvers company as the latter took advantage
with eight 4’s and a 6 ( I think, penmanship in the
book leaves a little to be desired). But Rhys fell for 5 after
a useful partnership of 37 in the 8th over.
I say Rhys ‘fell’ but maybe he was ‘pushed’
… umpiring is never easy, and it can be worth looking
at the batter to see if the very fine edge the oppo felt they
heard was in fact an edge and not a clip off the pad. Trigger
Tim was impressed by the vocal appeal but then noticed a plaintive
Rhys – who to be fair had indicated pad immediately,
if a little bashfully – trying to correct the errant
decision. A little controversy followed as the big slip announced
loudly that Rhys ‘gotta go’ as the ump ‘gave
it’ … Rhys was far too polite to smash him in
the face with his bat, but instead walked off, with nothing
except a very slight shake of the head. But nobody ever said
life was fair, and if that big chap was indeed related to
that charming female spectator, it just goes to prove there
is no god. Oh, and that cricket can be cruel.
WMW ( Weapons of Mass Wilks) now strode out to the middle
gleefully and sure enough he managed eleven 4’s in his
total as he took advantage of the narrow strip. Sadly Gareth
was enjoying himself too much and heaved one to the fielder
who took a good catch and he ended on 44, short of his hoped
for target, but in a partnership of 58 and almost at drinks.
This brought yours truly to the middle and, as has been
the habit of late, saw me return swiftly after the best ball
of the day (!) took out my stump, for a paltry 2. WMW went
on for a while joined by Naren, who batted with some style
once he got going. Will, having made his fifty, decided to
open up a bit and thereafter inevitably got out for 56, bowled
by Clark in the 25th with the score on 117… not enough
but some decent batting yet to come.
Naren made a very successful 37 including a couple of fours
and three well deserved sixes. He had been joined by Jimmy
and then left by Jimmy who scored a single before being given
lbw. But he had spent some time watching Naren bat which was
nice. Captain Careful Rob now joined the fray and actually
accumulated quickly with four 4’s in his ‘not
out’ score of 25 , whilst Naren finally fell caught
for 37 with CCC on 177; well batted and forgiven for his tardy
arrival.
Dan came in for a cameo and hit a 4 in his total of 6 and
the casuals gave a total of 188 for Dinas to aim at. Tim,
Paul and Dave DNB
R .Davies................6 ct
G Loveridge ©.........44 ct
W Mason Wilkes.......56 bwld
S O’Reilly................2 bwld
N Marigonda...........37 ct
J Hodkinson.............1 lbw
R Owens................25 N.O.
D Lewis..................6 N.O.
T Bluff...................dnb
P Stephens..............dnb
D Thomas...............dnb
No tea.
They’d had some good bowlers so now it was up to us
to reciprocate.
I don’t really remember much about the rest of the game
as I mainly stood on the boundary on the far side under the
tree and only occasionally fetched a ball. But the figures
speak for themselves.
.....................O........M........R........W
Dan...............8........2........26........0
Rob...............6.4.....0........27........2
Paul..............7........1wm...26........3
Dave.............8.......1........28.........2
Tim...............3........0........30........0
SteveO..........3........0........15........1
Naren............2........0.......9..........0
Gareth..........1........0.......10.........0
Yes, skipper G brought himself on towards the end and nearly
skuppered the game (a skipper Skuppering? ? ) but some excellent
bowling by Paul ( CT, lbw and bowled) and Dan, Rob and Dave
meant the game was close but we had the cigars! The lower
order bowlers also played their part and WMW may have taken
a catch or two … or three… or four … ffs.
Jim didn’t drop too many or let too many past him and
eventually failed to get out of the way as a beautifully bowled
ball edged past the bat and nestled in his gloves off O’Reilly’s
delivery. They batted all through the order with 7 batters
getting into double figures, but we fielded and bowled well
enough to contain them, with run outs coming from our discipline
and their lack of same (Dan and WMW).
Well done us! It had been a very hot sunny day and as we
partook of showers and drinks (and rolls and crisps) we could
hear the women’s footy final going on in the clubhouse.
A big cheer indicated a goal, but as we rushed in to view
it became clear it was actually the goal celebration that
brought the cheer. More cheer was had as Luvvers revealed
an intimate digital knowledge of the Lionesses team …
Thanks to extra time I was able to get home before the result
was known and watch the entire game with a beer which was
pleasant. Not a bad day all round.
back
|
