Match Report vs NOW 15
June 2023 @ Wenvoe (Skipper Luvvers, report Maxy)
A hot sunny Wenvoe evening, perfect conditions where there
was to be room for excuses what ever the outcome against an
apparent enthusiastic Orchestra side.
With a 6pm start some Casuals displayed exceptional Keenness
arriving a good 45 mins before the start, was this the secret
to some performances or just to have an extra cigarette or
2!!
Having lost the toss we were fielding.
The open ‘attack’ comprised with the pairing
of Lewis and Maxi with Lewis coming in form the Pavillion
end and Maxi from the Football ground end.
Both Lewis and Maxi gave there all during their spells with
both bowlers mixing it up between the right and left handed
batsman. Both were dismissed to the boundary more times than
they would have liked with fast outfield being a contributory
factor plus the odd six!! The spell eventually saw Maxi take
a wicket where an inside edge played on to his stumps this
was great relief as had previously seen a seemingly straight
forward catch dropped by Steve O where he claimed to be ‘blinded
by the sun’ was this a sign that it wasn’t going
to be Steve O’s night??!!
Up stepped the next bowling attack where Warren and Thomas
had been eagerly awaiting to unleash their individual tricks
with a mixture of pace (ish) and cunning deception. After
Warren’s mislay first over giving away a single run
came Thomas. A dot ball to open followed by a wicket!! Another
well judged Casual catch taken by Dean. After seeing that
over out Warren returned and again was very economical with
1 run coming from the first 4 deliveries. The 5th ball proved
to be decisive with the batsman being relieved of his leg
stump (i think??) A steady couple of overs followed with runs
few and far between then Thomas struck again with his penultimate
ball of his 3rd over claiming another victim!! At the end
the end of this bowling partnership Orchestra were approx
90 odd for 4 with 4 overs to go. Who would be called on next
to close out the attack??
Up stepped Steve O for who you could see was full of anger
and furore which could possibly have been orchestrated by
the Spartans defence of communal area upon arrival or as a
result of labelling Rhys an Ugly C*** earlier in the game
. . . Rhys is one of the better looking Casuals so glad his
anger wasn’t vented to certain other members!!
His first over was similar to previous bowlers where again
a couple of fast boundary’s were dispatched with no
return. Then came Dean still on a high from his catch. His
first over was a challenging over conceding a few off the
bat. The final overs proved less costly with Orchestra eventually
setting a target of 142 to win . . . Could it be done??
First out to face the Orchestra attack was Davies and Owen’s
whom both have been in fine form recently so nothing but positive
vibes throughout the Casual Camp.
A nice 2 by Davies appeared to set the standard until Davies
decided to help a ‘marginally’ wide delivery down
the leg in the keepers hands!! 3-1 not the start we wanted!!
Next came out Wilkes to accompany Owen’s in the middle
with both then making steady progress keeping the board ticking
over at a nice rate until Wilkes was bowled for 10 with casuals
now 34-2, not quite alarm bells but next to come was Steve
O who entered the sun baked Wenvoe arena with his usual gladiatorial
swagger whilst under his breath labelling every person in
view on his way to the crease a c*** including the Umpires!!
The partnership began but not how was expected!!After a single
by Steve O came a succession of well timed boundaries from
both players, was this going to be a beautiful relationship??
No, more of an affair or possibly Tit on the outside as Owen’s
was bowled for 17. Next to join Steve O was Rupert (Rob but
like most new members real names are irrelevant!!) A quick
couple of singles then falling to a C & B and given his
marching orders. With the score now 51 - 4 after 8 overs the
once strong Vibe was starting to flag but who would know what
this now unlikely partnership of Steve O and Hodkinson would
bring? It would bring runs and 30 of them including singles,
boundaries and an always appreciated 3 but don’t think
either Hodkinson or Steve O appreciated in the heat or any
time come to that but we did!!
Hodkinson eventually fell for 15 with the score now on 81-5
with 8 overs or so to go so still work to be done. Now to
enter was Lewis who was fuelled by extra nicotine and coming
off a spell of bowling with no reward, something he neither
likes or is used to!! From moment Steve O and Lewis paired
up the unexpected excitement grew with countless boundaries,
singles and 6’s for which both Lewis and Steve O claimed
one each!! The scoreboard advanced with pace but at the same
time anticipation of the next fall of wicket grew with remainder
of the batting line up confident they would be called upon
any moment. But . . . this was not be as both batsman displayed
excellent stamina and resilience in the searing heat with
shot after shot even Foxy was knocking cans back and crushing
them on the sidelines as the excitement took over him. With
over an over to spare the winning runs were struck with both
Steve O and Lewis ending with magnificent display of 31 not
out each!! An all round great effort by all Casz involved
and a true spectacle to be hold - I was there!!
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