Match Report vs Uni Staff
24th August 2023 @ Wenvoe (Skipper and report Jim)
The sun was out as the Casuals descended on Wenvoe for the
final time in 2023 for a friendly game against Uni Staff.
Whilst all the Cazh were present and correct for the start
time, our opposition were less timely, evidently following
the example set by their illustrious captain – none
other than Rhys ‘splitter’ Davies.
The toss was conducted and the Cazh were bowling first. Goffy
opened up the hill and made a breakthrough with just his third
ball, trapping the opener LBW with a standard Wenvoe (no-bounce)
delivery. Luvvers, meanwhile, came down the hill and again
found a breakthrough quickly, bowling the number three batter
with a textbook, top of off stump, delivery. Both bowled well
throughout their spell and restricted the Uni Staff batters
run scoring, with only Goffy’s final over seeing boundaries
scored, with the score 25-2 after 7 overs.
DT and Shakey replaced the opening pair and continued the
miserly bowling, with the batters finding runs hard to come
by. DT was the first of the two to strike, bowling the other
opening bat through the gate, before Shakey bowled the number
five with a straight one, bring the Splitter into bat. Both
would take another wicket in their spells. First, DT got the
wicket of the dangerous looking number four (who had scored
31 of the 49 runs at that stage), caught by Rob at mid-off/cover
region. Shakey followed this by bowling the number 7 with
a bit of low turn, leaving Uni Staff on 61-5 off 15 overs.
Tim and Foxy were the bowlers that would close the innings
for the Cazh. Uni Staff at this stage were pushing for any
runs available, leading to Jesus getting a run out with a
direct hit in the 17th over. A few rare boundaries would follow
to up the total, before the Splitter was bowled by Tim on
the last ball of the innings, with Uni Staff finishing on
84-8 off their 18 overs.
Goffy 4-0-18-1
Luvvers 3-1-3-1
DT 4-0-16-2
Shakey 4-0-20-2
Tim 2-0-18-1
Foxy 1-0-4-0
Catch: Rob
Run Out: Jesus
The pitch was low and the outfield slow, so the chase would
not be a foregone conclusion, which was not helped by the
loss of an early wicket, with Jack caught at mid-wicket off
just the second ball. Jesus strode out to join his namesake,
Will P, in the middle, with the latter scoring two early boundaries
to open the Cazh account, before a dry spell saw the Cazh
stuck on 10 after 4 overs.
Will P was soon bowled, with James next in. The pair then
produced the biggest partnership of the Cazh innings, with
Jesus finding the straight boundaries with some well-placed
drives, and James looking (and succeeding, sometimes) to slap
the ball square. However, with the score moving to 44, James
was out, top-edging an attempted sweep, caught by Splitter
behind the stumps. Tim was next in and supported Jesus in
increasing the total, before being trapped LBW. Skipper Luvvers
came and went, bowled in very unfortunate circumstances –
the ball hitting his trailing leg and dribbling onto the stumps.
This was the start of a Cazh collapse, with Jesus bowled having
been cramped for room, and Foxy bowled for a golden, the score
71-7 with 2 over left.
The penultimate over looked to have sealed the game for the
Cazh. After a couple of singles, Goffy hit two boundaries
to take the score up for 81, with 4 runs needed from 6 balls.
This was reduced to 3 for 5, with Rob taking a quick single.
Then, disaster, as Goffy was bowled, aiming to ‘tickle
one round the corner’ – although, from the spectator
view, it was interpreted more as ‘what the fuck was
he doing?!’. Anyway, with 3 needed from 4, Shakey faced
a dot, before getting a single. Rob on strike couldn’t
get a clean connection on the next delivery, but still called
for the run, but Shakey couldn’t make it to the other
end and was run out, 83-9.
Final ball and all results were possible. A dot ball, or
a wicket, would see Uni Staff win. 2 runs would see the Cazh
win. 1 run would see a tie. The hopes of both teams rested
upon the shoulder of the Cazh’s number 11 specialist
DT. The bowler ran in, the ball was delivered and DT swung…and
missed…but thankfully the ball hit the pad and into
a gap. Uni Staff appealed, to no success, whilst Rob called
for the run and DT ambled to the non-striker’s end,
the tie sealed with a leg bye – a dramatic way to end
our final midweek fixture!
Jack ct0
Will P b10
Jesus b27
James ct18
Tim lbw0
Luvvers b7
Rob no2
Foxy b0
Goffy b12
Shakey ro1
DT no0
As ever, a good game against the Uni Staff boys – thanks
to Rhys for organising a side! Both teams retired to the Wenvoe
Arms for pints, buffet and conversation, the main topic being
the upcoming tour in a couple of weeks’ time. DT, meanwhile,
decided to call every contact he had in his phone, to tell
them that he had ‘hit’ the run that tied the game…
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