Match Report vs Lisvane
7th June 2026 @ Lisvane (Skipper Steve0, Report Will
MW)
2pm starts are a rarity for the Casuals these days, so our
ever-industrious Skipper Steve was delighted when Lisvane
offered us one in early June – more time to organise
his sock drawer in the morning I suppose. After a miserable
week weather wise, and more rain forecast for later Sunday
afternoon, talk was of bringing the start time forward and
reducing the overs, but Steve was having none of it and fortunately
for him Lisvane had a yoof game on in the morning so 2pm it
was.
Most Casuals had arrived by this point, but a few of the
oppo, including their skipper, were absent, so after some
back and forth, a deputy was found, 30-overs a side was agreed,
and the toss was completed. Steve O called correctly and opted
to bat under leaden skies on a green tinged track with the
boundaries pushed back as far as they would go on all sides
– what could possibly go wrong?
Rob and Jim opened up against some youthful and exuberant
pace bowling from one end, with more regulation medium from
the other. An assured start from both batsmen against some
variable pace, Rob turning the singles over and Jim hitting
some powerful strokes through the off-side (remarkably), but
quite soon the slowness of the outfield became apparent, with
even the full medium weight of Jim behind it the ball struggling
to reach the rope. Rob was the first to go, a leading edge
to a low full bunger popping up to mid-wicket for a regulation
grab. 31-1 from 7. Will in next, and more variations from
the bowlers meant it was hard to get away. A change of bowling
in the 9th brought an instant reward, Jim skying one off the
tall and powerfully built ‘spinner’ (more on him
later) again well taken at mid-on. Liam in next, and both
he and Will struggled to move the score along, some good bowling
and tight fields keeping runs at a premium.
The pressure told in the 13th, Liam pushing for an ill-advised
single to mid-off, with a direct hit ending his afternoon.
47-3 from 13 with the Casuals wobbling a bit. Speaking of
wobbling, in at 5 was Skipper Steve. I explained that everything
the bowler was bowling was “swinging away”, to
which Steve, unique cricketing brain that he is, replied “so
towards my legs?”. Despite his tentative grasp of the
fundamentals of our sport, for those counting (i.e. everyone)
Steve survived his first ball, and his second, which went
for 5(!), all run, which left him (and me to be fair) calling
for oxygen. An ‘entertaining’ 50 run partnership
followed, with at least one very clear run out chance missed
by the big spinner, a couple of drops off Steve including
one at gully by their best fielder, and the usual collection
of expletives, gasping and unwanted displays of flesh that
tend to occur when Steve is on a cricket field.
After drinks some runs followed too, with Will hitting a
few nice fours before he walked past a straight one to be
bowled for 40. Edward Wesley Charles Stagg in at 6 and his
innings lasted two balls, from the second of which he was
out LBW. Our third dismissal with the score on 97 came in
the following over, Steve’s luck finally running out
when he creamed one to midwicket and set off for a single
that was never there to be comfortably run out at the non-strikers
end for a ‘well-made’ (in that well it was made)
16. 96-3 after 20 becoming 97-6 from 22 and the Cazh staring
down the barrel.
Pat in next, and after a couple of flicks round the corner
he tried one glide off the face too many, serving up some
catching practice to the mostly immobile slip fielder, who
took a decent grab one handed. 109-7 from 25. Iwan now joined
Greg ‘Leg’ ‘Crampon’ Cavanagh (more
on this later) in the middle, Leg hoping to improve on some
indifferent early season form with bat. Between them they
restored a modicum of respectability to the total putting
on a useful 20-odd, Crampon hitting some nice boundaries either
side of the wicket, before Iwan was caught in very nonchalant
fashion by the big spinner at square leg in the 39th with
the score on 133. Finn got off the mark but was bowled first
ball of the last over, rightly going for it against some slow
bowling. Dan in at 11 and some thwacking and jogging from
Shagger and Leg (Private Investigators, anyone?) took the
total to 139-9 from 30. Enough to make a game of it perhaps
but a few short we reckoned if they batted as well as they
bowled and fielded.
Casuals Batting
J Hodkinson, caught, 20
R Owens, caught, 9
W Mason-Wilkes, bowled, 40
L Foster, run out, 3
S O'Reilly, run out, 16
E.W.C Stagg, LBW, 0
L. Crampon, NOT OUT, 20
P. Dean, caught, 3
I. Jones, caught, 8
F. Hishon, bowled, 1
D. Lewis, NOT OUT, 4
Batsmen's total: 125
Extras: B 5, LB 1, W 6, NB 2
Total 139-9 from 40 overs.
A quick break for tea with the weather in mind saw the Casuals
take the field at about quarter to 5. Not long after the mizzle
began, but it was intermittent and light enough that play
continued. Sensing conditions could deteriorate rapidly, or
perhaps just because they were quite good, the Lisvane batters
were aggressive from the off. They punished anything short
or overpitched from both Dan and Finn, with one of the openers
dispatching Dan into the trees over long off for a big six
amongst some wristy flicks to boundary through cow. At some
point in the opening spell Leg, fielding at cover, went down
hard trying to chase one down. We feared the worst but he
sat up to inform us it was just a bit of (C)ramp(on) in his
(L)eg (see what we did there). Finn managed to knock over
the other opener in the 8th – the one who took the catch
off Pat at slip, who was about as mobile with the bat as in
the field – a good ball that nipped in to bowl him off
the inside edge leaving Lisvane 33-1.
This only really served to speed the scoring up, however,
with the wristy opener well into his stride finding the boundary
regularly, and the number 3 content to keep him on strike.
Wristy did offer a couple of chances – one a skier that
Will couldn’t quite get underneath at slip as it drifted
away towards point on the breeze, and another that Steve O
couldn’t cling onto moving to his left at mid-off –
but neither were taken, and at some point he retired with
Lisvane well on their way to the target. Drinks were forgone
at 15 with the weather closing in and only 50 required. By
this point cramp had spread to Leg’s other hamstring,
and things hadn’t improved much for the rest of us either,
the number 4 picking up where the retired opener left off,
using his feet well against the first change bowling of Iwan
and Pat and keeping the score rattling along.
Iwan did pick up a second Cazh wicket, bowling the number
3 with a devious straight one. 96-2 after 16. This however
brought the big spinner to the crease, who didn’t look
like he wanted to hang around in the gloomy rain, and set
about pummelling his way to victory. The chase was completed
in the 20th over with a flat six off Liam that went like a
tracer bullet over long on - Ned maintained that if we’d
have been in the game he would have gone for it, though if
he had done I think we’d still be scraping bits of his
hand off the sight screen. Lisvane 144-2 from 19.4.
A somewhat humbling eight wicket defeat, but they were better
than us in all departments, and at least we beat the weather
and got 50 overs of cricket in! We retired to the smokehouse
to watch Finn eat a small portion of expensive mac and cheese
whilst perusing the menu ahead of our inevitable future visits…
Casuals Bowling
D. Lewis 6-1-37-0
F. Hishon 6-1-38-1
P. Dean 4-0-28-0
I. Jones 3-0-24-1
L. Foster 0.4-0-9-0
back
|
