Match Report vs Pontymister 14th June 2026 @ Pontymister (Skipper Steveo, Report The Grinch)

Our scene opens in the picturesque town of Pontymister, flanked by the rolling Welsh countryside and the inescapable charm of a Welsh village designed for the workers at the local steel mill.

The weather looked surprisingly good for the day, and the Casuals arrived in their usual lackadaisical fashion; however, I am happy to report that the captain was on time and was on hand for the all-important coin toss.

Now, rumours abounded that Steve had won another coin toss (anyone keeping score?) and put the Cazh into bat. However, as a journalist-led reporter, I discovered through further investigation that we actually LOST the toss and were put into bat (more on this later).

While the team got prepped to open the batting stories where passed around about the last time the Cazh played a game at a location with a bouncy castle, and all the excitement of what happened in the toilets…

Cazh - Batting

Out strode our intrepid openers in Jim and Has – one coming off a huge 72 at Wick and the other with a point to prove. Has was the unfortunate first victim of an interesting bowling line-up – falling for 16 but not before hitting two lovely 4’s.

Cazh 16 – 1 off of 4 overs

Big Will sauntered onto the field for his usual 3rd spot and set about building his usual “nearly 100” score. We reached the drinks break looking north of 100, and the murmurings on the bench were that some of the batsmen might not get a game.

Our two intrepid batsmen stayed out till the 23rd over when Jim was caught from behind by the wicketkeeper for 40.

Cazh 123 – 2 off of 23 overs

James Barber got in next – using his 7 balls faced to score 7 runs, hitting a lovely 4 off his first ball. Alas, he was tricked with a direct one on the pads. But we all knew, though this was the warmup for some herculean fielding later in the day.

Cazh 138 – 3 off of 25 overs

Ed “Bogof” Stagg came in next, black leg pads on (the envy of all goth-loving cricket fans), looking to make sure the usual Cazh collapse didn’t come.

But… you guessed it, another collapse was inbound. Ed was taken LBW for 1.

Cazh 145 – 4 off of 30 overs

“Step in” Sanay – a hero to all, hungover and last-minute cancellation Cazh - was up and expecting big things after audibly telling everyone he was "keen for a bat that day".

Alas, four balls and 1 run later, and the collapse continued.

Cazh 146 – 5 off of 31 overs

It’s interesting to have to write about your own influence on the game.

Do I talk about the pressure of coming into bat on the front foot while others fall around you? Do I talk about the questionable bowling action? Or do I just say I hit one half decent ball and then fell to the next?

I am putting it down to the pressure of nominating myself for the match report. Matt Davies out for 2 off 2 (one better than Sanay though so…)

Cazh 148 – 6 off 31 overs

Only one man can be trusted to stop the rot, and Captain Steveo stepped up to take on the responsibility of ensuring there was some calm in the batting.

However, as is customary for all batters between 5 – 7, only 6 runs were added as the Captain made the tactical decision to rest his arm for a spell of bowling later. Very noble of him to get caught out behind for 4 runs.

Cazh 155 – 7 off of 33 overs

Ed “Cheese” Stewart was next and came on with the express purpose of making sure that Will was going to earn his post-match tea and pint.

An imperious set of shots in the lower order (including an incredible 6 that almost meant there was a ball change) helped bring the scoring up again.

Moment of the match was him turning to for a second run in and nearly colliding with Will, who was still on his gentle walk back for his first!

Both batted to the end of the 40 and that left us on 215 – 7 off of 40 overs.

Cazh Final Batting Scores

J Hodkinson 40
H Ahmed 12
W Mason Wilkes 96
J Barber 7
E Stagg 1
S Goyal 1
M Davies 2
S O’Reilly 4
E Stewart 28
D Lewis DNB
A Munn DNB

Cazh – Bowling

The interval came, and while drinks were being taken, Will squeezed in some casual racism against Sanay (aka Sanka / aka Finn), and the team discussed how to ensure Steveo didn’t come out of the match report looking too good.

During this time, we were enlightened to discover the truth of the coin toss. It turns out Steveo had lost the toss, but Pontymister had put us into bat to “make a game of the day” (you’ll see why soon).

Now, due to some Pontymister “causal” administration of the book, some of the following is from memory and what I can piece together from the photo I took…

Opening the bowling for Cazh was Dan Lewis and Andy “Shaneo” Munn.

A devastating onslaught, akin to the scene in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith where Anakin massacres the younglings – saw the opening three batsmen fall to Dan – one bowled, one LBW and one run out.

“Shaneo” Munn also had a shout for a wicket knocked off due to some interesting umpiring calls, but one to be left for the wash-up with a beer after the game.

Sanay, hungry to finally get a wicket in a game for the Cazh, came into the attack looking for a scalp to take. He was hungry. He was driven. He would stop at nothing to claim the wicket he so desperately wanted. And it came.

In the form of young Liz Harrington, a 14-year-old girl, who also opened the bowling for Pontymister.

“Ruthless” Sanay, though, does not see gender, just wickets, and took the young batsmen for 1.

Now, I also can’t quite believe I am about to write this – but Steveo, the locked left arm of luck, finally creaking into place, managed to take three wickets in the game.

Now, the fact that Jim at WK, had to help by stumping both batsmen while out of their crease slightly diminishes the total... but take nothing away from Steveo, who enjoyed every wicket.

Final few batsmen to go and your humble author Matt “Grinchy” / “Barney” Davies came into the attack and took his first wicket for the Cazh (let us forget the no ball that flew over Jim and Wills heads part way through the over) and followed it up with James “Daley” Barber FINALLY taking a catch after spending most of the afternoon leaping for any ball that vaguely came in his direction. (Also one wicket more than Sanay so…)

Ed Stagg came in and closed the proceedings, with the help of a Hasnat run out to bowl Pontymister out for 82.

Cazh Final Bowling Scores

D Lewis 5-1-9-2
A Munn 4-0-21-0
S Goyal 4-0-14-1
S O'Reilly 2-0-11-3
M Davies 3-0-6-2
E Stagg 1.5-0-10- 0

Final score

Cazh 215/8 (40 overs)
Pontymister 82 – All out (19.5 overs)
Cazh won by 133 runs

Cazh – Post Match

As the day closed, we were treated to the delights of the locals showing us their “friendly” wrestling skills on each other and a group of rogue children’s cricket. However, the real treat came when Pontymister announced they had put on tea for the team.

For a full write-up and feedback, please contact W Mason Wilkes, who enjoyed the food so much that he ran in to secure a second plate before others in the team had even had a chance to try their first!

Dear reader, I only had the one plate (But as Sanay left early, that was one plate more than him, so…)
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steve o
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Re: Match Report vs Pontymister, Sunday 14th June 2026
Post by steve o » 15 Jun 2026 01:44 pm

Excellent ( first ever) match report Matt, :clap: and a good day was had by all I think. Not a very competitive match in the end, thanks to Will the Ton-Dodger Wilkes making a good effort in the heat. But a decent day out and a nice welcome.
Thanks to Andy M for (mostly) excellent scoring as well as his usual good bowling, and a mention to our opening bowlers who willing to limit their overs once the level of the batting became obvious.
Well done all!

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