Match Report vs Consmen 2 July 2014 @ Wenvoe (Skipper and report Shakey)

Perhaps its not a big factor on a warm sunny evening at the start of July but one of the big improvements in recent years has been the decision to use pink cricket balls for midweek matches. When white balls were in vogue they always seemed primed to turn round corners and they got increasingly difficult to pick up at the end of an innings. The pink balls we use now swing less but keep their hardness and make a more definite thud off the bat. The fielding side also find they are so much easier to see. The match against the Consmen demonstrated those virtues aplenty.

Tesh and Cheese opened up and got us off a to a decent start. Eight runs came from the bat in the first three overs but the score reached 18 thanks to a plethora of wides. It was then that cheese began to cut loose. Tesh was bowled with the last ball of the fifth over and the score at 40 - his contribution was 1! Tesh kept losing the strike to wides and cheese just kept hitting. Next man in Stevo also fell for 1 before cheese finally departed in the 10th over with the score on 61, scoring a dashing 37 including a six, four boundaries and three 3s - a great start.

Wickets kept falling at regular intervals with Savs bowled for 1 on debut, Pete also bowled for 1 and Kim caught for 9 to break the sequence of 1s. The wicket of Savs was notable for his inability to hold onto his bat at the point of being bowled, with the willow flying violently into the outfield as he was undone by a full-length delivery.

At 104-6 in the 16th over a reasonable total seemed on the cards as Dan strode in to lend his support to Will who now seemed settled in. What happened next was carnage. Dan and Will batted to the end of the innings undefeated. They smashed 76 runs from 26 balls as we closed on an imposing 180-6. Will scored 67 not out with four 6s and five 4s while Dan finished on 38 not out courtesy of one 6 and seven 4s including the trademark smash to cow amongst a varied repetoire. The sky was full of pink and the casuals spectators were kept busy helping the fielders find the bright pink balls in nearby bushes and fields and rummaging in the kit for a spare ball or two.

We just needed a decent bowling display and we should rack up an easy win. That's what the Casauls were thinking at the start of the Consmen innings and with Dan bowling batsman 2 in the first over we were well on the way. The Consmen rallied and took the score up to 57 before losing their next wicket but that happened in the 11th over. Although they upped their scoring thanks to some effective hitting from Deano the target proved too great a test. Rolf and Savs chipped in with a wicket each while Pete and Dan claimed claimed two each as the innings closed on 145-6. A rare league win was greeted with a copious buffet as the Wenvoe Arms again benefitted from Casuals largesse with a plentiful array of crisps and nuts.

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