Match Report vs Eclipse
04 August 2020 @ St Fagans (Skipper Will, report Jim)
The Cazh turned up at St Fagans to take on Eclipse on what
was a dark, murky Tuesday evening, with the heavens threatening
to open at any point. That, coupled with being told that the
game was to be played on the back pitch, led to a sense of
trepidation in the ranks! To the surprise of all, however,
the pitch was dry and had been rolled, with the outfield cut
to a decent length, so some initial worries were forgotten
about!
Predictably for this season, Will lost the toss and the
Casuals were asked to field, with light rain starting to fall
as they took to the field, with Dan opening from the top and
Dave ‘Flat’ White from the bottom. The first few
overs were largely uneventful. A few dot balls, the odd leg-side
delivery, a slapped boundary here and there, mis-fields due
to the rain making the surface and ball greasy. However, the
arrival of a spectator bellowing “C’mon the Casuals!”
loud enough to be heard across the channel in Bristol (no
prizes for guessing who) appeared to spark a little life into
the Cazh, with Flat White in his final over tying one of the
openers up in knots, with a few bat-pads just evading the
fielders.
After 7 overs, with Dan bowling 2, Flat White finishing
his 3 over spell, and DT toiling away, still no wickets had
fell. Enter Steve B, who after struggling to find the pitch
with his first few deliveries, bowled one of the openers with
a brilliant yorker. This brought the Eclipse captain, and
key player, to the crease. DT, bowling his final over next,
drew the Eclipse skipper out of his ground, the ball going
through him and into the gloves of James, who whipped the
bails off with the batsman scrambling. The appeal was made
with confidence, the batsman looked very worried, but the
square leg umpire, perhaps through a lack of attention or
fear of giving his captain out for 0, kept the finger down,
a decision that would prove costly!
Over 9 did produce a second wicket, however, with Steve
beating the bat of the other opener, with James quickly gathering
and taking the bails off for the stumping. Having rotated
the strike well, the fourth man in for Eclipse attempted one
too many as he hit the ball straight to DT who circled the
ball before picking it up and throwing in the direction of
the skipper, by this is time the batsmen had decided to steal
a 3rd run, however, now the ball was in the hands of Will,
he unleashed his arm with a direct hit run out at the non-striker’s
end. Eclipse’s captain felt he needed to take the game
to the Cazh now, slapping the ball about the field, using
the slippery conditions for fielding to his advantage. George
almost had him, but unfortunately Dan couldn’t quite
hold on to the catch having made his way in from the boundary,
whilst Steve was left with a few sore ribs after being struck
at cover. Richie picked up the wicket of the number five batsman,
plumb LBW, but the main Eclipse man managed to make his way
to 50 and retire, with no wickets falling after, meaning they
closed their innings on 138-4 off 18.
Dan 3-0-19-0
Dave W 3-0-17-0
DT 3-0-17-0
Steve B 3-0-26-2
George 2-0-25-0
Richie 2-0-15-1
Patrick 2-0-16-0
Stumpings: James
Run-Outs: Will
The rain decided it would stop before the Cazh went out
to bat, with the outfield drying up rather quickly, giving
Eclipse less slippery conditions to field in. Skipper Will
assessed his options and sent out Martin and Rob to open up.
Martin started fluently, rocking on to the back foot and punching
the ball through gaps in the off-side, but got bowled top
of off when attempting one too many, sending the skipper out
to the middle. After nudging the ball around to rotate strike,
Rob’s defence was breached by a good yorker in the 4th
over to make the score 19-2. James was next in to partner
Will, but could they repeat their 78-run partnership from
the weekend? The answer would be no, as Will was caught at
short cover for a quick 18, 35-3.
James was next to fall a few overs later, playing on after
chasing a short, wide delivery from the spinner in the 10th
over. The run rate was getting away from the Cazh, with over
10 an over required. Richie and Patrick batted steadily, with
Eclipse giving little away with their bowling. Richie found
the middle of the bat a few times, sending a couple of deliveries
down the ground to the boundary. The partnership was broken
soon after though, Richie being bowled. Steve was next to
fall, caught at mid-on after taking a swing at a short ball,
that was close to a no-ball for the second bounce, had Steve
not hit it! George came in and, with Patrick, added a few
runs to end the Casuals innings on 90-6 off 18, Eclipse winning
by 48 runs.
Martin – b10
Rob – b3
Will – ct18
James – b8
Richie – b20
Patrick – no5
Steve B – c1
George – no2
DNB: Dan, Dave W, DT
A few factors could be considered in the result here. The
different weather conditions for each innings, with the rain
making the fielding tough for the Cazh. The Eclipse captain,
who amassed 53, surviving a stumping appeal on 0, could’ve
changed the game. Or, perhaps to quote Will from last season,
we’re simply crap at chasing!
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