Croesyceiliog CC 
Croesyceiliog CC |
2008
August 26th August The Firsts were away at Panteg and got them to 177 - 9. We were going well at 40 for no wicket when the rain came. The Seconds were playing top-of-the-table Blackwood. We made 238 - 9 with John Lewis 47, Calum Reid 38 being the mainstay of the batting. They were 80 - 5 when it rained, young Tom Kear featuring with 2 - 19. The Thirds had a torrid time against Chepstow. After Andy Donovan and Craig Lodge had them 41 - 5, they escaped to 280 - 9. But with only 9 men, our batting was never going to be strong, only making 46. The Fourths played Chepstow 4ths, another top-table side. Like the other games it was wet, but with 4 inch long grass in the outfield. Inserted, we made 134 - 7 with a significant partnership of over 50 between Alex Kryjom (35) and Lewis Pheasant (18). Steady bowling and two good runouts kept the pressure on Chepstow , though it was pretty even right the way through. Completing the final 5 overs in the rain, they needed 20 with 2 wickets remaining but were 11 short on 123 a.o. Bowling figures: Paul Murphy 10 overs for 15, Lewis Pheasant 2 - 17, Dave Hagger 2 -16, Pete Jones 2 - 23 and Tony Walding 2 - 7. I reckon the table now looks like this: Blaina 19.86 G_Croesy 19.60 Chepstow 18.5 The top two are promoted. 19th August The weekend was disappointing, dull, dire, damp, despondent, depressing. 12th August The weekend was disappointing, dull, dire, damp, despondent, depressing. 4th August The weather beat us again but what a nice afternoon it turned out to be on Saturday. The Sunday friendly with Pontypridd was also defeated by the weather, but not until JJ had knocked up a ton and Aktar got 70. July 28th July The Firsts had Cardiff 208 all out. We crumbled to 129 all out. Tondu Seconds put on 246 - 8, with Ieuan Wakefield taking 5 -10. But we were all out for 110 with a top score of 20 by John Lewis. Quotes "I've had ducks before, but thats the first time I've been out first ball" THE THIRDS WON AGAIN !!!! Batting first we got 247 - 9 with Nathen Griffiths again in the runs with 77, Terry Davies 97 and a captain's 20 n.o. from Rhodri Birchley. We won by 50ish runs, Sully finishing on 193 with wickets for Paul Berry (3 - 40), Andrew Hagger (2 - 49) and a game-changing spell fom Lewis Pheasant (1 - 20). Sully Fourths chose to bat and made a fine recovery to reach 28 all out in 14.4 overs. Andy Donovan 7.4 5 9 - 6 Alex Kemp-Taylor 4 2 5 - 2 Craig Lodge 3 0 5 - 2 Lewis Coleman and Alix Davies got us to 24 in 4 overs and we finished on 29 - 1. Quotes "I've never played in a game where they've been 0 - 5" "There were 9 ducks in their innings" 21st July The Firsts lost the toss and Sully decided to bat, getting 240 - 9. Gareth Berry (2 - 30) bowled well at start, followed by Mike Baillon (2 - 37) and Mike Beacham, also with 2 wickets. We seemed to be in control with Ali and Beachy going well until the partnership was broken by a good catch. Then it fell apart, though Webbs got 25 at the end helping us get 140 a.o. Batting first the Seconds amassed 312 - 5 with a captain's innings of 111 n.o. from Paul Evans, 54 from Mike Dewar and 52 by Tom Curran. Barry were all out for 178 with bowling from Ieuan Wakefield 3 - 43, Richie Bean 3 - 9, and 2 wickets for Bill Berry. THE THIRDS WON!!!! Whitchurch were 162 a.o. Baul Berry had 3 - 20, Tom Kear 2 - 20 from 7 overs, and Dave Smith 2 - 23. Tha batting was much improved with contributions from the top order, Rhodri Birchley 23, Craig Hall 28, Terry Davies 22 and Owen James 58, getting us to 166 - 6. The Fourths had a record breaking match at Whitchurch. Nathen Griffiths mammoth 165 n.o. from 131 balls was the first ton for the 4ths in this league, the highest score in any 4th (or 3rd) game, a personal best, and the 2nd wicket partnership with Lewis Pheasant (36) of 173 is also a record. His innings contained 17 fours, 7 sixes, the first 50 in 53 balls, the second in 46 and the last in 29. (Thanks to Midgy for a top effort with the scorebook). We ended on 241 - 2. Thet were dismissed for 120 with bowling from Alex Kemp-Taylor 3 - 28, Lewis Coleman 2 - 2, Pete Jones 2 - 11 and Craig Lodge 2 - 34. 15th July A magnificent 100 n.o. by Ali Bukhari guided the Firsts to a 6 wicket win over St. Fagans. Earlier wickets had been taken by Will Bragg (4-19), Nathan Marsh (3-35), and Ali Bukhari (2-29) getting them 142 all out. The Seconds were at a wet Pontypridd and losing the toss were put in to bat. We got to 131-8 off 41 overs, Adrian Webber 23, Paul Evans 36, and David Richards 12 on his debut for the 2s, before it rained and the match was abandoned. Quote "Where are you?" "Tondu" "But we're playing Pontypridd" Brynmawr visited the Fourths and came with a young side. But it was our youngsters who took the wickets with Alex Kryjom (4 - 13) and Lewis Coleman (3 - 16) dismissing them for 71 in 30 overs. We got the runs in 18 overs for 2 wickets down with 31 by Owain James. On Sunday the Under 17s played a very strong Newport side and aquitted themselves well. Josh Moseley 26 and Callum Reid 25 were the scorers in our 134 all out. Newport were able to reach the total losing only 2 wickets. 7th July Nothing finished this weekend, though the Firsts started at Newport.. 2nd July Under 17s on Sunday managed to get Sudbrook all out for 193. In reply they reached 145. At Usk the Firsts recovered from 11-3 to rreach 225 ao with runs from Ali Bukhari (105) and Mike Beacham (75). In the field, with two veteran substitute fielders becuse of injuries, tight bowling from Ali Bukhari (4-61) and Will Bragg kept Usk in check. They needed 10 off the last 6 balls but Mike Beacham (3-52) took a hat-trick leaving no.s 10 and 11 to bat out the last 3 balls. The Seconds also had a poor start but a good partnership between Ieuan Wakefield and Conor Miles got them to 207. Panteg were all out for 176. Best bowling was Ieuan Wakefield (3-32). The Thirds put Blaina in to bat but they reached 256 - 4. Batting is still a problem with only Dave Dewar and David Richards scoring well in 111 ao. Quote "I haven't been out like that since 1981" Blaina was too wet for the Fourths to play June 24th June The day was like November, grey and damp, but a good crowd saw the Firsts get to 304 - 4 with a ton for Aktar, 92 for Will Bragg and a rapid 50 for Ali Bukhari. Panteg seemed to be settling for a draw, but the rain came again and by not reaching 30 overs in the second innings, the game was not valid. As the other Saturday teams didn't play, here are some averages to keep you amused. 3rd Batting
3rd Bowling
4th Batting
17th June The Firsts won the toss and got off to a fine start with a partnership of 135 from JJ (58) and Aktar (86). The middle order were bogged down at 192 - 6, but thanks to Mat Beacham who batted well at the end we finished on 245 - 7. Let's just say we were unlucky in the field, and just couldn't keep their run rate down though it still went to the last over. An opening partnership of 225 between Owain Worsfold (104) and Calum Miles (108 no) allowed the Seconds to declare on 258 - 2 after 42 overs. (Declared ??? - there were dark storm clouds looming) In reply Ponthir could only manage 169 all out, with the wickets spread around. Batting is still a struggle for the Thirds, though the youngsters showed the way with 40 from Calum Ried and Dave Richards (23) being the main contributors to 137 ao. Crumlin reached the target with 5 down. The Fourths made the most of the rare privilege of playing on the main ground scoring 212 - 7 in their overs. Again it was the youngsters scoring the runs - Tom Kear 43 no, Dave Hagger 43, Sam Lewis 22, Lewis Coleman 24, Alex Kryjom 18 including a 6 into the carpark, losing the ball. Crumlin managed 152 ao with wickets from Tom Kear 2 - 18, Sam Lewis 3 - 30, Alex Kryjom 3 - 32. 10th June Play at Bridgend was interrupted for 90 minutes by rain after they'd batted for 10 overs. Much argument and discussion, and Bridgend batting their full 50 overs (224 - 8), left us with a revised (but not Duckworth-Lewis - it wasn't that good) target of 175 in 30 overs. We did really well to get to 159-9 in the 30 overs allowed. With a reasonable target it would have been very different. Quotes "Even the Bridgend boys thought the target wasn't fair" Machen Seconds batted first and were dismissed for 134. Owain Worsfold (80 no) and Ieuan Wakefield (35 no) finished the job off. Maximum points. Bridgend Thirds batted first and reached 229-7 (A Donovan 4 - 53). Again, the batting was fragile, with Rhodri Birchley top scoring at 20 out of 89. The edge of the Bridgend storm delayed the start slightly for the Fourths, and Blaengarw started rapidly but good fielding and catching curbed them from 115 - 2 to 175 all out (Ieuan Jones 2-24, Lewis Pheasant 2-45, D Hagger 2-10). All eight of the youngsters played well but we didn't quite manage the extra batting point, finishing on 97. Quotes "Those new shorts look like they've come from 'It Ain't 'Arf Hot Mum'" "The ground was so small you had to clear the fence to get a six" 3rd June Pentyrch were dismissed for 198 (M Baillon 2-32) and we knocked them off for only 1 wicket down with commanding batting from Will Bragg (56 no), Ali Bukhari (62no) and Aktar Baloch (36). The Seconds had Hoovers all out for 93 (Richie Bean 3-15, Ieuan Watkins 4-6). JJ was in control again with 55 and Calum Miles added 25 no as we reached 94 - 2. Mountain Ash amassed 310 against the 3rds thanks to 5 dropped catches - we replied with 130 all out. The Fourths got M. Ash out for 53, with 7 wickets for Andy Donovan and 3 for Spud, but with thin batting resources we only managed 26 in reply. Sunday was the Welsh Cup 2nd round. Blackwood were 170 ao with Akhtar Baloch taking 4 wkts and Mike Baillon 3 wkts. We won with 171 - 3, Ali Bukhari 75 no, and both Beachams in the 30s. May End of May Fourths v Sully IVs - Good bowling from David Richards (downwind), Dave Smith (into a gale) and Pete Jones (downwind) kept the Sully wickets falling pretty regularly. They got 111 all out in 34 overs. Craig Hall 48 no and Dave Hagger 40 no knocked them off in 19 overs. Quotes "I've never played a whole game without bails before - it was that windy." "Did you see those planes - they were taking off sideways." 19th May Firsts - We reached 229-6 with runs from M Beacham 65 n.o, R Jones 45 and M Baillon 39. However, the bowling was wayward again but it still went to the last over with Sudbrook winning with 231- 8 (M Baillon 3-36). After the weekend the Premier table looks like this: Sully 48 18 20 86 21.50 (4) Usk
31 14 15 60 15.00 (4) Newport 28 13 13 54 13.50 (4) St Fagans 24 6 10 40 13.33 (3) Tondu 22 13 17 52 13.00 (4) Pentyrch 21 14 13 48 12.00 (4) Cardiff 18 6 9 33 11.00 (3) Croesyceiliog 10 12 17 39 09.75 (4) Bridgend 10 2 13 25 06.25 (4) Penarth 04 7 13 24 06.00 (4) Panteg 03 2 6 11 05.50 (2) 11th May Firsts - Cardiff were put in and due to a solid, switched-on team effort in the field, wickets fell regularly, pressure was applied and they were all out for 159 in the last over. A solid opening by Matthew Beacham and Aktar Baloch (32) was followed by a commanding partnership from Will Bragg (51) and Ali Bukari (59 no). We finished with 160 - 3 and 20 points. Wides this week were in single figures (though there were a couple of byes). Seconds - Visitors Pontypridd made 239 - 9 and in reply we were 12 - 2 which brought together Conor Miles and JJ. They had a match winning partnership of 203 (Conor 53, JJ 131 no) though we still had to get 9 off the last over, then 1 off the last ball. Thirds - A patient 32 by Tom Curran formed the mainstay of the Thirds innings which ended on 102. Good tight bowling, Rhodri Birchley 2-17 off six overs, Andy Beal 2-23 off six, unlucky Paul Murphy 10 overs for 16 runs and Ieuan Wakefield six runs off seven overs, got 7 Lisvane wickets, but losing the toss proved significant. Fourths - Inserted on a damp track Dave Hagger (25) and Cleyon C'Courte (53) gave a sound start, but only Tom Kear (21) added significant runs afterwards, finishing on 141-9. Loose bowling at the start, and some later loose fielding, allowed Brynmawr off the hook and they only lost 4 wickets. 4th May Cup v Llantwit Vadre postponed by 2 weeks. 3rd May
Batting first, last year's
champions were 63-5 before they got a grip and ended on 220-9. (W Bragg
3-39, M Baillon 2-24, A Baloch 2-30, M Ali Bukari 2-40) The wide count
was better this week - down to 35. We replied with 146, best batting
comimg fromAktar Baloch 32, Chris Williams 25 n.o. and Stuart Roden
before former Glamorgan bowler Andrew Davies mopped up at the end.
Despite good bowling by Dave Dewar (2-53) and Richie Bean, and some desparate overs from Paul Evans, the Fugies got to 243-7. The Seconds reached 205 all out thanks to an aggressive 97 from Lee Jones (his bat is now in intensive care) and Paul Evans 43. Quotes "Lee hit two of the biggest sixes ever seen on the ground, both landing on the same spot" After an initial onslaught (60-0 off 18 overs) was tamed, then ended by Spud, Matty Powell and young Alex Kryjon mopped up the rest of Great Western for 127. Batting wa initally steady, but then Mike Smith toook advantage of some indifferent bowling to collect 6s and rapidly make 41 aided by a steady 26 from Dave Hagger. So we got home with 128 - 6. April
27th Croesy 75 ao. Adrian Webber 19, Mike Baillon 21. Malpas 76 - 3. 26th The Firsts lost at St Fagans, always bound to be a tricky start. They got 213-9 and we gave away 38 wides. Best bowling figures were Mike Baillon with 4-36, though Ali and Aktar also caused problems. In reply we managed 146, falling short of 150 and an extra point. Aktar topped the scoring with 60 and Ali had 32. In many of the other Premier games 146 was a winning score. But 38 wides!! The FriendlyWarmUp for the 3rds and 4ths was a welcome return to cricket and the sun, although the wicket was a bit variable in the bounce. 'Girlings' batted first and got 177 - 9 in 40 overs. Nathan Griffiths got a gritty 50 (retired), Dave Smith a cavalier 42 and young Dave Richards hit a six. Two wickets each for Andrew Hagger, Richie Bean and Craig Lodge from a range of bowlers used. 'Croesy' replied with 181 - 5 thanks to 44 from Craig Hall and a rapid 50 no. for Andrew Hagger including a six and a lost ball. Dave Smith picked up two wickets for 31. Quotes "All the young lads have good technique" "Tappy, that really was a dolly" 20th  19th 13th 12th |