What an extraordinary week that was….!
That the Club fielded three sides at all yesterday (15th) was in itself a triumph, after 20 or so players had been unavailable for selection. This number included 1st XI Captain Ryan Aingworth (groin strain, sustained the week before at Cardiff) and Vice-Captain Dan Lewis-Williams (dislocated shoulder midweek).
“Get The Game On” is the current maxim within cricket’s ruling bodies but that is designed to encourage clubs to bend their backs to do all possible to negate the effects of adverse weather on grounds….in our case, apart from the work of groundsmen up & down the land, enormous credit and gratitude must go to our Senior captains for actually getting three teams of sorts organised!
For once, not winning a game was secondary to this combined effort of captains and the 33 players who wore the Club badge!
At Marespool, all-rounder Max Phillips, the 1st XI’s third captain in a week, won the toss and put visitors Clydach into bat. Despite boasting three Wales Minor Counties players at the top of the order, Clydach had no answer to Aneurin Norman at one end..”Noddy” conceded just 11 runs in his 10 over stint!
All ten wickets before tea fell at the other end as a result of this pressure, however, as our guests were dismissed for 211 in the final over..Ricky Runout, James Palmer (3-61), Jack Straw (1-39) and Rahul Shah, with a splendid haul of 5-35 bowling the final nine overs from the Clubhouse end, deserved a lot of plaudits for their hard work. Not possible though, without the quality outfield fielding and catching of their buddies…a terrific team effort for sure!
After the interval, James and 17 year old Harri Turner opened up. Coming through a circumspect start (24 from the first 10 accurate overs), these two guys were soon into their respective strides…113 without loss after 29 overs, JP 51no and HT 46no.
So, the first three quarters of the game were fairly, squarely and comfortably won by Max’s Men – 21 overs remaining, 99 runs required, all wickets in tact..what happened next?
Well, Harri and James lost their wickets within a ball of each other..113-2 in the 30th. They had, however, shared a fine opening partnership on which to build for victory. Good batting to come, 5 an over required on our own patch, a decent crowd in…here we go!
Unfortunately, though, it was not to be…with no-one else really “digging in”, the 1st XI finished 8 wickets down, just 11 runs short of winning the final quarter and with it the spoils. Clydach did their best to lose the game, spilling five catches, but their coolness during that final 20 over spell reaped just rewards.
However, there were a lot of positives to be taken by our young team (the youngest ever MCC 1st XI?) from this performance, as demonstrated by the nine batting and bowling points earned..just one short of the max (excuse the pun!) available!
At Pontarddulais, on a ground with soggy bottoms, Stuart Seaton’s side were defeated by 122 runs. “Bont” batted first..215-9 in a shortened game of 40 overs per side, thanks to overnight rain. In reply, our 2nd XI were bowled out for 93 in the 24th over.
And bottoms were no less soggy at Llantwit Major where our ‘A’ XI were trounced by their hosts. MCC 54 all out, LM 55 without loss in less than 9 overs.
Next Saturday, the 1st XI visit “Bont”, the 2nd XI play host to Ynystawe at Marespool whilst our ‘A’ XI entertain Baglan at Murton. On Sunday, the Club plays Gorseinon in R3 of the Welsh Cup at Marespool..starting at 1.30pm. KiCS are match sponsors of this game..see separated News item for the full details.