Cardiff Cavaliers Cricket Club

Another year, another Cup Final day … our 25^th anniversary Cup winning game remembered

[Ed: in the long history of the Cavaliers, the club has graced two previous cup finals – in their first year in the Willow League, 1995, and in the club’s 25^th season, 2003. As we wait on the second semi final to be completed, the web master thought it might be interesting to commission a piece on the 2003 final and invited the player who was new to the Club that year, a certain Jeremy Sparkes, to interview some of those involved and get their abiding memories …]

From a personal perspective, being the newcomer meant that I had none of the history to fall back on and so assumed that this sort of event was a regular occurrence for a fine club such as the Cavaliers. It was only as final day approached – and the scenes afterwards – that I came to realise just how significant the event was, and the now Mrs Hon Sec testifies to this too, commenting that “I’ve never seen so many grown men hugging each other … and it’s a full 2 hours since the game finished!”

All agree on two things leading up to the first ball of the final itself – we had played exceedingly well in the semi final against, curiously, Casuals who we have just beaten in this year’s semi final, with everyone contributing; and the weather on the day was “foul”, “horrible”, “dodgy”, “impossible to see the ball”, “didn’t think we’d play” and the like. Our captain that year, Grizz, felt that a postponement would work against us as the team was at its peak and needed to maintain the momentum.

In the round before meeting Casuals in the semis we had the suspense of a tied game with Sevenoaks – 96/7 for each team – and a bowl out ensued under my calm and authoritative supervision in which only Simmo of 22 players was able to hit the unguarded stumps from 22 yards. Happily the League has now introduced rules governing a bowl out so that it need no longer be done off the cuff.

Grizz recollects that the selectors had some tough decisions to make when they gathered in the pub a few days before to discuss the team. They’d agreed to each come with their 11 names on a paper and the sheets tallied in every respect! [Click here for a full transcription of Grizz’z recollections].

On the day of the final I was working in London and conjured up some lame excuse in order to leave early and was collected from the station in persistent drizzle just before 7 pm by Valerie. I only had Roger Thorney’s mobile number but it was turned off so I said “Let’s go anway” and we headed off to Penarth, not being entirely sure where the ground was either.

Later that night Thorney checked his mobile and called the number he didn’t recognize saying “I’m Roger Thorney and I don’t know you so why are you calling me?” as I answered the call just a few feet away from him in the bar and so everyone was treated to a form of Thorney stereo, much to their amusement.

We arrived to find the Cavaliers innings nearing completion and 158 for 8 scored in the 20 overs – in those days the Cup was played over 20 overs with 10 fielders bowling 2 overs each. The rain continued and we couldn’t believe the game had started, let alone was going to be seen to its conclusion which, as many recall, was finished in almost darkness.

Mooro remembers that, despite the awful conditions, there was quite a crowd with excellent support from the Cavaliers and players from other teams who had come to watch as well. Our opponents, GST, had swept the League earlier in the season but their attitude had rubbed several teams up the wrong way and, later on, they were expelled from the League for non-payment of fees.

“Not many people gave us a chance”, recalls Steaders who, improbable that it may seem, looked even younger in those days than he does now and sported a set of locks not unlike those adorning test bowler Ryan Sidebottom nowadays, “but today I think there is a different view among teams facing the Cavaliers as we’ve played some good cricket in the past few seasons and claimed some notable scalps.”

The scorecard (see below) shows that we lost Nick early for 0 and Warwick soon afterwards for 11. The innings then revolved around our Aussie import, Dominic Dwyer, who compiled 69 off 43 balls with 4 fours and a six (there were no batting retirements in those days), with everyone trying to support him.

As Steaders put it, “He was batting so well that I felt the thing to do was just to stay with him, rotate the strike and keep it going”. Together they added 106 for the 3^rd wicket in 10 overs, Steaders finishing with 29 from, what is for him, a very crustacean-like 41 balls. 22 extras helped our cause and Grizz was the only other person to get into double figures with 12. A clutch of run outs saw the innings close on a competitive but by no means assured total.

Steaders recalls, “The opposition seemed quite surprised at the total, as though they thought they had it in check only to find that it was much higher than they expected.” This is perhaps borne out by the scorecard which shows few single but plenty of 2s and 3s, a mix of pressure from good running and an almost lackadaisical attitude in the field of “well, doesn’t really matter; whatever they get, we can get ‘em.”

Throughout the season, GST had been very reliant on two players – Lloyd Smith, who was rumoured to be a Glamorgan academy lad, and James Docherty – and these two were their best bowlers, with Smith also keeping wicket when not bowling. They also opened and had scored half the runs needed just inside the halfway mark when the Honourable snaffled Docherty off the bowling of the irrepressible Dwyer.

Smith had ridden his luck – he was dropped twice, didn’t walk for a nick behind that the neutral umpire didn’t hear/see in the teeming rain and, off a no-ball, was caught superbly by a tumbling Warwick on the deep mid-wicket boundary. Waz, as self-effacing as ever, commented afterwards that he’d “only caught the ball to ensure I fielded it cleanly and so keep the batsmen down to a single”.

Smith was quite affronted when the neutral umpire adjudged him LBW as he advanced down the pitch to young Steaders but the ball had been full and the umpire, in complete accordance with the laws which says that the umpire must assume the ball when intercepted on the full by the batsman will continue straight on its course, had interpreted correctly.

With both their main men gone, GST struggled to know how to chase down the total and, although the run rate was gettable at that stage, a sense of panic pervaded their remaining men and 4 run outs in quick succession, some of them suicidal, applied increasing pressure.

The coup de grace fell to Simmo and Glyn, our Chairman that year, who bowled the last 4 overs, giving nothing away run-wise and mopped up the final 4 wickets  (Simmo 3/5, Glyn 1/10) so that GST finished on 147 all out from their 20 overs, leaving us victors by 11 runs.

Despite some ill feeling towards GST among other League teams, we found them gracious in defeat, which was all the more commendable as everyone, including themselves, had them down as run away favourites.

We were also restrained until in the confines of the dressing room where every Cavalier (bar Valerie) had crammed into the tiny space and the door shut. A giant roar erupted and much hugging broke out. Waz remembers that Brownie gave a Churchillian oration, “Never in the field of human cricket …”

It is believed that Brownie was quite miffed that the recent series compiled by the Guardian of “Great Speeches of the 20^th Century” omitted his homily until it was pointed out to him that he actually gave it in the 21^st century and so he’d have to wait at least another 93 years before it could be included in this century’s anthology.

We all retired to the bar and much celebration ensued, with more hugging, leading to comment at the start of this piece. Waz had planned to play 5-a-side football later on but was prevailed upon to stay as this was a unique occasion. Everyone felt that way, Mooro sums it up: “It was a brill feeling to be part of an historic Cavaliers moment.”

Lifts and cabs meant that most found their way back to Cardiff, lighting at the City Arms, and celebrations continued well into the early hours with Waz recalling that it was “an ungodly hour when Andy and I made our way in the pouring rain to Caroline Street for curried chicken off the bone”, while Steaders has no recollection at all of what he did, ate, drank or saw after reaching downtown Cardiff – not much change there then, though he is now more partial to the grape than the grain.

A final thought from one of the younger players in the final, a certain Wayne “I’m the man with the whistle” Childs, who declared, “I didn’t join this Club to win trophies!” The Cavaliers ethos is about the spirit of the game and enjoying playing it but, my word, getting our hands on the first piece of silverware after a 25 year wait was something special. As Grizz recalls: “(it) was one of the proudest days of my life.”

Ed: we’d be delighted to add your reminiscences so if you were there that night, as player or spectator, please let us have your story.

We also have a piece of trivia from the Honourable who has posed the question: who stepped off the plane from Malmo, Sweden, on the day of the final and still played?

Click here to read the match report that appeared in the South Wales Echo

Scorecard

Thursday 24 July 2003, Penarth Sports Ground

Willow League Cup Final: GST v Cardiff Cavaliers

GST won the toss and opted to field first.

Cavaliers innings

W. Armstrong b Williams 11

N. Hutchings+ Ct b Smith 0

D. Dwyer St Smith b Drew 69

A. Steadman lbw Jones 29

Rhodri Davis b Drew 3

N. Adams* b 12

N. Moore run out 1

G. Poulsom not out 0

M. Simpson run out 1

W. Childs did not bat

R. Bowen did not bat

Extras: 22

Total: 158 for 8, 20 overs

GST innings

Total: 147 all out, 20 overs

[Ed: sadly, GST failed to record details of their batsmen in our scorebook but we were able to retrieve our bowling figures before GST departed]

R. Bowen 2-0-12-0

W. Armstrong 2-0-21-0

W. Childs 2-0-18-0

N. Moore 2-0-16-0

R. Davies 2-0-27-0

D. Dwyer 2-0-11-1

A. Steadman 2-0-16-1

N. Adams 2-0-12-0

G. Poulsom 2-0-10-1

M. Simpson 2-0-5-3

Catches: N. Moore, A. Steadman

Cardiff Cavaliers won by 11 runs to win the Willow League Cup, the first ever piece of silverware in the Club’s 25^th anniversary season