Cardiff Cavaliers Cricket Club

Match Report

Eclipse Print (Willow League), Wednesday 23 June 2010

Cavaliers 142/5 (20ovs, Graveson 60no, Mcveigh 30). Eclipse 145/7 (18.3ovs, Marchant 3/14, J Davies 1/14, McVeigh 1/14, Graveson 1/16). Lost by 3 wickets. Cavaliers 3 pts, eclipse 12pts

Scorecard

Long after this League campaign has been completed and our season laid to rest, many will remember the evening when they saw a new club record set, watching Andrew Graveson raise the bar for the shortest 50 – scored from just 21 balls (and his final tally of 60 not out included 6 sixes and 4 fours). Coming to the crease when we looked in serious danger of not setting our hosts a competitive total he mixed authentic shots with sheer bludgeon and, when the young Matt Williams tried to ping it round his ears, advanced down the pitch and dispatched a ball at shoulder height with a horizontal bat for another 6 over wide long off.

He was only denied another 6 off the final ball when Eclipse’s leaping Chris Stork on the mid-wicket boundary parried the ball to ensure it stayed infield but was unable to make a good boundary-save turn into an IPL-style incredible catch by then allowing the ball to fall to the ground – quite correctly, he was fined later for a dropped catch.

To go back to the beginning, there’d been a change to the line up and Dave Parsons offered to introduce the guy with a vaguely familiar face but clothed all in white which made it difficult to place him, to the rest of the team – yes, the newly callused Sparkes had been moved up from the bench desperate, he told anyone who would listen [Ed: or was unfortunate enough to be in earshot], to get in the scorebook rather than to be on it.

Jimmy won the toss and decided to bat. Steaders was undone early on by a beautiful ball that cut back, took the inside edge and required a sharp catch by the keeper, changing direction, in his left hand. Irish Mike (30) and the skipper (11) then steadied things and seemed well set when each seemed to suffer a rush of blood to the head and played shots that, on another day, they may choose to leave in the locker, both offering fairly straight-forward catches.

We then stuttered a little and when Grizz was out for 15 and JD followed soon after, we were 74/5 in the 14^th over and the momentum seemed to be with Eclipse. Enter a certain Andrew Graveson who continued his fine form from last week’s League encounter with Hockey.

The last 6 overs nearly doubled our tally, taking us to 142/5, with Dave playing a sensible anchor role, aiming to give Gravy as much of the strike as possible. The Eclipse bowlers had no answer to the onslaught as Gravy took a liking to each of them and the variety of balls they offered up – rather self-deprecatingly he later said that they just kept putting it in his slot but this belies the excellent use of his feet on several occasions.

So we had a good total to try to defend and there was a ripple of encouraging acknowledgement for the veteran Sparkes when he personified the MCC Coaching Manual [Ed: 1934 edition, of course] by employing the long barrier on the first occasion the ball sought him out. The opening pair offered a contrasting mix that caused problems to the Eclipse top order – Irish Mike was accurate and miserly, and deserved more than his 1/14, beating the bat and shaving the stumps on several occasions – he dismissed captain Collyer with one that leapt at the throat and Dave took the looping catch running round to leg.

Gravy, meanwhile, still running on adrenalin, found it hard to get a consistent line but when he did his steep bounce discomfited the batsmen, causing opener Condon to lob a gentle ct&bw back to him.

Al replaced Gravy after 2 overs as his batting exertions started to take their toll, and had an immediate impact removing Stork who tried to “give it d’long handle” only to perish on the third man boundary with a well judged catch by Mike. At 30/3 after 5 overs but more or less up with the rate the game was evenly poised. Much depended on the new pair at the wicket – Gareth Coles and Matt Williams. Get one or other early and we could run through them, or if they put on a partnership it could set up a tight finish.

They decided on a cautious approach at first and it was Jason’s misfortune that the time they decided to “up the rate” was his first over and Williams went at every ball from the untanned vice captain, deciding that full blooded shots to the short legside boundary was a risk worth taking. This gave them a well-timed boost and meant that the skipper had to bring himself on a little earlier than expected.

He and JD, who replaced Al, bowled well in tandem, with several dot balls helping to build pressure but somehow the wicket we needed just eluded us. Even when both batsman appeared at one end the throw had to come from the longest boundary and Dave had to run forward to take it and attempt a shy at the stumps which, agonisingly, just missed – a direct hit would’ve seen the batsman well short. We fielded well – in particular, Gareth Payne earned his crust, while Jase deserved more from his whole-hearted slide on the cover boundary than to see it elude every limb, digit and torso and even the veteran Sparkes was seen to make a tumbling save.

Jimmy eventually made the breakthrough when Matt Williams, within sight of a deserved 50, holed out to Mike at cow corner. The same over saw Bonelle beaten all ends up and when Al made an amazing catch in JD’s next over, they were 103/6 and rocked back again.

Al’s catch. He said he’d probably not take a better one all season – more likely, he won’t take a better one in his life. JD got one to bite and bounce, and all the batsman could do was to lob the ball gently in to the legside. Al set off from mid-wicket, at first (we thought) to save a single, but then he accelerated and flung himself at the ball, ended up sliding on his back, stretched out his left arm and miraculously his hand managed to get between the ground and the ball at exactly the right time and position – and it stuck.

One thing with Eclipse, though, is that they’re not a team to declare a game hopelessly lost and start dead-batting the ball back to the bowler – they’ll keep having a go to the very end. Even when Jimmy removed Ian Court, another clean bowled, to give him 3/14, the game was not won or lost by either side, but hung in the balance.

One more wicket and the Eclipse tail would be in. Jez then suggested to JD that he should come in from the long off ropes as balls seemed to be landing well short of him and risking 2 instead of a single - two balls later, it showed that the oldster has not lost his tactical eye but while the eye may be good, the hand was less so when it came to executing the plan. The ball was struck skyward and he seemed hesitant to its trajectory before running forward but then had to try and take it one-handed outstretched at ankle height only to have the ball jar out of his grasp as it hit the ground. Such are the fine margins. Although it kept them down to just a single it could have opened up an end and certainly an 8^th wicket would’ve earned us an extra bonus point.

With Jimmy having finished his spell, he had to find someone to bowl the penultimate over from the far end and decided that, as he’d been difficult to get away, Grizz might be the best person – and it so nearly turned out to be the case. A dot ball followed by one that nearly took a wicket with the ball blazed back towards the bowler and nearly took off Grizz’s knee cap and ricocheted to the stumps but the batsman was in. Grizz, though, was clearly quiet pained and when the batsman decided to chance his arm to the short legside boundary for a 6 to win the match for Eclipse, insult was added to injury.

So our unbeaten run has come to an end and, with South Glam thrashing Chartered Trust on the pitch alongside us, we’ll slip down to 2^nd in the table. However, we must take encouragement from the last two Willow losses (the Consmen having beaten us in the Cup last week) – we haven’t been guilty of abject performances or silly errors that have cost us the game; we’ve set competitive totals and have created opportunities in the field. The time to worry is if we waste batting starts or don’t give ourselves chances to win. Both matches have been fantastic games of cricket with two sides also ready to give it a go and there’s no disgrace in losing either of them – disappointment, fine, but let’s not get downbeat.

Champagne moment: dead heat between the 21st ball that Gravy faced which he launched for 6 that saw him set a new record for fastest 50 and Al’s amazing catch – can’t separate them and each equally deserving.

Team: Jimmy Marchant (capt), Jason Duffy (vice capt), Dave Parsons (wkt), Andrew Steadman, Michael McVeigh, Jonathan Davies, Nigel Adams, Andrew Graveson, Alasdair Fraser, Gareth Payne, Jeremy Sparkes