18 May
For matches: 1sts v Bristol, 2nds v Bath see this week's Gair rhydd. Articles written by Ed Jones and Dave Menson.16th May
The Cardiff 1st XI cricket team continued to make up for their slip-up against UWIC with a comfortable win over Brighton at Bexhill CC.Brighton claimed the toss and invited Cardiff to bat, following the away sides late arrival. Brighton's opening bowlers enjoyed early movement on a green pitch, but the Cardiff opening batsmen battled hard and survived to complete a hundred partnership. Aled Lloyd (60) fell first, but captain Lloyd Ebden went on to make 75. Solid batting from the rest of the Cardiff line-up was capped-off by a whirlwind 32 not out from James Breese, which took the score to 257 for 5 from 50 overs.
Brighton's innings began agressively, but was halted by Tim Jones early breakthroughs. Wickets fell at regular intervals as the pressure of needing over 5 runs per over began to tell on the Brighton batsmen. A courageous innings from A. Phillips (87) ensured Brighton had an outside chance, but wickets continued to fall at the other end with disciplined bowling from Veejay Skanda-Kumar and Warren Stafford. Phillips was the final wicket to fall as Brighton were bowled out for 209, giving Cardiff their second successive win.
Aled Lloyd.
Meanwhile, the 2nd XI travelled to the glorious venue of Dean Park in Bournemouth, attempting to kick start their disappointing season. Put into bat on a lively pitch, Cardiff made a steady start reaching 30 without loss from 10 overs. After a mini collapre, debutant Tom McNeil was the saving grace reaching his half century before being bowled. Cardiff were lucky to see off their allotted overs, but 149 all out looked a long way short.
Openers Mark Jenner and James Woodroof were wayward, as Bournemouth raced away to 50-0 from just 5 overs. Changes ensued, as Pete Church and Steve Hughes pegged the home side back to a respectable rate. Runs kept coming, and Cardiff never really threatened, as the Bournemouth captain guided his side to a comfortable win with 18 overs to spare and eight wickets in hand. A disappointing performance all round means the side face a relegation scrap and must raise their game against Bath midweek.
1st May
Rain hinders Cardiff's BUSA bid.Cardiff's cricketers had a mixed start to the BUSA season, with both sides winning one and losing one game. With four pre-season games being cancelled due to rain before the club's BUSA fixtures, all players were lacking time out in the middle, which proved costly.
On Friday, the 1st XI faced UWIC and after struggling on a lively pitch, succumbed to an inadequate 137 all out, with the only noticeable contribution from last year's top scorer Simon Cane-Hardy (30). But an impressive bowling display from openers Duncan Bell and Warren Stafford made UWIC fight for their four wicket victory.
At the weekend, the 1sts travelled to West London to face St.Mary's. On a decent pitch, Cardiff under-performed once more to reach 157 all out, and after the home side raced away to 94-2 from 20 overs, defeat looked imminent. But leg-spinner Breese and seamer Rehmen Malik took the last 7 wickets for 30 runs, destroying the shell shocked batsmen for 137 to cap off an extraordinary days' cricket.
Meanwhile the 2nds welcomed Gloucester to Llanrumney. After keeping the visitors to 52-4 at the halfway stage, some wayward bowling and aggressive batting guided the guests to a healthy total of 166. On a sweltering day, the track dried out and become easier to manipulate, with Debutant Chris Allen (48) and solid Steve Paul (51 not out) digging deep to knock off the total with four overs to spare.
On Sunday, the side travelled to Exeter and were in the field on a gloomy May morning, but started well. Exeter were heading for a modest total, but again, some loose bowling gifted far too many runs as they posted a massive 254. Losing the first 3 wickets for 27 didn't help Cardiff's mammoth task, and as the fielders became more aggressive towards the struggling visitors, the middle order collapsed in a dismal display of batting. Cardiff lost to their biggest title rivals by a massive 166 runs.
An unconvincing start for the club means this weekend's fixtures against Brighton and Bournemouth could shape the season to come, but the lack of match practice and restricted player availability could mean a reprise of last year where both teams failed to qualify to the next stage.
James Woodroof.
