Match Reports
1st XI | 2nd XI | 3rd XI | 4th XI |Sat 28th April
Dalton celebrates with ton as Bridgend beat Vale in pre-season friendly
Bridgend 190-4
Vale 113
Bridgend warmed up for the forthcoming season on Saturday with a comfortable 77 run victory over aspiring local rivals the Vale.
The Vale, missing several key players never looked as though they would trouble Bridgend's 190-4 from 40 overs. Ian Keen and Max Brown opened for Bridgend. Keen went early for 3 and Brown was joined by birthday boy Ali Dalton, looking refreshed after another quiet night in the Pelican on Friday.
After adding over 50 runs for the second wicket, Brown went for 30 allowing Dan Allen to join Dalton at the crease.
Vale brought former Bridgend opening bowler Alun Dodd into the attack looking for a another breakthrough. It never came as Dalton amassed runs, barely breaking (beer) sweat and hit Dodd out of the attack with several large sixes.
Allen went for 32 and Dalton joined him not long after for a fine 110 leaving Bridgend on 190-4 at the end of the innings.
Bridgend began their attack on Vale's batsmen with the usual express duo of Dom Mabbs and Adam Weaver. Mabbs bowled well for his 1-13 whilst Weaver was restricted to just 4 overs after injuring his elbow.
This allowed St John Towell (1-20) and Les Cutter (2-20) into the attack and they kept Vale pinned down with some tight bowling. Only former Bridgend player Jonny Davies showing much resistance. Master spinner Darren Lingley came onto bowl and claimed 2-20 with a fine exhibition of spin bowling. He was ably supported by Andy Jones (1-25).
Vale finished 119 all out with Jonny Davies the only player managing double figures with a classy 71 as Bridgend proved far too strong.
Wed 1st August
Town beat Swansea by a nose
Bridgend 181
Swansea 169-9
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On Wednesday with barely a cloud in sight Bridgend headed west to St Helens to face Swansea who were captained by former Bridgend spinner Rhys Osborne.
The St Helens track promised to be the best batting wicket many of the side had played on all season, so upon winning the toss, Captain Stuey Morris wisely elected to have a bat.
Max Brown and Jonny Ling opened for Bridgend and Swansea struck an early blow lulling Brown into a drive that ended up in extra cover's hands. This brought Huw Kinsella to the wicket and he and Ling added around 35 for the second wicket before Ling was stumped for 18.
Star all rounder Darren Lingley, promoted to the dizzying heights of number five looked in good touch playing "the shot of the day" with an exquisite cover drive for 4. At the other end, Kinsella moved onto 33 before dispatching the ball straight at mid wicket.
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Captain Morris then entered the fray and he and Lingley both moved to double figures before falling in quick sucession to left arm spinner Buckley.
With a low total beckoning Chris Bushell (36) and Adam Weaver (45) came to Town's rescue putting on 90 for the second wicket. The damage was done by the time they both holed out, with the Swansea fielder at cow corner responsible for taking two top diving catches.
Bridgend ended the innings on 181 in the 37th over, just the wrong side of the 200 they had hoped for.
After filling up on another superb Swansea tea, Kinsella (0 for 8 from 4 overs) and Bushell (2 for 26 from 7 overs) headed up the Town attack with Bushell removing Swansea dangerman Phil Scott in the fourth over.
With bowling options galore at his disposal, Morris rotated the Bridgend attack at his leisure. Spinners Dev Smith (2 for 33 from 8 overs) and Rob Thomas (0 for 19 from 8 overs) were soon brought on and kept the pressure on Swansea who were beginning to fal behind the run rate.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and paceman Weaver claimed 2 wickets in a quick 4 over burst. Skipper Morris then came on for an over of darts before handing over to the experience of Brown and the seam-up of Iwan Bunston (2 for 30 from 5 overs). Swansea captain Osborne came to the wicket with seven wickets down and was forced to attack from the off with Swansea requiring over 8 an over from the last 10 overs. After making a quick 12 he was removed by a sharp stumping from Huw Miles off the bowling of Bunston.
At the other end Brown was happy to give the ball a bit of flight and was rewarded with figures of 1 for 30 from 4 overs. He might have had another but Darren Lingley was unable to hold onto a superb full length diving catch. It would have been worthy of many a slow-mo replay but for the intervention of his nose which knocked the ball clean out of his hands and onto the St Helens turf.
Town were unable to claim the last Swansea wicket and they ended up 16 runs short of the Town total on 169 for 9 wickets.
Sun 5th August
Bridgend roll out their Sunday best
Bridgend 157-6
Barry West End 136
Another week and another Sunday fixture! People would be forgiven for thinking it's the middle of August. With the sun shining over Newbridge Fields Bridgend played host to annual visitors Barry West End.
Despite the fixture being a friendly, captains Colin 'Geezer' Kelly and Rob 'Carrot' Thomas were taking things seriously and had selected a match day squad of fourteen players. This soon became a regulation eleven once Keri Brett had decided he'd rather play for the ladies XI, Chris Bushell preffering a bottle of Bud or five and Alun Bunston being unceremoniously dropped.
Winning the toss, captain Kelly chose to bat and somewhat unselfishly decided to open the batting with himself and Tim Bushell. On a Bridgend pitch as low and slow as most can remember the going was tough for Bridgend and runs, aided by a slow outfield, proved hard to come by.
The first four batsmen of Geezer, Bushell, Jonny Ling and Alex Frew were all removed for low scores and a low total looked to be on the cards for Town. But Daniel Allen supported by Steve Richmond (36) managed to find the gaps in the field that the previous batsmen couldn't, adding 79 for the fifth wicket and guiding Bridgend to a decent total of 157-6 from their 40 overs. Allen finishing on an unbeaten 73.
Barry attacked from the off but spin king Paul Minchington (1-26) and Dan Boyle (1-20) bowled some good lines and were duly rewarded with a wicket apiece.
The Barry total continued to tick along and with the threat of rain looming, Geezer and Carrot were both introduced into attack. Carrot implyed some vicious turn on the ball to which the Barry batsmen had no answer. He picked up 4-18 from 6 overs, whilst at the other end Geezer bowled his usual line and length deliveries, hitting the stumps on 3 occasions.
Dr Arun Sadaasivan, making his Bridgend debut picked up the other Barry wicket with some nicely flighted spin. The visitors finished on 136 all out in the fading light with all rounder Miller unbeaten on 22.
Sun 12th August
Was it or wasn’t it? Bridgend win thriller at Cowbridge
Cowbridge 103-8
Bridgend 104-7
Confusion and communication problems between Cowbridge and Bridgend meant that the historical 1840 cup competition resulted in new style Twenty20 affair. The 1840 Cup is one of the highlights of the year for the two clubs and this year was no exception.
Bridgend travelled with a strong team to face an equally strong Cowbridge XI packed with 1st team regulars who are still hoping to gain promotion to the 1st Division of the South Wales Cricket Association.
Cowbridge won the toss and elected to bat, but found things hard going against the opening attack of Adam Weaver (1-12) and Dominic Mabbs (2-16). Even when these had finished their spells, there was no let up for the home side as Dalton, Towell and leg spinner Alex Frew all bowled extremely well on a wicket that favoured the bowler. The pick of the Bridgend bowlers was undoubtedly, Darren Lingley who bowled 4 overs and grabbed 4 for 11 with his usual mix of doosras and arm balls.
Allied to this tight bowling, there was some wonderful fielding from the Bridgend side with young wicket keeping starlet Dan Allen taking a superb catch diving to his right and plucking it one handed, inches from the ground.
The Cowbridge innings closed on 103 for 8 with a good ninth wicket partnership between Ed Street (20 not out) and Stuart Morton (18 not out) ensuring a challenging total was set for the Town to chase.
A quick turn around saw Max Brown and star stumper Richard Morgan, who was playing as a specialist batsmen, open the innings for Bridgend. However the Town’s reply got off to a bad start when Brown was run out at the non striker’s end in the first over, when he was unable to turn sharply after a ferocious straight drive from Morgan. Worse was to follow when Morgan departed soon afterwards and Bridgend were reeling a 2 for 2. A steady partnership between skipper Stuart Morris (12) and young Dan Boyle started the rebuilding work. From there, Alex Frew (14) and Alistair Dalton (20) kept up with the required run rate, with Dalton in particular carrying on where he left off the day before with some incredible strokes, including an attacking reverse sweep that Paul Nixon would be proud of.
However, despite these partnerships, wickets kept failing at regular intervals and it was left to Adam Weaver (16), Dan Allen (5 not out) and Darren Lingley (5 not out) to see the Town home. It was Lingley who held his nerve with one ball to spare and increased his growing reputation as a “finisher” as well as being the best number 10 in league cricket.
The fixture comes “home” to Bridgend next year where it will be re-instated in its more traditional 45 over format.
Sun 12th August
Sunday XI demolish Lisvane
Bridgend 160
Lisvane 51
Bridgend got the better of Lisvane in another highly entertaining Sunday fixture at Newbridge Fields.
With skipper Rob Thomas worrying about the strength of Bridgend's batting line up, he naturally lost the toss, allowing Lisvane to insert the home team.
Regular Sunday opener Colin Kelly was joined by Jonny Ling and after solidly defending his first two balls, Kelly was adjudged LBW by umpire Kerry Brett. Ling was joined by youngster Lian Callaghan and set about a big score but was left in a state of disbelief after falling to a stupendous diving catch.
Town lost a succession of quick wickets with Callaghan (6), Thomas (10), Leon Pesticcio (0) and Tom Pearce (11) all falling cheaply. With disaster looming, in-form specialist batsman Paul Minchington (20) and Chris Brett (23) took Town past 100, putting on a fabulous demonstration of running between the wickets.
Kerry Brett (6) and Lewis Smith (6*) then gave senior pro Rob Pearce the support he needed to get Town to a respectable 160 from their 40 overs.
After another top Sunday tea, the home team were in their usual high spirits thanks to a continuous stream of friendly banter coming from the office of Ling, Kelly and Minchington.
Thomas decided to unselfishly open the bowling with himself and vice-captain Kelly, a decision which soon proved dividends as three wickets fell before the 10th over to leave Lisvane realing on 15-3.
Medium pacers Lewis Smith and Kerry Brett kept Bridgend's momentum going, with Smith taking an excellent 2-7 from 4 overs and Brett 1-15. Ali (23) offered the only resistance to the Bridgend bowlers before falling to a harsh LBW. This left pacemen Tom Pearce (2-5) and Callaghan (2-2) to mop up the visitors tale leaving them on 51.
Sun 12th August
Under 21's fail to ignite at Cowbridge
Bridgend 153-7
Cowbridge 154-4
On Sunday morning, as a curtain raiser to the main event, Bridgend under 21's played their Cowbridge counterparts in a highly entertaining Twenty20 match
Dan Allen got Town off to a flyer racking up an attacking 21 in no time. However once he departed a steady stream of wickets followed until Bridgend captain Adam Weaver (53) and James Townley (37i) combined at five and seven to form a stand that pushed Bridgend towards 150.
With a last couple of runs coming from two under 15 players Josh Thomas and Jonathan Hopkins, Bridgend finished on a total of 153 from their twenty overs.
Cowbridge got off to an equally good start with their batsmen all scoring as quickly as Allen off our bowling.
With some Bridgend players looking like a late night might be catching up with them, only Weaver made any impression with the ball, taking 3 wickets for nine runs in 3 overs. The only other Cowbridge wicket to fall, coming from a stunning direct hit from Townley, as Cowbridge reached the required total with 3 overs to spare.
Sun 9th September
Bridgend fall short at St Fagans six-a-side
Dinas Powys 78-1
Bridgend 64-2
Bridgend 81-1
St Fagans 'A' 82-2
Bridgend's six-a-side team found themselves wondering what could have been after narrowly failing to win a match in the annual St Fagans six-a-side tournament.
The yearly invitational tournment features many of the strongest club sides in South Wales and this year was no exception with teams including Cardiff, Penarth, Tondu, Welsh Asians and three from the hosts themselves.
The Bridgend six were led by tournament veteran Huw MIles and included all-rounders Les Cutter, Marc "Sparky" Jones, Jamie "Karen" Russell, Jonny Ling and Rob Thomas.
The format of the tournament sees the teams split into pools before the winners of each pool meet in the semi-finals. Five overs of 8 balls are bowled with any batsman reaching 25 having to retire. Bridgend were drawn in a tough group which saw them having to play Dinas Powys, Ponthir and tournament favourites St Fagans 'A'.
Town elected to bowl first in their opening game against Dinas Powys and despite the Dinas openers hitting several boundaries all seemed to be going well. However disaster struck when Russell pulled up half way through his over with a cricked neck. He managed to finish his over in some discomfort but the signs did not look good. Some tight bowling and (diving) fielding by Rob Thomas kept the score down before Ling completed the final over with his customary variation including five no-balls past the keepers head, allowing Dinas to reach 78-1.
Openers Jones and Cutter started well with Sparky striking one ball well out of the ground before being bowled attempting the same feat. Cutter reached 25 and retired to leave a blurry eyed Ling and injured Russell requiring 30 from the last two overs. Despite some big (air) swings they were unable to find the boundary and Bridgend reached 64 and the close of innings, some 14 runs short.
Bridgend were due to play their next game against Ponthir but with only the Ponthir captain arriving the match was called off without a ball being bowled. This left Town with a two hour wait to play St Fagans 'A'.
With an hour to go it was clear that Russell would not be able to play any part in the match despite the best efforts of Sparky and his "magic pills". Luckily a replacement was soon found in the form of Matt Thomas from the Penarth squad and Bridgend faced the home side with a full compliment.
Deciding to bat first, the opening partnership of Sparky and Cutter got Bridgend off to a great start with Sparky in particular looking in colossal form. Opening bowler Provis was on the receiving end of two huge sixes before a reverse sweep for four sent the crowd wild and Sparky into retirement with his 25 coming up before the end of the second over.
This brought Ling to the crease, who after several dozen bottles of Powerade had finally managed to reduce his blood alcohol levels somewhere approaching the legal limit. He and Cutter added some vital runs for Town with some good running between the wickets before Cutter departed for another maximum. Ling fell to a stumping several balls later after being tempted down the wicket by the bowling of Hopkins. Skipper MIles and replacement Thomas saw out the rest of the innings which finished on a pleasing 81-1.Despite a decent total, the home side were packed with potential match winners and Provis immediately proved this, hitting the ball around with ease on his way to 25. Some excellent bowling by Cutter took care of number three Samworth and Rob Thomas flighted the ball nicely to keep the run rate down, leaving Town a strong position. But several boundaries took St Fagans closer to the required total leaving them with 15 required from the last over to come from Ling.
Things got off to a bad start, with the first ball going for six, but the next delivery confused new batsman Hopkins who was sent on his way after deflecting the ball onto his stumps. Some tight fielding prevented anymore boundaries and it came to down to the last ball with the scores tied and St Fagans needing ONE to win.
With the field in and the batsmen looking nervous Ling produced an unhittable delivery, unfortunately for him and Bridgend it landed the wrong side of leg stump and into wide territory, handing the game to St Fagans.
Despite the outcome a good day was had by all and a lack of wins was almost made up for by the immense St Fagans teas. Bridgend can also console themselves in that they lost to the eventual winners, with St Fagans 'A' going on to thrash Tondu in the final.