Match Reports
1st XI | 2nd XI |Sat 26th July
Keen puts 3rd XI promotion back on track
Newport III 214-7
Bridgend 216-5
After last weeks derailment, Town got their promotion charge back on the tracks with a comprehensive victory over fellow rivals Newport.
The guests, who arrived at Newbridge Fields unbeaten since Town won at Newport Spytty Park in early May, won the toss and elected to bat, on what was one of the better pitches produced at Bridgend this year!
Newport were content on batting through their overs and keeping wickets intact. The opening batsmen forged a useful partnership, but never got the scoring rate above 3 an over.
As usual, the skipper Liam Weller bowled tightly from the A48 end, but was luckless, as David Lowmax proved to be a resilient character. After Weller and fellow opener Chris Thomas failed to make a break through, Town turned to evergreen, well ever ginger spinner Jamie Morgan and 4th team stalwart Paul Minchington.
However, it was neither who managed to take the elusive wicket. Dropped second team batsmen Ian Keen broke the opening partnership just after drinks, with a run out. Keen's quick reaction, bullet throw and direct hit and Town were left celebrating.
Morgan and Minchy both bowled tightly, but failed to take further wickets, so Town turned to youngsters.
Kerry Brett, who was celebrating his 21st Birthday, and returnee Rhys Osbourne bowled the last 12 overs. This when the wickets started to come. With Newport looking to up the run rate, the chances started to appear.
Brett, after an erratic first over, settled down and bowled a tight line which saw him pick up 2-38 from 6, including the wicket of Lowmax who eventually hauled out in the deep to Alex Frew for 88. Former Glamorgan 2nd XI left arm spinner, Rhys ‘Froggy’ Osbourne ended up with 2-36 off 6 as Newport finished 214-7 from their 45 overs.
Town were always confident of chasing down this total, as they did with Chepstow in their last match. The innings did not get off the best of starts as Andy Thalayasingham was dismissed LBW cheaply.
But this brought Chris Brett to join Keen in the middle. Kipper played his usual aggressive innings scoring 34 off just 4 overs at the crease. This gave the Town innings the acceleration of pace it needed, which meant that, despite Kip’s departure, Keen and new batsmen Weller were able to continue to score singles at ease, whilst staying above the run rate.
It was slow going for Town, but Keen and Weller were doing an outstanding job. Keen reached his 50 in the 30th over, and then opened his shoulders. He was finally dismissed for a season's best of 85, with Town needing just 29 off 8 overs.
His departure brought out of form batsmen Frew to the crease. He blitzed an 8 ball 13 to ensure the run rate would not be a problem but then fell to Dai Jones, who after a wayward first spell, returned at the death with a better line and length.
Weller (35) fell in the same over as Frew, which caused a few nerves amongst the Town camp. But nobody should have feared as former wicket keeper Iwan Bunston (8 not out) and Osborne (5 not out) guided Town home to a 5 wicket victory. Dai Jones was the pick of the bowlers finishing with 2-42.
Town can now look forward to the back end of the season, knowing this form, could see them win promotion, but face a tough ask next week away at runaway leaders Crumlin.
Well done lads!
3rd XI Scribe!
Sat 19th July
Town promotion hopes hit by Mountain Ash
Mountain Ash 274-4 Bridgend 154
After steaming towards the top of the table in the first half of the season, the promotion push came to shuddering halt at rivals Mountain Ash.
Town, once again losing several key players to the second XI won the toss and elected to field on a very green wicket. Mountain Ash showed their intention early on with the openers attacking from skipper Liam Weller’s first ball.
Despite the seemingly bowler friendly conditions, the bowlers struggled as openers Alan and Owen Roberts launched the bowling to all parts of the ground. Although another day, and with a bit more luck, the innings could have gone slightly differently. With both Roberts’ flashing hard at the ball saw the ball fly over the slip cordon and to the boundary.
It was first change bowler Huw Roberts who made the break through. He bowled Alan Roberts, with the help of an inside edge. This brought Neil Thomas to the crease but Thomas started Roberts left off.
Then it was time for the introduction the ginger spin king, fresh from, his holiday in the Lake District, was introduced to slow down the run rate and take vital wickets. And it was Morgan who bowled Owen Roberts for 61, having dropped him the previous ball, with a difficult caught and bowled.
Town’s overall fielding and the majority of the bowling was awful. With sloppy fielding, the hosts ready to pounce and take advantage and that is exactly Thomas, Wyatt and Shellard did. They both the second, third and fourth players to reach fifties in the innings. Mount posted a very impressive 274-4. Morgan was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2-45 from his 10, while part time bowler Evan Stanton got the other wicket.
Despite the daunting chase ahead, Town were confident of chasing the total, as they did against Chepstow in their last game. But this total proved to be to daunting.
Again Weller opened with himself, and again it paid off. Weller being the to offer any sort of resistance with a valiant 59, before falling in the penultimate over.
Town never got going, tight bowling from the opening bowlers, especially Gary Cooper saw Town struggle. Cooper in his 10 overs, took wickets at regular intervals to derail the surge to the total. He finished with 5-24 off his 10 allotted overs, including the wickets off key batsmen Andy Thalaysingham (4) Carl Morruzzi (3) and Alex Frew (0).
With these early loses, Town never looked like getting anywhere near the total. Weller again showed bulldog British resistance, as he and Jon Brett (26) were the only players to cause the bowlers problems.
Cooper was supported well, by Dai Davies who took 3-35 in his 10 as Town were dismissed 154, to loose by a 120 runs. Weller must drag his severally wounded troops to the medical center to regroup before the back to back clashes against fellow promotion chasers Newport and Blaina, as Town surrendered second position to the their hosts who comprehensively ended Town’s two month unbeaten run.
Sat 28th June
Weller leads by example as Town beat Chepstow
Chepstow III 208-8
Bridgend 209-4
For the first time in several years, Town recorded a hat trick of victories on the spin!
With the loss of several key batsmen to the second XI, Town were fielding a depleted side, but never the less it still contained a blend of quality youngsters and weathered veterans. Weller won the toss, or more preciously Chepstow's captain called incorrectly and the home side chose to field first.
As usual the opening bowlers bowled tight lines and moved the ball both ways. Youngster Lewis Smith and Weller, bowled extremely well in their 7 overs apiece, but failed to find a break through, as the openers rode their luck.
After their luckless spells, Weller turned to up and coming youngster Josh Tomas. The quick bowler bowled the spell of his life and his figures of 4-33 from 10 do not fully reflect how well he actually bowled.
The ginger all rounder, who was on a hat trick at one stage, was moving the ball late and with pace which was causing the batsmen untold problems. Around 80 to 85% of his deliveries beat the outside edge. His bowling was so accurate that there were a plethora of slips and gullies in place through out his 10 overs.
Thomas was ably supported by usual fourth team opening bat and bowler Liam Callaghan. Despite bowling some erratic and wayward balls, his persistent efforts were rewarded with 3-24 whilst part time spinner Andy Thalayasingham (6-0-25-1) bowled well and kept it tight from the Town end.
Mark Jones was the start batsmen for the visitors with a classy 86 and was ably supported by Luke Starr who hit a brisk 43 in the middle of the order, as Town were set a daunting 209 to win from their allotted 45 overs.
Knowing that someone had to bat throughout the innings, skipper Weller promoted himself up the order to open the batting with Thalayasingham. And the gamble paid off. Weller batted superbly, playing a captain's innings and was there at the end, guiding Town home for the win.
Thalayasingham was first to depart, deceived by the bounce, or in this case the lack of it, as he was bowled for a quick and breezy 19. This innings gave Town the injection of pace and lifted them above the run rate from the start.
By now, Weller was in full flow and batting superbly, determined that he was not going to be out. His innings was slow, and included few boundaries, but more importantly he kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely.
The skipper was well supported by son of Town stalwart Evan Stanton and a stalwart in his own right Carl Morruzzi. Both looked in good nick, before falling in the 30’s. Young Stants made 35, including 12 off an over and Muz 33.
They had laid the foundations for the innings, with Town needing 50 to win off the last 10 overs with an abundance of wickets left. Alex Frew came and went for a brisk 11.
But then enter rising star Josh Thomas.
After his explosive spell with the ball, he came to the crease, and along with Weller guided Town over the finishing line. Thomas was 15 not out and Weller 68 not out. It was Weller’s best innings for the club and he is proving to be invaluable both with bat and ball.
The six wicket victory ensured Town picked up near maximum points (24) as they look to build on the impressive first half of the season, during the second half and gain promotion!
Well done lads
3rd XI scribe
Sat 14th June
Town starting to shape up nicely
Bridgend 198-5
Monkswood 134-8
After an emphatic victory the previous Saturday, Town played hosts to Monkswood.
Despite missing key players Carl Moruzzi and Jonny Ling, due to a Bruce Springsteen concert, Town went into the game full of confidence.
On a sunny but windy afternoon, skipper Liam Weller decided to bat after much deliberation upon winning the toss, which proved to be a good decision.
Star batsmen Ian Henry once again laid the foundations for the Newbridge Field outfit, with his second successive half century. Despite losing partners at regular intervals, Henry kept his cool to guide Town close to the two hundred mark.
Adrian Daniels departed early, but this allowed Chris Brett to come to the crease. He played several fluent and aggressive shots to smash a quick fire 25.
’Shifty’ Henry brought his 50 with a lovely straight drive, one of 8 boundaries, only to be stumped next ball off spinner Matt Watkins. And when Watkins bowled John Brett first ball, Town were struggling at 124-5.
Luckily for Town though, Liam Weller and youngster Josh Thomas stood firm and scored some vital runs lower down the order. Despite Weller scoring just 1 run in the first 10 overs he faced, he went on to hit a useful and unbeaten 32.
However, it was Thomas who took the risks in this partnership which at the end remained unbroken on 74. His array of attacking shots saw the runs start to flow quickly. Despite this, Thomas kept finding the fielders and consequently only scoring 1’s.
His innings also included some very unorthodox cricket shots, which although hard to describe, the general conscious from the watching crowd was that the shots were reverse paddled sweeps.
Town finished their innings on 198-5, to record maximum batting points. Tom Probert was the pick of the visitors attack with 3-40 from 10.
With the ball the Town openers bowled tightly and accurately to make life difficult for the batsmen. Opening bowlers Liam Weller and Lewis Smith both bowled excellent spells and were rewarded with early wickets.
Skipper Weller finished with figures of 2-17 from his 10, while Smith attained 1-24 from his. But the star bowler was former skipper, fresh from his monster trucking experience, Jamie Morgan.
The "Ginger Spinner" bowled an array of quality balls that bamboozled the batsmen and caused them major problems. The doosras and regular off spinners beat the edge on numerous occasions. He ripped through the heart of the batting line and was duly rewarded with figures of 3-20 off 10.
Grandad Kerry Brett also contributed well to the attack with 2-24. Brett also provided the champagne moment of the match when he leaped highly up in the air to pluck an amazing catch off the bowling of Morgan to remove danger man Matt Watkins (34).
The result was never in any real danger, as regular wickets ensured that the guests never got near the required run rate from the start. Monkswood, managed to bat out their 45 overs, but fell well short of the total, ending on 134-8. This meaning that Town won their first home fixture of the year and also recorded back to back victories. Weller now takes his troops to Lisvane, as they battle on for promotion!
Well done lads!
3rd XI Scribe
Sat 7th June
Town smash Croesy for second win
Bridgend 229-7
Croesyceiliog 89
Bridgend Town 3rd XI recorded their second victory of the season, with an emphatic victory over Croseyceiliog, thanks to a great all round team performance.
Town lost the toss and were asked to bat on what was a green wicket, after finally arriving at the right pitch at the third attempt.
Ian Henry stole the show for the visitors with a classy 68, and along with fellow opener Adrian Daniels (20), laid the foundations for a big score. Henry’s innings was compiled mainly in boundaries (11 fours and 1 six) with an array of fluent cricket shots all around the park. When he departed town were 113-3.
His dismissal brought Alex Frew to the crease, who played his typical aggressive innings to reach 50, before being caught on the boundary.
There were also useful contributions from Carl Morruzzi (24) and Jonny Ling (23), as town amassed 109 runs in the last 15 overs, to leave the hosts chasing a daunting 229.
Andy Donovan was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts with figures of 4 for 53 off 8.
Town were extremely confident of being able to defend the total at tea. And the confidence soon paid off, with Josh Thomas and captain Liam Weller ripping through the heart of the home sides batting line up.
Tight and accurate bowling, by the 15 year old Thomas saw openers Kryyon and Richards removed early, both caught by Daniels.
Weller was in equally fine form, as he removed danger man Leighton Jones for 15. The skipper finished up with extremely impressive figures of 4 for 13 off 10 overs, while Thomas finished with 3-23 from 8.
Both bowlers were abley supported by veteran Keri Brett (2-20) and some tight fielding, which resulted in a run out for the penultimate wicket.
Town were only denied victory by a greater margin thanks to some big hitting by the home sides tail-enders, who accounted for over half their teams runs as they were dismissed for just 89, to hand town a victory by 140 runs, and more importantly maximum points as they continue their quest for promotion.
Sat 31st May
Bridgend batting crumbles against Crumlin
Bridgend 140
Crumlin 144-3
Bridgend suffered their first defeat of the season at home to the hands of Crumlin on Saturday.
With Newbridge Fields just about playable following a day long deluge, Bridgend lost the vital toss and were inserted by the visitors.
Aided by a damp pitch and long outfield the Crumlin bowlers gave the home batsmen trouble from the start.
A disciplined line and length allowed the pitch to do most of the hard work and despite a good start from Adrian Daniel (25) who fell victim to a great catch on the short Bowham Avenue boundary and Alex Frew (19), most of the Town batsmen failed to get going.
Carl Moruzzi proved the exception to the rule, and with the conditions seemingly to his liking he raced to a fine 48.
But that was as good as it got for Town as wickets began to fall at a regular rate before the innings finally came to a close in the 41st over with final total a below par 140.
With such a low total to chase Crumlin were clear favourites and never really looked in danger of losing. An opening stand of 70 put them well on their way before Huw Roberts (1-36 from 9 overs) made the breakthrough and followed it up by taking a fine catch off Jamie Morgan (1-37 from 10 overs) for the second wicket.
Some suicidal running accounted for the fall of the 3rd wicket but it was too little too late for Bridgend as Crumlin reached the required total with 11 overs to spare.
Sat 24th May
Bridgend get off to winning start
Bridgend 177-8
Newport 135-7
After almost a month of waiting, the 3rd XI were finally able to get their season underway with a convincing 42 run win away at Newport.
New Captain Liam Weller called correctly at the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat on what looked like a hard and fast wicket.
This proved to be the case but unfortunately it was the Newport bowlers who took advantage of the conditions with opening bowler Phil Maclean (10-7-10-3) showing good pace and bounce.
Maclean bowled five consecutive maidens whilst taking two wickets to leave Bridgend realing on 35-3.
Jonny Ling (19) and Chris Brett provided Bridgend with some brief hope before Ling was cleaned bowled by Maclean in the final over of his spell.
This brought Captain Weller to the middle and he and Brett set about steadying the Bridgend ship, carving out an 80 partnership and hauling Town out of trouble.
Weller eventually fell for a fine 33 but with wickets in hand and only 10 overs remaining Bridgend moved through the gears and added a further 50 runs to finish on a respectable 177-8 from their 45 overs.
Town needed some disciplined bowling if they were going to win the game and the opening pair of Andy Jones (9-2-27-1) and Weller (9-1-21-1) provided just that.
Backed up by some excellent fielding, the Town bowlers restricted Newport to just 33 from their first 16 overs and with the required run rate climbing the home side found it almost impossible to score.
Gareth Alred (54) hung around for Newport but Bridgend stuck at their task and Lewis Smith (10-1-28-1) troubled the home batsmen by extracting some awkward bounce from the pitch.
Once Jamie Morgan (10-0-35-2) trapped Alred in front, the game was up for Newport, leaving veteran Kerry Brett (7-1-14-2) to keep the Newport score down to 133-7.