Bedlinog (123-7) beat St Peter's (122) by seven wickets, Llanrumney, 23 May 2009
Last year, as St Peter's cruised to their unbeaten Alliance Division 2 title, much was said in anticipation about the prospect of playing tougher cricket in Division 1.
The reality of the step up in class was driven home by this comprehensive defeat at the hands of a Bedlinog side which had finished second in the league last year. The result suggests an unbridgeable gap between the two teams but, in fact, St Peter's should have had enough to post at least another 50 runs in their innings. Had they done so, the bowlers might have been able to exert more pressure on Bedlinog's top order and expose the tail.
Joe and Chris had got off to a solid enough start against an accurate opening bowling attack. A number of fours flashed through the gully while the ball was still hard, but the pitch started to show its demons, staying low on a number of occasions. Chris was the first to try and force the pace and paid the price when he bottom-edged a slower ball onto his stumps.
In came Richie for his first game of the season and he was soon nudging square of the wicket and pushing the score along with a number of quick singles. His positive approach seemed to rub off on Joe who, with a couple of unusually expansive drives, scored in front of the wicket for possibly the first time in four seasons.
Unable to contain his excitement, he holed out at mid-on, within just two balls of seeing off both opening bowlers. Had he managed to play shrewdly at this point, rather than throw his wicket away, he could have held up one end while the true shot-makers played freely at the other.
Sadly, the middle-order fell away much as had been the case in the opening game against Panteg. James and Richie looked capable of building on the reasonable position at the midway point but fell within quick succession. Matt let caution get the better of him and was bowled by a slow, full-pitched delivery. Paul was bowled as he tried to pull a ball that didn't rise above shin height, prompting a diatribe against the slow, low pitch. Stuart echoed those complaints shortly after, bowled by a grubber as he looked capable of adding a few extra important runs at the end of the innings.
Ian, meanwhile, clearly with his eye on retaining Champagne Moment of the Season, played arguably his first ever scoring shot that wasn't a sweep. That it should come from an on-drive merely added to the rarity value of the shot.
The 122 total was clearly well below par but, remembering the difficulty had when chasing Panteg's low score a couple of weeks earlier, there was optimism that pressure could be brought to bear on Bedlinog.
That didn't seem fanciful as, in the opening ten overs, the Corsi brothers bowled a tight spell at little more than a run an over. But when Rob brought one back to knock out one of the opener's middle stump, it merely brought in the more expansive stroke-play of Bedlinog's number three. He set about punishing anything loose, though could easily have been given out on a couple of occasions, once for a seeming edge behind and once when Paul struck him full on the boot seemingly in-line with the stumps. The increasingly desperate appeals were finally rewarded when Matt drew the number three into a drive and Joe claimed the edge.
The bowling was certainly of a better quality than the batting had been, but with John failing to make a breakthrough and Paul bowling without luck, the wickets never came quickly enough. By the end, the fielding started to fray at the edges and Bedlinog made swift progress, crossed the finishing line with few alarms.
So, a crushing defeat and another alarming collapse when a more measured approach was needed. Last year's run-fests will not be repeated against bowling attacks with better ability and greater depth.
