Barry Athletic CC: Stags feel the pressure (From Barry And District News)

Barry Athletic CC: Stags feel the pressure

7:20am Thursday 4th June 2009

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IAN GADD'S Barry Athletic CC 1st XI played host to Division Two surprise package, Creigiau CC, in front of a sell out crowd at the Barry Oval.

Barry skipper, Ian Gadd, won the toss and elected to bat first.

Things were going nicely in the first half of the innings. At 102-2 with 20 overs remaining, the Stags looked set for a big score.

However, the ‘achilles heel’ of the batting order was exposed again as wickets fell cheaply, in the middle order.

Despite this unfortunate turn of events, there were some resistance from batsmen, Lee Morgan (with a highly respectable 70), Harshvar Deo (29) and former IPL player, Anjan Ganapathy (24). The Stags were dismissed cheaply for 170. D Martin was the star of the show with the ball for Creigiau, with 4-39.

After the mid-session interval, the Stags entered the field hoping to defend their total of 170. However, the Creigiau batsmen were dominating the attack, from start to finish. Boundaries were hit from all ends of the field as batsmen, Tom Lloyd (77 no) and D Williams (54), looked to put the result beyond all doubt.

Despite Creigiau being able to hit the 171 target in the 35th over, Barry bowlers, Steve Jones (1-35) and Andrew Buckland (1-15) gave the Stag Faithful something to cheer about by snatching a wicket each.

Barry 1st XI need to start improving as the 2009 season moves on, or they may end up battling for their South Wales Cricket League lives.

Barry 1st XI travel to Ponthir CC on Saturday, hoping for a first win in four matches.

2ND XI FALL JUST SHORT

Martin Baker’s Barry 2nd XI travelled to the distant town of Brecon to face a newly promoted Brecon CC.

This was previously labelled as a ‘must win’ game, if the Stags hoped to steer clear of the relegation zone.

However, casualties in the week meant that a weakened team was available to face Brecon. A very hot day saw Brecon win the toss and elect to bat first.

Despite fielding in the hot weather conditions, Barry were able to tame the opening batsmen.

Top class bowling from Forhad Ahmed and Simon Phillips was evident as Brecon were restricted to below 70 runs in their first 20 overs.

Massive bowling performances from Ashley Baker (1-32 from 9 overs) and bowler of the match, Richie Roberts (3-9 from 5 overs) ensured the Stags had a fighting chance in the second innings, restricting Brecon to 195-9 from their 50 overs.

The travelling Stag Faithful gave mighty applause, as Barry 2nd XI made their way off the field for the mid session interval.

After the interval, Barry were ready to chase down 196 runs for victory.

A bright start to the innings from opening batsman and club legend, Damon Leake, led the batting attack with a fine batting display. He rarely made a wrong move as Barry steered closer and closer to the 196 target.

Leake, along with no 4 batsman Billy Usswald, took the game to the Brecon bowling attack firing the Stags to 127-2 from 30 overs. Barry looked in touching distance of recording their first win of the campaign.

However, Brecon struck gold when a flurry of wickets were taken, including Leake, for a well earned 72, and Usswald, for 43. Barry were struggling at 164-6 and didn’t even look close to recovering.

Despite a late flourish from Richie Roberts and Peter Davies, Barry fell 19 runs short and were bowled out for 176.

Barry 2nd XI are yet to record a win this season, after this defeat and are now looking candidates for the drop into Division Two.

Saturday sees the Stags entertain fellow relegation battlers, Ponthir CC in a bid to catch up with the teams above them.

3RD XI WIN AT LAST

In the absence of Barry 3rd XI skipper, Cesc Andre, Barry 3rd XI travelled to Ponthir CC, hoping to put last week’s nightmare of a game behind them.

Stand-in skipper, Simon Phillips, lost the toss and was made to field first. The pitch was prematurely described as a batsman’s paradise and runs was expected from both sides.

The first innings was dominated by the young Stag bowling attack, including Callum Twomey (2-20), Ashley Baker (2-11), Ben Eastman (2-11) and bowler of the match, Richie Roberts, who recorded figures of 4-14 from eight overs which included a maiden.

A fantastic performance from the leg-spinner, along with the other bowlers and in the field, embraced by Jophin Reji’s amazing three catches at backward-point and in the slips, helped the Stags to another top class display, bowling Ponthir for a less than impressive 102 in 38.2 overs.

An inspirational display in the field was matched by the display in the batting. Despite some early scares, Barry held on with many thanks going to stand-in skipper, Simon Phillips (43) and his vice-captain, Andrew Buckland (22 no).

This, along with a massive help from the extras column, ensured Barry 3rd XI’s first win of the 2009 campaign, hitting 103-4 in 30.4 overs.

A massive win for the Stags saw them claim the maximum 20 points, compared to Ponthir’s 4 points.

With no midweek match on Wednesday the next opposition for the mighty Stags is bitter rivals, Aberdare CC, which will be played this Sunday.

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