Glamorgan, champions of Wales

[cde]

The workaround...worked! That's great, thanks so much for the help. I had just shrugged my shoulders and wrote it off as just one of those things, should not have given up so quickly! If I am somewhere with a slow connection I often turn off dropbox so it doesn't annoy me so much, after this I might not.

I was playing on the phone and had to do something quickly, so pressed save and left the phone to find a 'app has stopped working' on return. The 4yo was around so...maybe a lesson there too!

I accidently ordered 25kg of flour instead of 2.5kg a few months ago because I was trying to do it while also being a horse for him.

Can't blame everything on a 4yo though, I suppose.

[MateGaming]

Glad to see you managed to get your save fixed, I'm enjoying the story so far

[cde]

We return!

We welcome Sussex with our usual bouncy-with-spin pitch and mostly clear skies. Warner comes in at 3, Cooke is sent to the 2nd XI to build form, Nethercott moves to 6 and Root comes in a 5, Foyle has picked up an injury. We now look like:
Iqbal, Selman, Warner, Jenkins, Root, Nethercott, Wadlan, Mills, de Lange, van der Gugten and Sanderson.

We win the toss and bat first.

Selman and Warner put up a 135 run partnership, Jenkins and Root 50 but we otherwise struggle to 293. We make steady progress through their batting, bowling them for just 205.

We struggle to put on runs but another 50 from Warner and one for Root sees up declare on 237-5. They make steady progress through the total, van Zyl scoring 88, before they go for it. Wadlan takes some quick wickets and we win by 90 runs. A good win with Warner awarded man-of-the-match in his first match for us.

[cde]

Away to Derbyshire and a typical outlook for early May – sun, overcast, sun, rain. A spinning pitch and Porter is back from injury. Nethercott isn't doing well but Warner impressed in his first match so Porter returns at 3 and Warner is moved to 6 in the hope of firming up the middle Roots 2nd innings 50 makes me feel a bit bad for writing him off. We field
Iqbal, Selman, Porter, Jenkins, Root, Warner, Wadlan, de Lange, Van der Gugten, Sanderson and Remmington.

We win the toss and despite overcast conditions bat first on the basis that it is a spinning pitch and it is overcast for a session or two every day.

This proves to be a dubious choice. Iqbal is out first ball. Porter hits a half century but the batting order is skittled. Warner digs in but is left with the tail and we are bowled for just 185. Godleman and Reece put on 94 for their opening partnership, batting carefully and it looks a bit bleak. Some quick wickets and they are suddenly 147-5 and things look sunny. Hughes and Critchley score slow 50s but take control of the match. Warner drops both, Hughes on 11, Critchley on 49. We finally bowl them for 305, a lead of 120 with just an hour of day three played. It is going to be clear all day with day four overcast.

Iqbal and Selman take it slowly and build a fantastic 188 run partnership, building in intensity and intent. We reach the end of play 310-2, Selman still in on 134. A day to play, the last two sessions are very wet. We take a risk and declare. They need just 190 to win but we might not get the overs in foer them to get it. The first session goes well, taking 4 wickets and keeping them to 83 runs. On and off for rain but Wadlan takes 5-40 as we bowl them for 129. Iqbal and Selman to thank for getting us out of the muck and Wadlan to finish a great comeback.

[cde]

Away to Leicestershire and the flattest of flat pitches. Mills replaces Remmington. We loose the toss and are asked to bowl first.

Ackermann takes us for 178 but we work through the batting without letting them get away, five sessions to score 379. We set about them with intent, a half century for Iqbal, 122 ball 103 from Porter, 33 ball 52 from Jenkins and a 49 ball 76 from Warner takes us to 402 in just 78 overs and we declare.

Azad hits a hundred but we make them work for it. They declare with 252 to win in a session. We bat out the draw, as expected.

[cde]

Somerset at home. A seamer’s pitch, first session of day one overcast. Waites in back so replaces Root. They win the toss and bat first.

We try to make the most of the overhead conditions but they change rapidly. A decent 2nd wicket stand turns to a collapse but both Gregory and Craig Overton make quick runs and we are seeking to at least restrict the run rate. We bowl them for 313. Selman scores almost half our runs, a century partnership with Porter is followed by a 50 partnership with Jenkins. He then gets to watch on as Waite smashes 59 from 78. However the bottom half of our batting card chip in just 16 runs before Selman is last man out for 153, though we are 334 in reply.

Somerset look to put on the runs and we help them by putting down five chances. Warner drops four and Selman drops one so his mate doesn't feel it's just him letting the game slip. They declare 7 down and leaving 310 to win an two sessions and 30 minutes. Selman goes quickly but Iqbal and Porter gather 40 by lunch. A couple of quick wickets and we are in survival mode. Bess in tearing though us and we are 9 down with 40 minutes to play and van der Gugten and Sanderson left to cling on. They almost do, Bess hunting for his 6th wicket until the final over when van der Gugten edges one into the air and Bess finishes with 6-65, a match winning performance. Bess' bowling aside we lost this for ourselves.

In a tight match and batting second, we left ourselves essentially needing to take 15 wickets. Warner was picked because we could not afford for our no.6 not to score runs if our 7 cannot either. This was a mistake as he is an occasional wicket keeper and it was not really addressing the problem.

[Sureshot]

The workaround...worked! That's great, thanks so much for the help. I had just shrugged my shoulders and wrote it off as just one of those things, should not have given up so quickly! If I am somewhere with a slow connection I often turn off dropbox so it doesn't annoy me so much, after this I might not.

I was playing on the phone and had to do something quickly, so pressed save and left the phone to find a 'app has stopped working' on return. The 4yo was around so...maybe a lesson there too!

I accidently ordered 25kg of flour instead of 2.5kg a few months ago because I was trying to do it while also being a horse for him.

Can't blame everything on a 4yo though, I suppose.

I'm really pleased that worked. 25kg of flour sounds like lots of cake!

[cde]

It is! And it makes you look like one of those people who went mad and bought all that loo roll back in March!

[cde]

We pitch into the T20 cup, seven matches on the trot before a FC match, a few more T20s, a FC match, a T20, a FC match...

So our best chance of building some momentum. Gill is back from a decent enough stint in the IPL, all our T20 signings are available. A bit of hand wringing about who will open with Gill and despite my best intentions at the start of the season I go with Selman.

I know.

Slow, but hangs about while the other options probably won't.

We go for James Faulkner out of our T20 signings.

de Lange hasn't been in the same sort of form as last year and I would probably replace him but keep the faith. However I do move him to first change with Sanderson and Faulkner opening. Out team looks like:
Gill, Selman, Porter, Waites, Jenkins, Cooke, Faulkner, Wadlan, de Lange, van der Gugten and Sanderson.

We beat Essex first up on DLS then play Surrey. Sanderson bowled poorly in helpful conditions against Essex and on a flat pitch against Sussex I pull him off after two overs. Porter, not a noted bowler, bowls his remaining overs and leaks less runs. We still win.

With Waites also in declining form we replace both him and Sanderson, Foyle is back from injury. We field:
Gill, Selman, Porter, Jenkins, Cooke, Nethercott, Faulkner, Wadlan, de Lange, van der Gugten and Foyle. de Lange is back opening the bowling.

It's just the ticket and we sweep aside Gloucestershire. We bat first against Sussex and Gill, who has been mis-firing hits a 45 ball 100 as we cruise to another victory. We sweep aside Middlesex with ease.

We swap Saifuddin for Faulkner to try to boost the strike rate in the power play. We beat Kent comfortably before a closer, but ultimately successful run chase against Somerset. Unable to let old habits die we drop three chances against them.

We reach the half way stage seven from seven and already dreaming big.

[cde]

We play fellow promotion hopefully Leicestershire at home. A win for either team will put them in a good position for promotion, taking 2nd place and pushing the other into 3rd.

Sanderson and van der Gugten are struggling for form, de Lange also in FC cricket but with Todd and Mills is equally poor form we stick with the bowling attack. With Waites on England duty again Cooke comes in at 6 and Warner moves up to 5. See field:
Gill, Selman, Porter, Jenkins, Warner, Cooke, Wadlan, de Lange, van der Gugten, Sanderson and Foyle.
Leics win the toss and bat first.
They put a couple of really good partnerships together but we keep their run rate down until Ackermann and Cosgrove give us a beating. We The tie them down and get them out but the tail hang on to take them to a good 414 all out, so we are probably playing for a draw. Gill and Selman put together a good 128 run opening stand but they run through us, once they are both out. Warner hangs on and eats up time, if not runs, but we are bowled for 237 and asked to follow on.

Selman puts in a career best performance of 155*, carrying his bat and saving the match for us. He and Gill give us a good start, Porter goes quickly but a century partnership with Jenkins drags us to almost level terms. Selman holds on, scoring slows down but we are finally bowled with just over an hour remaining and 123 the target. They do, of course, go for it but de Lange and Foyle take wickets and at 70-7 Leicestershire decide a draw is good enough.
Outplayed by Leicestershire we did well to come so close. A draw was probably fair enough. We need to find some form amongst or bowlers and maybe change this bowling attack by the next TFC match.

[cde]

Half way through the FC season so a quick review.

We are in 3rd place with 96 points, behind Somerset on 121 and Leicestershire just ahead on 101. Derbyshire are just behind on 91, Sussex with 86 and then Middlesex, Northamptonshire and Worcestershire on 68, 64 and 62.

While most of our performances have been good our failures against what look to be our two main promotion rivals could prove pivotal in our promotion hopes. We did, at least, draw both matches against Leicestershire but we lost 3 bonus points in our last match against them – the margin of their lead over us.

Selman has had a stonking season so far, 781 runs at an average of 65.08 with three centuries and three 50s including a career best 155no. Iqbal and Porter are not far behind with averages in the mid-50s and Jenkins around the 50 mark. We have barely seen Waites. Warner has done well despite being shifted about but needs to work on his wicket keeping. Cooke and Nethercott have struggled.

Of the bowlers Sanderson, van der Gugten and Foyle have really performed for us, Wadlan’s batting has been woeful but his bowling improved quite a bit on last year. De Lange is nowhere near last year's form in FC. Mills has filled in for Foyle and is yet to impress.

We need to kick on I the second half of the FC season. We have just one match against the teams directly above us just once – our next match – and the bottom three teams for four of the remaining matches so need, and expect, a strong finish to the season.

[cde]

Four T20s, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Surrey and Middlesex. Gloucestershire make us pay for a couple of dropped chances and we have to chase 176. The batting line up is now so improved it is no problem.

Hampshire and Surrey are both easy wins but Middlesex...

We help them set a new T20 record for the lowest total - 40. And we put down two catches. Their line up was good too.

The only troubling thing is that Nethercott has dropped EVERY chance that comes his way at slip and had to be moved to third man. Even there he dropped a skied cut. He is supposed to be our 2nd in line wicketkeeper.

[cde]

We welcome Somerset for a FC match, wary from our last meeting. This is not helped by seeing that they have strengthened their bowling by being able to pick Rabada. The idea of facing Rabada at one end and Bess at the other on a 4th day run chase is not encouraging for a match we could really do with winning. Sanderson has picked up form and despite poor FC form this year we include de Lange since his form is high from the T20s. Warner has struggled a bit in the T20 2nd XI so an in form Root takes his place. We field:
Gill, Selman, Porter, Jenkins, Root, Cooke, Wadlan, de Lange, van der Gugten, Sandersona and Foyle.
Much rest upon the toss, which we lose and bowl first.
Somerset set upon the bowling from the start, the T20 spirit spilling over to their FC game. It yields regular and sometimes cheap wickets but young wicket keeper Tom Banton absolutely skin’s us for 126 off 133 balls. With him gone the sense of clinging on dissipates but they are bowled out for 307 with 10 minutes of day one left. Rabada was hit in the ribs by a short ball from Foyle and retired hurt, but their bowling is excellent. Gill and Selman make a good start but we can not get out of second gear, any attempt to pick up aggression is met with a wicket. Porter falls just short of a century and Cooke some vital runs to take us very slightly ahead to 313.

Our approach to their second innings takes some consideration. There are almost two days left, plenty of time for them to build a good total so we need to take wickets quickly, suppressing their run rate could easily result in a big total but with less time to chase. Attempting a big chase with Bess and Leach bowling as well as they are is unlikely to be successful and we could really do with the win. Their first innings suggests that they are going to be pretty aggressive, almost one day in style from some players.

We adopt our limited-overs tactics. If they go pretty much all out there is a good chance that on a lively pitch it will work as well as in the LO matches.

It does, they seem to go flat out when just being positive would have sufficed, Gregory left stranded on 48 as we bowl them for 118. Ours to lose, and we show them how to accumulate runs, chasing it down with six wickets to spare.

A vital win for our promotion hopes.

[cde]

A quick T20 against Essex and the closest of matches.

Gill is called into the Indian T20 squad, Iqbal is already away with Bangladesh. Lloyd comes in to open and Galiem replaces van der Gugten to strengthen the lower order.

We are asked to bat first and despite a good start from Lloyd we post just 147 - not quite enough to feel confident.

Chopra gets a good start but we take two quick wickets. Wheater and Ryan de Swardt put together a quick scoring partnership and the game is getting away from us. By the time Wadlan gets Wheater out they need just 39 runs in 7 overs. He makes it a pair with ten Doeschate out for a duck. With Wadlan and de Lange bowling the last four overs we dry de Swardt up and while they score some quick runs they also give away wickets. They need 15 from the last two overs but Wadlan give away just the one in the penultimate over, 14 from 6 balls required. Paul Walker takes de Lange for 12 in the first five balls. He can't get a handle on the last ball but goes for the run and is run out. We win by just one run, an exciting match that we would have had no complaints losing.

[cde]

Away to Worcestershire, a game we should win comfortably. A spinning pitch, we swap van der Gugten for. With Gill and Iqbal away Porter opens for the first time. We field:

Porter, Selman, Warner, Jenkins, Root, Cooke, Wadlan, de
Lange, Sanderson, Foyle and Remmington.

With the way Wadlan's been batting it's a long tail but shouldn't matter against weak opposition. We are asked to bowl first.

A couple of quick wickets before Fell and Ali our up a decent partnership but the wickets are shared out by the bowlers and they reach just 256. Porter and Selman put up a 319 run opening partnership in reply. Selman is out for 118 and Porter for 210, a career first double century. Jenkins adds another century and Wadlan, out of his batting nadir, an unbeaten 62 as we declare on 609-6.

All the bowlers take a wicket but Wadlan leads with 5-40 to seal a dominating win.