Story Wales CC - The Quest For Glory (BT)

[w3lshrugby]

"And so it begins..."

That was my message to my players just before the opening match of this season, Season 8, as they walked out onto the pitch to start their cup match, for which Wales CC were strong favourites.

This story will cover the past three seasons of Wales CC and will look forward throughout Season 8 and beyond, in which big improvements are going to be made!

Armed with my strongest squad EVER, so far , I am hoping to acheive a higher position in the league this season after a disappointing time of the league last time out, despite being in a relatively tough league.

So, the quick history of Wales CC:

01/09/2007 Finished season 7 in position 4 in league IV.11.
13/05/2007 The team changed region.
28/04/2007 Finished season 6 in position 4 in league IV.11.
16/12/2006 Finished season 5 in position 8 in league IV.11.
21/09/2006 Ownership of the team changed hands as w3lshrugby took control and renamed the team Wales CC.
Before Wales CC, I had been in charge of a team called Antigua All-Stars, however, after a crap couple of seasons with them, it was time for a change - so I left BT and came back with Wales CC, the Welsh expatriots in South Africa.

More information on the club, ground, players and staff soon...

 

[kookaburra69]

Good luck mate!

 

[surendar]

Good luck Rhys with this story as well as for Season 8. And nice to see another battrick story as well. :cool: Looking forward to it.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

My God, I've created a monster :o

Yet another BT story! Good luck!

 

[w3lshrugby]

THE MILLENIUM STADIUM​

Yes, you guessed it, this is the home of Wales CC in all its glory!

The Millenium Stadium has a current capacity of 26,500 after recent expansions iwhich increased th capacity by 5,000.

The current seating breakdown is as follows:

Standing: 10,000
Uncovered Seats: 10,000
Covered Seats: 5,000
Members Seats: 1,500

The pitch is currently slow with the first home game of Season 8 coming up on Tuesday. How will Wales CC fare at home after a great start away in Season 8... more soon.

SEASON 8 SO FAR...

Here's the catchup bit you've all been waiting for, how have I done so far in Season 8 - well here goes!​

Cup Round One - Mamelodi CC v Wales CC

I found myself playing a bot in Round One of the cup, so I knew it wouldn't be a hard victory at all - luckily, I batted first so the batsmen managed to get some practice with Roland Herd (149) and Stewart Oneill (148*) getting their highest scores ever, respectively. Jeff Mcandrew chipped in with a quick 19 at the end of the innings to take Wales CC to 331/1 from 50 overs.

It was the bowlers turn to show what they were made of - and they did. Early, quick wickets did for Mamelodi CC as they were bowled out within 8 overs. Will Anthony, the strike bowler for the game, took 4/14 from 4 overs and Rhys Mensing, another quickies, took 6/11 from 4 overs. This quick burst left Mamelodi stunned and bowled out for just 29ao

WALES CC - 331/1 (50); Herd 149, Oneill 148*
beat
MAMELODI CC - 29ao (8); Anthony 4/14, Mensing 6/11
by 301 runs.

First Class Round One - Sontana Arctica v Wales CC

Once again, I had the fortune of playing a bot in the first round of the FC games ever!!! I lost the toss and they decided to bat on a green pitch, not wise you may say, and the decision was not vindicated as Arctica were destroyed by some class bowling from the away team. All of the bowlers took wickets for cheap runs. Anthony picking up 2/12 from 10, Mensing picking up 1/2 from 15, with 14 maidens!!! Stuart Appleyard, my main bowler, picked up 2/6 from 13, with 9 maidens. Roy Marsh, a new, young spinner, on debut, picked up 1/13 from 12, with 7 maidens. Finally, Jack Vernon, my trained spinner, picked up 2/4 off 4, with 2 maidens. Wales CC showed their class and bowled out the opposition for just 55.

In reply, Wales CC batted like a dream. Without losing a wicket, they comfortably reached 503/0 off 64 overs - Wallis scoring a great 209* on FC debut, and Oneill backing up his recent one day form with 286*. Wales CC finished on 503/0d

Then Wales CC smashed Sontana Arctica's wickets down as they were thoroughly demolished by the opening bowlers. Anthony was the strike bowler taking 8/6 in his 7.1 overs. Mensing backed him up well with 2/1 from his 7. Sontana Arctica finished on 10ao - as Wales CC wrapped up a huge win early on in the second day!!!

WALES CC - 503/0; Oneill 286*, Wallis 209*
beat
SONTANA ARCTICA - 55ao; Vernon 2/4, Appleyard 2/6 & 10ao; Anthony 8/6, Mensing 2/1
by an innings and 438 runs.

MORE SOON...

 

[surendar]

Thats a big stadium you have got.. I have to wait till i am sure of getting more members.. may be till next season where i am likely to go back to Div 4 again. Lets see..

And amazing win in FC game Thats a huge margin!

 

[Left_Hander]

Very nice stadium. Looks a bit big for 10,000 (). That is two great wins you have had so far.

 

[w3lshrugby]

Very nice stadium. Looks a bit big for 10,000 (). That is two great wins you have had so far.

Only obese people who take up 20 seats each are allowed in though

 

[Left_Hander]

Oh ok. That makes sense then

 

[w3lshrugby]

SEASON 8 MATCHES

OD League Match Round One - rats V Wales CC

I thought to myself, going into this match, that I am the underdog, having lost to this opposition twice last season - and when I started batting, it only confirmed what I thought.

My openers fell cheaply very early on, and two of the middle order swiftly followed to leave Wales CC at 15/4 - at this point I felt that there was no way out of this hole. However, I was to be proven wrong as Mcandrew (no3) along with Tomkins (no6) batted me out of the hole. Mcandrew, however, was out at 140/5, and things still did not look great for Wales CC. Tomkins and Marsh (18yo no7) rebuilt again to take Wales CC past the 200 mark. When Tomkins went for 80 at 201/6, I thought I wasn't going to get too much more. But thankfully, my strong lower order, through Marsh and Vernon, took me all the way to 301/7, Vernon falling on the last ball for 39, which left Marsh, hero of the day so far, on 86*.

In reply, rats had a much better start than I did, however, my bowlers took wickets at regular intervals, and rats could not muster enough runs to build any solid partnerships as they were bowled out for 133! All of the bowlers bowled well, especially debutant, Dickie Purse who took 3/20.

WALES CC 301/7 (50) (Marsh 86*, Tomkins 80)
beat
rats 133ao (36.4) (Purse 3/20, Anthony 3/34)
by 168 runs

So, a huge victory for Wales CC last week against what I'd consider one of the league's strongest opposition for me. So I am delighted with that performance!!!

MOM: Marsh (86* and 2/28)
​

 

[Left_Hander]

Wow! A great comeback from you. Marsh is defiently going to be a player of the future for you.

 

[Minimark]

Nice stuff W3lsh, and good luck for the season. Haven't seen you around for ages (obviously not this forum as I am pretty inactive here, but good luck mate).

I remember once seeing your name on the active users list for KZN and the Wales CC confirmed it was you. Anyway good luck and hope to play you some time.