Friday, April 29, 2011

Ebbw Vale v Glamorgan Wanderers @ Cardiff Arms Park, 30/04/11

Part one of the Premiership Play Off tomorrow versus the Wanderers with the winners facing Bridgend next Saturday.

.
Really looking forward to it, especially with the overall winners now having a place in the Premiership to definitely play for.
.
Can't wait!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Deep Purple Tour, November 2011


They're back - 43 years after forming in 1968, the greatest band ever to walk the face of the planet are on a short tour of the UK.
.
Not only that, but they come equipped with a 38 piece orchestra and are dubbing the production, "The Songs That Built Rock" (shades of the Concerto?).
.
They play 4 dates in the UK, so catch them while you can - they won't be around for ever.
.
Me? I'm going to the LG Arena Birmingham, in the 3rd row from the front. Superb!


Monday, April 18, 2011

Glamorgan v Gloucestershire, 14/04/11 - 17/04/11

Glamorgan started to put a winter of discontent behind them as they competed their first Championship win of the summer in fine April sunshine by defeating Gloucestershire by 189 runs at the SWALEC Stadium.

The full report is here.




Cosker bowls



. Banerjee to Petersen



. Gareth Rees in the runs .
...and again

.

Petersen out LBW


.


Chris Taylor fights on Day 4



.











A draw loomed...before James Harris come on with the new ball


.




Sunday, April 10, 2011

Ebbw Vale 40 Merthyr 10, 09/04/11

Ebbw Vale took another big step towards the Division One East title with a comprehensive victory over the Ironmen in the 'Metal Derby'.
.
If the truth be told, the game was over as a contest in the first quarter when the visitors were reduced to 14 men due to a stamp by the Merthyr tight head. In fact, just before half time, 14 played 12, as another 3 had entered the bin.

.

2 tries from Nicky Coughlin, and one each from Ashley Sweet, Tristran Davies, Dan Ajuwa, and Charlie Simpson confimred the bonus point win.

.

First half pics

.



.

2nd half pics

.



.

Ebbw have 2 fixtures left, home to Beddau and away to basement side Bedlinog. Two bonus point victories will guarantee the title, and then a form of play off to secure the right to promotion of some kind.

.

Click 't' to tweet the pics, or 'f' to facebook them!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Glamorgan: 2011 Season Preview

2010 in a nutshell . . With 4 games to go, Glamorgan were in the box seat to secure the 2nd promotion place along with Sussex from Division Two, but 3 draws and a defeat (along with a last day Worcestershire run chase against a generous Sussex) meant that it was another season of Championship disappointment. . The 40 over cricket was woeful and directionless. In the T20, three early victories flattered to deceive and hopes disappeared around the time that Shaun Tait got recalled by Australia. Glamorgan's hierarchy agreed and looked overseas for a captain to replace Jamie Dalrymple. Matthew Maynard resigned as Director of Cricket in protest, and his son Tom left for Surrey. . 2011 prospects . Batting - looks thin. New captain Alviro Petersen is likely to forsake his Test opening role to bat at 3, but must deliver big runs to justify the controversy surrounding his cloak and dagger appointment (rumours abounded that Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith were the first two choices). . Ben Wright and Gareth Rees must kick on from promising early careers, whilst beneficiary Mike Powell should play more after seemingly falling out of favour with the previous management. Stewart Walters was recruited from Surrey and Mike O'Shea came back from the Unicorns. Mark Cosgrove's runs will be sorely missed however. . Bowling - The seam attack is highly reliant on England Lion James Harris (2010: 63 wickets at little over 20). Allenby is an excellent first change, whilst Graeme Wagg is a good recruit from Derbyshire. . Regarding spin, Dean Cosker had an excellent benefit year last season over 50 wickets at 22 apiece, and of course there is a man called Croft, 41 in May, who shows no signs of finishing. With over 1,000 first class wickets for Glamorgan, he is a superb ambassador for club and country, and, as the country's most economical T20 bowler, could not be ignored despite the ambivalence of the now departed Maynard/Dalrymple axis. . Probable side . Championship: Gareth Rees, Will Bragg, Alviro Petersen, Mike Powell, Ben Wright, Jim Allenby, Mark Wallace (Wk), Robert Croft, James Harris, Graham Wagg, Dean Cosker. Pressing for places Huw Waters, Adam Shantry, David Harrison Twenty20: Mark Cosgrove, Jim Allenby, Alviro Petersen, Ben Wright, Mike O'Shea, Stewart Walters, Robert Croft, Mark Wallace (Wk), Graham Wagg, Huw Waters, Dean Cosker . Key Man – Alviro Petersen, as captain and Test class batsman, he has been given a difficult one year mission to repair the damage of the winter of discontent. . Rising Star - Ben Wright, starting to move out of the promising youngster category into established county pro, 2011 will be a year in which his obvious quality needs to show itself in volume of runs. . Managing Director and Coach - The 'global' search for a Managing Director resulted in the Chair of Cricket Review Group, former wicket keeper, Colin Metson, being (self?) appointed. Of more promise is the recruitment of Matthew Mott from New South Wales as coach. His first year can surely be little more than one of familiarisation and sorting out the wheat from the chaff. . ...and now for the fun bit... . Prediction - As much as I am Glamorgan to the core, I can't see anything but a season of struggle. Minus Cosgrove's quick fire runs in 4 day cricket, and with the seam bowling highly reliant on James Harris, mid table in the Championship's 2nd tier would be the most realistic expectation. . Supporters would like to see some direction after years of shapeless one day cricket. Like 17 other counties, a good start and a tail wind may result in a place in the T20 knockout stages.