7th June 2024
| Matt Thompson
Wales head to Wimborne on Saturday night looking to get themselves back on track in NCCA Group 4 of the One Day Trophy against Dorset, after a closely contested affair against Wiltshire at Pontarddulais last Sunday.
Had Wales not endured a torrid first hour of the game which left them 30-5 after winning the toss and electing to bat, the outcome might have been different given the fight and resolve the lower order and bowling group showed to make Wiltshire work hard for their victory. Will Naish (3-21) was the culprit who tore through the Welsh top order nicking off his former teammate Ollie Meadows on debut without scoring. Steff Roberts chose the wrong ball to clear mid off and Morgan Bevans saw his stumps rearranged by Broderick, but the real problems started when the experienced Brad Wadlan was run out coming back for second run followed by Tim Moses finding second slip off Naish. Wales needed someone to stand up and skipper Cam Herring duly did, notching a career best 92 off 117 balls which was filled with an array of classy strokes. He found a willing partner in Milo Ayres who played fluently in a stand of 86 with the skipper before he was adjudged leg before off the spin Archie Fairfax-Ross (2-25). Teg Phillps and Adam Sylvester helped Herring get Wales up to a competitive score before the skipper played across a straight delivery in the 46th over from opposite number Ed Young to leave a target of 184.
CAPTION: Cameron Herring notched a career best 92 last week as captain against Wiltshire in a losing cause (Credit: CIAC Images).
An early breakthrough courtesy of Ben Morris immediately sparked hope for Wales, even more so when a promising partnership was broken at 46-2 which quickly became 48-4 with Morris (2-40) and Tim Moses (3-41) doing the damage. When Josh Kelly could not continue batting after sustaining an injury in the field Wiltshire were in deep trouble effectively 5 down. Keeper Ben Draper (60) counterpunched despite some close shouts for leg before alongside Fairfax-Ross to steer Wiltshire close before Sylvester (2-26) produced two rippers to give Wales faint hope. Despite the loss, player/coach Brad Wadlan was pleased with his team’s spirit and attitude. He said: “apart from the first hour I thought we showed a lot of fight and pride. Cam was superb and led from the front with the bat. As a batting unit we absolutely need to be better this week on what is typically a good wicket at Wimborne. With the ball our seamers were outstanding and pushed right until the last run so I couldn’t ask any more of them. What pleased me most was the fight and energy in the field. If we continue to show that moving forwards we will absolutely be in positions to win games.”
It won’t be lost on Wales that Sunday represents a pivotal point in the campaign despite it only being the second game. Whilst not impossible to qualify with two losses it would certainly leave an uphill battle with tough games against Cheshire and Hertfordshire to come still. Dorset find themselves in that scenario this week having lost out to Herts last weekend – they will be looking to get back on track in similar fashion to Wales.
- Explosive batter Sam Young is missing but Hampshire staffer Felix Organ – who took 5-fer against Surrey in Division 1 of the Championship less than two weeks ago – is welcomed back into the fold and joins Greg Willows and Alex Eckland in the middle order alongside all rounder David Scott. Wales are forced into two changes themselves with Tim Moses absent and Adam Sylvester’s presence required with Kent as the seamer’s stock continues to rise. Joseph Davies – absent through injury last week – is a straight swap for Sylvester whilst Jude Wright replaces Moses. Wadlan has opted for an additional spinner rather than a seamer so Asim Hameed makes way for the newly registered Alex Russell. The 22 year old leg spinner is currently contracted to Northamptonshire and has represented Herefordshire in previous years. Given his Welsh roots by birth Russell joins the fold for the first time and will meet up with the squad on Saturday evening, as he continues to make his case for first team inclusion for John Sadler’s side.
CAPTION: Milo Ayres made 42 on 50 over debut for Wales alongside Cam Herring (Credit: CIAC Images).
Play from Wimborne commences from 11am on Sunday and admission is free with live streaming capability available.
Dorset CCC from: Luke Webb*, Jacob Gordon, Greg Willows, Felix Organ, David Scott, Alex Eckland+, Finn Gordon, Simon Woodruff, Connor Smith, Matt Burton, Tom Varney, Lewis Freak.
Wales NC from: OJW Meadows (Bedminster), MJ Bevans (Newport), SH Roberts (Swansea), BL Wadlan (Swansea), CL Herring*+ (Pontarddulais), JA Wright (St Fagans/Alton), MC Ayres (Bedminster), TD Phillips (Cardiff), JA Davies (Bridgend), BJ Morris (Pontarddulais), AK Russell (Northants), OB Rayner (Usk).