Match reports
1st XI Saturday 22 September 07
Cae Glas ended their Shropshire League Division Two season on a high note by putting up a spirited performance to draw at champions Wrekin, at the same time gaining all the points they needed to ensure fifth position.
Wrekin opted to bat and went off in their usual aggressive fashion, and the visitors promptly dropped four catches. Perhaps inevitably, the first wicket was a run-out created by a good pick-up and throw by Joe Yapp, and the home side slumped from 48-0 to 52-5. At 101-7 Cae Glas looked well in control.
But then Rashid Khan, who had made 80 in the earlier fixture, came to the wicket and played the best innings seen in Cae Glas' season. Khan blazed an unbeaten 121, half his runs coming in well-timed sixes, most of them straight ones, as he and I.Khan put on an unbroken 123 to enable Wrekin to post a score of 224-7 off their 40 overs.
Cae Glas' bowlers worked hard and the fielders recovered well, with Keith Yapp and Dave Morris both picking up two wickets.
The Cae Glas reply was always a positive one, and dominated by Ian Holgate who blazed 45 in a 68-run third wicket partnership with Ben Hipkiss (21). At the halfway point Cae Glas well well in contention for a win, but their effort fell away against Junior Boyce's left-arm spin and Neil Ruby ultimately saved the day with a very sound unbeaten 20 as the visitors closed on 167-8.
1st XI Saturday 15 September 07
Joe Yapp and Craig Nunnerley led from the front with both ball and bat as Cae Glas beat Wellington III by five wickets to complete an unbeaten home programme for the season.
Yapp's pace was too much for most of the visitors and he bagged 4-18 off nine overs at Wellington were dismissed for just 79, with good support in the field -- the highlight was a superb one-handed catch from keeper Chris Holgate.
All the other bowlers backed Yapp up well and the other wickets were shared around between Nunnerley (2-13), Dave Morris, Tim Turner and Nick Broadbent.
The home side faced early problems at 7-2 and 28-3, but Yapp (24) and Nunnerley (14 not out) steadied the innings for the second successive home match, and it was Nunnerley and Holgate who led the home side to an ultimately comfortable success.
Cae Glas' home record for the season reads six won, two drawn, one tied one abandoned and one cancelled.
1st XI Saturday 8 September 07
Great seam bowling by Dave Morris and Keith Yapp helped Cae Glas race to their biggest win of the season -- a crushing nine-wicket triumph at Willey which sentenced the hosts to both the wooden spoon and relegation from Division Two.
The bowlers were well supported by five catches behind the wicket and lively general support in the field.
Willey's batters lived dangerously from the off and wickets fell at regular intervals. Yapp's swing and control from the bottom end earned him 3-24 off 11 overs, while Morris's pace had the opposition hopping. First stand-in keeper Ben Hipkiss, who performed really well in this unusual role, took a brilliant one-handed catch, and Morris's other wickets - he took three of them in a single telling over - came courtesy of three smart second-slip catches by Andy Griffiths.
Joe Yapp and Craig Nunnerley also picked up a wicket apiece and Willey were back in the pavilion for just 66 off 28 overs. Luck seldom supports struggling sides, and the home number three was felled when hooking a ball into his face and took a nasty cut near his eye, which curtailed his play for the day.
Cae Glas then made short work of wrapping up 20 points. Hipkiss and Griffiths put on 48 for the first wicket with aa positive range of strokes before Ian Holgate helped end the match in just 17.2 overs. Hipkiss cracked 28 and Griffiths an unbeaten 23.
1st XI Saturday 1 September 07
A terrific counter-attacking seventh-wicket stand of 99 between Joe Yapp and Craig Nunnerley came close to earning Cae Glas what would have been a memorable success against visiting Montgomery.
In the end Cae Glas ended up 31 runs short and claimed 11 points from a losing draw compared to 16 for the visitors, but it was a pulsating game throughout. Montgomery dominated most the battles before Cae Glas almost won the war at the end.
The key to the game was a terrific stand of 161 for Montgomery's second wicket between Richard Blayney (65) and Rob Kinsey (84), as for the second week running the early Cae Glas pacemen found life difficult. Once again the spinners, Nick Broadbent and Ian Holgate, pegged back the run-rate but at 180-1 Montgomery went for broke and it resulted in a late flurry of wickets with Dan Conde the chief beneficiary with 3-27.
Andy Griffiths and Jono Wilson gave the reply a decent start, but the home side then collapsed from 44-1 to 76-6 and it looked game over. Enter Joe Yapp at centre stage, given very sound support by Craig Nunnerley, and before too much longer the game was alive as a contest once again.
Yapp went on to crack 71 but in the end Montgomery's manic run chase paid good dividends - although not before the ninth-wicket pair of Conde and Dave Morris provided a flourishing finish which earned extra points and a final total of 202-8.
1st XI Saturday 25 August 07
Cae Glas unfurled their second shocking catching display of the season which, allied to a woeful batting performance, ended with a 153-run thrashing at in-form Tibberton.
Tibberton would take the very reasonable view that they batted and bowled well, but there are two sides to every story and for Cae Glas it is simply that this was their poorest overall display of the season.
The visitors inserted the home side on a glorious afternoon, but any hopes of dismissing the visitors cheaply - or at least restricting them to a chasable total - were wrecked by butter-fingered catching which saw opener Danny McIntosh (67) dropped an astonishing eight times.
Both he and Satish Kunjir (62) took advantage of the short straight boundaries before their bludgeoning quickfire start halted by the introduction of spinners Barry Richards and Nick Broadbent, who hauled the run-fest back. But chances continued to go begging, and Tibberton ended on 232-8 off their 45 overs with Richards claiming a well-deserved 4-75 off 16 overs and Craig Nunnerley bagging three late victims for 36.
Any chance of a positive reply evaporated as the visitors slumped to 10-3, 42-6, and 69-9 before being bowled out for 79. Main damage was done by openers "Rocker" Robinson and Marc Gilroy with 4-21 and 3-31 respectively.
1st XI Saturday 18 August 07
A no-nonsense innings of 58 by Ian Holgate enabled Cae Glas to give second-placed Church Stretton plenty to think about before increasingly heavy rain forced the game's abandonment at the three-quarter stage.
Cae Glas were put in and the excellent Gatacre pitch held up well in the face of of several showers once the game had started. Andy Griffiths (30) rode his luck and gave the home side a brave and steady start, and Gaz Edgerton (18) lent sound support before Holgate arrived to blaze seven boundaries and a six in his highest score for the senior XI.
It proved a very important knock as, aided by Keith Yapp's late guidance, Cae Glas were able to clock up 149-6 off their 35 overs and set title-chasing Stretton a target they found impossible to chase down before the unrelenting rain had the final say and play was abandoned.
The visitors ended on 77-2 when the final heavy shower left the pitch waterlogged with exactly half (17.3) of the reply left, with best bowlers Yapp and Craig Nunnerley taking a wicket each. Glas gained eight points and Stretton seven.
1st XI Saturday 11 August 07
A brave fightback after an early batting collapse couldn't save Cae Glas from a five-wicket defeat at Pontesbury.
But the spirit and determination of the recovery gave the visitors considerable consolation, as all six of the players who were making their 1st XI seasonal debuts made their mark with style and flair after unavailabilities gave the XIU an unusual look.
The damage was done in the first 16 overs, as Cae Glas slumped to a terminal 24-7. Then Barry Vaughan, who anchored the remainder of the innings with a masterful unbeaten 24, and Nigel Evans - playing his first game of any description for the season - rallied their side with a stand of 35.
Evans cracked four boundaries in his 23, and last man Nick Chesters helped Vaughan add 24 for the final wicket.
It left an all-out total of 94, hardly an imposing total on day when many other sides piled up big totals as pitches at last dried out, but something at least for the side to defend.
It wasn't quite enough, although Murrel Morris led the reply with 3-17 off eight accurate overs and was well backed up in the field, particularly by a spectacular running catch in the deep by Andy Griffiths.
Carl Bather and Nick Chesters picked up a wicket each and Tim Smith - normally the 2nd XI skipper - kept wicket well and was unlucky to see two stumping claims turned down before the home side eased home in the 23rd over.
2nd XI Saturday 11 August 07
Playing British Sugar at home Cae Glas were invited to don the pads and bat first.
Cae Glas lost their skipper Meg Ballment early on to a ball that kept low giving British Sugar as small waft of success, but they hadn't reckoned on the rest of the Cae Glas batting.
Martin Wynn (8) steadied the ship to put on a useful partnership backing up the hard working Nick Remon (96 not out); then John Wilson stepped to the crease to play a stylish 45 that really pushed on the run rate finding some great boundaries with awesome shots and quick running.
Steve Oakley (37) joined the party to provide support for Remon and Helen Goss (not out 8) helped to steer the home side for 213 for 5 before tea.
With a fresh wind in their sales Cae Glas stepped up their fielding performance and turned in some tight and nippy show pieces.
An impressive 5 for 53 from Dan Conde lead the way and the ever efficient Wynn (1-23) contained British Sugars hopes.
Some timely change of bowlers by the skipper curtailed the visitors from scoring as she then took 2-14 herself - taking out the two potential big scorers.
The fielding was awesome with Remon and Wilson in particular taking two blinding catches and Goss was diligent behind the stumps.
With British Sugar on the ropes Wilson was left to wrap up the party with 2-2 in his 0.5 over.
A fine win with everyone participating and putting something into the game to give the team much needed points and a memorable win
1st XI Saturday 4 August 07
A clinical bowling and fielding performance set up Cae Glas for their most comprehensive victory of the season against neighbours Knockin & Kinnerley on Saturday.
Knockin were dismantled for exactly 100 thanks to direct seam bowling - which accounted for seven wickets clean bowled - and good support in the field. Joe Yapp (2-17) set the tone by dismissing Barry Jones for a single, and fellow opener Keith Yapp (2-21) was also in mean mood as wickets fell steadily after that.
Dave Morris (4-16) was the overall star of the home attack and he ripped out the visitors' middle order to effectively settle the match, clean bowling Paul Higginson (23) who provided most of the visitors' resistance. And although Hugh Morris looked comfortable, he was left stranded on 17 as his colleagues were unable to offer much support.
Gaz Edgerton (2-8) dismissed the last two batters and with Craig Nunnerley unlucky not to get a share of the wickets, Knockin were all back in the pavilion for 100 with just 37 overs used.
Determined openers Andy Griffiths (24) and Ben Hipkiss (28) got the home side off to a solid start and the result was never in doubt, as Knockin soon realised. Joe Yapp's unbeaten 17 steering Cae Glas to a comfortable seven-wicket success in just 27 overs of the reply. Knockin leaked 30 extras which scarcely helped their cause, with 17 wides the bulk of the sundries, and it was all over by 7.00.
1st XI Saturday 28 July 07
Rain and a defiant seventh-wicket resistance from debutant Jock Edgerton and Neil Ruby - playing only his second senior game - enabled Cae Glas to escape with an abandoned match at Bishop's Castle on Saturday and only a 9-7 points deficit.
Dave Morris, in his first 1st XI appearance of the season, took the bowling honours with a great display after the home side were inserted - 3-19 off ten overs with good support from openers Keith and Joe Yapp. The fielders backed them up well, with Ruby plucking another great slip catch to dismiss dangerman Fifield for a duck and Ian Holgate pulling off two good takes in the covers.
But the home side battled back well, led by Edgar Whately's 53, and Castle ended with 134-7 off their 45 overs.
The Cae Glas reply never got started as 'Harry' Palmer (4-8), swinging the ball into the right-handers Sidebottom-style, loped in to clean bowl four of the top five, and then Will Middleton (2-13) also hit the timbers twice to leave the visitors' hopes in ruins at 14-6 off just 13 overs.
But then Jock Edgerton and Ruby dug in well, and their gutsy defence lifted the score slowly to 26-6 off 30 overs and the target was simply another 15 overs left to survive.
Their determination and expertise made this a real possibility - but at this point the rain, which had intervened some half-dozen overs earlier, became just too heavy and the game was abandoned. The four rain points were really bonus points, because even if the seventh-wicket pair had gone the distance, draw points would have been highly unlikely.
1st XI Saturday 21 July 07
A dry (-ish) day - but the heavy rain of the previous days left the pitch waterlogged, so Forton were not asked to travel - the first home game to fall victim to the weather for the 1st XI this season.
1st XI Wednesday 18 July 07 League KO/Barringtons 20:20
Cae Glas bowed out in the semi-final after an exciting finish at Llanidloes when they were shaded by two wickets off the first ball of the final over.
There was little to choose between the sides on a balmy summer evening, but the key to Llani's success was a mesmeric performance by spinner Adrian Foulkes, who claimed 4-18 off his five overs.
Cae Glas were put in to bat and the highlight of their 114-7 was an unbeaten 50 by Rob Allen, who was at the crease for most of the innings and gained good support from most of his fellow batters.
In the reply, Keith Yapp (2-19) and Joe Yapp also bowled well in their five-over spells during the first half of the innings and had Llani in trouble at 24-3. But R.Davies (45) and M.Hughes (18) turned the tide with what proved to be a match-winning stand of 59.
Nevertheless Cae Glas refused to give up without a fight. With the score at 110-5, Gaz Edgerton (4-19) switched ends for his fourth and final over and grabbed three wickets to leave Llani needing four to win off the final over with two wickets in hand. A.Jones's scything six off the first ball settled a good contest.
1st XI Saturday 14 July 07
An inspired performance by Keith Yapp lifted Cae Glas to a memorable 35-run victory at local rivals Whittington on Saturday.
After a fraught holiday in the Canaries, Yapp hadn't been too keen to bowl a long spell. But with his side having been dismissed for just 106, he then bowled unchaged after tea and captured a mesmeric 7-31 - his best-ever figures for the club - off 15.2 overs to seal a victory against the odds.
Yapp was well backed up by the other bowlers and some great fielding, none better than debutant Neil Ruby's slip catch to dismiss Brian Whitley for a duck off the third ball of the innings, and James Wigley's fine throw to run out the other opener Neil Dermody. And then with Yapp dismissing key bats Adam Lewis and Matt McKenzie for ducks as well, Cae Glas gave themselves a platform which a gutsy team showing was keen to exploit.
Gradually the Whittington innings was worn down with only Gareth Morris showing the calm resistance his side needed, and when he fell to a great c&b effort from Yapp the game was effectively up, and the result wrapped up soon after as the home side folded for 71.
Earlier Cae Glas had been put in on a drying wicket and only Wigley (18) and Yapp (17) made a real impression with the bat, although Gaz Edgerton and Craig Nunnerley helped out well, as Whitley claimed 5-30 to undermine the innings for what looked a vulnerable total at tea.
But Cae Glas bounced back well from the previous week's poor showing in the field with a lion-hearted display that ultimately earned a well-deserved 23 points.
2nd XI Saturday 14 July 07
Saturday saw Gae Glas entertain Worfield at home. Worfield won the toss and elected to bat. Steve Oakley did a great job holding down the opening batmens with Meg Ballment (3-49) and Rich Jones (4-20) helping the side bowl out the visitors for 152.
There were some chances lost in the field to take earlier wickets but generally the bowling was sharp. Cae Glas donned the pads with a slow start on an unpredictable wicket.
Tim Smith started to find his stride but was caught in slips for 19. Steve Oakley and Dave Gollan provided some middle order restitance to frustrate the visitors but it was left to skipper Ballment and Barry Vaughan to bat out the remainding overs to salvage a losing draw. All in all a good performance where the main player was the wicket.
Next week Cae Glas take on Overton away and where skipper Ballment is looking to build on the points position in the league. It is thought that last weeks win was first for the Shropshire league - being captained by a lady captain.
1st XI Saturday 7 July 07
Two things, it is said, are true of life generally - death and taxes. And two things are just as true of life during a single CG 1st XI season - at some stage the side will produce a disastrous batting performance and also drop a large number of catches.
The first of these disasters had already happened five weeks previously; the second transpired at home to unbeaten leaders Wrekin as a whole series of drops ruined any chance the side had of making a serious impression near the top of the table.
In the end Cae Glas scrambled a draw to preserve their unbeaten home record, and held on to fifth place, but with a patchy batting performance following their collective butter-fingers, the side failed to confirm any kind of top-two potential.
Having won an important toss, the home bowlers again turned in their usual spirited and tenacious performance but were badly let down in the field, as a series of straightforward chances were (inexplicably?) spilled to allow the visitors to romp to 244-8. The most successful performers were Chris Wiseman (3-48) and Tim Turner (3-56), and it has to be said the home side didn't get much luck as far as decisions in their favour were concerned.
After tea, another disappointing performance from too many of the top order left the home innings in ruins at 32-5 and the game effectively over as a contest. At least James Wigley (27) and Gaz Edgerton (22) provided a gutsy recovery of sorts with a stand of 45, with Tim Nunnerley's cameo helping the score along, but in the end it was left to the tail-enders, marshalled by Craig Nunnerley, to lift the score from 90-8 and save the game for a final total of 110-9 (Khan 3-31 off 17 overs).
1st XI Saturday 30 June 07
More torrential rain meant Cae Glas's game at Wellington was cancelled, again without the team travelling.
1st XI Tuesday 26 June 07 League KO/Barringtons 20:20
Cae Glas raced into the semi-finals of the Barringtons 20:20 competition with a comprehensive 90-run home victory over Iscoyd & Fenns Bank in the north Shropshire zone final.
Much credit was due to the groundsmen for getting the pitch so well prepared after heavy rain.
The tie was effectively a contest for its first quarter as Cae Glas, put in, went on to rack up a comprehensive score.
After opener Joe Yapp had cracked 17, Rob Allen dominated the innings with a mighty knock of 69 which contained four huge straight sixes and five boundaries. Ian Holgate added great support with an unbeaten 42 as the home side set what turned out to be an imposing total of 143-3. Iscoyd's reply never got off the ground as Keith and Joe Yapp - backed up by some great fielding - destroyed their top order, leaving the visitors reeling at 13-6 after eight overs and the game effectively over.
Keith Yapp claimed 3-14 and Joe Yapp 2-13 (plus a direct-hit run-out), and it was left to Duncan Wright's 26 to salvage a little pride and help the visitors to a final total of 53-8 against solid support bowling from Chris Wiseman, Gaz Edgerton, James Wigley and Allen.
1st XI Saturday 23 June 07
A never-say-die performance by Cae Glas ended with a tied match in their Shropshire League Division Two game at home to Willey in a thrilling finish.
Willey needed two to win off the final ball of the game, but a good yorker from Gaz Edgerton had them scrambling for the single which meant the points were split.
Given the conditions, it was a bad toss for Cae Glas to lose, but their batters persevered and ultimately set a challenging 123. Ben Hipkiss's 20 gave his side their usual good start, then came a typical slump before the middle order pulled it round thanks to 25 by Tim Nunnerley and 22 from Edgerton.
The home side, ultimately reduced to ten men, then turned in a superb team performance full of effort and determination. Joe Yapp and Dan Conde opened with tight lines before the big hitting of Australian Anton Gunter - who earlier claimed 3-25 - put Willey in the box seat. However Nick Broadbent first restricted his scoring and then dismissed him, and with Tim Turner producing a sterling performance at the other end with the key figures of 4-25 off 11 overs, Willey were reduced to 82-7.
The visitors showed some spark at this stage and this set up Cae Glas's tightest of finishes for several seasons. But Yapp and Edgerton bowled well at the death to deny Willey victory, after the home side had conceded three extra overs after being bowled out in 42.
Although some sharp half-chances again went begging early in the second innings, Cae Glas's spirited fielding was of the highest standard, and was typified by an outstanding performance behind the stumps from Chris Holgate.
This was the fourth tie in Cae Glas's 1st XI league history, and all four have come off the last ball of the game, with Cae Glas batting first and the opposition having wickets to spare in chasing a score in the 120s.
The previous tie was in 1999 at Hanwood, with an indentical finish in that Hanwood needed two to win and scrambled one - scores were very similar with each side ending on 128. In 1992 at home to Tibberton (played on the artificial), the visitors were level at 121 apiece and needed just one off the last delivery - a direct hit from square on by Tim Morris kept it level.
The most dramatic of all was the very first home league game played by Cae Glas, in the debut Gatacre season of 1976. With three balls left MEB had levelled the scores at 126 apiece. But on each of these deliveries, the batter charged, missed, and was easily run out in the attempt for a winning bye by keeper Len Colbert, who took the ball cleanly each time.
1st XI Saturday 16 June 07
Torrential rain over the previous two days meant Cae Glas's game at Montgomery was called off with the side not travelling - four points each.
1st XI Saturday 09 June 07
Cae Glas maintained their 100 per cent home record by beating Tibberton by three wickets.
It was very much a team effort and much of the credit goes to the bowling and fielding which never allowed the visitors any kind of freedom.
Dropped catches of varying degrees of difficulty looked like giving Tibberton a good start, but skipper Nick Broadbent (3-27 off 12 overs) and Keith Yapp (2-50 off 14) never allowed the top order to estblish any kind of command. Yapp's figures belied an excellent effort with the ball, and then Joe Yapp came back for a second spell to clean bowl three of the lower order and dismiss the visitors for 114.
In reply Cae Glas lumped to 7-3 and they were staring at another batting collapse which had cost them so dearly the previous week. But opener Andy Griffiths and Joe Yapp produced a great recovery stand of 43. It was a patient effort that frustrated the visiting attack, and their scores of 15 and 17 were worth a great deal more in terms of the team cause.
Ian Holgate came in to accelerate the score with an aggressive 32 before the game turned again as the home side slumped to 96-7. Once again the determined bat of Keith Yapp, allied to some judicious hitting from Chris Holgate, gave Cae Glas the final say and ensured another 20-point return.
1st XI Wednesday 06 June 07 League KO/Barringtons 20:20
Cae Glas beat holders Frankton in second round of the Shropshire League KO by just one run in a thrilling last-ball finish, thanks once again to an all-round team effort.
Their success was underpinned by a great unbeaten knock of 62 by Rob Allen, playing his first game of the season.
Batting first, Joe Yapp and Ben Oakley both cracked 24 and helped number four Allen to establish a challenging total of 137-5 off their 20 overs.
It was nip and tuck right through Frankton's reply. Both sides seized the ascendancy in turn, with Craig Nunnerley's excellent five-over spell of 3-35 giving the visitors much of their early advantage.
At the start of the last over Frankton needed five to win with two wickets left. But Gaz Edgerton - who also bowled exceptionally well - turned in a tremendous final over and it left Frankton needing four to win off the final ball. A hit to long-on saw the batters ran two - but three proved beyond them and the run-out left them stranded on 136-9.
This puts Cae Glas in the competition quarter-finals for ther first time, after receiving a walkover from Ellesmere in the opening tie.
It also continued an incredible and identical sequence of narrow victories in on-field Shropshire League KO ties. All four of Cae Glas's successes have now come off the last ball by one run.
Previously they defended 125 at Knockin last year and in 1984 defended 88 at home to Coton Hall, both in the current competition which has run for 27 seasons, although in fairness the club dropped out of this event for many years.
Pre-1981 the competition was an open draw - during which Cae Glas gained their greatest-ever win, beating premier division Wem at their old brewery ground. In an exact replica of this year's Frankton finale, Wem had needed four off the last delivery and gained two through a hit to long-on!
A reasonably easy first round win at Acton Reynald in Cae Glas's debut league season of 1976 remains the club's only other KO success.
1st XI Saturday 02 June 07
It was very much an afternoon to forget for Cae Glas on Saturday in their first sub-standard performance of the season - a "one-of-those-days" afternoon as they took a seven-wicket hammering at Church Stretton.
Put in on an unpredictable surface, and under constant pressure from a very good home attack, the visitors' batters found themselves under constant pressure and poor shot selection was too often the predictable response.
A ten-man sidewas shot out for just 34 with Eddie Smith claiming 5-9 and Andy Dixon 4-14.
A spirited reply both with the ball and in the field helped salvage a smidgeon of pride with three wickets.
1st XI Wednesday 30th May League KO/Barringtons 20:20
Ellesmere were unable to raise a side, and with rain also a threat to their square, conceded the first round tie.
1st XI Saturday 26 May 07
Cae Glas were gifted 20 points because opponents Pontesbury II were unable to raise a side to fulfil the fixture. Shrewsbury Town's Wembley date was the attraction, and Cae Glas were unable to switch the game to either of the alternative weekend dates because that would have caused unavailability of their own.
1st XI Saturday 19 May 07
A blistering second-wicket partnership of 133 between Ben Hipkiss and Joe Yapp underpinned a third win in four games to date for Cae Glas in a sporting and keenly-fought clash at Knockin & Kinnerley.
Crisp strokeplay and excellent running were the hallmark of the partnership and took the momentum right away from the home side as the visitors accelerated with 116 runs off the middle 20 overs of their 45-over innings.
Home pacemen Huw Morris and Julian Gallimore had opened well as the home side, who had won the toss, got on top by keeping Cae Glas to just 5-1 off the first ten overs.
But after getting the innings back on track, the second-wicket pair raised the tempo with a stream of good-looking shots. Hipkiss cracked 61 - his third half-century in four innings - and Yapp 54 to put the visitors in a commanding position of 136-1 with 13 overs to go.
The momentum was carried on by Ian Holgate, James Wigley and Gaz Edgerton, with Chris Wiseman and Chris Holgate also flowing to set a target of 218-6. Morris ended with 3-41 off 14 overs.
Cae Glas struck immediately after tea as Yapp and Craig Nunnerley dismissed both openers cheaply, but the game swung the other way as Barry Jones and Richard Boyes launched a classy fightback with a string of powerful shots. It was very much Knockin in the driving seat as the pair hit their straps and approached the 100-mark.
Enter Edgerton (3-17 off eight overs) with the ball to swing the game again, this time decisively in Cae Glas' favour. First he dismissed Boyes for 26 and then Jones to a catch behind for 53, then grabbed a third wicket straight away. Nick Broadbent (2-35) and Chris Wiseman (2-19) turned the screw and Nunnerley (2-43) wrapped up a 71-run victory.
Morris (28) landed some lusty late blows but Knockin were ultimately dismissed for 147 in 31.3 overs in what represented Cae Glas' most stylish display of the season.
1st XI Saturday 12 May 07
An outstanding opening partnership of 99 between Ben Hipkiss and Joe Yapp laid the platform for a four-wicket home success for Cae Glas against Bishop's Castle.
On another excellent Gatacre batting track, Cae Glas put their opponents in and persevered well in the field as their visitors totalled 172-6, led by Richard Fifield's classy 58. They never quite looked like bowling the visitors out, but led by Yapp's controlled 3-31 off 12 overs, never allowed the game to get away from them and went into tea optimistic of chasing successfully, especially after getting runs in both their previous games.
Hipkiss (75) and Yapp (34) first laid all the batting foundations and then threatened to win the game at a canter. Once Yapp's fine all-round performance came to an end, his side progressed sedately to 143-1 and victory appeared a formality. But as usual, Cae Glas decided to make life difficult for itself, and a succession of poor shot selection suddenly saw five wickets go down for less than 20 runs.
Once again it was the grit of Keith Yapp, helped this time by Chris Wiseman, that enabled the visitors to get across the finishing line in a game in which the scores were virtually an exact reprise of their opening day home success a fortnight previously.
1st XI Saturday 5 May 07
Cae Glas went down by three wickets in a topsy-turvy match at Forton in the second match of the season.
Put in on a difficult wicket, Ben Hipkiss and Andy Griffiths batted well and gave the visitors a sound start with 70-plus, before Griffiths skied a catch. Hipkiss led from the front despite a painful blow to the foot, but once he was out for a very good 51, the innings slumped from 98-1 to 104-5.
The home bowlers knew how to exploit the wicket with extra "zip", but Keith Yapp and Chris Holgate took control to help their side end of 176, all out off the final delivery.
The visitors replied with a strong start, and the majority of their batters adopted a "route one" approach. Although the visiting bowlers were not able to replicate the advantageous way to bowl, steady performances in an ebb-and-flow innings saw Forton reduced to 125-7.
That gave Cae Glas the advantage, but number three Heslop and number nine Meredith came to the party in good style. Heslop's half-century was crucial, and his "normal" approach to batting paid a 20-point dividend. Gaz Edgerton with 3-25 was the pick of the visiting attack, and overall the visitors took seven bonus points home with them after a match that could have gone either way.
1st XI Saturday 28 April 07
Our 1st XI opened the 2007 season in the right fashion by carving out a four-wicket win against local rivals Whittington in a game played in excellent spirit on a hard and true home surface.
Home skipper Nick Broadbent won the toss, but his decision to insert Whittington wasn't paying off with the visitors 94-1 with half of the 45 overs gone and Brian Whitley and Rob Morris looking menacing.
Father & son Keith and Joe Yapp opened the bowling well without reward. First change Craig Nunnerley claimed the one wicket to fall, but it was the third and fourth change bowlers that altered the game. First Broadbent redeemed his pre-match decision by trapping Whitley lbw for 53 with his second ball, and then caught Morris (28) off Edgerton.
Chris Holgate, back as the first team keeper, then stepped in with a hat-trick of stumpings off Broadbent, who also accepted a sharp caught & bowled to dismiss G.Morris for 25.
Edgerton was bowling with his customary directness and clean bowled three batters and ended with 4-25 off 11 overs. Broadbent's figures were 5-37 off 10.4 and Whittington were dismissed for 160 in the last over.
Cae Glas lost wickets steadily after tea, but the result was never really in doubt. Andy Griffiths (24) survived a skier as he and Joe Yapp (26) built steadily, and it was debutant Ryan Jones who caught the eye with a match-winning knock of 45. He had already fielded well, and showed poise and style in compiling an attractive 45. It was left to the desire and grit of Keith Yapp to ensure the 20-point return.
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