YET again Dinas Powys Cricket Club's 1st XI home fixture was hampered by the uncertainty of where they were going to face visitors Llantwit Fadre.

With the travellers refusing to move from Parc Bryn-y-Don, dispensation was given by the league to allow Dinas to play their game on the club’s spiritual home, The Common.

At the toss skipper Nathan ‘Norman’ Piddock elected to bowl and his side started well through Lewie Clarke and Ryan Todd, with Clarke getting an early breakthrough removing Smith for nine.

Fadre skipper Stuart Clarke then built a strong partnership with centurion Scott Williams (104) before being dismissed for 21 by a very well taken catch by captain Pidds off the bowling of Matt Bloxham.

Bloxham, making his debut on The Common having played at Dinas for six seasons went on to register figures of 3-34 from his allotted nine overs.

Piddock (0-26) and Rizvi (1-32) kept things tight but could not stop Williams from making his century. However, no sooner had the Fadre centurion raised his bat he was cruelly run out by his loving brother.

Run outs became a common theme towards the close of the innings with two for Connor Hetherton and one for Matt Todd-Bennett, helping to bowl Llantwit out for 198 in the final over.

After tea, Dinas set about their chase through Gordon Hannah and Lloyd Di Mauro. Not wanting to waste any time knowing his skipper had to leave early, Hannah bashed 27 off two overs before his partner had even faced a ball.

When he did face, Di Mauro was well caught at mid-off for just three runs with the score on 42.

Hannah went on to record the fastest half century in the club's first team history, making it in just 29 balls. A confident Todd-Bennett then arrived at the crease and tried to go blow for blow with Hannah providing some great entertainment for the onlooking Mavis Wilton and the rest of the crowd.

Hannah spared none of the Fadre attack on his way to a fine and chanceless century, finishing on 116 not out. Todd-Bennett retired hurt after conveniently pulling a hamstring as he reached the milestone of 50 allowing Asad Rizvi to join Hannah with Dinas needing only 21 more for victory.

Rizvi and Hannah finished the job in the 32nd over giving the 1sts their third consecutive maximum point win and ensuring that they keep the pressure on rivals Monmouth at the top of the Division 3 table.

The 2nd XI travelled to Ponthir with captain Andy Ford losing yet another coin toss.

Dinas were surprisingly asked to bat on a tropical day in Torfaen but with batsmen two and three ridiculously lost somewhere in Magor it was a makeshift opening partnership of Jack Preston and Miles Wilton that took to the crease.

When they went early for seven and four respectively, Jason Harries and Gareth ‘J-Guy’ Evans followed suit leaving the villagers reeling at 44 for four.

Ford donning his fading red cap came in to bat with Curtis Wingren and they set about re-building the innings in an effective manner. Wingren went next for a well-crafted 51 but there was no respite for Ponthir as a slightly broader Josh Clogg, thanks to a year away at University joined Ford in punishing any poor delivery to take the villagers to a respectable 235-5.

Clogg finished on 65 not out achieving his maiden half century and Ford closed on 83 not out completing a remarkable recovery.

After a slim-line tea, opening bowlers Olly Coughtrey and Saaj Ali set about the task but it was all set to be the James Hiscocks show with the Ponthir batsmen unable to cope with the young leg spinner as he demolished the top order and finished with figures of 5-31.

Clogg proved his ‘all-rounder’ status by picking up two wickets and there was one a piece for Ali, Coughtrey and Harries leaving Ponthir all out for 185 with Dinas victorious by 50 runs.

The 2nds have now won an incredible six on the spin making for a very confident and happy side (even J-Guy).

The 3rd XI travelled to Cross Keys, unfortunately the village in Gwent as opposed to the local Dinas Powys watering hole, hoping to add to their solitary win this season. It goes without saying these days that skipper Red Todd-Bennett won the toss, deciding to play to his sides’ early-season strength by choosing to bowl first.

The ball was thrown to Alex Vowles at one end and Gareth Hodges at the other with the former bowling superbly as per usual but the latter somewhat wayward unworthy of his shiny, new cricket boots.

Despite this, it was actually Hodges who earned the breakthrough dismissing the Keys opener after a smart, one-handed catch by Ian ‘Venos’ Coughtrey at point. Vowles’s tight bowling finally paid off as he claimed two wickets including a stunning caught and bowled.

With the Cross Keys captain Butcher dabbing away at one end, wickets continued to fall around him with Rob ‘Ginger Mose’ Mosley and spinner Rhys Lloyd proving too good for the home side’s middle order.

Plumber Venos kept the wicket tap running in a brilliant nine-over spell full of flight and guile eventually bamboozling the Keys skipper (out for 49) in one of his two wickets having conceded just 14 runs.

Dinas’s average age has probably never ever been so high so Todd-Bennett brought back Ginger Mose from the other end with instruction to “dismiss the Keys tail-end so the ‘old boys’ don’t have to run in the field”. Mose duly obliged by bowling the Keys number nine and 10 in addition to making the number eight, Clements hole out to Hodges at extra cover meaning Dinas needed just 128 to win.

After sampling a delicious tea on the banks of the Ebbw River, regular opening pair Mike ‘The ‘Gist’ O’Donovan and Rob Tucker were sent in to chase down the target. O’Donovan was bowled early on for four allowing Andy ‘Smudger’ Smith to take to the crease intent on taking the game by the ‘scruff of the neck’. Smudger batted very sensibly earning his luck on the one occasion he top-edged a hook shot between bowler and keeper with neither able to claim it.

The home side saved boundaries on many occasions and eventually added a catch to their impressive fielding with the keeper taking a Tucker top-edge to see him dismissed on 16. This allowed the Deep Heat smothered Geoff ‘Compo’ Colley to join Smudger out in the middle on what was proving a difficult track.

The evergreen pairing batted beautifully, regularly rotating the strike perhaps too often for a red-faced Compo’s liking. A Smudger square cut stopping just shy of the boundary meant an opportunity to run a three with a breathless Compo dropping his bat on the second run only to find time to pick up his bat on the third purely so he didn’t have to go back to pick it up once completing the running.

Smudger and Compo (37 not out) batted through with the former whacking a four to reach his half century with just one required to win in an excellent 53 not out. This secured a fantastic eight wicket win for the 3rd XI meaning a clean sweep of Saturday victories for the Club.

Next week’s matches

1st XI (away) v Sully and Monkswood in T20 Competition- venue (Parc Bryn-y-Don)

3rd XI (away) v Whitchurch Heath IV