Thursday, 3 September 2026

Deeside Dragons In Charity Cricket Match

Deeside Dragons "Blades" cricket team. Back row:  Jace Gledhill, Steve Fellows, Jared Dickinson, Rhys Stout, Shaun Bebbington, Noah Percival, Colin Cromie, Front Row: Ross Kennedy, MJ Clancy, Ethan Mayoh, Ben Roscoe, Mike Clancy, Alan Steele 

The Deeside Dragons ice hockey team swapped their sticks for bats on Bank Holiday Monday as they played a charity cricket match against Connah’s Quay Cricket Club in aid of the Blood Bikes Wales charity.

The match was part of an overall family fun day held at the North Wales cricket venue which also offered games & stalls, food & refreshments, raffle and tombola and live music.

The game was played as a “Pairs” game rather than the traditional format and, for the record, the CQCC Batz scored 390 for 8 off 24 overs and the Deeside Dragons Blades scored 350 for 14 off 24 overs, with the Batz starting on 200 and the Blades on 300*.

The Dragons team was made up of: Jace Gledhill, Steven Fellows, Jared Dickinson, Rhys Stout, Shaun Bebbington, Noah Percival, Colin Cromie, Ross Kennedy, MJ Clancy, Ethan Mayoh, Ben Roscoe, Mike Clancy and Alan Steele.

The top scorers for the Dragons were Rhys Stout with 20 runs and Ben Roscoe with 18 - and Mali Auty and Josh Clarke got 32 and 24 respectively for Connah’s Quay.

With the ball in hand, Ross Kennedy took 2 wickets for 23 runs and Ben Roscoe 2 for 7 for the Blades, while Luke Bennet took 4 for 11 and George Cottrell 2 for 11 runs for the Batz.

Sports fans will, no doubt, be hoping to see a return match on ice at some stage where the Dragons players will probably have the upper hand...

*For the benefit of the uninitiated, "Google AI" describes Pairs Cricket as follows:

In pairs cricket (common in junior and school formats), each team starts with a baseline score like 200 runs. Batters face a set number of overs as pairs (usually 3 or 4 overs per pair). When a wicket falls, 5 runs are deducted from the team total, but the batters keep batting and swap ends.

 

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Lucy had done cricket scoring before I met her and, when I introduced her to ice hockey, she noted the similarities between the two - otherwise quite disparate - sports in terms of record keeping and player statistics. She subsequently became a keen and very accurate gamesheet scorer for ice hockey.

She has also commented on other similarities between the two sports:

“There are partially disabled cricket teams - national mixed-disability teams, county-level softball and hardball squads, and regional disability champion clubs supporting players with physical, learning, and hearing problems. So that is another similarity between ice hockey and cricket, as Para Ice Hockey is also played regularly.”

In white ball (limited overs) cricket, each team has a powerplay where they are fielding restrictions in place.

In the Hundred, each team an call a strategic “Time Out” of up to 90 seconds. They can choose when they use it. The coach can walk out to the middle of the ground and discuss tactics with their players during the time out.

Incidentally, “Timed Out” is also a method of dismissal in cricket. It occurs when an incoming batsman is not ready to play within two minutes of the previous batsman being out (or 90 seconds in T20 matches). It is very rare to be out in such a fashion, and has never occurred in any international match.”

You can find out more about Blood Bikes Wales – or make a donation - on their website at https://www.bloodbikes.wales/