A great game played in good spirits and sunshine with a close finish. Saddo's batted first, built a platform (57 off 10 overs, 2 wickets) then upped the rate to finish on 142 off 20 overs. It almost sounds like a proper innings of cricket. We bowled with variety including a bouncer and fielded well including 3 good catches and a stumping. STAGs responded with a fast start and were well ahead of the run rate at the halfway point (83 off 10 overs, 2 wickets) but were then pegged back and just failed to score the 10 they needed off the last over. A close victory for Saddo's. An all round team effort with contributions from everyone.

Graham captained proactively and batted properly. His best move was to negotiate no extra balls for wides etc to ensure we got to the pub asap.

Jonno bowled impressively including a bouncer on a pitch known for keeping low. Based on the height the ball hit the batter it was less bodyline and more boxline. I'm still working on a joke about a Googly.

Harsha both opened the batting and bowled at the death and fortunately for the team was excellent at both. I am still in awe of a 6 he hit.

Simon contributed to build a good platform by batting well and took a very impressive caught and bowled.

Tim W brought us back to reality when he succumbed to a first ball duck of an excellent ball but responded with some venomous bowling.

Marks warm up stretches were rewarded with a very impressive diving catch on the boundary. Whether he will recover from his physical injuries in time for the next game remains to be seen. He may also be psychologically scarred from being given out LBW by WG.

I was pleased to score some runs but less pleased having been told I was retiring that I missed the last 4 balls of the over swishing recklessly. I am grateful to WG for catching a ball on the boundary induced by a rank full toss.

Mr Knee brightened the evening arriving in a bright orange T shirt but it wasn't enough to distract from his beard as he ended the evening with the nickname Osama. He umpired well based on a policy of keeping his finger down.

James kept well including a sharp stumping - credit to the STAGs umpire for giving it out. James new lightweight bat aided our scoring rate.

Tim P bowled tidily without any wides. He was cheered for making a run off his first ball ever faced for the team.

WG bowled with good variation and accuracy. He will no doubt be asking for a refund from his batting lesson after a first ball duck (albeit off one of their best bowlers).

Several non-playing team members (Mr Curtis, Mr Church and Mr Williams) did their best to distract the fielders by chatting to them on the boundary line (although they were less distracting than the lycra clad aerobics group just beyond the boundary). Richard was rewarded for managing a game he couldn't play in by returning to watch the narrow victory. Whether he will be reprimanded for breaking the club rules that substitute match report writers are not allowed remains to be seen.

Disclaimer : This report was written without the benefit of sight of either scorecard hence any inaccuracies are entirely the fault of captain Graham who admonished the match reporter for attempting to write notes during the match instead of concentrating on fielding.

Colin