The grey evening was cold and more appropriate to a game of rugby rather than cricket. The match managers exhortation for the players to be there on time were successful as we had a full squad almost ready to go on time. The opposition were not far behind except for the absence of Chris Jukes who declined to attend. Saddos decided (or were put in) to bat.

It was a slow start with players obviously not used to outdoor conditions. Particular mention goes to Tim W who played and missed almost constantly. The slow progress, coupled with the cold (which seemed to be getting colder) meant that the batting was a bit of a blur. Batsmen went out, played and missed for a bit, hit a few, and then came back in. There were a few highlights. Longbottom looked threatening (doesn't he always...) and tonked a goodly number around the large boundary before being given out LBW. Busted too showed some grit. It seemed that most players went through the same phases of playing and missing before getting their eye in a getting hold of a few. Special mention goes to Rupert for two things: his apologetic raising of the finger for the LBW to Longbottom and his amazing innings where he was out in slow motion. We don't know what happened but what we can say is that he didn't bother the scorer (except to put a zero in the right-hand column). The final 5 overs were looking like yielding 5 runs before Tim found his form (at last!).

And so, overs complete, only 4 wickets down (two retirements) and a grand(!) total of 121. A fairly par Saddos score. By now the icy blast was at its worst and the light was fading. Fortunately we had our supporters in force... Bond's the name, the late Mister Bond. He would patrol the boundary like a keen parent at a school match, distracting the easily distracted (Busted). Thank God for the pink balls (not to mention the purple ones that the icy chill was causing). We could actually see the ball. Great idea and one I claim all to myself - whatever the Corporal says. It was only the last few overs where even they were insufficient to get a clear sight.

Bowling was tight. Marshallswicket had some good batsmen but they were no match for our bowling attack. There were maidens! Several of them (of the cricket variety, obviously). Such was the high level of the bowling it is hard to pick out exceptional moments. One would be Tim's wicket - batsman excellently caught by 'Bottom off an awful delivery. Tim didn't even celebrate - he looked away in disgust. Mark gave nothing away and set the scene for the rest of the bowling. Wickets kept tumbling and were accelerated by Richard (who shall now be known as King Dick), taking 3 wickets with a match-changing spell. Fielding was top-drawer, especially given the terrible conditions. Great catch by Rupert. Busted put his body on the line. Graham was like a ball-magnet(!) and stopped everything. Everyone was playing out of their skin (probably desperate to call it a night and retire to the warmth of the pub). And so we came to the last over. Surely the game was over? Marshallswicket only had in the 80s. The rules were that wides or no-balls in the last over give rise to an extra ball. Colin had bowled extremely well in his previous over - what could go wrong? We began to get the smell of the recent "deliberate wides" match-fixing scandal. After the third wide, suspicion was growing. The suspicion was ill-founded and Colin finished off with some tight deliveries to leave them at 95 for 7. A great win to start the season.

Bond's the name, I'll-go-to-the-pub Bond. And he did. To "reserve the food for us". The barman in the Queen's Head was pleased to see him. "I'm glad you're here. I've got a shed-load of sausage and chips and I didn't know if you were turning up". It turns out that he really meant: "I've got a sausage, chopped-up into tiny pieces to make it look like more and a few chips". I think that he must have read the parable of the loaves and fishes and perhaps thought that he too has supernatural powers. It turns out he didn't and so there were some hungry cricketers who left hungry.

To summarise: everyone should be really proud of their performance, particularly in the field. I don't think I have seen such a complete bowling/fielding performance from a Saddos team. The batting will improve as we get used to the outdoors again but even that was not bad with two retirements and only 4 wickets down. The main area that really needs improvement is the after-match sustenance which was very poor...

(Post-match note... Anil gave Colin a fiver after the match for "services rendered"...hmmm...)