When most of us woke up to find it pelting down with rain, we quite reasonably assumed there was no chance a game could be played but when it stopped at lunchtime, everyone seemed to feel that they should contact Duncan just to double-check. I think it is safe to say we were all as surprised as Mike Gatting facing Shane Warne for the first time, when we heard that Rode were very keen to play and that we were indeed going to attempt to play a game. By the time we arrived at the ground the sun was starting to show, and the ground was drying fast although the wicket was still quite damp and sponge-like. Duncan lost the toss and so we took to the field. Duncan Rance and Kevin opening the bowling, both bowling well although the runs flowed steadily due to the incredibly small nature of the ground. Duncan got a couple of early wickets, one of which was a very fine edge well taken by Toby keeping wicket . Those close to the bat knew it was out, but the bowler (and probably umpire too) had no idea. Thankfully the batsman walked in a very Gilchristian way before the umpire had time to think about having to make a decision. The second wicket was even more interesting. The batsman got a bit frustrated, tried to hit out but ended up just skying the ball to Johan, who quite rightly called the catch as his own. Luke decided to ignore this call, made a later one of his own and tried his best to barge Johan out of the way. Thankfully Johan was able ignore this distraction and held a good one handed catch much to the team's surprise! At the end of his spell Kev dropped one short and the batsman slapped it straight over the fence to be given out under local rules. Neither he nor the home owner whose tile was broken were that happy, but it turned out that the venturers wouldn't be either. Duncan Lee and Rob came on and were dispatched to all parts of the ground. Whilst they didn't bowl especially well it was more that the batsmen had got their eyes in. Runs flowed like beer in a pub, and play was frequently held up as everyone retired to the field of wheat to find the ball after it had been hit for each of several straight sixes. Duncan turned to his spinners, who tighten things up for a few overs. Gregory bowled the biggest hitting batsmen in his first over, but the scoring rate gradually crept up once more, and so Duncan brought Johan and Rob back on to finish the innings. The score kept moving along nicely as the batsmen hit out at every ball, good and bad. Johan was the tigher of the two but Rob eventually had one man caught by Luke in cow corner, and several more chance off both bowler were dropped by various people. The innings eventually finished with Rode scoring a rather large 272-5.

After a rather nice tea, the team took to the field with Duncan instructing Owain and Toby to open despite the protests of the latter who wanted to bat far lower down. After a couple of good shots, they were both soon on their way back to the pavillion. This was pretty much the pattern for the rest of the team. No one really lasted especially long, although Duncan Lee and Johan both stuck around for a while, and Luke showed his usual power, hitting a few good shots before dispatching one straight over the protective netting covering the newly built houses and was given out under local rules. There was a suspicion that it hit the netting but by this time the match was already well and truely lost, so no one really felt like putting up too much of an argument. After Rob B came out and failed to get his bat on much, a heavy shower decended and the team let out a collective sigh of relief as they assumed that the match was over. Rode however, were keen to finish us off, and so after a brief interval play resumed. By this stage the light was fading and the wicket was sodden. Bowlers struggled for grip during delivery, and the batsmen struggled to see the crease in the pool of mud in the line of the wickets. However, it must have been harder for the batsmen as Duncan L and then Gregory were both out to consecutive balls following the restart. Tom came out to defend the hat-trick ball, and then following another break for rain, hit a few stout shots around the park. Duncan Rance joined Tom in the light rain, hit a few shots of his own before the team was all out for an embaressingly low score for such a small ground. By this stage most people were just glad the game was over so that they could get out of the rain and both teams retired to the cracking local pub for the free bowls of chips and cocktail sausages.