In a side that had 6 recognised opening batsmen and 2 wicketkeepers, the captain decided to insert the opposition. Our one recogised bowler, David Viney, bowled very well for 6-55 and in many ways deserved better figures. Niall Densley also bowled his medium pacers with no luck but picked up their captain with a good yorker. Mark Van Doyvenbode offered a variety of off-spin and even an over of devastating pace. On the whole, a poor batting side made 192 - probably 100 more than they should have been dismissed for.

However, it was rather hoped that this score would allow all the rest of the team a game. However, an opening stand of 125 betweeen John Langley and Philip Walsh ensured that 3 people did not either bat or bowl. John Langley rediscovered his form after an early "life" and drove the ball powerfully. Phil Walsh's timing was excellent and he worked the ball off his pads with ease in an expert innings.. Rob Viney helped us reach our target with 5 overs to spare.

So our first win of the season. 22 players have now turned out in the first 4 games of the season, of whom 11 have only played one match. With 4 games still to go, it would be nice to round off the season with a consistent side and a couple more wins.

Despite the fact that the pitch did not look easy from the outset, the captain decided to bat after winning the toss. This was based on the depth of batting held rather than any tactical foresight. In the end our score was never going to be enough. Not a single batsman reached 20 and there was not much for the neutral spectator as we struggled at a rate of under 3 runs per over. In reality, the pitch was uneven in pace and bounce and was trickier to bat on that the Financial Times Mephisto Crossword.

With a small choice of regular bowlers, Viney snr and Holloway opened. Matcham jnr also bowled his spin extremely well and was most unlucky not to pick up a couple of wickets. The luck never really came our way other than short-leg picking up 3 dolly catches. Holloway ended up with the best figures of the day with 4-36, but we did not have enough runs to defend and lost with nearly an hour still to go.

The second match of the season, saw the Sunday 2nd X1 field its usual eclectic mix. Andrew Viney made a fine debut at the age of 11 and fielded like a demon at fine leg. Messrs Finch and Bullman found that they were surplus to requirements for the cup match and kindly demonstrated the gulf that exists between Sunday casuals and two high-class performers. It was a shame, therefore, that a win could not be manufactured and the opposition batted out the last 6 overs of Antipodean pace to finish the match 9 wickets down. The batting never really looked under pressure even before Bullman's entry with good efforts from Mark Van Duyvenbode (before being fingered by a jubilant Harry Heslop), Hugo Matcham, Huw Thomas and Rob Viney. The opposition bowling progressed at test match pace ensuring a late tea.

John Finch proved that Corporal Jones was right about Chenies' batting - they did not like it up them - with a magnificent final spell. Despite tossing the ball up to encourage a chase, the final result could not be bought. Harry and Shambles were still discussing the case of the Heslop finger long into the night.

A largely forgettable match unless your name is Hugo Matcham. Hugo batted extremely well for 79*, however the rest of the innings never got going and our score of 142 was never going to be enough on a drying pitch. Radlett raced to 90 and then spent an eternity getting the rest of runs. Waqar Watson had helped the opposition get off to a flying start giving us his overs mixed with 2 balls that batsman and keeper can't reach, 2 for the fielders to fetch from the long grass and 2 unplayable balls all delivered at hurtling pace. Alex Hands and Damian Van Duyvenbode kept one end reasonably secure before Harry Heslop was brought on to help us reach the bar sooner.