RICHARD WOOLHOUSE WAS CAPTAIN and lost the toss in a 40 over game. But that was the only blip in his first start as captain for the V&A. They elected to bat on a damp pitch, possibly a mistake. They were soon in trouble. Sean Mayana got the first wicket and their best batsman – a good ball and excellent catch by Richard at extra cover. Martin Bowden got a quick second wicket – a nifty caught and bowled. Sean got another and they were struggling but one batsman steadied their innings with a sound 44; it took a Richard Woolhouse spell of 3 wickets to reduce their innings to a meagre total of 135 for 7. Pete Linthwaite bowled ‘very very well’ according to Bowden and only went for 23 runs off his 7 overs. Ian McKinley also bowled tightly for his 1 for 16. Jacot bowled nicely too. One man who had a bit of a nightmare in the field was Adam Chataway, the ball followed him everywhere as it does the man with the hangover – he also subbed in the field for Midnight who were short [9 in fact], and had a bit of a nightmare for them as well. Strangely Rob Noble did not have a nightmare. Cobb was not playing.

Lunch was ‘superb’ [Bowden] – Lucinda had created a fine pasta bake with a Bolognaise sauce and Béchamel topping. Went down extremely well on a day with a nip in the air [with a small ‘n’, not the Japanese variety].

We opened with Adam Chataway who ‘looked really good’ [Bowden] until bowled for 9 just after a stylish 2 (the uncut outfield made boundaries difficult). Rob Noble batted well for a sound and valuable 12; Dennis de Caires, carrying an injury, was brilliantly caught for 7 and Steffen was run out for 7 after some flourishes that prove he is a better batsman than the scorebook suggests. But captain Woolhouse was in imperious form (although dropped thrice) for a powerful 59* that won the match, Ian McKinley hitting the winning runs.

‘A very good day with very good company’, said Martin.

There seems to be a problem with this Sunday’s game v. Stonor but I will keep you posted. Stonor are short and we also are not overrun with players.

I missed the game last week on account of lecturing on a Saga cruise ship. Yes, it has come to that.

Nicky Bird