THE MORNING LOOKED IFFY and an early decision was made to postpone to a 1 o’clock kick-off and forego the BBQ.

I got to the ground at 12 and the pitch had dried and the sun was out. So we could have started on time. The afternoon was glorious, perfect weather for cricket, hot in the sun but with a cooling breeze.

Martin was skipper, which he does both often and well. Adam enquired of Sarah the rationale behind the rotating captaincy. He thought, not unreasonably, that he had been overlooked all year because in a Hermits match he captained he had rather lost it, he found he couldn’t both bowl to his exacting standard and be tinkering with field places. I think Sarah was in broad agreement. The analogy was with Botham. You do not make your talisman, your best player, captain just because he is your best player, it sometimes ruins his cricket. The Brearleys are not necessarily as gifted cricketers but have managerial ability with which someone of Adam’s flair would not wish to be burdened. Certain V&A stalwarts like Peter Linthwaite are also overlooked because Sarah recognises that their peculiar talents should not dulled by administrative distractions. And as his wife says, he would be no fucking use.

Martin won the toss and wisely elected to field, spotting a little moisture and knowing that the sun would make batting easier later.

They began rather well until a terrific ball from Jake Warman bowled their opener, de Caires tempted their other opener into lobbing a catch to Tony at deep gully, and Robbie Lawson at point and square leg caught two hard catches off Martin and Sunil. But a fine, quick stand between Suva [51] and Taylor 25] put on 60 or so, until Taylor was caught behind and was caught and bowled by Robbie.

They were all out for 173. Our time in the field was notable for a couple of things. Firstly, it was very long. We averaged 14 overs an hour. Bradman’s side, when he toured here in 1948, averaged 24 overs an hour! Admittedly he did not play at Stonor and lose balls in the long grass, but the real difference was that bowlers used to walk briskly back to their marks, fielders did not meander about at the end of the over looking at birdies or clouds or chatting, fields were not reset during an over, batsmen walked in and out quickly. Our fielding was also notable for a couple of gay moments – one when Jake could easily have run out Suva by throwing the ball in a butch or effective sort of way, but chose instead to lob it oh so gently.Martin had what was deemed, by Adam and others, an easy catch at long on but decided to let it bounce safely first. Dennis had a similar moment, but apparently didn’t see the ball until too late, something that can happen when you’re dozing on the boundary. Alex Padmore bowled his first ball on middle stump and Bowden shouted ‘On the button’! His next 4 balls were off the button, four wides, followed by two dot balls followed by three wides….eventually the over ended, and his next one was much better, he should have got an LBW and conceded only 3 wides. Years ago Alex Schouvaloff bowled an over of 17 wides which lost us the game.

Incidentally Scott Harris, only 15, bowled very tidily, conceding only 15 runs in his 5 overs. Sarah arrived with tea – proper sandwiches with the crusts cut off – but then buggered off without doing the washing up. Adam asked me to have a word. We opened with Rupert and Robbie. Robbie left one which missed leg stump by one millimetre. Rupert missed quite a few but whacked a nice four to the point boundary before being out caught. But a stand of over 100 by Robbie and the young Scott was both a match-winning partnership and an aesthetic spectacle. Robbie’s batting is sublime and comparisons with Gower at his magisterial best are no exaggeration. One late cut, a leg glance – and most of all an effortless off drive with minimal backlift – were memorable. We debated, while admiring his timing and elegance, where he comes in the pantheon of past V&A batsmen, and the consensus was first. Here is the order:

1.ROBBIE

2.VIB

3.SIMON GARROW

4.ANDREW FRASER*

* in his prime

Robbie was more than ably supported by Scott [34], whose front foot style is suited to Stonor. The pitch was a bit leaden which explains the number of catches offered. When Robbie was out for 78 we were allowed a glimpse of Jake’s batting power – he scored 36* in 5 overs to win the match. He is equally powerful off front and back foot. We were grateful to have such an all-rounder, he is a tremendous asset. There have been occasions when he has failed to turn up on the day, with a suspicion that strong drink or nooky the previous night might have been a contributing factor, but on Saturday he was early, clean, stayed awake and didn’t smell of gin.