A fine day in the Stonor valley saw the V&A play host to local visitors from across in the Thames in Berkshire, a fixture which has been running for some fifteen years.  The Town & Country Folk used to turn up with a cavalcade of 4x4s which distributed hoards of youngsters around the ground.  The youngsters have grown up, and now make up half of the team giving the T&Cs some players who can run and throw to compensate for their ever more creaky parents.

Nick Derewlany won the toss and chose to let the opposition bat first and before long they were reeling somewhat at 65-4 in the light of some tight V&A bowling.  Their innings was singlehandedly saved by a fine innings from local farmer, James Hunt, who took time to play himself in before lunch followed by a series of crisp straight drives and lusty pulls to leg.  A generous penultimate over from Ollie Marsh lookalike Ben (actually his twin brother) helped the T&Cs just passed the 200 mark.

Having twice knocked off more than this already this season, there was nought but optimism in the V&A racks.  Even the loss of two early wickets did little to dim the V&A spirits and with steady batting from Waddington and Marsh, the V&A were very much in the hunt at tea.  After tea there was a strange sacrifice exchange: first Ben Marsh needlessly aimed a heave off Hunt’s bowling and was caught at midwicket, followed by Hunt himself inexplicably treading on the ball and twisting his ankle, thus putting him out of the rest of the game.  Derewlany was, by this point, making purposeful progress towards the V&A’s target.  Whilst he remained the game was the V&A’s at a canter, however having brought up his fifty with a straight six, he attempted the same shot to the next ball and was well caught on the long off boundary.  The game was back in the balance.  Waddington (having suffered a bop on the head and forced to sit out with non-existant concussion) returned to join Dominic and runs dried up: a two here, a single there punctuated the dot balls as the required rate began to rise.  In the end, fifteen were needed of the final over, but the V&A managed just one before the final wicket fell.

Ultimately though, a tight loss makes for a more satisfying game than an easy win, so the credit must go to George and Nick for engineering such a close finish.