Our opposition, The Cricketers Club of London, are well known to the V&A for it was there, 40 years ago, we had our first annual dinner dance. A disaster. Not just because the food was dreadful but because we had a guest speaker, the Surrey and England spinner Pat (Percy) Pocock, whose speech was embarrassing.

As usual we were 12, but I am a peripheral figure these days, due to age and - on Saturday - a nasty ear infection which causes a problem with balance, and I was happy to spend time schmoozing the tea lady.

The 39ers are a very pleasant bunch, blending youth with youth. Actually they had roped in a local Oxfordshire chap in his 50s, but he was not in the true ringer class. They were not that strong, their star bowler Suva having buggered his shoulder, and they had a long tail that included our own Martin Bowden (playing for the 39ers to make them 11).

The Hemmingford Hermits were founded a year after us, and named after a pub in North London where the founders got drunk. They still do, but in their own homes. Many of the original members are now too infirm or gaga to make it to Stonor but their indomitable skipper, Terry Blake, still bats and captains with authority, although he no longer bowls his (very) slow tweakers, which was always a welcome bit of light relief.

The Invalids, a wandering side, were founded in 1917 by two wounded British officers lying in adjoining beds in a base hospital. So in this anniversary year of the Great War we salute them for having nearly made it to a century. The V&A mustered 13 with me but 12 without – I umpired as did the wounded Chris Mounsey-Thear who has broken something mentionable but cannot recall what. The promised sun only came out when the game was over. Despite the greyness we lunched outside on the orders of the tea lady who determines these things. She got the opposition to carry the tables out, which is the sort of test that separates officer material from Other Ranks. They failed to make officer grade, getting the tables hopelessly stuck in the pavilion entrance. We played a 35-over game because their agreeable skip, Richard Charlton (in the absence of their […]