The day started well. The sun was shining, the team was strong, and the ground was lovely, surrounded by frolicking horses & farmland. A lovely place to spend a Sunday. Skipper Leon Parks ended his streak of being a poor tosser by winning a crucial one. The plough were batting first.

Leon & Suri opened up. Suri was gone quickly for 9 but Leon had a great day with the bat, scoring a majestic 89 & taking up into the 30th over. A real skippers knock. After Suri came the famous Dr Merch (Hussein Selmi) who got himself in a pickle & got run out whilst waiting for an LBW decision. Cobbett put on a masterclass despite being blinded by sweat & suncream for a large part of his innings. He hit a lovely 67, well done sir. Hockings & Gumpert put on another quick 50 before a slight collapse (and a hotly contested LBW for potential clubman of the year Ean Smith). The plough were 222 for 8.

Luckily, the tail wagged and a quick 30 from Justin & Oscar took the plough to 252. Shot of the day goes to Justin cash with a beautiful off drive for four, simply outrageous.

Arguably , that’s where we peaked. We very quickly learned the oppositions openers were a class act (although one opener was a ringer who didn’t field. Thoughts?) Despite having a combined age of about 12 the opening pair took the opposition to 110 without loss of ten overs. The first wicket came in the form of a stumping after a nifty ball from Niraj Tailor & quick hands from keeper Suri.

The punishment didn’t stop. Some good hitters & a lightning outfield made it a tough day in the field. Some quality bowling from Niraj, Max Gumpert & Justin Ravicashwin slowed the rate, but it wasn’t enough and ultimately the plough lost by 6 wickets. A tough day that left every bowler with a lot to think about.

Match report produced by Oscar Sawyer