The weather is sunny but cool, there is a chill wind in fact, and it’s an arduous journey for most. ETAs are pinging all over the chat. “This ground is basically in Norfolk” grumbles Oli Lonsdale. Simon Carson sends a terse and factually incorrect message at 1220hrs: “not a single person here on time? (grumpy face emoji),” Suri had been at the ground since 1140hrs. I don’t know why either.

Winchmore Hill win the toss and elect to bowl, but the topic still consuming all thoughts is would Damon ever be reunited with his jeans, last seen in room 15 at the DSG a week ago? To the huge relief of the entire club, Simon Crane has kindly collected them during Thursday nets and brings them to Winchmore. Everyone can relax now and concentrate on cricket.

George Boughton and Stephen Britto open. The opening bowlers certainly have some zip, and the track houses several demons, the ball passing the throat off a good length, or not bouncing at all. George survives 15 minutes of this before he is bowled for 4 by a ball that hardly gets off the deck. Britto cracks the ball to the boundary three times but doesn’t get all of a full toss and is caught at mid-wicket for 12. Skipper Harry Davies, who has been batting so well this season, can’t find the magic today and is out for 1. Suri, smiling and joking with the oppo while pulverising their bowling is dealing almost entirely in fours, but eventually he too is caught, after a blistering 43 off 30 deliveries. At the end of the 11th over, we were 3 wickets for 68, but within five overs this becomes 7 down for just 75 runs. Simon Crane adds one to the total, Lonsdale is bowled second ball and Simon Carson is run out, a breakdown in communication perhaps, or a misunderstanding of which end the ball was being thrown to?

In at 5, Jay Patel has watched them come and watched them go. His batting has been superb, patient, and solid, and elegantly destructive. He leans onto his back foot and smears full tosses to the boundary, he’s happy running ones and twos, and never once does he look like giving any chances to Winchmore.

Greeney tries to hang around and let Jay get on with but is bowled through the gate for 13. Niraj Tailor racks up a very handy 16 off 20 balls. Josh Kerr does his best to hang on to the last wicket but is bowled for 1.

Jay Patel is left stranded on the last ball of the 36th over. 85 runs from 84 balls. Could have, should have been more, but he just ran out of batting partners.

All out for 206. Is it enough? You know, it feels like it just might be.

Winchmore CC has some fine facilities, the pavilion is in the centre of the grounds with a cricket field on both sides, there is a full kitchen in operation and a well-stocked bar. Premiership football, the final day of the season is on a huge tv screen. We sit at a long table, next to our opponents. It is a very civilised affair and a sumptuous spread involving a selection of sandwiches, hot pizza slices, and a very welcome pasta in a tomato sauce.

The staff bring garlic bread to the table, fresh from the oven. A variety of small cakes appear to accompany our mugs of steaming tea. George Boughton leaps on the oversized squeezy bottle of Burger Sauce. It is his favourite sauce in case you are wondering what to buy him for Christmas. His favourite ice cream is the soft-serve Mr Whippy kind. He is considering buying a domestic machine that makes this style of ice cream, he shows me the one on his phone, we study its sleek lines and consider the price, but we can’t commit.

George is a lovely young man with an almost permanent smile, his enthusiasm and excitement towards almost everything is a joy, and I always feel happier about life, just by spending a bit of time in his company. He's shrugged off the disappointment of his innings, but then again, he’s still high on Palace winning the FA Cup, so nothing can faze him.

We take the field. We can do this, we’ve got the runs on the board, we just need to keep it tight. We start brightly with Lonsdale and Greeney, Oli cleaning bowling their number two batsman in the first over. We are bowling dots too, after ten overs they’ve only scored 21 runs. If we can keep this up, we can squeeze the life out of their innings. Simon Crane comes on and bowls their number 3 for 19, an absolute beauty of a delivery, he picks up another in his second over.

Simon Carson joins the attack and strikes immediately, double strike in fact, two wickets in his first over, bowling their stagnant opener, and trapping the next bat lbw. But now, just when we think we are starting to suffocate them, Winchmore knuckle down and start their counterattack. We give them some extras, and they score some runs. By drinks, the halfway mark, they have somehow reached 97. It’s neck and neck.

We know the next five overs are vital. This isn’t going to go to 40 overs, so the team who wins the contest of this next 30 balls, will win the game.

But we feel it slipping away. The drinks break hasn’t broken Winchmore’s momentum. We drop a catch that could have been enough to stall them, and then another. Niraj Tailor and Jay Patel bowl well enough, but you can almost see our luck evaporating around us as the ball beats the fielder and crosses the rope and byes and leg byes keep nudging the total along.

Winchmore are close now, they are two or three big hits away from victory with wickets and overs remaining, but the pressure of no pressure at all elicits some rash shots. They want it over and done with and miscue a slower ball from Greeney. Niraj is under it, and dependable as ever. Never any doubt that he would take that.

It’s all done with 5 overs to spare. Winchmore Hill win by 3 wickets. It was a good contest, and we took it as far as we could. Stand out performances by Jay Patel, 85 runs off 84 balls, and Simon Carson, 3 wickets for 40 runs off 7 overs, but ultimately, we were architects of our own downfall. We didn’t capitalise on their looser deliveries often enough, we dropped chances at pivotal moments, and we conceded too many extras, 54 to their 30.

Still, it was a good day with good spirited, lively opponents, even their mouthy wicketkeeper seemed to see the funny side when he was dismissed and given a send-off. With the return journey weighing heavily on many minds, the changing room empties quickly, but a few of us take a hot shower and a cold beer and reflect on what might have been.

Match report from Damon Greeney