A thoroughly miserable day for cricket.

About half way through marking out the wicket, the rain started and we were fairly convinced that we would not be playing any cricket. However, it starts to ease off and although a little late we get going on damp surface.

Jack losses the toss for the second week in succession, but surprisingly the oppo elect to bat.

Difficult to field and bowl and standing at first slip, my hands frozen, I pray that the batsmen don’t get an edge to Jay coming down the hill. Despite a slow scoring first couple of overs, they soon are up to 36 without loss. Officer Dibble (Tom Simons) replaces Jay and immediately gets the break through, Barrie gets his first in the next over and we are on our way.

Totteridge are soon in trouble at 68-6, Dibble also accounting for their Pakistani overseas caught behind by Geordie.

The inevitable fight back and for the third week on the trot we are held up by lower order batsmen. They batted patiently, trying to use up as many of the overs as possible, we continued to field and bowl well, but after a late start, our slow over rate (due mostly to ball drying) and the oppo No.4 slowing the game down (hoping for more rain), we were not going to have tea until supper time!

The No.4 ends up with 37. He is well supported by No.8 (20) and No.9 (23).

7 bowlers used, Barrie 3-35 from 14.2 overs, and Kuldip, Jack and Kay only giving away 27 runs in their accumulated 18 overs, all bowled well, but Dibble's first 5 wicket haul for the club would need to be celebrated later. His 5-47 from 13 overs included 3 clean bowled.

Tea at last, it’s 5 O’clock, we are wet and cold, the 4’s had already been and gone and we just got in before the bowlers took the place over. As we had lost so much time the skippers agreed to a 15 minute tea break.

Piggsy and I are dispatched to start the run chase. At not much more than 3 an over and any serious rain clouds have now dispersed, we won’t have to take any unnecessary risks. So after being dropped twice, Piggsy (16) offers a third chance and this time Totteridge accept. They have their equivalent of Barrie, who bowls at the stumps, not giving much away and he finishes with 1-25 from 13 but we manage to keep well ahead of the asking rate, taking 51 runs from the overseas players 10 overs.

Logie (26) kept us going and then Kuldip (36) batted very nicely and correctly, mixing excellent defence with some big blows. I was the other wicket to fall, Kay and Geordie seeing us home to win by 6 wickets in the 38^th over.

The 30 points moves us to joint 5^th in the league.

A mixed weekend for the rest of the club, the 4ths at home join us on the winners’ rostrum, Morrie scoring most of the runs and taking most of the wickets. The 3’s have an exciting draw, 557 runs scored, Camdenians 279-4, WXR 278-9, however Camdenians took 20 less overs to get to their total. But the 1^st X1 crash to defeat at Eversholt and I’ll get my chance to gloat when they all return…. Well I waited and waited but only Beaver is brave enough to show his face.

Two things at which we remain not very good at. As always not enough helpers in pitch preparation, regardless of which team you are in there is always something to be done, please turn up early particularly if you are at home and help your skipper.

The other is our slow over rate. I know there were extenuating circumstances with the poor weather but we must try and get through our overs quicker, too much dawdling between overs