Torrential rain from the early hours and into the afternoon left the game in the balance, but with plenty at stake and a more promising afternoon forecast, both teams were happy to give it every chance. Rain finally ceased at 2:15, and after some excellent work from the ground staff and club members, together with the magic sponge of an outfield, conditions were fit for play at 3pm, with a reduced 31 overs a side match. The Chearsley skipper won a rare toss and elected to field.

The opposition's opening pair mixed caution and aggression; one opener anchoring the innings, the other playing with more freedom on a good batting wicket. This strategy paid off, and despite reasonable enough bowling, our fielding wasn't quite on the money as runs were leaked and the opposition reached 77 before the loss of the first wicket. Runs continued to flow, before the skies darkened and a thundery downpour ensued, the opposition 103-3 off 21 overs when play ceased. Play resumed after another hour's delay, with the game reduced down to 24 overs a side. After the opposition finished their remaining overs, a Duckworth Lewis calculation saw us needing 151 from our 24 overs.

Supersub A. Ross, freed from first team duties following the abandonment of their match, and stepping in at the last minute after we only had 10 players, opened with P. Cherry. Mirroring the opposition's strategy of aggression/caution, we got off to a similar start, as Alex attacked and Paul anchored, and we kept up with the rate. Boundaries came at a regular rate, with Alex despatching club friend and rival S. Hague (invitee of this summer's Chairman's XI) into the Chiltern Road gardens. However, the latter had the last laugh after a miscue to gully saw our wildcard caught for 32, as we lost two quick wickets with both openers dismissed with the score on 43. The side had plenty of firepower remaining, as F. Witcher and M. Claridge took to the crease. However, excellent opposition bowling saw the runs dry up, as both incoming batsmen struggled to get bat on ball. The required rate began to creep up, and wickets began to tumble as caution was thrown to the wind. A late cameo from E. Lloyd augured well for the future, but we fell well short, 112-8 off our 24 overs.

Full scorecard: https://www.cherwellcricketleague.com/scorecard.php?MatchID=15797

A disappointing result that all but puts paid to our late promotion charge, but a day that saw the club in great light to get one of the few games on in the entire league against all the odds. Nothing ventured nothing gained ...

Two games to go as we now look to finish as high as possible in our first season in Division 7 [TM].