Badgers have been a formidable opposition in recent years, and so we went into this match knowing that we would have to play well in order to compete. Unfortunately, the initial omens were not good as Zoob lost the toss and we were consigned to the field in the afternoon of the hottest day of the summer so far.

Despite this setback, we made a spirited start with tight bowling and committed fielding leading to a steady fall of wickets. With the pace duo of Munro and Hanna feeling the heat, Zoob turned to his spin department of Baker, Ahmed and Chapman who continued the attack to good effect. Baker's spell was remarkable not only for being a marathon stint under the conditions (17 overs) but also for his return of six more wickets which took his official tally for the Saturday 3rd XI so far this season to an amazing 27 wickets.

However, having done the hard work in knocking over nine of the Badgers' wickets for just over 160 runs, we were ultimately frustrated by an unbeaten last wicket partnership which took the score past 200 as our commitment in the field seemed to wilt in the heat.

In response to a requirement of about 4.7 runs per over, our openers did well in taking the score to 25 off just five overs before Goulston departed to a freakish dismissal: bowled off his pads from a ball well down the leg-side. Parkin then combined with Hanna to add another 32 runs at an equal tempo and maintain the pressure on the Badgers.

The introduction of the leg-spinner, Willmott, proved to be a master-stroke from the Badgers' captain. In the space of just three overs from the wily tweaker, Parkin was lured down the track to drive at thin air, Hanna attempted an injudicious shot and paid the penalty, and Malik top-edged to give the Badgers' wicket-keeper a looping catch.

With our innings in difficulties at 73 for 4, Leeming and Owen played sensibly for 13 overs to add another 51 runs and restore our hopes. At this point, the Badgers' captain drew another ace by introducing a sixth bowler (apparently their "normal" opening bowler!) who bowled brisk out-swingers with considerable accuracy, and rapidly accounted for both batsmen to leave us teetering at 131 for 6.

Under the circumstances, it was easy to imagine Zoob sticking pins into effigies of the opposition players in an attempt to reverse the flow of events. Had he done so, he would have been terrified by the apparent consequences as the swing maestro suddenly pulled up in agony in his delivery stride and was unable to walk, let alone bowl, for the rest of the match. With the newly-arrived Baker playing a flurry of good strokes to keep us in contention, our hopes of victory were therefore restored until, at the other end, first Chapman and then Zoob played shots which they are unlikely to mention in their respective autobiographies.

Ahmed arrived at the crease with a non-existent batting reputation, but was very proud to unleash the shot of his career so far: an authentic straight-drive back past the bowler for four. Unfortunately, just when he thought he was getting the hang of this batting lark, he was undone by the following ball.

With nine wickets down, and an unlikely 36 runs still needed off five overs, Baker decided to close the shutters, and manipulated the strike so effectively that Munro only had to face three balls in total (one of which he proudly walloped for four). Thus, we achieved a draw safely, but were left to contemplate the decisive moments which prevented a positive result.

Ian Chapman