Some of you didn't make it to Suffolk last Sunday - you missed out.
Unfortunately our match reporter was also absent, so match news this week is
sparse....

Alan Milburn's decision to put all doctors south of Watford on call for the
weekend and a sudden disappearing act by the St Andrews clan gave wily match
manager Freeman sleepless nights in the pre-match build up. The tension was
still apparent on match day as Mike led fellow players on a lunchtime tour of
the local Brookside rather than head for the pub.

Driving into the ground, skipper's amusement on seeing a player fall off his
bike in front of his car was soon tempered on realising this was the
Weekenders' opening bowler for the day. Taking stock of a smart ground, firm
pitch, a roll call of 8 plus 2 teenagers (one injured - see above) and
potential major embarrassment, our man decided that in no circumstances
should our boys be allowed to bat first.....

After a tireless ten over opening burst from Mark "fiery" Swaab, a canny
spell from the match manager and a wicket taking interlude of twirlers from
Husain, the years were rolled back as "Crown" Jules Lyons stepped up for a
cricketing masterclass. Buoyed by a coaching session en route to the match
from fellow senior pro the Hon Sec, he proceeded to put it there or
thereabouts for a not inconsiderable number of overs, single-handedly
preventing the Chippenham score running away to 300.

After a cameo innings from Swaab, our hero then switched to batting,
initially teasing the fielders with the subtlety of his shot placement and
running between the wickets before racing through the gears to reveal the
full range of shots. Aided by swift running from Smee and the shot of the day
from Husain "off drive" Husaini, the champagne meister led the unlikely
pursuit of victory, before leaving the stage to the skipper and the local 14
year old to try and score twentysomething off the last over - nearly but not
quite...

Approx scores (I don't have the book) : Chippenham 223-5d, WCC 217-7 (Lyons
61)

Other news this week :
- in North London, Arsenal's double-winning festivities are put in the shade
by the celebrations in N16 as the Weekenders skipper arrives home on match
day with his mobile phone
- flurries of excitement in the match management ranks as Jon "7-29" Nail and
Martin "ton" Priestley rejoin the squad
- Tim Chiari recruitment drive up hits jackpot in Australia

Admin note :
Thanks to Mark for his efforts on updating the Club's e-mail list, and to
Mike for doing the same on phone numbers - please send Mike your contact
numbers if you've not already done so.