Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than an afternoon dedicated to the participation in a game of village cricket. May Bank Holiday contributed 5 of those hours.

A full and enthusiastic team of Strollers assembled a full 10 minutes before the official start. Having assessed the wicket the toss was won by the Strollers and Pirton were put in to bat. Due to the poor weather forecast we settled for 30 overs and a maximum of 6 for one bowler. Jarman and Hughes were the strike attack and between them kept the run rate to a respectable 2 an over, Hughes taking 2 wickets. At the end of Pirton’s 30 overs some notable performances included Bandy’s instinctive reflex catch, Dix’s fantastic delivery clipping the off stump bale or any number of dropped catches. In particular Wornham’s gimmie in the dying overs after relentless ridiculing of other individuals misfortune all for the sake of a cheap laugh. Pirton reached a total of 133 for 6.

Tea was quickly destroyed although on this occasion the players were unable to polish off all that was on offer. On a geological scale the fruit quarter resembled Kent after a traumatic earth tremor whilst the cake, biscuit and cheesecake section would have troubled the most seasoned UN disaster relief team.

Calories and sugar levels restored, Singh and Stirk took to the wicket. The men put in a strong performance in the opening overs scoring aggressively. Williamson put in a credible performance and supported Stirk to a 39 partnership. As the afternoon progressed it was obvious Stirks ‘green car from the wife,’ was going to be used to maximum effect. The final runs came just after 6pm and throughout the afternoon Roe Green saw it’s fair share of WWII plans passing overhead to perform at Duxford. I swear at one point one of these aircraft dipped its wing to Stirk in honor of his performance.

Off the pitch there was a noticeable moment of brilliance from Hughes and Coker as washing and drying chores were completed harmoniously and without fuss. An impromptu Champaign moment award went to Stirk for his 118 not out, although Pirton’s wicket keeper gave us all a wonderful display of what village cricket is all about with his dropped catch off Dan. A truly agreeable afternoon for sport, friendship and Sandon. May we continue to stroll on to more victories in 2015.