After a chastening loss to Swaffham Bulbeck the previous Wednesday, the midweek "Dirt Trackers" headed to the meadows of Grantchester for their final match of the season.
Under a threatening sky the Philanderers won the toss and chose to bat first. With half the batting line-up convinced it was a 6pm rather than a 5:30pm start, Pimmers and Paul Leary strode to the wicket. There was a particular spring in Pimmers' knee-cartilage-less hobble to the wicket, fresh, as he was, off a match-defining hundred for the President's XI vs Camden. Sadly, for the man in-form an unfairly straight ball first-up was enough for him. 0-1 off 0.1.
Despite this inauspicious start the Philanderers managed a very respectable 143-5 off our 20 overs. Leary came and went with a typically sumptuous six, the brothers Pearson chipped in with some useful runs, but Mel and George Doel shared the most important 50 partnership as the cumulonimbus gathered and thunder rumbled. Mel finished on a superbly crafted 55* and G Doel 22*.
This looked like a competitive total on what was a typically riparian Grantchester wicket that took on more water after a downpour between innings. Things looked promising after a decent opening spell from Pearson C and Doel and wicket for ticket inspector H White. However, although the batting side rode their luck - George Dean, who bowled a particularly tidy spell, had the hard-hitting AP Stafford bowled off a no-ball and miscued aerial shots managed to avoid our fielders - in the end, some powerful hitting eased them to victory with seven wickets and six overs to spare.
Ed Pearson
Dark skies at Grantchester prophesy a gloomy result