Oxted v Gaieties, 28 May 2023

In batter-friendly conditions - a true pitch, an extremely short boundary and sun overhead - our bowlers acquitted themselves admirably, an opening burst from Jack and Daniel well supported by Som and Tom Whyte, who wheeled through 12 overs, bad back be damned. Our luck was less good: chances never seemed to come to hand - or when they did, to stay there. Oxted progressed steadily, anchored by their opener, and only in the final overs of their innings - handsomely delivered by Charlie Palmer on debut and Ollie Thicknesse - revealed the brittleness of their batting lineup. By then, it was too late: they had 228-6 from 42.

We began auspiciously in reply, Ed Thicknesse looking particularly good. Shomit picked up where he left off and, alongside skipper, took the side to the final hour well placed: from 20 overs, we needed 130. Then things went awry. In a hectic few overs, Shomit was trapped in front for 35, Tarek caught and bowled and Jack and Daniel removed in consecutive deliveries. When Rob Muller was run out, we'd sagged to 160-6 with 8 overs left. Ollie joined skipper and the two engaged in some furiously intense running: with four left, we needed 46. The next two overs went for double figures, skipper landing some blows and losing a ball.

A quiet penultimate over meant, after Ollie perished in a sharp single, we needed 15 from the final over, they two wickets. Skipper deposited the first ball for six: the win was on. But our luck had not truly turned. Coming back for a quick two, skipper bundled into the returning bowler, letting out an expletive-ridden howl as he watched the stumps be broken. To cries of 'shame' from the boundary, their captain did not withdraw the appeal and Umpire Nigel, voluble about pedantries, shirked the big decision. 'I just saw ordinary cricket,' he said. Skipper gone for 126, it was left to Charlie and Som to see out a draw that felt like a win and a loss.