Would you believe it, after over two weeks of unabated sunshine in Hampshire the rain clouds gathered in Hampshire just in time to wipe out our first colts match of the season. That is vintage Britain that is, if your garden is getting too dry organise a cricket match. Job done.

I was dragging myself out of a cosy bed in Broughton at 8.00am when I got a message saying it was raining in some places but not others. For instance, Broughton was dry, Basingstoke wasn’t, but it was brightening up. Our opposition Aldershot weren’t sure to travel or not, so I had no option but to drive to Basingstoke and hope it cleared. It didn’t, well not in time anyway. The fact that last Thursday the Met Office predicted the warmest day of the year made it stick in the throat all the more.

What a pain it is texting and ringing everyone to give them the bad news, especially when a potential lie in has been passed up for nothing, god only knows how Managers of Cricket teams coped before mobiles and texting, it must have been a right pain in the arse. I still have to do all the rearranging which is an added pain, because we have 4 colts teams cramming in fixtures before the end of July!!

At least the weather dried up sufficiently for the men’s game to go ahead in the afternoon, so George and I got a game in the end. George bowled really well with best team figures of 2-32-8 and I scored two before getting out to my all too familiar “Hoik the pie chucker out of the ground” shot. This is probably my favourite ineptitude stroke in my armoury, and always, without fail, results in being bowled or stumped. I fucking detest myself every time I carry out this ill disciplined, misguided and frankly pathetic stroke, yet I still come back week after week to perform it with great aplomb. It has to be some sort self abuse addiction.

Pictured above s tory MP for Broughton Caroline Nokes. I had to laugh when I saw this huge banner of her defaced with a marlborough cigarette in her mouth, a pair of glasses and the obligatory rotten teeth, she is now known around Broughton as Caroline Smokes. Who could have done such childish thing…………………I wander.