There was much anticipation before this new fixture, with no one really knowing what standard we were due to face, and with the Mighty Bures wavering from the sublime to the ridiculous, from one fixture to the next. However, what we could be certain of was an excellent barbecue (cooked by bbq maestro Rupert), plenty of alcohol, delicious teas and general bonhomie, which of course turned out to be the case. The cricket and the closeness of the outcome turned out to be the icing on a number of delectable cakes at tea.
The Chairman duly lost the toss again (and in so doing may well have created some sort of record!) and the Mighty Bures were asked to take to the field. The opening combination of the Colonel and Luke T soon went about their business, with the Colonel swinging the ball as usual, and Luke taking a wicket with his very first ball. He may well tell you it was a vicious dipping yorker which the batsman just managed to dig out, but in truth, it was a rank full toss which was clothed to mid on. Still, a wicket is a wicket, and in his very next over a far better ball clipped into the “ring” was duly dropped, thus confirming all is well with village cricket. A second wicket did however soon follow (Luke 24 for 2) and then there was a bout of lusty hitting. The answer to this was, of course, the ever accurate and reliable Charlie E, who took 2 more wickets and brought things back under control. The Chairman then rung the changes with Rupert T and Narns, both bowling well, and wickets continued to fall (Narns 41 for 3). The Chairman, as ever, cunningly judged the moment when he felt the weaker batsmen were in and cashed in with a couple of cheap wickets also.
At this stage Car Colston looked as though they might struggle to reach 130, but some slightly more generous bowling towards the end turned things around, and they ended up with a rather more formidable total of 181.
Tea, like the delicious barbecue, was exceptional, comprising wonderful sandwiches, numerous yummy homemade cakes, pork pies, in fact just about everything you could want apart from “lashings of ginger beer”! Many thanks to all involved. So, it was with heavy hearts and even heavier stomachs that we decided the contest needed to continue.
The Chairman decided on an opening pair of Eriths (Charlie & James), who duly delivered with an excellent 82 opening stand. Charlie was the first brother out (for 39) immediately after the drinks break, and Will Melrose took over the reins, scoring freely, and just about keeping up with the asking rate. Unfortunately, James then ran out of steam and virtually stopped scoring just as Will was out for 18, and this was quickly followed by Sean and Eddie. The Colonel then went out for his first batting innings of the season and looked good for a while, but once he had also perished (for 11 runs), Bures still needed around 40 runs off 6 overs, and something a bit special was needed in the gathering gloom. Fortunately for Bures, Narns strode to the crease and smashed 27 runs off 8 balls, duly winning the match with a huge 6 into the river. James also finished on a fantastic 70 not out.
What a day and what a friendly and fun opposition. The beer drinking went on well into the evening, new friendships were formed and hopefully a future fixture in either Suffolk or Nottinghamshire was cemented. Thanks to all those who worked so hard on the organising and the food and in helping to make it such a successful, fun and happy day.