This new fixture for the Club was a rain curtailed affair with a cold southerly sweeping through mid afternoon and ruining any chance of a result. Bob Masefield’s side won the toss and took first use (and as it turned out, the only use) of a flat track. The cricket had an air of normality about it for the initial dozen or so overs and the last few just before rain drove us from the field. But in between those quiet periods John Masefield plundered our attack, played an innings of immense power and became the first visitor to score a ton against the Willows.

Only two of our boys emerged relatively unscathed. One was Andrew Nuttall who undid one batsman with a bending armball and then held a scintillating return catch to dismiss another. The other was statistician and professor Peter Joyce (from the safety of first slip!). At first Peter was considering the implications of a rain affected match ... after all, a run rate comparison after 15 overs would have seen us needing a meagre 20 or so. Then from the sixteenth over onwards, John Masefield’s broad bat regularly took 8, then 10, then even more off every o.ver. Standing at a somewhat fine first slip, Peter had nothing to do except calculate the required run rate which seemed to be increasing exponentially rather than arithmetically.

Once Masefield reached his century it was good to be able to enforce the wisdom of the Club’s rules and retire him immediately. The cricket might have become calm again but the weather did not and finally, it was the rain and the wind that sent us scurrying off.