The skipper was pulling his cricket bag to the game when one of its wheels fell off, which turned out to be a sign of things to come as Pacific were unable to get the better of a strong Strongroom.

With Strongroom going into the day having won nine out of their last ten matches, they were going to take some beating but Pacific, up to eleven thanks to the efforts of Pete Hollman and Middlesex county cricket board disability/inclusion coach Michael Wilson, were feeling optimistic.

Strongroom batted first and a Pacific XI featuring seven debutants (I wonder if that's the most since the club's first game in 1983) did well to bowl them out in the 39th over.

It's fair to say that tea was not the finest, with a few quiches and some crisps. The highlight was Webley's cheese and pickle sandwiches – an old favourite that never disappoints.

With Webley opening the batting it looked like we might have a chance of chasing down the 277 required but when he and Chasseaud (only just scoring more runs [5] than he took catches [4]) fell early it was always going to be an uphill struggle. Jon Thornton hit a classy 26 and in the end Pacific limped to 80 all out.

With only four regular players (and only one post-match drinker to keep Strongroom company) we were unable to cover the cost of the pitch hire. But cricket was the winner, with 22 players making a good game of it in mid-October. 

Our thanks to Christopher Clayton for scoring and to all the spectators who helped make the day a good one.