Stretching 1.18 million square miles, the Sahel region is the semi-arid region sandwiched between the Sahara Desert in the north and tropical savannahs in the south. Countries in the Sahel region include: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Eritrea, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Burkina Faso. The latter witnessed 2 coup d’états in the space of 8 months. The first was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba (‘Paul’). Disapproving of the government's support of the army in its fight against terrorism in the nation, he formed the Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration (MPSR). The MPSR quickly dissolved the government, parliament, and national constitution. With heads still banging from the coup hangover, Captain Ibrahim Traoré decided it was his time to get his name in the history books. Using a similar justification as Paul, he led his very own coup, and almost 4 years later he is still the leader. There is ongoing instability in the country, so another coup could be imminent. Anyway, I digress. The point I was trying to make is that Hackney Marshes was very, very dry. The last time the UK saw a drought similar to what we are experiencing this year was the year of the coup, 2022. Before that, 1976 is often hailed as the gold standard for a UK climate crisis. While ‘76 featured a singular long heatwave, 2026 has been marked by more intense bursts of extreme heat. A record of 38 degrees C was set in June — this is unprecedented. Unless we have a wet winter, there is a chance this drought will continue into next year. A highlight of the day was the introduction of future Pacifico Marcus, son of club great Luke. He was named after the England great Marcus Trescothick — subconsciously, maybe. Anyway, I suppose we should talk about the game. I missed the toss and, after sharing pleasantries with Luke, the oppo were about 190-odd for 5. I was told, in great detail, of the first wicket while cooling down in the pub post-match with a beer. The man who had caused us great pain only a few weeks previously while playing for London Fields was undone by what was described as an absolute jaffa by newcomer of the year — calling it now — Zafar Ali. Angling in towards leg stump, it swung late, nipped away, and caught a thick edge. Flying at the velocity of a peregrine falcon in full dive, a cat-like Ben O’Connor leaped through the air horizontally and plucked it an inch off the ground, nonchalantly throwing the ball over his shoulder in celebration. He proceeded to do a lap around the ground while shushing the opposition. Baron Trump was on his way for a duck and the game was won, or so we thought. JMC CC’s 3-8 all made a decent contribution, and JMC walked away at the end of their innings with a defendable 249. It was no surprise who would be opening for the mighty PCC: in-form BOC and the ever-classy Houlihan strode to the crease. The win was all but secured. The rest of the team began cracking into Seb’s Inch's cider and passing the peace pipe. I mean, Zaf was batting at 7. Surely, even with 100 still required, he would hit that in 4 overs and we’d all be giggling on our way to the pub. But then, like a Burkinabé coup, out of nowhere BOC was caught. What? How? Really? This man only gets centuries in 2026. But no — his stay was as short as Paul’s premiership. Ben’s departure brought Zee to the crease, who took his time to settle in. But once he did, it seemed as though we were cruising once again. Zee’s prudent approach, paired with Jack’s free scoring, meant it seemed as though we could settle once again and hit the peace pipe a little more. A cheer from the oppo. Bollocks, we’ve lost another. Burnham padded up and headed to the front line. It was an innings full of fireworks, smashing a six well over the heads of the PCC camp to raucous applause. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for BB, and he was out pretty soon. I can't quite remember what happened over the next 20 or so overs because the Mahous had started to take effect. But the PCC were always behind the run rate, and it’s the hope that gets you, etc., etc., etc. Even with some questionable decisions from umpire Toby, it wasn't to be, and to the pub it was. Both teams sat together, and unnamed representatives of the PCC were last to leave, so that’s a win in my book.

JMC CC v Pacific Toss won by Pacific

JMC CC innings  R  M  B  4  6 H. Davies   c O'Connor b Ali   0  0  0  0  0   D.Niccol   c Burnham b Garrett   18  0  0  0  0    Extras (b 12, lb 7, w 11, nb 7) 37      TOTAL (38.2 Overs) 249

Fall of wickets:

Bowling  O  M  R  W    Zafar Ali   7.2  0  23  4    Saad Rashid   8  2  42  1    Seb Maltz   8  1  38  1    Harris Mirza   2  0  33  1    Tim Garrett   8  0  47  3    Rowan L-Gordon   5  0  45  0

Pacific innings  R  M  B  4  6 Ben O'Connor   c    18  0  14  4  0   Jack Houlihan   c    72  0  73  14  0   Zahid Ali   c    21  0  31  5  0   Ben Burnham †   c Keeper    31  0  26  3  2   Manav Nair   st    2  0  7  0  0   Harris Mirza   c    0  0  5  0  0   Zafar Ali   b Someone   36  0  21  6  1   Seb Maltz   b Someone   1  0  8  0  0   Rowan L-Gordon   c    5  0  8  1  0   Saad Rashid   not out    10  0  9  2  0   Tim Garrett*   run out    0  0  1  0  0    Extras (b 2, lb 2, w 6, nb 1) 11      TOTAL (35.0 Overs) 201

Fall of wickets:  1-29 , 2-80 , 3-143 , 4-144 , 5-145 , 6-145 , 7-148 , 8-171 , 9-201 , 10-201

Bowling  O  M  R  W