How did we lose? Because both sides possessed a few people with exceptional talent and guts. It was a truly great game that ebbed and flowed and was played in competitive, but fair manner. It's no disgrace to lose a game like that and Wash were magnanimous in victory, but f***ing Hell I am sick as a parrot.

I went out a hatrick ball on the last ball of the 39th over with 4 to win and thought 'if I can see out this ball we'll do it. I did defend the ball well and then Martin took a single off the 1st ball of the last over I was feeling up for it. The next ball Martin turned down a possible run off my pads, the next ball was a wide and I thought 'only one to win (tie with less wickets) so just defend any good ball and a single will come. The next ball was straight and I lent forward (or as Mike said 'with your crab-like posture!) and missed it. I couldn't believe then and I can't believe now that I missed such an easy ball. The chances were reduced of getting away with it by two crucial factors. One, it was going to hit middle stump and two, Jim was the umpire!

Cue Pandemonium for the fielders and cue Mausoleum for us. People tried to be supportive by saying 'hard luck' to me but what's the point of that. It wasn't hard luck, it was bad batting. It was an easy ball and I missed it .It doesn't matter what has happened before, if you're the last one at the crease (or the goalkeeper in a penalty shootout) it's down to you. Here I was with the chance to hit the winning runs against the Wash, something I'd wanted to do for years. Maybe I relaxed too much after the wide and maybe (more likely) the eyesight has gone, I am in the words of so many fine losing English sportsmen 'inconsolable' - at least till I've had a weekend by the sea in Norfolk!!

It's a shame as I managed to handle the 8/9 bowlers into 40 overs without pissing any of them off. Braden bowled at the death and helped reduce Wash from 97 - 3 to 154 all out. It was also Mike's best bowling for the club for ages. The Aussies, Matt H, JB and the Pop idols - Ollie and Sammy had a great positive approach. Braden was simply awesome 5 - 7 of top class spin bowling. As I said to Jim at tea, 'any idea why I wanted to give him a chance to get fit?' and an innings of pure class, cut short by a shooter, which had one seasoned pro (MA) drooling that his innings was 'worth the admission price alone.'

Alongside him, MH deserves an honourable mention. Three stumpings!! Which he got in no small part because he studied Braden's bowling the week before and anticipated the spin. He also jumped on the first sign of whinging & kept the team geed up. When he's not out of it he's a much underestimated team member.

Finally, back to the reason we lost. That's easy - we didn't have an opening bat, so yes, you guessed it - it was your fault Pete!!

XI: Nigel Wilkinson*, Mike Alexander, John Baglivi, Martin Cowling, Jim Davies, Oli Haill, Matt Holliday, Sammy Purcell, Kurt Rademaker, Colin Black & Braden Grigg.