We all travelled down to leafy Richmond on what initially seemed to be a sunny day. We were to be based at King George's Field in Ham, Richmond. We were all there in good time, but the opposition were a little more relaxed in their approach, and appeared one-by-one in due course. Indeed, Actors Anonymous (AA) turned out to be one of the more polite teams we have played, and were led by a captain whose diction reminded one of Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady. Although there were a few familiar faces amongst the opposition, there were not enough, so Grace's sportingly lent them three players: Messrs Philpott, Pretorius and Braybrook.
Having lost the toss and finding ourselves bowling first, the match proved at this stage an uphill struggle. AA did not score at a great rate, but did not lose wickets easily either. They finished on 156 for three, at a rate of exactly four runs an over. Of the bowlers, Shofiq, the captain, who took two for 27 off eight overs and Dekock, who didn't take a wicket but restricted the opposition to 22 runs off his 10 overs, proved to be the most successful. Grace's newcomer, Pereira, chipped in with one for 43 off nine overs. Needless to say, it seemed Grace's ought to be able to get the 156 runs without too much trouble.
We then retired for tea. What we hadn't bargained for was a change in the weather. It had become dull towards the end of AA's innings, and, as we stood taking tea and looking out of the hut, the clouds took an ominous turn. It started to drizzle, so we waited a while. The heavens then opened, and we stood in the hut, almost shivering, while we bided our time. Luckily, Wingrove had stayed behind with our bags and kit, so they were only moderately soaked... We ventured outside after an extended tea, and decided to resume play only after waiting for a further five minutes or so.
Unfortunately, after Swinburne and Stockinger had marched out to the wicket, they ran off again, having scored two runs off one over. Huddled inside cars or under trees, we decided to call it a day and declare an honourable draw.