Remnants finally had an easy victory tonight - possibly too easy for some people's tastes, which might explain why, when composing his match report, Tom Serby decided to challenge himself - and his readers - with a Joycean 60-word sentence (and that's not even counting the stats in brackets):
On one of the warmest evenings of the summer with Fitzwilliam Sports field overladen with dark glowering clouds the Pink Ball was unveiled. St Barnabas got first use of it and quickly despatched the Remnants openers Nick Clarke (7 off 7 balls) and Faruk Kara (4 off 5 balls), whereupon David Williams (13 off 28 balls) and Tom Serby (38 off 38 balls) saw Remnants to respectability against what was a more threatening attack than had been the case in the early season St Baranabas game at Quy, especially when the St Barnies skipper Will brought himself on. By now Andy Bell (10 off 14 balls) and Julius Rix (20 off 12 balls) were at the crease and they were followed by Ferdi Rex (4* off 6 balls) and John Young (9* off 10 balls) all of whom contributed to upping the ante as Remnants closed on 124/7.
Remnants opened their bowling attack with a brace of Rexes (Reges to classicists). Ferdi (1/11) got the wicket but Olly (0/9) returned a better economy rate (marginally). Their regal stranglehold on St Barnabas meant that after their combined 8 (six-ball) overs only 30 runs had been scored and St Bs were very much behind the run rate. This was in part owing to the fact that St Bs sent in their Frenchman Yannick as opener, applying the EU Equal Treatment Directive perhaps too scrupulously. Of the other bowlers Faruk (2/28) was the most incisive, while Tom Serby bowled his two at the close for 5 runs (thanks in part to Geoff and his generous application of the "wide" and "no ball" laws). There was to be no repeat of last week's astonishing 2?-run last over snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory episode against the Beehive, so another win on the ledger of our illustrious civic leader Mr Clarke.
