Report by Tom Serby:
The season's evening finale was a visit from Grantchester CC to town, and unusually in these days of sobriety included a post match drink (at the Carpenter's Arms).
There was a distinct mirror image to the two innings making for a very close fluctuating match which went slow, quick, quick, slow. Leading the way with the Remnants' slow movement were the noted practitioners of the art Tom Serby and Simon Godsill after CJ Barrie's determined assault on his average ended clean bowled playing across the line after a brief violent innings out of kilter with the slow theme. Simon fell in similar fashion, frustrated at being tied down, before Tom was caught pulling. This heralded the scherzo part of the innings through James Robinson (retired 40 with powerful biffs down the ground), accompanied by Richard Rex, sweeping and dibbing, Martin Higginbottom (35 including two sixes) falling to a chutzpah induced reverse hit essaying unsuccessfully to copy the master Neil Grover, and Saurav Dutta (14) bringing the innings to a brisk close in company with Joe White.
Grantchester responded with an early innings allegro of their own, to the distaste of conductor/bowler Faruk Kara (0/44 off three eight ball overs) but this was nipped in the bud by a feat worthy of the season's final evening game and up there with the previous evening's leave-taking six off his last Remnants ball (for the foreseeable) of the Oz departing Julius Rix. Namely Joe White's first ever (surely not? ed.) hat-trick, distinguished by all three wickets being clean bowled. Joe was backed up by a brace of overs from each of Martin (3/16), John Moore (1/26), Andy Owen (1/13) and Saurav (2/20). All of which meant that Remnants squeaked through to a final over win before most of the team repaired to aforementioned pub to contemplate Joe's possible resemblance to a famous (not to me) snooker player causing him to be accosted in the street twice by a confused fan. Much more interesting than post match analysis.
So ended another mostly glorious Remnants season marred by persistent rain in the early part but beautiful warm sunny evenings in July and August. Thanks to Daniel for all his hard work putting the show on - and sympathies to him for booking his boondoggle US trip to miss the back end of the season and the fine weather.