Sunday May 17 v Radley Rangers at Radley - Lost by 15 runs
Radley Rangers 171; Sherborne Pilgrims 156 (R D Stormonth-Darling 5-68)

Having sent out a considerable number of invitations to potential Cricketer Cup players and persuaded Justin Ricketts to come and watch this fixture in his capacity as captain and selector, it was extremely disappointing that we fielded a side containing not only Ricketts, but also a majority of "usual suspects". The idea of this fixture is for any Pilgrim who really believes that he is good enough to play in the Cricketer Cup to come and prove a point to the selectors.

The captains agreed to hold a 50-over game and our hosts won the toss and duly elected to bat. Hargrove and Garrett opened the bowling with some effect and restricted Radley to 39 for two at the end of their 12-over spell; the wickets were shared. They were replaced by Bagnall and Ward. From the College End, Chris Ward bowled an excellent spell of medium-pace and his figures of two for 16 from eight overs were an accurate reflection of his miserliness. Bagnall at the other end was purveying dross and therefore Radley did manage to score quite freely to reach 84 for four at the halfway mark. Rob Gurney was the chief accumulator for the home team, making 46 before he was bowled by Andy Searson, but thereafter Radley steadily lost wickets as the captain shuffled his bowling around. At lunch, with Radley on 126 for six, it was agreed that Atwell and Dowdall should "give it some air" afterwards, so that our target would be about 200 and our batsman would have a stronger test. Thank goodness that only Hunter, with 37, managed to capitalise in any way on our generosity.

Dowdall took two wickets, Atwell (somewhat incredibly) one, and a run out left Radley on 171 all out in just short of 46 overs. Bagnall apart, our bowlers had done a very good job and in tandem with the fielding, which was equally keen, it meant that the outcome of the game seemed almost inevitable.

After some lengthy discussions between Ricketts and Bagnall, it was decided that, without telling the opposition, we would try to win the game in only 40 overs, therefore setting ourselves a stiffer run-rate target. Application was the key word, panic was the response. Searson, Atwell and Dowdall all went cheaply and when Warren was dismissed for 17, the Pilgrims were seriously struggling at 29 for four in the fourteenth over. Will Hargrove then came to the crease and batted with an excellent combination of controlled aggression and mindful defence. His 49 runs came in only 14 overs and contained six fours. The only problem was that during his partnership with first Tweedale and then Harrison, only eight runs were scored at the other end. It is further testament to Hargrove's innings that the rest of the side only hit the boundary line five times.

Hargrove's dismissal brought in Ricketts to join Harrison and the two of them looked very comfortable, nudging the ball into gaps and putting on 28 runs in the next six overs. Ricketts then tried to play the finest of late cuts through the vacant slip area. The only thing he omitted to do was get bat on ball and he was bowled by Stormonth-Darling, who was well into his 14-over spell of apparently mesmerising medium-pacers. Garrett, Ward and Harrison managed to push the score along a little further, but eventually Garrett became Stormonth-Darling's fifth victim, leaving the Pilgrims all out for 156 in 47 overs.

This was obviously a less than satisfactory preparation for the first round of the Cricketer Cup. But it illustrated clearly the problems that face the Pilgrims in their attempt to improve their poor Cup record: there were at least five players in this team - and the Cup XI - who know that they are not really good enough. They would happily make way for other, better Pilgrims, but until those men make themselves available, the "usual suspects" will continue to turn out and gratitude will be forthcoming for that.

Sunday May 31 - Cricketer Cup first round v Rugby Meteors at Rugby - Lost by 79 runs
Rugby Meteors 227-8 (R R Montgomerie 51); Sherborne Pilgrims 148

To celebrate 30 years of The Cricketer Cup, the organisers published a small booklet detailing statistical highlights of the competition. It will have come as no surprise to knowledgeable Pilgrims to have discovered that, of the 32 teams who have graced the Cup, Sherborne are languishing in twenty-eighth position, having achieved a 26.2 per cent ratio of victories - a pitiful 11 wins from 42 matches. Fortunately, despite this year's result, we are not (yet) in danger of slipping down towards the Old Westminsters (13.9 per cent), who prop up the table.

But it makes the point forcefully enough, that our performances in the competition have been patchy at best. Needless to say, the Old Tonbridgians lead the way, with a staggering 74.5 per cent win ratio of matches played - a percentage which will have been boosted by their win over Rugby in the 1998 final.

To lose to the eventual runners-up may not seem like a poor outcome, even if it was in the first round; and, indeed, after last year's heroics, perhaps the sense of anticipation was inflated overmuch, making the defeat harder to bear. But the old Pilgrims faults resurfaced again this year, which was disappointing, to say the least. The bowling was substandard and the fielding less urgent than in the 1997 campaign, while the batting never reached simple mediocrity.

The day promised much; continuing the sensible selection policy of the previous year, Justin Ricketts assembled a competitive team that lacked only one of his intended XI, Charlie Warren getting a call from the Oxford Authentics that might not have come his way again. Crucially, that loss was to deprive the Pilgrims of their recognised opener - a problem that has haunted Cricketer Cup games in the past, and would do so again.

But all turned up on time, despite a minor alarm over Atwell's whereabouts, smartly turned out and ready to get to grips with a good Rugby pitch. Ricketts won the toss and decided to insert the Meteors, hoping to capitalise on the slight moisture on the turf and the overcast conditions. With a Northamptonshire county batsman and one of the Cup's most prolific scorers opening up for the home team, this seemed sensible - if one or both of these could be dismissed early, there would be great optimism.

The problem was that the Pilgrims bowlers were unable to oblige. Rydon, who never bowled all that badly, had little luck in his first spell, closing with excellent figures of 6-2-10-0. Yet had there been tighter bowling from his supporting pace-bowling cast, the first session might have been very different. Garrett began with two fours taken from his first over and rarely threatened, conceding 37 from seven overs; Bagnall found absolutely no rhythm and was removed from the attack after just two overs, with 18 taken from them.

And by then, Montgomerie and Umbers had put down first roots, Umbers surviving a hard chance to Ricketts at slip off Rydon in the fifth over. It was not until the introduction of spin, and the captain's leg breaks, that the breakthrough was made - and with 75 on the board in good time, the Rugby innings was on course for a big score. It was Haileybury 1996 all over again, and already the match looked to be slipping away.

That it did not was almost exclusively down to some outstanding spin bowling from Ricketts and a tight line from Dowdall, making his Cup debut. Andrew Wingfield Digby was useful if not always threatening, and Rydon bowled bravely at the death. Yet a glance at the Rugby scorecard tells the story: all batsmen except Leaver, who appeared only for the final over, reached double figures, and most scored at a good tempo. Montgomerie was the only man to make 50, and therein lies the tale of why Rugby failed to make the 300 that at one stage seemed inevitable.

Ricketts finished with figures of 12-3-27-3, bowling in three spells and with much skill and no little control. His captaincy in the field was again almost faultless, and it was depressing that he should have done so much but been so unable to reap the rewards of his industry because of the sloppiness of others. All that said, however, and this spectator certainly believed that a target of 228 - after all, only just above four an over - was attainable.

Here it was, though, that the lack of a genuine opener showed. Rydon, whose best contributions in this competition have come from the middle order, went in first with Atwell and was back in the pavilion by the first ball of the third over, unable to get to grips with the unfamiliar role and the accurate bowling of Fenton and Pugh. One potential matchwinner lost and only six on the board. Atwell and Tweedale both looked comfortable and fluent before each departed to the straight bowling of Pugh, the former cutting to gully and the latter leg-before.

This brought Hodges and Ricketts together in what was undoubtedly the key partnership. It has been remarked before how Hodges owes the Club a big innings in the Cup, and it seemed as if 1998 was to be the year, as he reminded those on the boundary how he has power and timing in abundance. Ricketts accumulated well, and together they moved the score on from 43 for three to 85. And then disaster. With tea at the end of the over, Hodges played a grossly irresponsible shot - shades of Gower in Australia in 1990-91 - and was bowled. Suddenly, from a position of some optimism, there was little apparent prospect of a Pilgrims revival.

Thus it proved, Ricketts struggled on, with limited support at the other end, until, in trying to force the run-rate, he was stumped for 43. A few lusty blows from Wingfield Digby apart, that was that. Once more, the Pilgrims had been bowled out well short of the 55 overs, and with little chance of making the required total. The contribution of the Meteors' bowlers should not be overlooked, though: Fenton was naggingly accurate (9-3-16-1) and Leaver thoroughly difficult to score off (7-1-15-1, and with only singles taken from him).

And so Rugby proceeded on through the competition to the final at Roehampton, leaving Pilgrims to wonder for the umpteenth time what might have been. Unlike past years, on this occasion there is only one excuse: under-performance on the day. Ricketts carried his team virtually single-handedly this time round; it does not take much to realise that if a few batsmen had chipped in with substantial contributions and if one other quick bowler had remembered the virtues of line and length, then it might have turned out otherwise.

Having begun with statistics, let's finish with a few quiz questions. i) Name our sole centurion in the Cup; ii) Name the only Pilgrim to have scored a half-century and taken five wickets in the same match; iii) and guess which is the only school in the competition not to have produced a county cricketer that has been a member of their team during the 30 years of the cup's existence? Answers (correct then) at the end of the year's reports.

Sunday June 14 v Hampshire Hogs at Warnford - Cancelled, rain

Saturday June 27 v The School at Sherborne - Drawn
Sherborne Pilgrims 170-5 dec (A N P Searson 53); Sherborne School 112-7

On what was a particularly cold and wet day, the very young Pilgrims side, led by Charlie Warren, the 1997 School captain, decided to bat. The innings began in less than ideal fashion when Ambrose was bowled by Edlmann for nought. Pugh and Goodeve-Docker then put on 66 for the second wicket before the latter perished to the slow left-arm bowling of Duncan Reece-Smith. A further two runs were added before Pugh was bowled and the Pilgrims were tottering at 68 for three. It seemed that the wise words of Mike Nurton and Alan Willows from not-too-distant schooldays about getting in line with the ball had been swiftly forgotten.

Warren was next to fall, for only seven (surprising in view of his later scoring exploits), which brought Andy Searson and Mark Simon together in a valuable partnership of 85 that, considering it included three interruptions for rain, was some effort in concentration. Simon made 42 in an unorthodox innings that contained three fours and a six on a large and damp outfield. With his wicket, Warren declared, leaving Searson unbeaten on 53 - a well-constructed and vital half-century played with great responsibility. The School, in tough fielding conditions, never made it easy and stuck to their task well.

The Pilgrims began their stint in the field well with three of the School's batsmen, arguably the best three in their side, back in the pavilion with only 13 runs on the board. Newbury, with two, and Hargrove were the successful bowlers. Fegen and Reece-Smith brought the School back into the match with a careful partnership of 57, but three more quick wickets gave the Pilgrims renewed hope with the School 85 for six - this time, Dowdall, with two, and Fradgley the men responsible. With ominous clouds, the Pilgrims had to strike quickly if they were to win. But the School lost only one more wicket and batted out the time that was available to secure the draw. This was a highly competitive game played in good spirits in trying conditions. The Pilgrims need to play hard cricket in this fixture because victory in recent years has been hard to come by; the last time that the Pilgrims prevailed was 1994, the year that one Will Hargrove led the School.

Sunday July 5 v Marlborough Blues at Marlborough - Lost by 76 runs
Marlborough Blues 239 (T Sheehan 91); Sherborne Pilgrims 163

Because of rain and our involvement in the third round of the Cricketer Cup last year, this fixture had not been played for several years. It was, therefore, felt imperative that this game was not unnecessarily cancelled, despite the fact that both captains were only able to muster eight fit men. Bagnall, having won the toss, was rather dismayed to realise that the Pilgrims had only three recognised batsmen and reluctantly asked the Blues to bat.

Their innings of 239 was dominated by some gloriously fluent strokes from the opening batsman, Sheehan, who scored 91. Our admiration for his innings was swiftly terminated when it was discovered that the reason for his getting lost on the way to the ground was because Marlborough had not been responsible for his "schooling". At the other end, he was well supported by four consecutive innings in the twenties before Pexton and Hargrove polished off their two last batsmen for ducks. Pexton and Goodeve-Docker both bowled well but without any luck, and thus the testing target of 240 confronted the Pilgrims.

Now just who were those recognised batsmen? Well, it is still a mystery. Only de la Hey batted with any grit, scoring 36 during a dogged two-hour stay. Scorer, with 26, and Pexton, 25, also batted with some assurance, and Bagnall's wicket remained intact at the death. That apart, the Pilgrims display was inept and de lay Hey's dismissal resulted in the visiting team still over 70 runs adrift.

Monday July 6 v Old Blundellians at Sherborne - Drawn
Old Blundellians 244-3 dec (A R Giles 117*, R Brown 85); Sherborne Pilgrims 238-7 (C C M Warren 127)

Despite continuous drizzle throughout the day, this game got under way at 1.35pm, both teams having already enjoyed an excellent lunch. Blundellians had received a comprehensive beating in the corresponding fixture of 1997 and it was no surprise to see their opening bnatsmen eating considerably less than the Pilgrims bowling attack. The home team were subsequently plundered for 244 runs in 44 overs, taking only three wickets in the process.

The Blundellians captain, Giles, scored an excellent unbeaten century and was well supported by Brown, who registered 85 in a second-wicket partnership of 162; however, they could hardly have failed to fill their boots. The Pilgrims bowling was dreadful and the fielding even worse. Only Bagnall was not smashed to all parts of the ground, taking two for 34 from 12 overs. His dismissal of the Blundellians No 4 brought about the declaration and thus a very pink swollen cricket ball was handed back to the umpire. A somewhat bemused Pilgrims team returned to the pavilion to prepare to bat; the captain walked in and the door was closed behind him. The rest of the week was considerable more satisfying.

Having wiped away the tears, Warren and Searson opened the batting and began what proved to be a tremendous fightback. When Searson was first out in the fifteenth over with the score on 67, a solid platform had been built. Hodges joined Warren and the two of them batted beautifully in putting on 110 in just 14 overs. At this stage a further 67 runs were required off only eight overs, but with eight wickets still in hand. Tweedale and Warren then knocked off 52 in five overs, the latter reaching his hundred in the process. It was a fantastic innings by Warren and his 127 runs were amassed in only 35 overs.

Unfortunately both batsmen got out in the same over and the Pilgrims were left requiring 19 from the last three overs. Wickets fell and so the victory target was seven runs away as the game was finally concluded, after just 37 overs for the Pilgrims innings. It is never easy for two new batsmen to come in and force the pace and, on reflection, a draw rather than a Pilgrims win was a fair result.

Tuesday July 7 v Dorset Colts at Sherborne - Won by 4 wickets
Dorset Colts 187-9 (T Hicks 60; A N P Searson 4-45); Sherborne Pilgrims 189-6 (E T Elliot-Square 60*; A Hatch 4-41)

The Pilgrims agreed to play a 55-over game to help the Dorset Colts to acclimatise for the competition that they play in. Hodges was keen that the Pilgrims were not to be cannon fodder for the representative side to practise upon and he was determined that the agreement to fix the number of overs would be the last help that the Colts received.

Bagnall and Elliot-Square bowled an impressive opening spell. Straight, aggressive and accurate, the first two Colts batsmen were dismissed for 22 runs with 12 overs gone. This brought to the wicket Warren, shuffling slowly, gasping for air or water, and looking a pale shadow of the formidable centurion of the previous day. Dropped on nought, a leading edge into the vacant outfield for a single, his misery was soon ended when he dribbled a catch to Searson. All the bowlers, with the exception of Hargrove, bowled a good line and length, which allowed a tight field to be set. The medium pace of Andy Searson proved perfect for the conditions and his four for 45 was an excellent performance. The combination of tight bowling and keen ground fielding meant that the Colts always felt under pressure and dissolved in the face of the Pilgrims effort.

A total of 187 should have caused no problems for a talented Pilgrims batting line-up, but an excellent seam attack, led by a remarkably quick 16-year old by the name of Britten, about whom we may well be hearing much more in the future, allied to some indifferent batting, saw the Pilgrims in trouble at 88 for five. At this stage the captain was a little agitated, never having tasted defeat when leading the Pilgrims, and never enjoying the taste of defeat at other times in his career; but the threat of this bitter pill was removed by some outstanding batting by Searson and Elliot-Square.

Searson's was a brave, cerebral innings. He obviously found the pace of Britten difficult, but he got into line and worked the ball about in a gritty, determined fashion. Had he been out early and the tail exposed to four or five overs of Britten, defeat would surely have been the Pilgrims' lot. It wasn't to be: while Searson grafted, Elliot-Square played a beautifully controlled innings of timing and placement. Both men showed excellent temperament in accumulating runs and getting the job done: this outstanding partnership secured victory, with Elliot-Square unbeaten on 60. It was a superb game of cricket and one in which those who played can look back upon with pride.

Thursday July 9 v Butterflies at Sherborne - Won by 7 wickets
Butterflies 148; Sherborne Pilgrims 150-3 (C C M Warren 70*)

Having had a day off the previous day, the Butterflies were rather pleased to hear that the Pilgrims had only managed to keep out of the pubs of Sherborne until about 3pm. Closing time, Raj Pooth and poker resulted in 11 wrecks arriving at the Upper in differing states of alcoholism shortly before the 11.30am start.

Hodges captained the side as Bagnall was unable to speak and was struggling even to walk. Revenge was swift as Hodges won the toss, inserted the Butterflies and asked Bagnall to bowl up the hill until ten minutes before lunch. Bagnall's pathetic attempt at collapsing after his first ball of the day was met with disdain from Hodges and it was only when the bowler's buckets of alcoholic sweat started to make the wicket hazardous that he was finally allowed to retire from the attack. Hargrove had been relieved of his duties as the other opening bowler after six overs of trash had been dispatched for 38 runs by the gleeful Butterflies batsmen. Once Hargrove had been removed, normality was resumed and the Butterflies unfortunately revealed a desperate lack of ability and application. Thorne, Dowdall and Hodges all took wickets while Searson and Bagnall both garnered three each as the visiting team were reduced to a poor score of 148 all out from 52 overs.

The Charlies, Rix and Dowdall, opened the reply with 26 steady runs before the introduction of Rowland-Clark, who had the unfortunate attribute of bowling straight, accounted for Rix. Dowdall soon followed with the score on 42, leaving the biggest Charlie of them all, Warren, to bat with the biggest Pilgrim of them all, Thorne. In just 18 overs, the two of them knocked off all but two of the required runs. Thorne got tired on 39, but Warren, knowing that Longman had come in to join him, farmed the strike and was left not out on 70 as the meagre target was attained. The only other highlight of a one-sided contest was Rix's catch. Having not caught one all week, being hit on chest and ankles in his previous efforts, it was to everyone's amusement and shock when he held on to one of the most difficult chances of the week.

Friday July 10 v Dorset Rangers at Sherborne - Won by 144 runs
Sherborne Pilgrims 300-1 dec (J R Tweedale 176*, D W Thorne 69*); Dorset Rangers 156 (C E Dowdall 4-26)

The last morning saw the weather cloudy and limbs weary. The Rangers captain inserted the Pilgrims and play began at 11.45am. Scott and Tweedale opened, batting solidly on a pitch that offered little help to the bowlers. Tweedale in particular looked "in the mood" and played well on both sides of the wicket, off both front and back foot. The opening partnership of 132 was broken when Scott edged a late cut to the wicketkeeper off the bowling of Foulston, the Rangers' best bowler. This wicket brought together Thorne and Tweedale shortly before lunch. At the break, the score was 143 for one, with Tweedale 90 not out. After lunch, both batsmen set about the bowling in ruthless fashion. As a result, Hargrove was able to declare just before the halfway point, Tweedale compiling a superb 176 and Thorne on 69, both unbeaten.

Alistair Hatch, having opened the bowling against the Pilgrims for the Dorset Colts on the Tuesday, bowled a superb opening spell with good pace and swing. He could easily have taken three or four wickets; as it was, he had to settle for only one, Henderson caught at fourth slip by none other than Tweedale. The Pilgrims attack continued to bowl tightly, taking wickets at fairly regular intervals. One wicket in particular showed how good a day Tweedale was having; in an attempt to run out the striker running to the bowlers' end, he missed the stumps with his throw but the ball travelled up the wicket in time to run out the non-striker who was ambling back in what he thought was total safety.

The other wickets fell to various bowlers, although none to Pat Gent, who bowled a good spell from the Pavilion End, containing four successive maidens. Note must be taken of the first recorded spell of left-arm orthodox bowling on the Upper by tour guru Bagnall. The last wicket fell with four balls remaining as Dowdall, who ended with excellent figures of 11.2-2-26-4, bowled Foulston. This was a fitting end to a superb week: only the weather could have been better.

Sunday July 12 v Old Tonbridgians at Tonbridge - Cancelled, rain.

Tuesday July 21 v Old Cliftonians at Clifton - Won by 4 wickets
Old Cliftonians 211-8 dec; Sherborne Pilgrims 214-6 (N D Macpherson 70)

During a summer of indifferent weather, we were lucky in some respects to get a game at all; the weather threatened all day and delayed the start, but it did allow the Pilgrims time to despatch the Cliftonians with great elan, a sweet feeling for the match manager, Hodges, himself a Bristolian. The two captains agreed that the home team should bat and to general surprise, the Pilgrims found a wicket completely lacking in any sort of pace, bounce, movement or incentive to bowl. Historically the Clifton wicket has been a decent surface; either the weather or the new groundsman had contrived to make matters other than they used to be.

Bagnall opened the bowling, bowled like a drain, was taken off. Lyons took over, bowled worse. Elliot-Square's back went, Bagnall came back on and got three quick wickets bowling the same dross that he had started with. At the time, it looked like an inspired gamble on Bagnall - but in truth it was born more out of desperation. At the other end Richard Trotman was bowling quickly and accurately with no luck. The batsmen could not get bat on ball and it seemed as though Trotman could not buy a wicket, so Costeloe came on and took three for 38 from 13 overs in an excellent spell. That was about the end of any joy in the field for the Pilgrims. Continuing to attack amid some appalling batting, the Pilgrims were unable to finish their opponents off. One Cliftonian, who scored 44, must have used up about five years' worth of luck in one day. Their eventual declaration was too late and gave us about an hour and 20 overs to get 211.

Determined to make something of the game, the orders were to give it a go. This Tweedale and Macpherson did magnificently. Tweedale knocked the ball about imperiously until he fenced at a wide one and was caught behind. Warren kept the momentum going, supporting Macpherson, whose innings was the outstanding one of the match. Nick Macpherson has not been seen in Pilgrims colours since he left the School and it took a chance meeting between his father and Hodges to find his whereabouts and entice him to play.

Macpherson hit 70 in 57 balls to all parts of the ground with a borrowed bat and laid the foundation for the victory, which was secured by Elliot-Square batting properly while the rest slogged, and rather fittingly the winning four was hit by Bagnall, who does so much hard work for the Pilgrims. This is the first time since 1983 that the Pilgrims have played the Cliftonians: it is an excellent venue and will hopefully continue for years to come.

Sunday August 9 v NPL Teddington at Teddington - Drawn
Sherborne Pilgrims 245-5 dec (S R C Knechtli 70, C C M Warren 59); NPL Teddington 210-9 (M Champion 148; P L C Knechtli 6-38)

A new fixture for the Pilgrims looked to be an intriguing match, laced with rivalry as Bagnall, Atwell and Hargrove play for NPL on Saturdays and both Clarke and Patrick Knechtli have done so in the past. Mark Champion, the NPL captain, won the toss and elected to field. The Pilgrims openers scored with good pace on what was a solid track. Warren was the first to fall for 59, in the 22nd over, with the score on 106. Simon Knechtli was next out, for 70, having looked very comfortable and playing some lovely strokes. Tweedale added his own rapidfire 42, Hargrove 17 and Wingfield Digby 18. Bagnall declared the innings closed when Wingfield Digby was run out, leaving Charlie Allen stranded on 18 and the Pilgrims totalling 245 for five off 47.4 overs. NPL used seven bowlers and fielded well, gaining two run outs.

The NPL innings began badly as Paddy Knechtli took three quick wickets, all bowled leaving Champion and Keay at the crease with the score 17 for three. Champion proceeded to rise to the challenge, taking time to play himself in against the sustained attack of Knechtli and Clarke. Keay finally fell to Knechtli for 13 as Tweedale took a good catch at third slip. The next four batsmen fell for scores of 2, 1, 1 and 2 respectively but all managed to stay with Champion for some time while he managed to manipulate the strike. Simon Knechtli bowled well, at a lesser pace than his brother, but was naggingly accurate, mixing in the odd bouncer; he was rewarded with two wickets. Bagnall, Lyons and Wingfield Digby also bowled, with Lyons' ability to drag the lower order into strokeplay valuable. Champion was eventually out for 148, victim to Paddy Knechtli, but by this time the game was well into the final ten overs. The last two NPL batsmen saw the game out for a hard-fought draw still some 35 runs short. Hargrove had kept wicket for only the fourth time and little improvement was evident (he was NPL's second top scorer, in the byes department). The remarkable fact of the innings was that Paddy Knechtli had removed all the top six NPL batsmen, rounding off a profitable day for the family.

NPL were superb hosts on a great day; lunch from the local Indian at 1pm was especially enjoyable and to be encouraged in the future. It should be noted that for those of us who play with NPL every week, Champion was unbearable for weeks afterwards, but it was worth it.

Sunday August 16 v Cobham at Cobham - Lost by 3 wickets
Sherborne Pilgrims 207-8 dec (J D de la Hey 61*); Cobham 209-7 (B Hunt 70)

On a warm, sunny afternoon, the Pilgrims met to play Cobham on a different ground from past fixtures. The Pilgrims had among them a manager in the form of an injured Bagnall and three wicketkeepers (Kitson, Wheatley and de la Hey). Hargrove won the toss and elected to bat on a solid-looking pitch. The two wicketkeepers who were not going to be behind the stumps opened the innings. It was a slow start because of good bowling from the Hunt's father-and-son combination, who between them went on to bowl 27 out of the 46 overs.

The first wicket (Wheatley) fell with the score on 16, and Allen followed with the scorers untroubled, both victims of the younger Hunt. Kitson and Thorne pushed on, the latter scoring a rapid 25 containing six fours (to avoid any running) before falling to Hunt Snr. Kitson was then bowled for a useful 39. Hargrove pushed the scoring along but perished pulling a ball straight to mid on, Clarke following soon afterwards. This brought together Clive Wood and de la Hey for a partnership of 50 that was manufactured from clever deflections and good running. Wood was finally out for a commendable 19, to be replaced by Pexton, who batted in his normal cavalier high-risk fashion for another useful 19. Hargrove declared with de la Hey on 61, a superb innings with shots off both front and back foot, excellent placement and manipulation. The younger Hunt had been the pick of the Cobham bowlers with figures of 15-5-31-2.

After an excellent tea, the Cobham innings got off to a quick start. Newbury and Pexton opened the bowling on a pitch that did not offer much to the seamers. Newbury struck first, dismissing Jones for eight, caught at extra cover. Hunt Jr joined Patel and these two moved the score on to 61 before Dowdall bowled Patel for 21. Newland, the Cobham captain, now joined Hunt and they added a further 59 to put the home side in a commanding position. Hargrove disposed of Newland, but at 120 for three, the impetus was with Cobham.

Hunt batted very well for his 70 (including 11 fours) and did most of the work required to get his team to victory. After his dismissal, the Pilgrims battled hard to sneak a draw, with ten needed off the last two overs and seven off the final over. But a four through point won the game with one ball to spare. The Pilgrims bowled too short on a pitch that required disciplined line and length; it offered more to the slow bowlers, where the ball didn't quite come on to the bat, reflected in the figures of Dowdall and Hargrove, who both snared two wickets. Several dropped catches did not assist the cause and it was, ultimately, a disappointing performance with which to end the season.
* * * * *

The Club wishes to pay tribute and offer heartfelt thanks to Mervyn Brown, who retired as the head groundsman at the end of the 1998 season. Over the years, "Merv" has produced many wickets and his help to countless generations of Pilgrims has been greatly appreciated. During the 1998 Week, the task of laying on lunches and teas was shouldered by Cath Hamilton, to whom the Club - and particularly the players who widened their waistline at the expense of some fielding agility - is most grateful.

Reports by Rupert Bagnall, Robert Hands, John Hargrove, Will Hargrove and Phil Hodges.

Answers to Cricketer Cup questions i) Bob Tozer (1967); ii) Rob Rydon (1994); iii) Yes, Sherborne.