Match abandoned with Collegiate 238-5 declared (44 overs, Simpson M 117*, Heslop 47) and Warmsworth about 55-2. Now read about the nude boundary marker collection...The league positions required that we do well in the first game of a doubleheader against Warmsworth, this one at Warmsworth on a much improved but slow pitch. We lacked a few players because of Stewie's do at he test but were more conderned about the weather. We were inserted. Izra and Terence scored a few before the main event. Shack (in the book as Ibbotson) and Simmo the younger put on a stack. Simmo's century (117*) was a class act with shot selection and temperament way beyond his 15 years. Selection Committee take note and promote him next week please.

Terence's very reasonable desire for Simmo to complete his century resulted in a declaration later than we wished. We were only able to give 2 extra overs to Warmsworth with the score on 238-5 rather than about extra 6 overs and a total of 190-200.

There's a big difference in chasing 239 from 48 than 200 from 52 so Warmsworth needed a rapid start which they didn't get. The openers put on a steady 40 or so before departing to Angry (in the book as Angry) and Phil Collins. The wicket wasn't doing a great deal resulting in increasingly desparateattempts by Angry to extract seam that largely resulted in him losing control a little and bowling too short. However the drizzle had just started to liven the wicket up when the rain came down and killed the game with Warmsworth still needing 180 or so from just 25 or so overs.

The resultant loss of points is exactly what we didn't want, given that both Coal Aston and Sheffield Transport were not playing.

Warmsworth CC operate a couple of innovations that I feel we at Collegiate/Old Edwardians should consider for takeup. The first of these is the nearly nude collection of boundary markers after the game. At Warmsworth, this is done by a player running around the boundary dressed only in a jockstrap to collect the markers while the crowd roll around in hysterics hooting derision. The committee should consider this carefully perhaps with one or two changes made to the procedure. Specifically, rather than a player it should be a female spectator elected by the players on a single transferrable voting system. It will also be necessary to acquire boundary markers for the bottom pitch rather than a rope although these already exist for thetop pitch.

The second Warmsworth innovation involves the attempt by the rest of the team to dye one of the player's hair bright red later in the game. This has the interesting effect of transferring a lot of red dye onto the players' whites which results in the players looking like survivors from an explosion at an abbatoire. We thought at first one of the players had been sacrificed in some ritual to produce rain but a count revealed 11 players remaining, and a scorer. If we were to adopt this at Abbeydale Park I suggest that the blood of the last player in an innings to drop a catch should be used for added realism.

We got a bite in the bar when Warmworth were told that Michael Vaughan had played yesterday for the 1st team (which he had) but wanted another game today and would turn out for us against Warmsworth tomorrow. Good reaction from the barman!

We look forward to the second half of the double header this afternoon, with again the weather looking a bit iffy, but on what we are told is a good track at Abbeydale Park, with some of the survivors of one of Stewie's stag do at the test match back in the team. No naked flames near the changing room please.