As the covers were wheeled away it was obvious that this was one toss you needed to win, especially as the forecast was for drying winds and sunshine later in the afternoon.
You can probably guess the rest. Having been asked to bat we were quickly reduced to 70 odd for 7 on a pitch that was near impossible to time anything on and that was offering prodigous seam movement and steepling bounce off a length. Only Matt offered any resistance and ended up being hit at least 7 times for his trouble.
This brought Tom to the crease. Tom may be new to some of you. Remember the name. Not Tom Robinson of 2-4-6-8 Motorway or Glad to Be Gay fame. (We need a nickname for our Tom).
Same name, different M.O. Whether our Tom is Glad To be Gay or not is currently unknown. What we do know is that when he is the zone he is a sight to behold. He swung wildly and effectively and in the process managed to really irritate the Horspath opening bowler. With some support from Phil The Caretaker they took us up to 136. Credit is due to a very good Horspath side for bowling very well in helpful conditions and also for backing there bowlers up with some quality fielding and catching.
Tea was a rather splendid affair, served inside where we could at last shelter from the drizzle and wind.
It was vital that the drizzle and wind continued if we were to stand a chance of defending 136.
We started brightly and Matt took two early wickets. The sun was out by now and the pitch quickly flattened out. Horspath's opening bat played very well to accumulate 72 not out as they easily scored the winning runs with the loss of three wickets.
So, a game that was heavily influenced by the toss. we will never know what may have happened had we won and fielded first so it isn't worth speculating. Instead we must focus on next weeks home game against Tiddington.
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