After many changes over the days leading up to the clash, both in LNZCC personnel for the fixture and the BBC's weather forecast, the day did actually dawn beautifully bright, but with the wind getting up moderately by the time the various vehicles travelling down set off. Little did we know at that stage that the personnel and weather variables would continue through the day.

And as we were off, cheery news from Fletch that it was his 44th birthday, but not so cheery when Matt Reinholds arrived sans Dave Holt, the victim of concussion during a football match the previous day. However, it was clearly meant to be as the Brigands advised that they too had a last minute withdrawal, ensuring a 10-a-side match but with each team providing sub fielders to make up 11 in the field. Quietly, the LNZCC skipper for the day did wonder if Dave's absence might leave a hole in the batting...and he also promptly lost the toss, with which probably went Matt Reinhold's outside chance of the 2007 batting trophy - he needed to score 130!

So, after much speculation as to how the ground would have looked in the 1750s and how Hambledon CC would have able to fit in up to 20,000 spectators, the pitch was thoroughly inspected. It deserves some comment. Many club members know it from previous years as pudding, but lots of hard work by the Brigands gives it more pace and it looked and was quite hard.

Throughout the afternoon it played well, and generally consistently, but overall, a little curiously. For a bowler able to "put some shoulder in" there was considerable steep bounce and pace off a length, but at the same time it tended to "stop" off the pitch, making driving perilous. It also proved ideal for accurate medium pace bowled to a dry length, skidding through. Also, whether it was the autumn dew (which at midday was still there in patches) or something else, the outfield remained astonishingly slow, even down the slope on the western side.

And so at 5-10 minutes past noon we were off.

If ever a pitch suited Tim Bills-Everett's style this was it, but he had no luck. Edges beating the bat and thumping into the 'keeper's gloves, edges wide of slip or short of gully. No luck either for Phil Bartle also bounding in from the other end sharing the new ball, and when I say no luck for Phil I really mean it as four balls into his six over, he pulled up with a severe calf strain. Exit Phil from the match ....and ice pack on and scorer duties for the rest of the afternoon.... or so we thought!

Great that Brigands immediately sent on another sub fielder (and their youngsters were excellent in this all day).

Re completing Phil's over, the ever eager birthday boy, Fletch immediately picked up the reins, proceeded tout suite to oust both (hitherto stubborn) Brigands openers and embarked on a mesmerising unbroken spell from the northern end. With deep backward leg and backward point removed, five close catchers ringing the bat, and no one out anywhere near the boundary, the spin king caused havoc and snared wickets with flighted off breaks, cunning arm balls (including bowling one batsman round his legs) and subtle changes of pace. He was very ably supported at the other end by his fellow evergreen over-forties Bernie McAlister and Richard Holden, turning the screw between them with hardly a loose ball and a combined return of 15-6-27-1.

Wickets fell at regular intervals as the Brigands struggled and a terrific effort from all LNZCC bowlers championed by said Mr Christian (7-47) and backed up by very sprightly fielding from the likes of Gordon Harcourt (who went under the helmet at short forward leg) and John McMullan, saw them all out for 121.

122 to win and maybe as many as 60 overs to get them. Some thoughts turned to the Bat & Ball Inn over the road and whether we could be in there in time to watch the All Blacks v Scotland. But no, the Brigands bowled as tidily and well as we did and with John McMullan playing around one, Gordon falling to the Brigand's Bills-Everett equivalent, and with newcomer, Ryan Nelson (not the Blackburn Rovers skipper) essaying some attractive but sadly too few offside shots, also dismissed LNZCC were 26-3.

This became serious trouble when Matt Reinholds, struggling to get his timing going, fell lbw to a slower ball at 37-4 after 13 overs. Effectively 37-5 with the ten batsman, or 37-6 if Phil would not have been able to bat! Into the breach came Mr Bills-Everett and eschewing his normal swashbuckling approach, took on the responsibility of his promotion to no. 6. Tim's resoluteness led to a crucial staunch partnership of 39 with the skipper, turning the game back to LNZCC, and when Fletch entered the fray, with lofted off drives and two effortless sweeps to the boundary, one a big, big maximum, the momentum was well and truly with LNZCC as the score advanced to 103-5.

Now nobody knows, least of all me, perhaps it was that there were now less than twenty runs for victory, but the skipper seemingly decided that the game deserved to go to the wire, and reckoned the best way to do that would be to attempt to smash his opposite number straight back over his head into the second field halfway up the adjacent hill, and miss!

All very well, but then Fletch got a good yorker (after scoring 23 on his birthday date, the 23rd) and Bernie also fell lbw half forward to a fired up young opening bowler....and we down to the last pair, that classic LNZCC duo, Rich Holden and Phil Bartle (batting on one leg and with a runner for the first time ever). Thirteen to get, the Brigands bowlers and fielders on triple alert and, to compound the tension, drizzle and then rain starting to creep up the valley to the top of the Down. What was going on?

There were edges, Rich ran one short scampering back for two, Phil was dropped by young "Jake", an easier chance than Jake had caught whilst sub-fielding for us. The two of them survived, sneaked some singles, somehow the score crept up to 116, then the immobile Phil spotted a fuller delivery and reaching it on the full, smote it straight past the bowler for four!

Rich was now facing, he drove to point. The skipper (running for Phil) initially called, then said no, there was confusion, and a throw to the non-striker's end, but too quick for the backing up. One was run, then a scrambled second and victory was LNZCC's. It then started to rain properly! A great end to the season and tremendous grit shown by all. The camaraderie extending to a few drinks at the Bat & Ball with the Brigands to whom the club is very grateful for thinking of us first when looking to play an additional replacement fixture for all those cancelled during the wettest of seasons.

Unsurprisingly, the birthday wunderkind, Fletch was the GBK man of the match, but then he did cough up nicely in the bar!