Following the grand last-round victory of the previous day, about half the regular team, bolstered by a several new faces and a few old hands, headed off to Clumber Park, Notts, for a one-day tournament. Organised by Rog's brother, this annual round-robin series of three 20-over games takes place at one of the most gorgeous cricket grounds in the country. Nestled slap-bang in the middle of Sherwood Forest, it features a National Trust-listed, thatch-roofed clubhouse, excellent outfield, and a setting that's just unbeatable. Those of you of a certain vintage may even have seen it on TV, having been used in location-shooting for the short-lived BBC cricket comedy Outside Edge. Another attraction of this tournament is the novelty of having an audience that's not just the opposition's batsmen -- several hundred people regularly roll up to picnic, drink and even watch the game.

Speaking of which, some cricket was played, apparently. We lost one game and then finished the day off with an exciting tie against our hosts. The main bit of news that made it down south was rumours of ``the most stunning catch I've ever seen'' (Henderson 2001) by much-missed Romsey stalwart Maruie -- he had to charge twenty yards around the boundary and then slid along the ground to catch the ball inches above the turf.

Oh, and apparently some of the boys had a beer or two . . .