Drinks

It really was a perfect summer day. The sun shone from morning to night, interrupted only by the occasional passing of a fluffy white cloud. The temperature was perfect too, not much more than 21 deg, or 70 deg in the old money. An ideal day to be spent watching cricket!

Cycling out to away games, I seem able to time my ride to arrive during the first over. This often means getting a shift on, though, as I always end up leaving later than planned. Today the lads were playing out at Walton Park, a few miles the other side of Wetherby. It meant covering the 24 miles in 80 mins. Fortunately, there was very little wind. I was pleased with that effort.

I had no trouble finding the ground, just beyond the village of Walton. It must be one of the loveliest venues in the whole league. The outfield was in perfect condition and lightning fast. The pitch offered some good bounce, which Roam rather enjoyed exploiting with a few bouncers. We got them all out for 151 in 36 overs, Roam picking up two wickets and Forrest one. In reply we were soon two wickets down for very few but Forrest and Robbie steadied the ship before Tex (as they call R) started teeing off in grand style, hitting some gigantic sixes. Forrest eventually holed out for 35 trying to emulate his more expansive partner but ended up getting more height than distance. It was a good catch considering the impressive hang time, but the game was all but won by then. Tex finished on 85 not out, the runs getting knocked off for the loss of just 3 wickets in 27 overs. Tex has only played a couple of games all season. He's one of those natural athletes who just rocks up and performs. Quite annoying in some ways! He took a breathtakingly good catch too. 

A fresh westerly had got up by the time I left, making for a much harder and slower ride home. The final pull up the last hill was tough, running on an empty tank, possibly not helped by the brisk run I'd taken on the moor before I left for the game. I still love that feeling of getting through the door with absolutely nothing more left to give!

Scorecard