Bristol CC IVth XI

At the invitation of Chris Langley, we piled down the M4 to Churchill in Somerset, a pretty village barely half an hour outside Bristol with a handful of pubs, a service station and one of the best-kep pitches this side of NW8. We weren’t at our strongest, but with Ben Wilkinson, James Weymes and Tucker Sorrell, we hoped to manage a couple of hundred.

No dice. Ben skied one for 12, Tucker swung and missed for a duck and James played diligently enough but too briefly for his 36. Andy Hosken offered a late glimmer of class with his unbeaten 22 at number nine, making the case for a move up the order. With a flimsy bowling attack (our biggest problem this season), we were dispatched in 21 overs, taking just two wickets, including a collector’s item LBW from Johnny Parker, his first since 1873.