Tight bowling, big hitting, unbelievable catches and a skipper leading from the front in a manner that even prime Barbara Windsor wouldn't have managed.
If you weren't at 'The Rec' on Sunday you had better have been robbing a bank or dating Miss World or something otherwise you most certainly missed out on the excitement.
Groundsmeister 'El Chobbiniho' had warned that a shower would liven up the pitch (he was right) but no-one could have guessed it would liven up the fielders too, and one in particular.
After 16 overs a further rain delay came which allowed all to reflect on the breathless start that had occurred. In the time taken for Stoneygate to reach 31 Captain Scooter had bagged himself not one, not two but THREE catches at first slip.
The first was met with disbelief, the second with giggling irony and the third with howling merriment. You could have stopped the game right there and got the t-shirts printed, but there was more.
You see the skipper had not just brought himself to the ground, he had brought a royal tea (thank you Scooters Mum) and a sizeable contingent of his family and was evidently going to put on a show. So much so he pouched a further catch and a wicket. He wasn't quite done yet but we are in danger of getting ahead of ourselves.
At this stage you would be forgiven for presuming this was turning into a rare Duckhunters procession, but the Sunday XI soon found out it wasn't going all their own way. 18 year old Will Earland secured his first ever 100 in chanceless and technically notable fashion.
Somewhat annoying really because as well as being an obviously fine player he is also a really nice bloke which gave us little to complain about. Well done Will, it is the first of many we are sure.
Fleckney would be chasing 202 after tea which is testament to some solid late order hitting but which would not be a fair reflection of the efforts of Yakesh in particular whose 8 over spell went for only 10 runs.
If the new ball worked the Oracle for Fleckney then Stoneygate soon found out it would play well for them too. Chris Hill and Arjun soon fell to great catches and when a stoic innings from Tom Moulds ended at 18, this to a one handed grab in the slips, Fleckney were rocking at 44 for 4. If only they could find a centurion of their own to balance things up. What? A centurion? Funny you should mention it.
Bobby Upple started slowly but picked up pace like a Tellytubby rolling down the side of a steep hill, moving from 50 to 100 in no time at all. To say he was going big would be a huge understatement, by the end he was putting King Kong into the midget category.
When Bobby retired, presumably to give low flying UFO's a chance to check up on their insurance policies, the Vice Skipper joined Scooter (remember him from earlier?) for a three over finale.
Fat Keeper scoring a single and then declining further opportunities for the strike whilst Scoot started an Upple like onslaught on his way to a practically unprecedented 27 not out. The Duckhunters thereby finishing only 20 runs adrift.
Takeaways from the match?
It's apparently OK to catch the ball on a Sunday. I mean who knew?The skipper plays an awful lot better when his Mum turns up and Frank still won't move until he has had at least two plates of sarnies. The more things change the more things stay the same.
Next week the Duckhunters hit Dunton Bassett.
This roving reporter just can't wait.....
