It's a knockout

What's a cowboy without a hat?

Possibly a strange opening line, but Mark has been repeatedly saying that in his room for the past 20 minutes, so it's important to whatever game he is currently playing.

The game that the roving reporter checked out was a Monday night trip to Bharat Sports in the (big deep breath) East Midlands Women's Cricket League Knock Out Cup Round 2.

It rolls off the tongue.

There was a competitive debut for Sonia, but our side was decimated by people preferring to spend their free time with family in more exotic locations than the centre of Leicester. There hasn't been much shade recently, but plenty is currently being sent in the direction of those who are missing - you know who you are....

Lucy hit the 2^nd ball of the innings for four and added a couple more boundaries in her partnership with Katie. Katie hitting a brilliant four off her legs that was in my mind the shot of the night. Both Jan (6) and Sarah (5) set new highest scores, both hitting boundaries.

But sadly, the Fleckney undoing was the loss of wickets - 11 in total, the main threat was Bhagyashri, who took 4-7 off her 3 overs.

The roving reporter questions how good the Fleckney batting could be when their coach has batted 4 times this season, faced less than 10 deliveries, scored 0 runs and has been out 4 times. Maybe they need a better coach?

Fleckney set 221 to win.

Both Rachel (3-26 - a best bowling performance and moves her to joint 5th in the all-time leaderboard, and also to the leading wicket taker in 2025) and Lucy (2-28) picked up wickets, Katie and Linda deserved to pick up at least one but the ball skimmed the stumps a couple of times, but Bharat were always ahead of the target and they finished on 301.

Katie showed some admirable football skills that nearly became one of the best catches in the history of the club, and Jodie ensured that not one bye or leg bye was conceded throughout.

Lucy's two wickets were both caught and bowled which means she has now got 10 fielding dismissals for the team which means she is the safest pair of hands we have (I know I was shocked as well...) - I have heard rumours that a certain Sunday skipper has been offered some technical assistance from the WSB skipper to help him improve his catching ability. The roving reporter refuses to comment...

Bharat are a fine side with a strong hardball team and they also have a number of community initiatives that drive a lot of people into the club, As roving reporter, I spoke to the Fleckney coach and it turned out that their umpire (Level 3), their scorer (Level 2) and their opening batter/bowler (Level 2) are all qualified coaches and it showed with the technical abilities shown on the night.

And to close, the answer to Mark's rhetorical question is that a cowboy without a hat is still a cowboy, but the hat is a significant part of the image and tradition. While the hat is a practical tool for sun protection and a symbol of cowboy culture, its absence doesn't negate the cowboy's skills, experience, or connection to the land. It's like asking what a chef is without an apron or a doctor without a stethoscope; the hat is a defining element, but not the whole identity