A lovely sunny day over Ditton and the wicket looking the best it has done for a LONG time. Comberton won the toss and put Ditton into bat, with quite a long batting line up a good score should have followed. How wrong were we. Rory arrived at 1.30pm and had his pads on ready to bat at 1.31pm. The openers didn't hold out long with Rory being bowled for just 1. In came Adam and took a while to hit the ball but then hit the new bowler for 11 off one over. Tom King was then bowled for 7 and Adam went soon after for 21. At 27-3 after 14 overs it wasn't looking too good. In came Rabs and 6 balls later out went Rabs for a duck, hitting the ball straight to mid-on instead of square-leg. Thomo and Paul Austin then held out for a while and put on 32 but Paul A was a bit unlucky to be run out for 15 from a direct hit that we probably won't see happen again this season. This brought Jacko to the crease but he departed for a duck. Paul C made a quick fire 20 to help Ditton bring up the 100 but he was caught during the final over. Gavin Johnson, on his debut went in and the next ball for caught for a golden duck. Ian then finished 2 not out and Tomo 25 not out. 102-8 didn't look enough.
After a lovely tea break Ditton took to the field hoping that with a good bowling performance we might get something from the game. 6 bowlers tried and none could get a breakthrough. The Comberton batters were in good form and make batting look easy. Defending the good bowls and hitting the bat balls, its as simple as that. Comberton only gave 1 chance which was dropped and reached 103-0 by 5.30 for an early finish. The result was slightly harsh as I don't think the bowlers could have given any more effort.
As for next week its time for the batters to start batting and not give their wicket away.
By Adam Wilson, edited by AH.
As a frustrated spectator, the highlight of the afternoon for me, given the "quality" of Ditton's batting, was the fly-past by a Lancaster and two Spitfires. Maybe the sight inspired Comberton. Of course, the Spitfire is famed for the defence of the country during the Battle Of Britain during the summer of 1940. Perhaps not quite as widely known is the role of the Lancaster which took the offence to Germany, from 1942 onward, with night raids over the industrial cities of the Ruhr Valley and Berlin. Hope you didn't miss seeing them.
By AH (injured until further notice)

I don't know who won the toss, but N.C.I. batted first and rattled up 189-7 in their 40 overs. Ditton presumably only had four bowlers at their disposal, as all of them were carted. Bowling figures of 1-49, 1-41, 0-37 and 2-54 are reminiscent of our days being outplayed in Division 1.
In reply, Ditton found themselves facing two GIRLS opening the bowling. Rory hit some boundaries before being clean bowled by a GIRL and Rabs made just 4, also out to the bowling of a GIRL. Adam made a sparkling 45 before hitting a catch to a GIRL and Thomo made the same mistake of finding the safe hands of a GIRL. Paul A got a very dodgy LBW decision for 31 and then the innings collapsed with two more wickets for one of the GIRLS. Ditton were all out for 164 to lose by 25 runs. One of N.C.I.'s GIRLS finished with figures of 8.2-1-42-4. Where can we get a wicket taking, economical bowler from?
This report is, of course, guesswork loosely based on the facts as I wasn't present at the game. I'm sure when I speak to any of you that were playing you'll tell me that these GIRLS will probably go on to play for England Ladies, and it's unbelievable they don't play for N.C.I. II at least.
On the evidence of previous seasons, you can only lose 3 or 4 matches and still win promotion, so Adam's prediction of "top two, at least" is already looking a touch ambitious.
By AH (never been dismissed by a GIRL)

A day at Coton that brought back memories of Andy Hayward's blood bath incident. The pitch didn't look at all great but certainly better than last time we played here. Adam won the toss and with only 8 players at the ground thought it would be best to have a bat.
Adam and Rory opened and hoped the form from Wednesday would carry on. How wrong were we. Adam departed for 1 and Rory for 5. The openers bowled quick and straight. Jacko and Rabs held firm but scoring was minimal. Ditton were 19-2 off 14overs. Jacko made 10 all in singles before being bowled by a full toss. Ditton just weren't scoring any runs. After 20 overs Ditton were 21-3 on a pitch that was surprisingly playing OK. Rabs was then LBW for 10 and Paul A run out for 4. Thomo came in and batted through for 22no but with no support. Marc W 2, Pete 4, Tom B first ball duck, Ian 0 and Paul C 1no. So with 76 on the board thanks mainly to nearly 20 extras Ditton weren't looking good at all and to make matters worse teas were shocking.
After the break Ian came out to open with Adam and made it hard for Coton to score. Ian bowled a good line and length and Adam good pace. Ditton picked up 3 wickets in the first 8 overs with only 13 on the board. Adam with 2 and a run out. Could Ditton actually win the game from here? Adam picked up the 4th wicket and now into the tail. It was clear Cotons hopes were on the opener. Jacko came on and found that magic he has been missing to pick up 3 wickets in his 5 overs - all clean bowled. Unfortunately the opener batted through and made 39no and Coton reached 77-7 off 22 overs. Bowling figures: Ian 5-15-0, Adam 8-20-3, Jacko 6-18-3, Rabs 3-17-0.
A far better bowling and fielding display with only 1 extra from the bowlers. Its time now we got 11 players to play the WHOLE game and start to bat properly.

We couldn't find 11 players to play ANY of the game due to The U's being at Wem-ber-ley. It's 12:05, so can't tell you if we have a League club again - yet.
Cambridge Utd 0 Torquay Utd 2 - bit of a Ditton-like result.

On a beautiful day for cricket Ditton lost the toss and were asked to bat. Thomo, having arrived on time opened but didn't last long, caught at slip for 0. Andy Hayward, prematurely back from his injury, came to the crease and looked like he was in great touch. Rabs and H put on 53 before Rabs was bowled for 13. In came Adam and faced some short-pitched bowling and then edged behind for 0. With H still there somebody just had to bat with him but Jacko 4, Tom B 9 and Paul C 6 fell inside 6 overs. In came Michael and he went for 1 then Gavin was stumped on 0. Alex batted out the last 3 balls without scoring. Hayward was 52 not out with Ditton posting 125-8.

A bowling and fielding performance like last week would have given us a great chance of winning. Jacko started with some good lines but kept bowling a 4 ball every over. Adam did the same but with pace and bounce got the break through in the 5th over. Rabs replaced Jacko after 4 overs and got a wicket in his first over. Then the poor fielding kicked in. Ditton put 5 catches down in the next 12 overs, 3 off Adam, 1 Off Rabs and 1 Off Alex. 4 of which were from wicky or slips. Jacko did get the next break through with Adam holding onto a catch. The bowlers gave a good effort but this time the fielding let us down. Granta getting 129-5 from 35 overs.
Adam 10-25-2 Jacko 10-40-1 Rabs 7-26-1 Alex Dobson 4-15-0 Michael McCann 2-9-0 Gavin Johnson 1.2-6-1

From our league opponents so far this season, that's 5 "No's".
A cloudless sky, containing both Sun and Moon (unusual), but not overly hot due to a nice breeze. That's the weather bit done.
In Adam's absence, Paul took over the burden of captaincy and on winning the toss had to weigh up the heat of fielding first, or the perils that may lie in the pitch for batters. He chose to bat and until the ball softened a bit, there was much ducking, getting hit on the body and balls shooting along the deck. Our top order managed 24 runs off the bat during the 'tricky' period. Paul and Ian then got to grips with things, with Paul looking very good until pulling up lame at the end of a quick single. We then had the fascination of a runner coming into play. Ian played positively, hitting the Waterbeach spinner straight for what Ian begged me to give as a six, but in fact, landed an inch inside the rope. Paul was hugely unlucky to play on - the ball trickling towards the stumps with Paul unable to kick it away with his injured fetlock. Michael obviously has no fear of dodgy pitches as he tried to flail every ball he faced into neighbouring parishes. He connected a couple of times too. His advice to Alex when he came out to bat - "be vigilant" was interesting to say the least. We were all out after 38 of our 40 overs for 113.

Jason was playing his first league match for a long time but opened the bowling and looked like he'd never been away. His figures of 10-0-31-1 didn't reflect how well he bowled. At the other end Jacko did what he always does - bowled tight and made the batters really work. He was rewarded with 2-29 from his ten overs. Alex further showed his potential in a six over spell of 2-24 and Ian was tidy enough with 19 coming from his five overs. Only one catch went down, which cost us nothing. Waterbeach reached their target without too much trouble, for the loss of five wickets.

We looked better in the field this week, but missed some cutting edge from a strike bowler. Like dogs chasing cars, you can't keep trying to defend small totals and we need to find another thirty or so runs from somewhere, every week.
Girton II next week, with Adam back - can we break our duck?
By AH

Ditton lost the toss AGAIN and were put into bat on what looked a good wicket but after last weeks wicket who could tell how it would play. Rory opened with Jacko and went along at a steady rate. 32-0 off 10 overs our best start all season by far. The openers keep the scoreboard ticking along and put on 61-0 off 20 overs. With a great start this is where Jacko was given the licence to have a slog. The first ball after drinks Rory smashed a 4 and Adam wasn't quite sure who had the free licence. However, Jacko soon departed for 15. Rory hit 56 before being bowled. Adam didn't last too long after being run out with an effort you would see in international games. The ex Ditton player Gavin Smalley came back on to bowl at Hayward and it was clear H wanted to smack the ball as far and hard as possible which he did for first the 5 balls of the over but the 6th he was caught and went for 32. Thomo got a quick 15 before Ian and Tom B hit 18 off the last 2 overs. Both finished unbeaten, Ian 6 and Tom B 18.
So after putting 172-5 on the board, tea was a bit nicer and surely our bowlers wouldn't let this slip.

Adam opened with Jacko trying to bowl straight and wait for the mistake. Ian created a super run out of his own, picking the ball up and with a direct hit the opener was walking back to the pavilion. Jacko stuck in the 6th over catching off his own bowling to make Girton 14-2 off 6. Adam struggled so was replaced by Ian who was finding some good lines and lengths. Girton's Gavin Smalley came in at no 4 for them, suggesting a long tail to their batting line up. He poked and prodded before top edging Jacko and Hayward took a simple catch. It was clear we had to get the other opener out as he was hitting a couple of 4's. Ian clean bowled him in the 16th over to leave Girton 49-4. It was going to be a painful death now. Jacko bowled a great spell of 10-26-4 and was replaced by Pete who decided to bowl a short ball at the Girton no. 10 who was only 12 and 4ft tall, he then followed that up with 1 that hit the lad on the inner thigh and it was clear he didn't want to be facing Pete. A couple of balls later the batsman left the ball and it hit off peg to finish the game off. Girton bowled out for 74.

Some great bowling from Jacko and Ian, with a good fielding performance.

Jacko getting 4-26, Ian 3-21, Pete 2-7, Adam 0-15.

Couple of weeks off before we need a repeat performance.

Due to Fen Ditton fete taking place our 'home' game was held at Sawston on a artificial wicket. Adam lost the toss again and we were fielding against a Cherry Hinton team that looked liked it was fielding 9 Indian under 21's. Jacko and Adam opened the bowling and found some nice bounce in the wicket, keeping the score down. With both openers looking quite predictable it was a matter of time before a wicket fell. Jacko stuck in the 10th over to leave Cherry Hinton 29-1. With a bowling change at both ends and the number 3 swinging at every ball, something was due to go in the air which it did quite a lot but never to a fielder. The next 4 overs went for 33. In the 18th over Jacko had the opener caught behind only to find him given not out and he didn't walk. When Paul C says it was out everybody knows it was OUT.
We got to drinks with Cherry Hinton 101-1. In the 23rd over came the big controversy when the number 3, on around 40 took on Adams arm and we all began to celebrate a run out until the umpire said not out. A decision which nobody could believe as the batsman wasn't even close to being in. Some words were exchanged and it was clear we weren't happy. The batsman took full advantage of his big extra life and continued hitting the ball hard and high. Ditton took 3 wickets in 4 overs but the number 3 was still there. It seemed like a life time in the field with us all getting burnt by the sun. Cherry Hinton amassed 249-6 with the number 3 hitting 132 with 15 fours and 5 sixes. Our fielding needs some improvement with walking in and backing the bowlers. The bowlers need to use the pitch more and bowl fewer extras - Paul C had his work cut out behind the stumps dealing with 17 wides.

So with a big total on the board and everybody drained from the fielding, Rory and Rabs opened and went about the business with 1's and 2's. The fielders were talking during and after every ball in Indian which is slightly off putting and gets on your bloody nerves. They put on 23 in 10 overs before Rabs was caught. It was clear Rory wasn't in the mood for many singles unless he could walk slowly of crawl to the other end. H hit 10 before departing with 40 on the board. Adam went in and decided from ball 3 he was going to swing and see what happened. 55-2 at drinks when Cherry Hinton decided to take a 10 min break! Adam hit 4,4,6 before being bowled by the only straight ball he faced. Thomo then did his normal job of confidently knocking the ball around. Rory finally departing after being bowled but I think he was quite happy to get off and get some water in his system. Tom Butler looked good and hit some nice shots before he was bowled for 11. Jacko was on a mission to hit the ball. His first scoring shot was a 4 to cow corner and believe it or not his next scoring shot was an all-run 5. Exhausted, he finally went for a mad run and was run out for 15. Cherry Hinton changed the bowlers and the extras were racking up with wides. Some lad started his 1st over with 7 wides. Gavin hit the ball straight and couldn't believe the fielder ran round and caught it one-handed so casually. We finally finished with 143-7, Thomo unbeaten on 24.

I think we can all say we didn't enjoy that game and the sportsmanship was next to none. A team we would be quite happily not meet again.
It's only a matter of time though before some team gets a bloody good stuffing against us. At the moment we just aren't ticking all the boxes. Granta next week on a college pitch and it's time we put a good all round performance together.

Granta IV are a very good side who look like they'll get promoted. They play at Fitzwilliam College on the best wicket we'll come across this season and believe 200ish to be a par score. That's the first area where we were short yesterday.

Adam called incorrectly again, but it was a surprise to be invited to bat. Tom K was back and looked good for his 28. Rabs and 'H' failed but Adam played some very good shots among some that were just brutal to make 77. He might/should look back and see it as a century opportunity missed. His dismissal also slowed our run rate. Thomo made an untroubled 31 not out but we were pegged back in the last few overs and 166-7 was probably 30-40 runs short of ideal, but gave us a chance.

Rabs and Alex opened the bowling and Granta got off to a very good start. Would their openers have been less keen with facing Adam and Jacko? By the time those two bowled, it was at well-set batters and it was the introduction of Tom K, and something other than medium pace that finally got us a wicket. Pete was given a go and another two wickets fell, Jacko taking both catches. By that stage the game had gone though and, from a non-bowlers perspective, it's hard to see where we've got anybody, as in the past, who can take 25+ wickets in a season. So we're short of a wicket-taking bowler.
No lack of effort etc. but it's becoming difficult to remain optimistic that we can win the games required to stay up.

First game of the season, we made 102 batting first against Comberton. There was a fly-past of WWII aircraft and then Comberton knocked the runs off with little fuss.

Yesterdays return fixture was a carbon copy, except this time we saw three Spitfires but no Lancaster, and we got three of their wickets.
Our batter in form - Thommo, grafted to 45 not out without much support at the other end as we found accurate bowling too much to handle.
Jacko bowled as tightly as ever but our other bowlers have a knack of ruining good work with too many loose balls that mean defending a small total can't be done. Highlight of our fielding was Rory ambling after a ball which had gone for byes, encouraging the batsman to come back for a second run, before firing in a direct-hit for a run out. Outstanding or surprising? You decide! Again, no lack of effort or commitment but we are increasingly looking short of confidence and belief. Sadly, we are also looking short of the basic technical skills required in this division.
Cherry Hinton II with their ultra-attacking batting and questionable umpiring next week will be interesting.

SHOCK! Adam wins the toss. With a very damp, but flat wicket we put them in with a plan to keep any pace off the ball so they can't keep plonking sixes over the bowlers head.
It works as Jacko, Rabs and Ian keep the lid on and SHOCK! we are awarded an LBW decision. Adam brings on Tom K who takes two wickets in his first over. Later on, Adam brings on Dad who also takes a wicket in his first over. So a good captaincy day for Adam. The Cherry Hinton innings is a curate's egg of big hitting and wickets steadily falling. Even the three catches we put down didn't cost too much. Jacko returned for a second spell and collected our first 5 for, including (SHOCK!) another LBW. Despite a good containment effort, and gaining all five bowling points, 180 still looked more than we would be capable of unless someone really got in and got support.

Tom K went for a duck in the first over and Rabs/H were unable to gain much momentum. Rabs went to a slower ball and then Adam got castled for a Golden. Marc hit a couple of nice boundaries before missing a straight one. H and Paul A failed to communicate and, after an hour to reach 13, H was run out. Paul was caught, Pete bowled for a duck and Ian also bowled. It fell to Paul C (38 not out) and Michael W (9 not out) to take us past 120 for three bonus points. 126-9 in forty overs at least made Cherry Hinton work for their win.

Whilst Cherry Hinton look good enough to get promotion, we need to win 5 of our last 6 to have any chance of staying up. That will also depend on the weather and what other teams do. It doesn't look good but at least this performance gave a glimpse of better to come.
P.S. This week we had a Hercules fly over the ground.

A memorable journey to March, being driven by Rabs whilst Michael (the mouth) McCann talked non-stop in the back until me and Rabs started betting on Tractor manufacturers. Thommo, who been 'listening' to Michael, revealed himself to be a complete farm machinery anorak. Three days later we arrived. (Michael also talked all the way home)

Sunny with a flat green plastic pitch, Adam again won the toss. He's on a roll now, and decided we would field. It wasn't long before we found ourselves in the unacustomed position of having the opposition at our mercy as Jacko again took five wickets. March rebuilt, Rabs got his second wicket of the season, Michael bowled a very tidy spell and Pete, who'd earlier taken two catches and run a batter out, came on to take two tail end wickets. It needs mentioning that James took a catch. However, 117-9 is the sort of target we could easily mess up in chasing.

Rabs opened with Thommo but nicked one to the 'keeper for just 2. 'H' got a full toss flush on his big toe and struggled, although a couple of good hits gave him 23 before also edging behind. Adam went for a scond consecutive duck and the less said about Tom B's dismissal the better. High quality bowling it was not! Thommo just kept batting at his own pace and Jacko batted with usual common sense to allow Thommo to reach his fifty and for us to reach the winning total. We were greatly assisted by 30 extras. Talking of Common Sense, there was little on display from either team during our innings as inane chatter followed every ball. An umpiring decision of 'Not Out' from Jacko resulted in the air turning blue and then Adam lost it when he was out. However much provocation, I expect better from my skipper. The drinks break was a bit 'Handbags at ten paces' before things quietened down. Lessons to be learned for both sides.

So our hopes are up, with Girton II next up. We still have to win 4 of 5 games remaining and hope the weather doesn't interfere. For now, it's nice to have won again at last.

P.S. I won the bet with Rabs. It was a John Deere, not a Massey Ferguson.
P.P.S. Message from Adam - "Im proberly not the best person to do a match report this week"

All week the weather forecast for Saturday had been dire. A cancellation of a very winnable fixture would virtually relegate us. But then, on Friday, it changed from heavy rain all day, to showers from about 4pm. If we could win the toss, bowl well and chase a small total . . . .
Adam lost the toss and we were put in. Tom B made his debut as an opener and played well until emulating those Aussies who shoulder arms and the ball cannons into off stump. Thommo had already been given out LBW and everbody else made a start but failed to go on (apart from Ian). Paul C stepped up and scored 43 invaluable runs while batting with the tail to take us to 125 all out - a score 'H' confidently told Adam was "plenty".

Alex and Adam opened the bowling and both took some early stick from Girton's only batsman until Alex found his edge and we were pretty much into the tail immediately. Ian replaced Alex and Rabs replaced Adam and success was just around the corner. Ian bowled his best spell ever for Ditton - 8.4-3-9-3 and after a season of turmoil, Rabs rediscovered his bowling with 5-18. Catches held, ground fielding aggressive, just what we've been missing in some games. When the last Girton wicket fell, they had managed only 72 all out and about 15 minutes later it began to rain.
Two wins in two weeks and maybe we're finding some good fortune as well but this win came down to the performances of Paul to set us up, and Ian and Rabs to finish it off. Permutations for staying up still don't look great, but they're improving.

The deluge on Thursday night meant the wicket was like a soggy Naan bread. With a long outfield as well, there were never going to be lots of runs scored and batters would need to be very patient.
Fortunately for us, we have that batter, as Thommo somehow batted all 40 overs for 31 not out. Supported by Rory (27) and Rabs (24) we managed to reach 129-4.

March showed considerably less patience, with two run outs adding to the fact that they couldn't score off any of our bowlers. Alex 6-1-11-0, Jacko 10-4-15-2, Ian 9.3-4-8-4 and Rabs 6-3-6-2 were spot on as March limped to 45 all out. The relief from watching a batting side struggle so much came from a lady going through a Tai Chi session which would have tired most of us out. There was also a young couple 'coupling' down in the play area which would have tired us out even more and surely wasn't good for the batters concentration.

So three wins in a row now and confidence high. The odds for staying up are getting shorter.

Down to the King's Head for the 'Curry Night' with an outstanding turnout. Good to see Chairman George there despite his recent accident, and former Chairman Dan Jackson congratulating us on recent wins. Tom B and Alex managed to avoid the gaze of Jacko to get a couple of pints of 'Appletize' down them and Tom's Lamb Biryani was the only slightly mild curry ordered. Rory opting for a jug of Guinness is something I've never seen before but was most welcome. Thanks and congratulations to Pete for organising an excellent evening.

Of our last three matches, the plan had been to get bonus points from (probably) losing at high-flying Waterbeach and then win our final two to avoid relegation. But we're on a roll.
Adam won the toss and put Waterbeach in. Slow going to begin with as neither Alex or Jacko could find a way through. Adam found the right length in his third over for a double strike but the hat-trick eluded him. Just when Jacko looked like he would be wicketless, he took two in his final over for superb figures of 10-4-13-2. Now the door was open a bit, Ian came on and ripped it off it's hinges, taking 5-24. A second direct hit run out this season for dead-eye Rory and Waterbeach had been dismissed for a less than satisfactory 106.

Following a Histon style DIY tea, we lost Thommo early and then Rory and 'H', having made starts, both threw their wickets away. Rabs and Paul A would not rank as the best running-between-the-wickets duo in our line-up and the inevitable happened, albeit in one in a hundred circumstances. Paul clobblers the ball into the outfield and Rabs seems to think it's an easy two. Paul sees the fielder picking it up and calls "No". Rabs is already a third of the way down, can't turn quickly enough and the throw, from about forty yards + scores a direct hit. Rabs will have gotten over it by the start of next season, maybe. Adam batted with much common sense and patience to guide us home with a really solid 31 not out.

For the first time this season we're out of the bottom two but still need at least one more win. If we continue to play the way we have in our last four games, we should have no worries and the weather is no longer a factor. Waterbeach are now neck and neck with the IPL boys at Cherry Hinton. Which of those would we rather be playing next season? At least we can now start thinking about it. A week off now before the final push. Good times.

I don't feel like reporting on this match as the outcome was so disappointing. We only had 10 players, we lost the toss, we lost crucial wickets at important times. Other than Adam, we bowled poorly and we got beaten by a Coton team that played marginally better than us.

The league table now shows us to be back in the drop-zone by 1 point. Too many permutations for next week other than a win will mean we stay up.

So this was it. The match that would define our season. Our destiny in our own hands. Win and play in division 3 again next year, or lose and face the drop to div. 4. Would we hold our nerve and play to our abilities, or 'bottle it' as we did last week, playing poorly?

N.C.I. IV were not mathmatically safe themselves so it promised to be a tight, hard-fought game but we wouldn't have anticipated quite how tight it would become.
The visitors, as is custom, won the toss but couldn't decide what to do as they only had eight players at the ground, waiting for their two female bowlers to arrive. Logic would suggest that when you're that short you should bat, but they chose to bowl. The two ladies arrived soon after the start, and with the new ball again proving difficult for any opening pair it looked a better decision. Asking us to allow a sub fielder is about as cheeky as you can get and Adam had little difficulty in refusing. Rory and Thommo were cautious for a long time and those of us watching fell into a coma. At least they didn't get out and Rory woke us up with a sudden, ferocious assault that saw 19 runs in one over. By drinks at 20 overs, the scoring rate had reached 3/over and we still had all our wickets in hand.
Thommo fell LBW to one that might have kept a touch low, for 16. 'H' went out to bat with only the task of scoring quickly on his mind. Rory reached a really well made fifty, but you could see his energy fading. 'H' began to connect with some crisp hitting and Rory got a second wind. Inevitably, after the early season report, 'H' was dismissed by a GIRL, but only after he'd flayed 42 runs. Adam continued the attack and we were looking on course for a very decent total. Rory was run out for 71 - a mercy dismissal as he looked shattered. Tom B and Rabs assisted Adam in getting our final total to 177-4.

The N.C.I. openers began a little quicker than we had done, albeit against a rag of a ball. The breakthrough wouldn't come and some Ditton minds began to wander, possibly thinking back a week to how the Coton game had gone much the same way. Rabs replaced Jacko at The Piggery End and in his fourth over had THREE catches dropped. We were starting to look ragged and got a fairly uncensored teamtalk from Adam before he'd let us have a drink. We improved. Ian controlled things from The Pavillion End, allowing only 27 from his ten overs and getting their opening batsman the ball after he'd reached fifty. The other N.C.I. opener was getting more expansive but a 'yes/no/shall we' running error and great work from Jacko saw him run out to obvious, bat throwing disgust. The game remained in the balance - N.C.I. had wickets in hand but we would have Jacko and Adam to bowl the crucial final ten overs.
By now, the light was getting a tad gloomy and difficult for any new batsman coming in. Jacko struck, taking 3 wickets in his second spell and they couldn't see, let alone score runs off Adam's bowling. The run rate swung in our favour and Adam had his radar locked on the stumps. From deep point it was spectacular stuff to see Adam sending the stumps cartwheeling out of the ground. The final over started with N.C.I. needing 14 to win with two wickets remaining. We tried to cover most of the boundary but didn't need to in the end as Adam wrapped thing up, finishing with 4-24 from his ten overs. N.C.I. all out for 169 to give us an 8 run win and safely away from relegation.

I can't finish the report without continuing the aviation theme we've had all season. Yesterday we were treated to several brilliant flypasts by The Red Arrows. In the end though, I think I preferred the sight of flying stumps.

**Sunday morning newsflash** Of the four teams starting Saturday on five wins and in relegation trouble, it is March IV who have finished under the dreaded red line. I'll let you make up your own minds about how sad you'll be not to make that trek next year.

Hope you've enjoyed the reports this season. Over and Out.