Apparently there was another cricket match on this weekend. Who knew? A victory in the game that really mattered could bring the seconds closer to the promotion zone.

Captain Phil Duke won the toss, and got the ever-youthful Adrian Fishley swinging into action from the pavilion end. Ed Riddington opened Hawkesbury’s account thanks to a leg-side catch from Dean Simmonds. Haresfield were 25 for 1.

It is unlikely that Colin Pensome has ever been likened to Ross Poldark, and there is a reason for this. However, once Andy Starling came into the attack, the squat (and fully clothed) Haresfield number three started viciously scything the ball with alarming regularity towards - and over - the leg-side boundary. Starling had the consolation of trapping Andrew Bolton leg before, but the score began to accelerate rapidly, giving Tony Green plenty of running, stretching and diving on the boundary. Duke turned to the youthful spin combination of Kuber and Fred and, with the score on 159, the third wicket fell.

It seemed fitting that, to mark the occasion of Fred’s first ever senior league wicket, we were treated to a fly-by from the Red Arrows. (An official statement later confirmed that the aerobatic display team had deliberately delayed the low altitude flight over the ground until the end of Andy Starling’s spell - for ‘safety reasons.’) Fred soon made it two wickets in two balls, nonchalantly taking a return catch. 159 for 2 soon became 159 for 5 when a hapless Andy Malpas was run out by a direct hit from an exuberant Simon Elcombe. Poldark stopped the collapse, reaching a well-deserved hundred, but - with little support coming from the late order - Haresfield closed on 207 for 7.

For many, chasing a target of 208 would have appeared daunting, but the home side were far more concerned about the prospect of eating the tea. Simmonds was the official caterer and was rumoured to have spent the morning defrosting a tea that he had prepared two years before when a match had been abandoned. Skipper Duke held an urgent team talk in the home changing room advising all players to eat the cakes only, as these had been bought at the shop just moments before the match. This advice was swiftly ignored once the team spotted a tray of delicious egg sandwiches.

The post-tea session was dominated by a record-breaking first wicket partnership of 209 between George Whatley and Fred, eclipsing the previous best of 117 (between Whatley and Nick Hunt). Both batsmen were to raise their bats in celebration of a personal milestone, with Fred reaching a fifty in senior league cricket and Whatley achieving his first ever hundred. His maiden century contained 17 fours and one maximum, off the bowling of J. Anderson, no less. It should be stressed that this was not the same J. Anderson of Lancashire and England, but one who had - as an umpire earlier in the game – showed the full extent of his cricketing knowledge by calling a wide after Starling had been clubbed past backward point for four. George gave a couple of chances, dropped when on 42 and 58, but otherwise looked completely at ease at the crease. Fred quietly accumulated his runs, scoring just 9 off the first ten overs, before accelerating well, comfortably out-scoring his senior partner as Hawkesbury progressed from 50 to 100. Haresfield tried a range of bowling options, including K. Pensom, who bowled two expensive overs whilst sporting a wide-brimmed sun hat. Paul Cleary, our stylish number three, was reduced to a padded-up spectator as the opening pair cruised towards the target, winning with 31 balls to spare. No super over was required to seal the win, just quality batting that was enjoyed by one and all.

The seconds' first ever 10 wicket victory means that they are now up to third place in Division One, with second-placed Stroud well within their sights.