On an afternoon not merely warm but hot, an April day borrowed from July, the Venturers assembled at the Sulis Club to open the 2004 season. Unfortunately, Kilmington didn't. Exactly why not is still unclear; but we had been warned to expect only half a Kilmington side and, with some support from the Civil Service, had come not with an XI but with a XV. The weather was too good to waste: we divided into a VII and an VIII and played a practice match. Eighteen overs each way before tea, and some more after tea, were agreed on. The scorebook and the keeper's pads could not be found, and three right wicket-keeper's gauntlets were found before a left one turned up.

The VIII batted and progressed at a steady three-and-a-half runs per over against tight bowling to a split (3-2) field. We were able to use the 1st pitch although the booking was for the 2nd. The cherry trees were in abundant blossom and one of the cypresses at the far corner of the ground has blown down in the winter; but little else has changed. The scoreboard is still broken (not that anybody usually remembers to put the score up anyway); there is a rusty skip at long-off; the clock shows 6:55. The off stump at one end was slightly too near middle, giving a most painful appearance to the wicket. The innings meandered on until Simon Elliman, from the Civil Service, decided to have a bowl. Wickets fell to the first ball of each of his first three overs: Adam played back when he should have played forward, Kartik scooped a catch to Rob Branston at point, and Adrian, twice dropped already, got a leading edge back to the bowler. Luke, Tom, and briefly James swung the bat and raised the scoring rate a bit, but the overs ran out with the score on 80-6.

The VII scored scarcely quicker, and with the heat shimmering in the deep valley beyond it was hard to care. But they did not lose so many wickets. Steve slapped Adam's leg-break to Paul Snow at short fine leg, and there were two run-outs, one absurd, the other the result of Adam's breaking protocol by hitting the stumps directly; but with four overs to go the VII had a lead, which they extended to 36 by means of a calculated slog at Paul's bowling and, especially, Gregory's.

After an extensive tea, proceedings resumed where they had been left, with Paul and Gregory batting. Paul was bowled playing no shot, which was embarrassing; and Gregory, after threatening to play a match-losing innings by simply occupying the crease, was bowled playing a shot, which was also embarrassing. This cleared the way for the proper batsmen; but they too made little progress until Tom joined Adam. These two hit six fours in seven balls, but then Tom tried to hit the ball over Rob and failed. Adam, however, carried on, and when after sixteen overs the innings was deemed to be over, the VIII had a lead of seventy.

Adam, Kartik and Paul made quite a good job of defending 70, but with only five fieldsmen the task was hopeless. Almost any shot was playable; and when a ball from Kartik was hit directly at Tom, it was also directly out of the sun, so that he couldn't see it at all. It passed about four inches above the top of his head, in a manner that William Tell would have approved of. Soon after, James put himself on to bowl, and was subjected to the calculated slog; and the match ended in a puff of green smoke, as the ball crashed into the catkins of the willow at long-on, scattering pollen.

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