Unfortunately on the Thursday prior to the match taking place we were advised that due to the fact we were not able to supply not only teas but changing room and shower facilities the opposition decided they did not want to complete the fixture.

There was a last minute attempt to try and arrange a fixture but with both sides wanting to have the game played at home i had to make the decision early on Friday to call the game off.

With myself thinking i had let everyone know when Sunday came i was made aware that our umpire Stewart was spotted heading towards the ground. With sheer panic and personal fear for my own wicket in future games I managed to contact Stewart to apologize for not advising him the game was off!

Future match reports will show as to whether this was accepted!!

In all seriousness though my apologies Stewart!

The weather looks set fair for our away game v Great Canfield 2pm Start.

The weekends fixture against Southend EMTCC was looking to be in jeopardy as Sunday approached with the weather forecast predicting inclement weather which wasn't helped by a heavy downpour at 11am.

Having made contact with the opposition they assured me that all was well at Southchurch park so we all headed down.

On arrival the ground was being set up to be ready for the match and after a small delay of 30 mins having lost the toss the opposition decided to bat first (possibly feeling the chances of getting a full game in were unlikely) in a 40 over game.

I decided to open the bowling with the recalled ex captain Bill Foley who came in as a replacement for the unfortunate J Montellier who sustained an injury to his knee while netting during the week. A lesson to be learned for any of the younger members (if we had any) that you should always watch the batsman in case the ball comes at you rather quickly!!

Bill came in off his long run up ably supported by P Offord at the other end. The aforementioned Foley tore through the Southend batting lineup in 2 spells after basically being a magnet to the ball between spells with it following him around.

At the close of the Southend innings he returned with figures of 5-27 off his 8 overs. Obviously inspired by Dan Deadman's exploits last year with one of his victims being a first ball duck for one of their youngest players!!

With Southend's total after 40 overs being 212-8 and a rather large dark cloud skirting round us thankfully we were able to take up the run chase with on paper was a very strong batting lineup.

I decided to open with myself and Ilan and after a few overs of getting used to the bowling Ilan picked the run rate up and we were moving along at a tidy run rate. Having reached the score of 111 while standing at the non strikers end next to our Umpire Stewart he announced to me that I should look at the score as it was at that dreaded English number 111 being "Nelson". I then proceeded to tell him that the batsman at the other end was South African so it should have no effect but alas one hefty swing too many resulted in Ilan departing for 64. I was then joined by Ged Williams and with the field more spread out and the slower bowlers for Southend working in tandem boundaries became harder to find and the run rate slowed down a bit which began to put us on the back foot. With the loss of a further 3 wickets I was joined at the crease by Noel Smith and with the slow bowlers ending their spells I was eventually out for 59. Prior to me departing I had mentioned that the reintroduction of the seamers might play into our hands with a bit more pace on the ball it became easier to find boundaries. Well in did for Noel anyway!!

After a few hefty wacks from Noel including 2 x 6's we were brought back into requiring a run a ball with 7 balls remaining.

Why say that particular number by including the last ball of the penultimate over I hear you ask!!

Well if you were one of the 33 people watching the game live on the stream, supplied by Southend or the 25,000 people have watched it again on different social media posts you would of witnessed Noel (40) giving an almighty heave at the ball and promptly not only being bowled but actually losing control of his bat as it went airborne!!

It is my understanding that the United States of America went to DEFCON 4 [I think you meant 1, Ed] in preparation of an imminent Thermonuclear attack when it registered on Radar. Also the International space station panicked as they assumed SpaceX had launched a unscheduled rocket to pop up for a visit!!

Anyway back down to earth the game went into the last over with Mike Boyce and Simon Jackson requiring 7 runs to win off 6 balls. Each delivery whether it was hit or not did not matter they were running and like a scene out of Forrest Gump they ran!! How there was not a run out for any one of them will remain one of the Earth's enduring mysteries!! So here we were with one ball remaining and our President facing the last ball of the innings requiring 2 runs to win the game and the field brought up, the bowler promptly bowled a juicy full toss on leg stump and our esteemed President took full advantage promptly dispatching it for 4 runs to win us the game!

This brought on wild celebrations by Simon and concluded a very enjoyable game of cricket that with the weather forecast didn't seem it would take place let alone complete.

Anyway onto our next game this Sunday v Willow Herbs at home (Alleyn Court), 1 PM start.

Under the new guidelines pockets of up to a maximum of 30 spectators are permitted outside so you are welcome to come and watch but bring your own refreshments/food.

P.S. Our following game on 30th May away at Great Canfield I currently only have 9 players available so if you are available to play and you've not already told me let me know.

The weekend started with monsoon like conditions on the Saturday morning putting any sort of cricket fixture into severe doubt however come lunchtime on Saturday the weather took a sudden turn for the better coupled with the micro climate that exists in Canewdon. The latter creating grass that is longer than the deepest rough found on many championship golf courses!

With the game due to start at 1pm we came across our first problem which was roadworks in the Rochford area that delayed a number of players arrival so the game started a bit later than scheduled.

After wading through the outfield with the opposition skipper and somehow finding ourselves at the square, I had to put this down to local knowledge. I promptly lost the toss and Canewdon decided that they would bat first.

As we took to the field one of their players announced that due to health and safety reasons / risk assessment by the council had advised that the park should be closed to the public using the play areas. The locals did not take too kindly to this and then refused to leave. We were advised to try not to hit any balls in that direction!!

Anyway onto the game, we took to the field with 10 men as one player was still stuck in the traffic. I opened the bowling with Toby Duffin who got to work very quickly after a loose first ball and managed to bag an early wicket with a smart looking catch from Bob Curtis on debut at first slip as the ball did appear to follow him around the pitch most of the day. The other end I opened with ex captain Bill Foley. They both bowled well with tidy figures of 1-17 and 0-20 respectively.

First change I went with J Montellier who appeared to be a bit rusty early on as he clearly felt using the facilities was not required. However I persisted with him as he can be a very dangerous asset to any captain!! After 5 overs I decided he needed a rest with figures of 0-33. He was more than ably supported by Vijay at the other end returning figures of 8 overs 1-15. Replacing Monty I decided to use P Offord our wicket keeper after R Green said he'd be happy to keep.

With Paul steaming up the hill looking like a man possessed (there was another name given but feel it is unprintable) he bowled extremely well coupled with some poor shot selections. He returned figures of 3-18 and with the current leading wicket taker S Jackson claiming 2-3. I decided to give Monty another over coming down the hill with the opposition reeling. This decision was then to prove the Champagne moment. With his first ball he produced a stunning caught and bowled catch followed by a magnificent tumble and roll that quite frankly will not be out of place in the forthcoming Olympics in Tokyo (should they take place) as part of the gymnastics floor exercise!

Also special mention to 2 good run outs with one being a direct hit from B Foley who has only now 2 of those to his name and bizarrely both of them coming against the same batsman!

This concluded the Canewdon innings at 112ao off 34.1 overs.

After a brief tea I decided to open the batting with Bob Curtis and Neal Merron they both batted extremely well and saw off the new ball openers keeping the scoreboard ticking along nicely both Neal fell LBW for 28. Then entered Ilan Frankel (37no) who then supported Bob (44no) with some hefty hits and took us home with 17.1 overs to spare 114-1 and my first win as captain by 9 wickets.

Well after a long winter of basically doing nothing I was very pleased to be able to take to the cricket pitch for Mount CC's first game of the season and my first in charge after stepping into the shoes of past captain Bill Foley.

Although the game did take place there was a slight concern the day before the fixture when the opposition's captain contacted the fixture secretary and my vice captain to announce they are down to 7 players!!

Luckily enough we had one remaining player still on the reserve list that was able to play so thank you to Paul Southwood for playing. However the mathematicians out there will notice that this still left us 3 players short. Up steps Vijay and manages to find the extra 3 willing to play so game on.

With the game approaching the opposition then let us know they now had 8!!

Oh dear what do I do now. Luckily enough Vijay once again helped me with a difficult decision by asking to step out having scored a magnificent century the previous day.

With the game due to start at 1:30 at 1:10 there was still no sign of Hatfield so we called their captain to see how they are getting on as roadworks around Southend are very bad at the moment.

Their captain answered with "No worries I'm just on the beach will be there shortly."

Anyway the game eventually got underway at 1:50ish with Mount batting first with the format of 35 overs per side 7 overs per bowler and batsmen to retire at 50.

I was pleased to see every batsman managing to get into double figures with the main contributors being Ilan 50*, Richard 47 and Paul O 32* in our total of 219/5. After a quick tea into the field we went and quickly realized we were in a competitive match and so it became with Hatfield managing to knock off the runs with 4 balls to spare 221/5.

Although the result ended in defeat I think everyone managed to get a game and to anybody who happens to be in our Signal App group were treated to Vijay's videoing of the match with some very funny commentary from a number of players. Also a special mention to Toby with the music being played for boundaries and wickets I hope to see it more often.

Looking forward to the next game!!!