In their season finale, the Ramblas struggled in the cold climes of Chislehurst and couldn’t sign off the season with a victory.

With four members of the Ramblas recovering from a T20 Finals hangover, Captain Cooper welcomed back Chris Thomas, Steve Fitch, Dave Brewer and Drew Smith to the side as the visitors returned to Chislehurst for the first time since their inaugural season.

The XI for the final game of the season.

After an uncontested toss, it was agreed that the Ramblas would bat first and, with Alex Danks out of the game, Geoff Parrett put his hand up and offered to open the batting with Johnny Stocks.

Parrett was watchful in the early overs, doing his best to rein in his attacking instincts but still playing his shots. At the other end, Stocks was doing his best to keep the run rate up thanks to some thick edges/late dabs (delete as appropriate) that raced to the third-man boundary.

Geoff Parrett pushing for a second run.

With the score on 23 off five overs Parrett was the first man to go, trapped LBW for six. While it wasn’t his best performance with the bat, all the credit goes to him for stepping up to open the batting.

In at number three was Matt Rudgyard, who took time to get off the mark but when he did it was worth the wait thanks to a gorgeous drive that flew to the long-off boundary. Alas, he was dismissed just three balls later, clean bowled by a corker of a delivery from the host’s young paceman.

Dave Brewer kitted out and ready for action.

Brewer was the next man in and looked in assured touch from the off, despite not having batted for nearly three months. Some sharply run singles helped him add to his season’s tally and despite surviving a caught behind appeal (that a somewhat distracted umpire thought was an LBW appeal), he was soon caught at second slip for two.

The Ramblas contingent watch from the sidelines.

The Ramblas were now  43-3 and in a bit of trouble. But up stepped Drew Smith and, along with Stocks, started to rebuild the innings. Smith was very watchful at first, but a couple of early boundaries showed the hosts what he was capable of.

Drew Smith delivering the hits.

Against a strong bowling attack, Stocks and Smith kept the run rate ticking over nicely thanks to some quick running and the occasional smattering of boundaries.

During the partnership, Stocks became only the second Rambla to surpass 2,000 runs for the club – a moment that was met with applause on the sideline.

The glamorous life of a scorer…

Sadly, the partnership was broken on 60 when Stocks was caught in the covers for a well earned 47, cruelly denying him his second half-century of the season.

Cooper came in at six and no sooner had he arrived than Smith departed, trapped LBW for an excellent 30.

Doug Danks, the world’s coolest umpire. Though Drew may dispute this…

Loughlin joined Cooper at the crease and a was off the mark first ball, drilling the ball back over the bowler’s head for four. The pair kept things ticking over until Loughlin was clean bowled for a run-a-ball 11.

Thomas was the next man to join Cooper and the latter took on the role of the aggressor, creaming a ball to the point boundary as the pair tried to kick on in the final overs. Cooper was dismissed in the final over for 10, caught at deep cover trying to go over the top.

Doug Danks came in and, along with Thomas, ran hard to help the Ramblas finish on 135 from their 35 overs. And, perhaps more importantly, saw Thomas reach double figures for runs this season.

The visitors knew there were around 30 to 40 runs shy of a good score, but had at least given themselves a chance going into the second innings.

The final score at the end first innings.

After getting stuck into an excellent tea, the Ramblas headed out to the field hoping to get wickets early doors. And with the fine rain continuing to come down, the visitors knew it was going to a tough task.

Cooper once again elected to opening the bowling with Loughlin and Danks and while both started well, a flurry of early boundaries kept the hosts above the run rate.

Loughlin kept the pressure on and got his reward with a wicket in his third over when the opener Mitchell failed to pick the slower ball and popped the ball up in the air and ‘keeper Rudgyard took a simple catch.

One wicket soon became two for the Ramblas when Chislehurst’s number three was clean bowled from a peach of a delivery Danks, taking his record-breaking wicket tally to 27 for the season.

The Ramblas celebrate Danks’ wicket.

Next man in for the hosts was Freddie Farage, nephew of Brexit trumpeteer Nigel, and despite their best efforts weren’t able to send him back where he came from early doors.

Farage and opener Goyal kept the scoreboard ticking over, sending any loose balls screaming to the boundary.

In an effort to make the breakthrough, Cooper replaced Loughlin and Danks with Fitch and Dacre respectively. The former was back to his best from ball one, while the latter struggled in his first over, clearly ruing his decision to see the world rather than come to nets…

Both bowlers saw tough chances go down in the field, as the wind and wet ball conspired against the fielders. But if the Ramblas are anything, they’re persistent and Fitch finally grabbed a wicket thanks to a sharp take from Smith to dismiss Farage for 47.

Smith wheels away in celebration after taking a catch.

Although the game was all but over, the Ramblas kept plugging away and Dacre picked up his first wicket of the season trapping Turner LBW for a duck.

With the hosts four wickets down and with very few runs to play with, Cooper brought back Loughlin to replace Fitch and brought on Thomas to replace Dacre. Despite a loose start from Thomas, the Ramblas bowler persevered and picked up his 24th wicket of a remarkable season, dismissing Goyal for 49.

With the scores level, Goyal tried to seal the win and bring up his fifty with a big drive down the ground, but picked out Parrett at long-off who took a fantastic catch on the run.

Parrett’s fantastic catch at long-off.

Loughlin nearly had the hosts in trouble but a vociferous LBW shout from the entire Ramblas team fell on deaf ears and the batsmen scampered a single and the game was won with a leg bye. And with that, the Ramblas succumbed to a five-wicket defeat in the final game of the season.

Thommo leads the Reservoir Dogs Ramblas off the field at the end of the game.

While it may not have been the best performance the Ramblas have put on this season, everyone’s efforts cannot be faulted. Especially those of Lucy Brewer and Cheryl Rudgyard who endured the wind and rain to cheer the team on, when even the hosts hid in the pavilion.

Even though the season ended in defeat, you can’t argue with 12 wins, a winning season and a multitude of records being broken. Here’s to the 2018 season!

Ramblas MVP: In a tough finish to the season, hats off to Mark Loughlin and Steve Fitch for their excellent bowling in difficult conditions. But I’m once again selecting co-MVPs this week, for their 60-run partnership that gave us a total to defend, this week’s award(s) go to Drew Smith and Johnny Stocks.