For the second week running, the Ramblas found themselves bested by a superior outfit, succumbing to a five-wicket defeat in Locksbottom.

With club captain Matt Rudgyard enjoying the delights of Euro Disney, it was left to Chris Thomas to step into the fray and lead a side which welcomed Saravanan Mani to the team for his Ramblas debut, as well as the returning bowling duo of Duane Hall and Steve Fitch following a few weeks’ absence.

A lost toss (you can take the captain out of the Ramblas, etc, etc…) saw the visitors put into bat due to the vagaries of player availability for the hosts. Was it 10, 11 or 12 players to have donned a Locksbottom shirt come end of play? And did it really have an impact?

Well, in the grand scheme of things, no. But it must be nice to drop in your Saturday first team captain just to have a bat… How the other half live.

Still, the Ramblas try to focus on what is in their control and openers Mark Loughlin and Jonny Stocks knew they were going to have to knuckle down, as the hosts’ bowlers were tight, offering nary a release ball. That, coincided with J. Stocks still nursing a tight hamstring from last week’s game, meant circumspection was the name of the game, in the hope there’d be more bountiful bowling to follow.

Alas, J. Stocks didn’t get the chance to find out, chopping on to a beaut that cramped him for space, while his replacement – Tom Howgego – again ensured a steady ship in partnership with Loughlin, to take the Ramblas to drinks at 67/1 after 17 overs. Not exactly B*zball, but against high-quality opposition, hopefully a solid platform to build from.

That platform, unfortunately, turned out to be made from sand, as Howgego got the umpire’s slow finger of doom, out LBW, before the Ramblas middle order was decimated in the blink of an eye, as Laurie Stocks, Mani, James Dilley and Geoff Parrett all heard the horrible sound of ball on stumps, leaving the visitors 105/6.

By this point, Loughlin had reached a fine half-century and the Ramblas needed him to go big to have any hope of posting a defendable total, and he was ably supported in a 52-run partnership with Hall (and then less ably supported by Thomas), as he ended the innings 113 not out from 93 balls in what has to go down as one of the all-time great innings for the club.

In sweltering heat and faced with a challenging bowling line-up, the Ramblas – led by Loughlin – had scrambled to 181/7. While the circumstances were different, there were parallels with the previous week, as it looked a total eminently gettable for the well-stocked hosts.

Following a truly splendid tea courtesy of Mrs Dilley (oh, and Stu…), the Ramblas headed out, focused on doing the basics right and staying in the game as long as possible, with Thomas and Parrett opening up.

The former snagged a wicket thanks to a very fine catch from Loughlin, while Parrett was in fine fettle and unlucky not to grab a scalp or two of his own from a six-over spell of skill and guile.

Mani then came into the attack and was giving nothing away, before he grabbed three wickets in two overs to leave the hosts 69/4 at an earlier-than-anticipated drinks break. With batting to come and the hosts’ captain looking well set, the Ramblas had to attack the second half with gusto to stand a chance of an improbable victory.

Hall (replacing Mani) and Cooper (continuing from before drinks) did their best to keep things tight, with Howgego like a magnet for the ball in the field. Hall’s efforts looked like they would be rewarded, only for the umpire to turn down what looked a good LBW appeal (Ed. – Screw editorial neutrality, it was plumb, c’mon now).

The hosts’ skipper had reached a chanceless 50 by now, and fatigue and the reality of the situation had started to set in for the Ramblas. Fitch snuck a wicket to keep spirits up, but the Locksbottom captain serenely went to his hundred despite the best efforts of Mani, Thomas, Loughlin and Parrett with ball, as the hosts reached their total in the 33rd over to secure a five-wicket victory.

Against another opposition who are clearly a cut above, the Ramblas applied themselves well, reaching a passable total thanks to Loughlin’s century, and then sticking together in the field to take the game deep, with birthday boy Dilley looking like a natural (and finding his voice) behind the stumps – sorry, skip! – and new boy Mani and Parrett delivering particularly fine spells with the ball.

Back on home ground next week. COYR.

Ramblas MVP: On debut, Saravanan Mani bowled beautifully and helped keep the Ramblas in the game for as long as possible, but without Mark Loughlin‘s sublime century, the game could’ve been done and dusted before Escape to the Country had finished.