Jamie Lavers had moved mountains to gather a team to face Thanet U17 at Broadstairs, with last minute drop outs requiring the selection of Graham Sinclair, who had planned on a quiet afternoon watching Charlie, and a spare opponent, Connor Morgan. Batting frst, the Straggler openers were both back in the hutch in the third over. Substance was carefully created by Charlie Sinclair (33) and Max Linington (43), but a couple of false shots exposed a young and brittle tail. Jamie could do little to protect his partners and fell for a hard hit 37. The last wicket pair of the Chairman and Graham took the total on to a very modest 149, the first time in 2011 that the Stragglers have been bowled out.

Thanet U17, older and more experienced (and somewhat over 17) took advantage of enough loose balls to be up with the required rate from the off. A glimmer of a breakthrough was created by a typical Straggler wicket, as the ball ricocheted between bat and pad like a bagatelle ball, just retaining sufficient momentum to topple a bail. Connor, bowling very well flighted leg spin with no pace, winkled out another three, and induced a miscued reverse sweep, which Louis Glyn Williams collected most painfully behind the stumps. When the batsman moved to try another, Louis was abandoned by his slip cordon with much shrieking. The inevitable coup de grace came soon enough, but with a proto-Straggler average age (excluding the geriatric final pair) of only 15, plenty of enthusiasm for the future was on display, if not quite yet the firepower.