Arriving at the wicket in the sixth over at 20 for 2, Bart ‘Boycott’ Forster dropped anchor and set about building an innings, not a characteristic often seen in young Straggler batsmen. When the declaration arrived 35 overs later, he had enjoyed partnerships of 62, 85 and 104* on his way to an undefeated 65. Of that score some 39 had come in singles, although he opened his shoulders in the penultimate over.
With plenty of runs on the board, the fearsome opening quartet of Toby Sinclair, Felix Saro Wiwa and brothers Wardman, Kieran and Olly were offered the luxury of a somewhat leaky amateur juggling team to ring the bat. The opposition skipper and opening bat wondered if we were expecting Michael Holding. Remarkably a coiuple of catches were held by Jeremy ‘Pies’ Godden, and by Theo via Simon’s still damaged shoulder.
