With a wicked wind scything across the marsh, and a temperature hovering close to freezing, this was not a day for underdressed. Fleeces, ski wear and full face masks were the requisite protection, and that was just to get from the car park to the pavilion. Out in the...

So 2012 ends at it began, a record breaking summer for all the wrong reasons - the wettest second quarter, the wettest June and the gloomiest summer since at least 1912 - with another match abandoned to the rain. The twelve games completed, however, produced some...

There seems to be a correlation between spending too much time in 'Chill' and going on to bat with cavalier nonchalance, as Theo demonstrated in the early afternoon heat at Otterden. With the Smallwood contingent lost in the woods, Theo was elevated to open with the...

Benny Smallwood salvaged family honour at Benenden and recorded an unusual Stragler record - undefeated in his first two seasons. Other Smallwoods, fresh from piling on the runs at Tenterden, had come and gone, with the job of posting a total left, initially at least,...

Good pitch, rapid outfield, long batting line up. Skip lost toss and was inserted; top order hit the ball well but wickets kept falling. Theo (41) & Al (70 odd) put us in a good position, but a typical Straggler collapse ensued, bringing Nigel (50*) and Simon to...

As England are only too aware, dropping catches can be costly. The converse, particularly when the most remarkable chances are taken, puts you very firmly in control. In an increasingly forlorn chase of the Straggler 288 at Goodnestone (Archie with 112), Wickham and...