Running without intent
One has to ask if running on a matting wicket is that much harder than on grass. The evidence in St. Tropez would suggest that it must be. Of 32 wickets to fall in the weekend, one in six was a run out; and it should have been more if chances had not been eschewed by a Straggler keeper intent on elegant removal of a single bail – and missing; and more still if St. Tropez had taken all the chances on offer by Straggler batsmen running for almost anything and everything. The assumption seemed to be that if a good blow had been struck it deserved a run, and a run it would get, regardless of the fact the ball had gently trickled directly to a fielder.
With an outfield of slow polo grass grown in sand, balls struck with elegant correctness did no so much flash across the turf, as grind to an untidy halt. Fours were a rare luxury. The aerial route was imperative, routine for most younger Stragglers, brought up on a diet of T20 and IPL. The highlight of the Straggler 6 hitting, elegant and brutal as Charlie and Toby were respectively, the real delight was to see Rob and Tom tee off as if they were on a short hole at St. Georges. Perhaps a little more bottom hand than at the third hole, but very effective nonetheless.