The massed ranks of Smallwoods set up a ring of steel either side of the keeper, with Jasper at slip, two gullies, Al and Matt, and Benny at short fine leg. Not a ball would pass. As the game progressed, however, it became clear that some of the more complex juggling moves (those involving a cricket ball) seemed to require a bit more practice. In a game in which both sides shelled catches a plenty, it took the calm head of Benny, and the pace off the boundary ropes of Al to show the rest of us how to take catches with confidence.
And of course, we cannot mention the lidding of an eleven year old…….
