There really were wonderful giants of old, you know. The early season success has sent your correspondent into the archive searching for winning rsequences of yore. 2011 is the fifth time that the Stragglers have won the opening five fixtures or more in a season. The first five games were won in 1950, 1986 and 1990, but the most remarkable success came in 1952, when the opening 9 games were won in succession, in a season with 14 victories in 17 games. Leading the batting and bowling averages were the then mere striplings of Jim Woodhouse and Paul Smallwood respectively. ‘And we , compared to the days of yore, are cast in a pigmy mould’
