Stragglers of Asia 171 all out (J McDuell 51, C Brown 41. Lappathi 3-42)
Honourable Artillery Company XI – 170-7 (Huxtable 41.  Surendra 4-32)

Ian Salter (skippering on behalf of James Allsop) won the toss and elected to bat on what is traditionally a batsman friendly wicket; however the Stragglers quickly discovered that this strip was not true to tradition and we lost two early wickets within the first 2 overs. T Russell going LBW to Grey for 0 and quickly followed by Salter for 1, bowled by Agnew. With a late swinging ball and an unpredictable track, Pilcher and J McDuell dug in well and applied themselves bringing the score up to 75-2. McDuell made a classy 51, playing exceptionally well off his front foot and doing the right thing by getting forward and leaving the ball well outside his off stump. McDuell was eventually out LBW to Santimon and it was time for the Stragglers to get a new partnership going between W Russell and C Brown, both players getting their heads down and Brown (as is usual to form!) latching on to any half volleys and taking the 9 iron out for anything back of a good length. He moved onto 41 in short order before being caught on the boundary by Haines off the bowling of Lappathi. W Russell nudged the ball around for 23 before attempting to go over the top as the declaration approached at 3.15pm, caught in the covers by Agnew off Khot. Regular turn and bounce off a pitch that was causing the ball to stick and offering bowlers a few areas of rough, and a score of 171 all out was looking competitive enough to have a good go at the HAC line up.

HAC got off to a good start with Haines and Huxtable latching onto anything short and making the most of the short boundary on the law school side of the ground. The latter was particularly well accomplished and played some tremendous shots including one six pulled off the bowling of Vila to the longer boundary. With the score at 60-0, the Stragglers were staring down the barrel, however the game took a turn when Haynes and Huxtable fell in quick succession to the bowling of Surendra. Huxtable was caught on the boundary by club debutant Charles Fidler with the sun in his eyes and a high ball, a crucial moment in the game. From this moment on, HAC offered little in the way of batting and Whyte and Surendra turned the screws and run rate creeped up to 6 an over. Edwards was then run out by an excellent Pilcher effort aiming at 1.5 stumps from mid-on and was a yard or so out as he finished his exchanges with Alaudin at the other end, the pressure was clearly mounting for the HAC! In the final 20 overs, the game took many turns and was a difficult one for a betting man to call. The ball was handed to Vila for the final over, HAC required just 7 to win. Vila took on this pressure well and bowled a good line and with fierce pace too, Khot and Gray just managed 5 off the over with the final ball well gathered by Conor Brown on the boundary. A winning draw for the club defending a modest total and an impressive fielding performance by all.