Many had great pleasure in stating that Wellingborough Town with Tim Coleman, Geddington with Pollard, Steele and Raubenheimer, The Indians and Brixworth would all be contesting the title. No mention was made of us!!

Deep down I was pleased that other teams may be stronger and may be more inclined to playing positive cricket with the thought they might actually win rather than just win the toss and defend for 50+ overs in the hope of salvaging a losing draw. Also, hopefully teams would take points off each other.

So what was available to me? Had I been promised an open chequebook to bring in players? No!

Or perhaps the option of an overseas player? No!

However I felt confident that the squad of players available to me were more than capable of lifting the title that had eluded us over the past few years. As well as the existing players Steve (Muzzy) Musgrave was returning and he would provide greater depth with both bat and ball.

Other obstacles had to be overcome. The club faced a 30 points penalty imposed by the League’s Disciplinary Committee if, in their opinion, we stepped out of line during the season. Pressure was also on me to improve our position of bottom of the Fair Player Award Ratings.

I had to remind myself of why I had accepted the Captaincy. I was left with mixed messages as to what was success for the club this season. Was it an improvement in the fair play award, or avoiding another visit to meet the committee? Obviously it was both.

April 2007. With only weeks to go I was still in doubt as to the team I could pick. Corrine Pike was still holding on despite my efforts to get John to give her a few more hot baths to speed things along, but nothing was happening. Muzzy was still down under but due to land in the UK at any time. And would Big Jeff be interested in making the weekly journey from the Smoke to contest a first team place?

Things looked even worse when I was struggling to get players for the pre- season friendly against Burton Latimer. It was so bad that John Pike played with the prospect of Corrine going into labour at any moment. Dave Mercer would arrive late. Despite everything the game went ahead with a number of positive contributions which saw us to a comfortable 6-wicket victory. Roll on the start of the season.

Good game to start with Dave Mercer and Pikey not available. We bowled out Oakley for 77 in quick time. The opening bowlers, Jeff Connon and Simon Driver claiming 2 wickets apiece before Chris Perry and I took advantage to clean up the rabbits. Chris 2-8 and me 4-10.

The run chase did not go as smoothly as planned, however with my vice Matthew Jones holding firm for a solid 43 not out we ran out comfortable winners at 78-4. 25 points.

This was to be the start of a run of losing the toss for both Matthew Jones and myself. Strangely Mark Allbright elected to bat first stating “Kettering were looking to play positive cricket this year”. Deep down I think he was bored with always having to defend out for a draw against us. Either that or with all the new additions to their team he felt confident of winning the match.

Their openers started well and scored consistently. However the introduction of Chris Perry and Steve Musgrave soon changed that. Pez conceding only 24 of his 15 overs and Muz just 32. This restricted Kettering to a total that I thought would be around 140. However, Allbright arrived at the wicket and smashed me all over the park finishing 46 not out off 23 balls to see them to 185. The positive thing was that we claimed the last wicket off the last delivery to gain maximum 5 bowling points. All of which were to prove vital at the end of the season.

I was always confident that with our batting line up 185 was achievable. This proved to be the case. Despite losing a couple of wickets, a partnership of 80 between Nick Shelton (49) and Mercer (48) always kept us on top. Mark Ralph (33) finished the match with a straight six and was ably assisted by Muzzy. Twenty-eight points.

On losing the toss which I had become accustomed to doing, I still recall Manish the Indian skipper saying “I always seem to win the toss against you but not the match.” And how right he was again.

Things didn’t look good when we slumped to 49 for 5. At this stage I thought we could be all out for under a 100 and endure our first defeat of the season. However, I was to witness arguably the best knock of the season. Firstly Ralphy showed stroke-play all around the wicket as if to say, “what’s all the fuss about.” Simon Driver meanwhile quietly played himself in at the other end. Slowly as he also began to open up Manish was at a loss as to what to do. Instead of going for the jugular with men around the bat he despatched his fielders to all parts of the boundary. Which is exactly what Ralphy and Simon did to the ball! By now Ralphy was treating their bowling with utter distain, but unfortunately he fell for 46 when looking for another big hit, chipping back to the bowler.

This was only for Simon “The Bear” to be unleashed. With valuable support from

the tail he opened up with the fluent stroke play that I would pay money to watch smashing two consecutive sixes before he fell going for a third. His brilliant innings of 70+ took us to 207 all out and back in the driving seat. (Excuse the pun!).

We started well with both Connon and Driver bowling well and claiming early wickets. When Joshi eventually put on his dancing shoes he made scoring look easy, and although I had put last week’s mauling behind me and bowled a tight spell, the game was running away from us. With the opposition around 100 for 3 off 25 overs things were not looking good. However the introduction of Muzzy saw him claim the wicket of Joshi in his first over. From then on it became a different ball game. Wickets continued to fall and the run rate slowed to a snails pace. The Indians were now desperately holding on for a draw. The last over saw their number 11 planting his leg down the wicket to pat the first 5 balls back. I had the feeling of deja vu. However, when all appeared to be lost the last delivery was nicked behind into the safe hands of Mark Carter. Muzzy was away doing his impression of a World War 2 spitfire. A great victory 29 points.

I began to think this may be our year after all.

In my absence we recorded another win 200 all out in 47 overs. Bowled out Isham for 144 in 45.

Well done Razzle and the boys. 29 points.

David Clarkson made his first team debut, well done David!

Simon Parsons stepped in for me and made his usual valuable contribution. Thanks Parsy.

Again I missed the game. Another win. Declared at 200-9 of 46 overs. Bowled out Corby for 116 in 40 overs. 29 points.

At this stage of the season we were contesting the lead with Wellingborough Town. However as the season unfolded I realised at this stage that with the exception of Wellingboro Indians we had played the weaker sides in the Division and the next few weeks we would be tested - and disappointment and frustration was to follow.

With the absence of Liam Bates and David Mercer who were unavailable and Nick Shelton who played with a bad back and was unable to bat, I thought long and hard about the batting order. I was keen to keep the middle order intact and therefore opted to open with Razzle and Mark Carter with Chris Perry at 3. Unfortunately the decision didn’t pay off with both Carts and Pez falling early. Razzle however steadied the ship and looked in determined mood to guts things out making 63. Muzzy meanwhile played with his usual freedom and was looking good until he clipped one to mid wicket. Wickets fell at regular intervals and we looked in trouble. However a 8^th wicket partnership between Tim Hudson 38 and

John Pike 39 with a mixture of good running and hard hitting saw us to 202-7 in 50 overs.

Not knowing any of their team made life difficult in planning the bowling and fielding. After Pikey picked up a wicket in the second over, their batsmen got on top of our bowling and scored freely. With the rain becoming increasing harder and the outfield getting very wet the ball was difficult to control for the bowlers and made fielding very difficult. Brixworth reached 74-1 of 18 overs. At this stage knowing they would be one of our main contenders I appealed to the umpires to go off. The heavens opened and that was the last play of the day. 6 points to us and 5 to them.

Still without Nick and Liam I decided to open with Razzle and myself. Many were surprised at the decision. The thought process was that I would look to score quickly and was prepared to sacrifice my wicket against the new ball. Despite criticisms from certain quarters we put on 54 before I was bowled looking to be aggressive. I felt the platform had been laid for a score of 200 and an early declaration. This was not to be the case with Razzle top scoring with 29. Others chipped in with double figures and we stuttered to 170-8 of our 50 overs.

Their openers did not appear interested in trying to score or even in trying to win the game. Jeff and Muff both bowled tightly and at drinks they were only 2 down. It was now down to us to pile on the pressure to force a win. Their batsman appeared to have very little idea and we began to claim wickets. Muzzy 2-26 and Pez 2-39. The arrival of Tom Worthington a regular first team player added impetus to their score. He smashed a quick fire 53 before holding out to the safe hands of Tim Hudson at deep mid wicket to become one of my 5 wickets. With overs running out they were desperately holding out for a draw at 9 down. Unfortunately we were unable to get the last wicket on this occasion.

Winning draw 12 points.

I realised the pressure the players were feeling with the expectations on them to win the title. They were beginning to become disheartened and critical of my decisions. At this stage I felt we were not playing to our full potential although were still challenging. Players were not performing to their own high standards and frustrations began to show. This was the first of a few episodes to develop over the rest of the season.

Having finally managed to win the toss in what was to be our biggest game to date, things didn’t go according to plan. At one stage we had built up a healthy lead at the top of the table with Wellingborough some 40 points behind, however with a rained off game and only a winning draw over the past two weeks they had clawed some of the deficit back. We started well with an early wicket. However when we dropped Tim Coleman a couple of times in quick succession (including myself putting down a regulation chance at backward point) he went on to make 65 until be became one of Chris Perry’s 5 victims. With the help of a number of middle order contributions Wellingborough finished on a respectable 189 all out in their 50 overs.

We were never in the game. We lost 3 quick wickets, before Muzzy and Ralphy began to control their bowling for a short period. When the former played another aggressive shot and was out to a good catch from Sam Owen at mid wicket we were in real trouble. Ralphy continued in his usual fluent style - but wickets continued to fall at the other end. Ralphy eventually fell for 42 and we were 9 down in around the 30^th over. Still along way short of their total.

The next 18 overs was to be compelling cricket with shades of Donald against Atherton or a Borg / McEnroe Wimbledon tie breaker. (For those old enough to remember).

John Pike and Jeff Connon dealt with everything the Wellingborough bowlers had to throw at them. Pikey held his instinctive attacking batting back and defended hard. With the odd aggressive shot here and there. Jeff defended resolutely at the other end providing great support. After a while they began to look more and more comfortable. Pikey continued to play the odd shot and reached his maiden first team 50. Deep down I had the feeling that something would go wrong. I was glued to my seat for over an hour and just when I thought we would hold out for a draw and keep Wellingborough at bay, our fate was sealed. McDonald bowling left arm over banged one in short and John edged it to the safe hands of Coleman at 3^rd slip. Game lost 6 points.

This is the type of game that I felt has stopped us getting promoted over the past few season. The big matches against our nearest rivals. For some reason we choke and instead of killing them off we allow them to take control. This took Wellingborough top of the division - and us nervously checking their results.

This loss hurt me and I am sure many of the players. It made me more determined than ever to win the league. But from now it was to be my way. Especially when I was absolutely slaughtered by the Wellingborough Team during my very brief visit to the crease. No longer was I to bow down to player pressure.

I decided to stick to my plans having formulated them during the week with discussions where needed with my knowledgeable vice captain.

Big Jeff bowled well and with aggression to claim the wickets of Swingler and Panter. Pikey bowled with no luck as Budworth edged a few past Mercer at 2^nd slip. Muff and Muzzy then accounted for Steed and Budworth to reduce Rothwell to 89-4 in 24 overs. The next 2 batsmen looked like rabbits caught in the headlights, however the rain was to come to their rescue and that was game over. Match abandoned. 4 points.

This was the type of batting performance I had expected to see a lot more of this season. Razzle and Nick put on 49 before both fell in quick succession. Merce and Muzzy then took over and the pair totally dominated the Weekley bowling - hitting 3 sixes each in their 69 and 84 respectively. With the rain beginning to fall I was keen to declare early, however with the new additions to the Weekley side and having checked their previous results I was mindful a decent total maybe necessary before I did. Ralph’s 19 helped get the target to 225 in 46 overs and we were off.

With the rain still threatening after tea I was looking to bowl 25 overs quickly to constitute a game and was happy to claim a winning draw. Therefore I decided to open the bowling with Jeff and Chris Perry. It turned out to be a good decision as Pez struck early to remove Ricky Joseph who I had heard far too much about but did not see too much to write home about. With Pez claiming 3-34 and both Jeff 2-44 and John Pike 2-25 getting amongst the wickets we had Weekly on the ropes at 65-6. We were to see the Weekley and Warkton side we had become accustomed to. Resolute defence with no intention of trying to win the match. All credit to their Capt Andy Tilley who saw off everything we had to offer. Only 3 overs were lost to rain and the game fizzled out with Weekley finishing 150-8 off 51 overs. Winning Draw 15 points.

Dragged all the way to Geddington with no hope of ever playing.

Half way through the season we were second behind Wellingborough Town, but very much in it. They had won most of the tosses and I hadn’t! Law of averages said this had to change. At this stage it looked a two horse race with the Indians, Brixworth and Geddington all having lost too many games.

Although Oakley were by now one of the division’s whipping boys, they made life very difficult for us. Expecting a similar batting performance to Weekley in a game that should have been a forgone conclusion it looked to be going horribly wrong. Nick fell second ball of the match, and despite Razzle’s 32 we found ourselves 74-5 and in a little trouble. Mercer held the innings together and whilst he was at the crease the rest simply had to stick around. Having consolidated, both he and Muff hit some forceful shots before both fell in the same over. Muff 28 and Mercer with a great 87. Once we hit 200 I was happy to declare. Finishing 201-7 in 47 overs.

We started well with Jeff and Muff claiming a wicket apiece. Oakley then constructed several decent partnerships to get to 117-5 still with a chance of winning. However the two spinners Chris Perry 3-32 and Steve Musgrave 3-21 bowled well in tandem and soon put paid to that idea. Before long we had Oakley 9 down and the game appeared to be ours. The Oakley 10 and Jack had other ideas and held out despite our efforts rotating all the bowlers.

In the final over a young number eleven looked comfortable coming forward to Pikey’s deliveries. With men around the bat we were crying out for him to bang it in short, and he kept us waiting until the final ball of the match to do so; this saw their batsman back away with fear and the ball catch the outside edge to give me a looping chance at gully which I held onto gleefully and it was my turn to run off in celebration. 29 points.

Two games won on the last ball needing a wicket, was our name on the cup?

Yes, I eventually won a toss again. We started well claiming an early wicket. Simon Driver then bowled their number 3, only for the umpire to call a no ball. This allowed them to build a good partnership and Kettering were going well on what was a good batting pitch. We found wickets hard to come by. Several Kettering batsmen got scores in the 40’s and one 50. Fortunately for us as they tried to push to set a challenging total, wickets came our way. Pez 3-52 and myself 3-46. We cleaned up the tail in no time to bowl them out for 202 in the last over. More valuable bonus points.

We never looked in too much trouble chasing with good top order scores from Nick Shelton 38, Steve Musgrave 41. However again we were to lose wickets on the way, until Darren Laughton steadied the ship and then delighted us all with his natural fluent stroke play. He hit 9 fours and a six in his 68 not out to see us home at 204-6 in the 47^th over. I was absolutely delighted for him! Another 29 points.

Another wasted journey. There was absolutely no hope of play with large puddles on their outfield. In was interesting to see them desperately trying to clear all the surface water with brooms, wooden paddles etc.

In many ways I wanted to play and try to end their title challenge. It wasn’t to be. News filtered back that Wellingborough Town were playing at Great Oakley. They picked up points for a winning draw whilst we walked away with just 2 points.

Things were going according to plan with us claiming early wickets with both Jeff and Muff bowling well. Pikey was introduced to the bowling and bowled well without getting the luck he deserved. Things were to change quickly when firstly a caught behind appeal was turned down and then a dropped catch behind the stumps gave their overseas batsman Agha Sabir two extra lifelines. He took full advantage and with support from the rest of his team went on to smash an aggressive 128. Despite this we plugged away and I was still satisfied at bowling them out for 207 in the 46^th over and fancied chasing the total in 54 overs. There was more unrest in the dressing room at their total. My view being there will be a lot more of that type of player if we were to play in the premier division.

The openers set us off to a solid start but a middle order collapse dented our

hopes of a win and I was faced with a difficult decision. Holding on for a draw against Isham? Surely not!

Razzle was still there and when he was joined by Chris and things began to turn to give us a glimmer of hope. Razzle then fell for a gritty 71, and John Pike was adjudged run out after hitting 14 in one over.

I joined Chris at the crease still requiring over 50 at around 7 an over but we were now 8 down. Gradually we run the total down to requiring 12 runs of the last 2 overs. The game was ours surely. However, a tight over from Shaun Wills saw Chris struggle to get him away. I then mis-timed a square cut into the hands of backward point and we only scored one off the over. Still needing 11, Chris and Jeff went all out to get the runs, however it was not to be and we finished 3 runs short. Losing draw 11 points.

A very poor Corby side made life more difficult than I expected. After a fiery opening burst from Jeff claimed early wickets, Corby continued to struggle with tight bowling from Steve Musgrave. They looked to be heading for 100 all out. However, a mixture of poor bowling from Pez, Pikey and myself along with gritty batting from their tail saw them get to 154 all out in the 48^th over.

The run chase was a formality for Nick 59 not out and Razzle 80 not out in 30 overs. Win 27 points.

At this stage Wellingborough Town began to falter with a few bad results and the title had now become a 4 horse race with Brixworth and Wellingborough Indians dragging themselves back into contention.

A difficult week with selection, many players not available and a late withdrawal from Liam resulted in a request for Marcus Shelton to help out. We started well with both Sheltons scoring freely. However, we appeared to have a lull in the middle and our run rate slowed dramatically. I was looking to bat the full 50 overs and post as bigger total as possible. Having studied their results they suggested they would bat positively and chase anything. Losing was not a fear for them.

Marcus batted well for his first knock of 74. Useful contribution from Nick 26, Mercer 39 and Muzzy 30 gave us a useful total 0f 228-8 in our 50 overs. I felt we were about 20 runs short and was looking at 250. Their skipper Colin Sibley bowled well to claim 5 wickets.

Brixworth came out with all guns blazing with aggressive shorts from the start. However, we got rid of their openers but a great innings from Fred Newborough who finished 100 not out saw them home comfortably. Lost 8 points.

Not too disappointed. The better team beat us on the day. We still remained top 8 points clear of Brixworth. The others failed to close the gap on us.

We were well set at 126-3 with Liam 32 not out and Mark Ralph 38 not out and

looked well on the way to posting a good total. But again the game was to be abandoned due to the rain. Once it started it never looked like stopping. 3 points.

As the umpires tried to convince me to make an early decision to abandon the game, I said to them “ I bet you many teams will still play and get results.”

So it was to be and a real hammer blow for us. Brixworth somehow played and chased 150 in 16 overs against Great Oakley. This saw them go from 8 points behind to 16 ahead!

After the game at home last year’s skipper Joe Bailey said to me “Over the past few years you have been by far the best team in the league, so how have you not won it”. As a tried to explain how we had been unfortunate with weather having played less games etc he said, “ They’re excuses Harmit”. And I had no real answer other than “We seem to come up short when it matters”.

Again our batsman who seem to like batting against Weekley set about the their task; Nick was in a positive mood and hit several through the covers before falling for another 20 odd. Liam and Razzle then built a good partnership, before we had another 10 over lull where we scored slowly, in a period where I would have liked us to push on. Both assessed the situation and began to play aggressively for the good of the team. Razzle fell for 73 caught at long off looking to clear the short boundary and Batesy departed immediately after pulling a full toss to mid wicket.

Steve Musgrave and Mark Ralph were the ideal pair to continue making 34 and 33 respectively. I declared at 225-4 after the 47^th over. Ideally I was hoping to declare at 45.

On what was obviously a reasonable wicket we failed to make early in roads. Big Jeff with his parents over from Australia and watching the game was a little out of sorts, struggling for his line.

Having not bowled many overs in the past few weeks I was looking to get a few under my belt. The Weekley openers were going well with Ricky Joseph scoring 50 and Bailey 29. I claimed both wickets as they pushed to score. At this stage they looked in a good position to win the game. However this was to change very quickly. The introduction of John Pike saw him claim 3-6 as their batsman looked to score, with Muzzy claiming 2 wickets at the other end and they were soon 9 down and desperately hanging on for a draw. Again it was the experienced campaigners Andy Tilley and Chris Payne who managed to see things safely out, we fell just short again. Winning draw 15 points.

Again Joe Bailey said to me in the bar “You’ve just shown again you’re the best team in the league. We’ve played everyone else and you’re the only team we don’t get close to. But again it looks like Brixworth are going to win the league.”

Although we only got a draw, it was to be a big result. With the other results coming in I was happy to see we had gained 6 points back and now only trailed Brixworth by 10.

Having struggled all season to win the toss the ‘law of averages’ was to prove right from this point on. At this stage of the season I was aware the players were checking the results and tables as avidly as I had all season. Deep down I felt things had gone against us once Brixworth had gone in front. However, my job was to keep the team spirit up and to think positively. I treated the next 3 games as the last stages of a knock out cup, quarters, semi and final.

Today was to be the quarter final!

A good start saw both Jeff and Muff claiming an opener each to reduce them to 13-2. However, Swingler hung in there chiselling the odd single here and there whilst Panter played the more aggressive roll. They steadied the batting - albeit scoring slowly. Once we claimed their wickets, the situation was ideal for Steed to play freely, as he had nothing to lose. Unfortunately for us he was in the mood to bat and he set about our bowling and made a quick fire 75 assisting them to reach 200-8. A strange declaration was to follow with 3 balls remaining in the last over.

An internal team disagreement followed in our dressing room at the interval, which upset a number of the team. I apologise for my part and I am grateful that the incident took place behind closed doors and not on the pitch. I also thank the players for their continued support after this incident. Enough said and back to the cricket.

To calm down and compose myself I sat square of the wicket alone and watched our innings. The players sorted their own batting positions with Mark Ralph going up to 4 and Mercer and Muzzy dropping down. We started well with solid contributions from Razzle 29, Batesy 41 and Ralphy 38, however the slow bowling of James Swingler caused problems. As our batsmen tried to force the scoring, wickets fell and at 8 down we still needed around 35 off 5 overs to win. I joined Muzzy at the crease. Between us we managed to keep up with the required run rate. Parker was to do us a massive favour; he dropped me on a simple caught and bowled chance and then saw Muzzy smash him for a straight 6. With two overs to go we were now ahead of the run rate. Muzzy then played a number of aggressive shots against the bowling of Steed and we won with 7 balls to spare. 28 points

Brixworth slipped up with only a draw against Kettering and we further increased the gap a little over the Indians. It was now only a three horse race with us back in front.

With the team’s spirits restored during the week we travelled the short distance to Wellingborough Town With the league title in touching distance, we all knew this was going to be a tough game and possibly “make or break” for us. The boys appeared in good spirits and up for it.

Wellingborough also appear to relish the game and had not given up their chances of winning the league despite it depending on other results. At 40 points behind I considered that they were out of the running.

Their openers started well, Coleman anchoring the innings and set for a long stay at the wicket whilst Owen played freely and rode his luck a little. Despite a century partnership they scored at a modest rate on what appeared to be a decent batting track, never really getting away from us. All the bowlers bowled well. Steve Musgrave in particular, with his first 4 overs being maidens. Despite ending wicket-less he only conceded 39 off his 15 overs. Exactly what the situation required. Wellingborough had their big guns all padded up and waiting to come in. Wellingborough continued to build useful partnerships despite the loss of the odd wicket. Coleman remained and opened up towards the end and played a chanceless knock of 126 falling only in the last over. They finished 208-6 in 50 overs. Pez finished with 3-58 and John Pike picked up a couple in the final over.

I was happy with chasing 208 and fancied our chances.

Nick and Razzle went out and in typical fashion assessed the situation, before getting on top. Matthew in particular pushed on for a good 39. A good opening partnership had put us in charge. Mark Ralph showed glimpses of his natural stroke play before being bowled by their young and impressive opening bowler. However the rock was still their and when he was joined by Dave Mercer the pair took on their bowling attack, Nick hitting Owen for three consecutive 4’s and then Mercer put on his dancing shoes to take on Tapp. We were now in total command and well a head of the run rate. However things were to change quickly, Mercer was caught behind, Muzzy fell for a duck caught at deep square leg. Nick and Muff then consolidated. With only 18 needed Nick was bowled for a great 72. Pez was then also cleaned up first ball. When Muff was run out for 20 going for a suicidal run, we were on shaky ground.

I joined Pikey still needing double figures but now 8 down. We chipped away to needing 4 off the last over. First ball of the final over saw Coleman push it down towards John’s pads, a poor delivery, Pikey looked to smash it for four but top edged it for Curtis to come around from square leg to grab the catch. 9 down 4 needed of 5 balls. I had crossed and was now on strike. I thought one shot would do it, - wait for the right delivery. When I patted the first 2 back, god knows what the nerves must have been like on the boundary! I was glad to be in the middle despite the some good natured chat from some of their players. We held our nerve and with the help of a miss-field we scored the 4 required with a ball to spare. A massive win 27 points.

Results also went the way of Brixworth and Wellingborough Indians. The situation being we were three points clear of Brixworth and eight ahead of the Indians. They had to play each other on the final weekend. I thought there would be a definite result in that game one way or the other, therefore we had to win our last game.

A great start with Jeff Connon getting a wicket of the 2^nd ball of the game. However the other opener Knight was playing positively and scored freely making 20 odd. But a great over from Simon Driver saw him remove Knight caught by Muzzy and then claimed the wicket of Raubenheimer for a golden duck with a full toss LBW. Pollard then looked to push the score along and played the odd good looking shot. He must have thought it was his birthday when he was dropped twice with what should have been two regulation chances. We continued to plug away and with Chris Perry bowling well scoring was difficult for them. Wickets also began to fall and Pollard was left on his own to try and set a reasonable total. He eventually fell for 77 caught in the deep by Jeff off the bowling off Pez. Muzzy then mopped up the tail and we bowled them out for 154 off 46 overs.

Surely this was job done? A win now would guarantee us the First Division title and the long awaited promotion. The run chase was a formality. Nick and Razzle carried on where they left off at Wellingborough with positive stroke play. An opening partnership of 45 was fine and just what I had hoped for. Things got better when a 50+ partnership between Razzle and Batesy took us over the 100 mark with only down. I could relax for a change. I still sat in shorts with no thoughts of having to get changed. I was relishing the performance. We then had a wobble with both falling together and Ralphy and Muzzy soon followed without really troubling the scorer. “Let’s not throw it away now,” I thought. No worries though as Dave Mercer and Simon Driver looked comfortable and the game ended with firstly Mercer clipping a 4 off his legs and the big guy stroking a straight drive down the ground. A fitting end to a great season. 27 points

The title was ours and time for the village to celebrate!!!

This competition was a mere distraction to the main aim of winning the league and something we should perhaps focus on a little more next season.

We won the first game against premiership opposition in Irthlingborough only to have Finedon in the next round. A good performance but they showed their quality and we were knocked out.

I like to thank all the players of the club for their efforts, contributions and support.

A special mention to Chris Perry, Steve Musgrave and Jeff Connon who were ever present throughout the season.

A special thank you to the committee for their support and hard work throughout the season in progressing the club forward - we now have facilities that are the envy of other teams.

Thanks to Matthew Jones, my vice captain for all his hard work and support, and to our wonderful scorer Leslie Underwood. I have been very lucky to have both in my corner over the past two seasons.

Looking back over the season, whilst there has been some good performances, I don’t think there has been any outstanding ones. This is not a criticism. What pleased me is that it was not about averages but matching-winning contributions when it mattered. These came from different players in different matches and our success showed the depth of our team. A team I was proud to captain. Well done to you all!

Some may think it’s too soon to think of next season. However, once the hangover is cured following our end of season dinner I think we need to focus and prepare for what will be a totally different season for us.

I therefore urge all the players to attend the Club’s AGM and to elect the captains and vice captains that they want to lead the teams in 2008. Once they have been elected support them throughout next season no matter what decisions they make.

Here’s to next season.  Harmit.