Carib Beer XI vs Old Boys,

Greenwich Park, Tuesday 16th July 2024

The annual Old Boys fixture is always a sociable affair, and under the stewardship of Steve Curtis there's always a good spread of food and drink. Of particular note on this occasion was a box of specially-sourced Carib lager which tasted nearly as sweet as it did on our original trip 20 years ago. Although rather than being accompanied by tropical sunshine and dancing girls, this evening it was paired with the threat of rain and some passers-by who briefly took an interest in our game.

Whether as a result of an actual coin toss or negotiation, the Caribs elected to bat first. On a pitch that horse racing pundits might have described as 'good to soft' Caribs Weaver and Kant were first up. They put together a decent stand of 39 before Swanand's eyes lit up and tried a massive swipe but was clean bowled by Old Boys' Luciani. We then had Luc to Gooch as Carib Rayner dropped anchor and the rain came in. With a slippy surface and rather slow outfield, Caribs progressed steadily rather than spectacularly - Glen eventually bowled for 14 (at the lowest scoring rate of any of the Caribs in the match I may add!), Carib Weaver retiring 27 not out and Carib Cordey with a traditional cameo of 6 before being also bowled by Old Boys' Brown.

Carib Captain Haigh was nearly timed out on his way to the wicket, but having arrived saw things through to the end of the innings with Carib Moss. There were some nice shots and the sun returned to see Caribs finishing on 139-3 (assisted by a tidy contribution from extras). With only 6 Caribs in attendance we begged a couple of fielders and umpires from the Old Boys who brought their drinks - meaning that there may have been nearly as many bottles of Carib at some points as there were Carib players on the pitch!?

The turn-out meant that bowling was going to be shared pretty evenly amongst all Carib attendees. Caribs Moss and Rayner began but failed to make the initial breakthrough as Old Boys' Sparkes and Ford soaked up the pressure (and watched the wides tick up the scoreboard). Caribs Kant and Weaver then came on and the first wicket fell to the quick reflexes of Carib Cordey as keeper, urging Weaver to push one through and stumping Ford in the process. Carib Haigh bowled Andy Sparkes and an excellent throw from Carib Kant caught Old Boys' Curtis a foot or two short, run out. Then came the Old Boy renaissance with Rob Moss and Ian Luciani paired at the wicket - they put on a sparkling 42 before Old Boy Moss (to his own disgust) was out bowled by Carib Kant. Another wicket (Old Boys' Read) followed in the same manner, and although Old Boys' Draper and Brown provided some assistance as Luciani made it to 33 before eventually being run out, the win was secured for the Caribs in the final over.

Having lured another few Old Boys (Michael Lee and Steve Lowes) to join the festivities later on, both sides then decamped to the Railway Tavern to catch up and pick over the new Government's plans for the rail industry (other - potentially more interesting - conversation topics were available).

Carib Beer XI Win by 23 Runs

Scorecard