An excitable Moosey side lined up for this crunch encounter against some well-known opposition in the form of Ed Gay’s elder brother Will and his ‘Otters’. Opening bowler Ed Atkinson had dropped out at the last minute, citing a spurious meeting in Dubai, leaving the team perhaps one bowler short, but still in confident mood.

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The match started badly however, with captain John bowled for a diamond duck. Experienced heads watching said they had never seen a ball move so late, and keep so low, at the Nevill. Nevertheless, hoots of delight filled the ground as the Otters knew that the Moose talisman had fallen. On the boundary, naughty Moosey Kingham and Gay were seen giggling at the misfortune of their captain.

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Young gun James Howie came in at three, and together with Pateras, steadied the ship. Indeed, the Greek hit his first two balls for four, before settling into a more lazy rhythm. The pair put on a good stand of 40-odd, before Howie unfortunately departed, with his mate Lewis Munro replacing him. Lewis and the Greek then set upon the Otters’ attack, with a succession of shots going through or over the infield and away to the boundary. Munro eventually retired on 50*, with the Moose well placed at that stage at c.130-2. 

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Rob Hillman then came in and hit a classy cameo knock of 34 off approximately 15 balls, proving that you can score quickly by playing orthodox cricket shots. Pateras continued to play in his own inimitable fashion, before eventually falling for 46, cruelly 4 runs short of his first ever half century. 

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By this stage the Moose were looking extremely good at c.180-4 with overs to spare. The remaining batsmen chipped in, attempting to pinch hit some extra runs in the final overs. Kingham and Lunn were both unfortunate to fall for ducks, and Ed Gay unlucky to be caught off his brother’s bowling. The Moose finished with 209-9 off their 25 overs – a challenging target.

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Ed Gay was fired up to open the bowling with his brother Will opening for the Otters. A torrent of quick, and surprisingly well pitched up, bowling ensued, with Ed eventually getting his man (for a duck) and accordingly saving himself from a lifetime of abuse. At the other end, Hillman was generating turn and bounce with his orthodox finger spin, removing two Otters in quick succession. The Otters by this stage were looking shaky, four down for not very many, with one or two of their star players back in the pavilion. 

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Captain John made up for his earlier disappointment with some astute, attacking fields, restricting the Otters’ run chase and putting constant pressure on the bat. A period on consolidation followed for the Otters, with opposing captain Charles Heap defending valiantly, putting on a good stand with Dickie Blacker. Eventually the two fell however, with the Otters well behind the run rate at that stage. Wickets began to fall as they chased the rate, and the Otters eventually finished up c.170-9 after their 25 overs. Good spells from Charlie Lunn, James Howie, Rob Hillman and Ed Gay helped keep the runs down, with Nick Saner outstanding at long off.

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A fine day for the Moose, which was celebrated in grand style later on in a salubrious Chelsea restaurant and nightclub. Man of the match was Alexis Pateras for his 46 runs, and a fine performance with the ‘keeping gloves.