Murd, clearly emerging as a must-pick for Scotland's 20-20 squad, put the peddle to the metal even more dramatically with a quickfire 24, before a thoroughbred middle order partnership between Lars and Sandeepa really took command, with boundaries piercing the field like falcons tearing through a flock of pigeons. It was fine fine stuff.

Knight Sir James was next in and showed the excellence of his text book batting with two fine boundaries before being unluckily dismissed by the faintest of edges, a nick he is even now preparing to take to the European Court to contest. But even in those two shots, the quality was very evident of a potential David Gower in the bosom of the team. Beyond your correspondent's humble efforts, the scorer remained untroubled by the rest of the order, with the need to press on leaving Wuff stranded at the end on one. But 202, though not truly commanding, was avery decent score against the always testing and dogged DUD's attack. Would we be able to capitalise?

No.

Not that a spectator seeing the DUD's reeling at 10 for 2 after Sandeepa had tore out two batsman in one over would have expected that. But the unavoidable truth was that with only two frontline bowlers in Sandeepa and Stephen we were always going to struggle against a side of the DUD's batting ability. Lars's shoulder injury robbed us of his economy, guile and reliable wicket-taking and Margaret, always missed when not available, has traditionally found Greenwich to be her own personal glorious twelfth, batsman her helpless Grouse. Anthony, the DUD's demon leg spinner turned long-run up paceman for this game, batted absolutely superbly for an unbeaten 121 and that was basically that. And as such, it was actually no disgrace. We batted well overall, superbly in two cases, and when your bowling attack is limited by circumstances beyond control, facing a truly in-form batsman, the story is, barring the occasionally miraculous, already written for you.