OSCC, 71 all out, got about halfway against Leverstock Green, 155 all out iPad At the captain's request (for a direct line please dial 0-9 for Wardy) I'm not allowed to mention what effect Saturday's result has had on our survival prospects. However, I think I am free to point out this challenging mathematical poser, namely what would happen if you took the points we have accumulated in the Bedfordshire league (depleted by 10 after Sunday's concession) and added them to those we have accumulated in the Saracens League? Answer: we'd still be pretty severely fucked.... Things did not begin well on Saturday.  Richie Barker missed out with a nasty toe injury (laughably sustained attempting to bowl seam in the nets) and Danny O'Brien was forced to withdraw on the morning of the match after a tough week at work. Roger Piepenstock, a man who lives within a stone's throw of the ground, although perhaps not if that stone is being thrown by an Offley fielder, subseq

  An interesting weekend full of landmark performances and season's-best efforts from a number of players resulted in a familiar feeling - Offley lost twice and lurched a step nearer to a second successive double relegation campaign. On the grounds that there's as much chance of us fulfilling the final fixture at Godmanchester as there is of Luke Munt buying a Luton Town season ticket (not to mention as much chance of us winning it as of Luke Munt renouncing sausage rolls), we are already effectively doomed to relegation from the Bedfordshire League. The hithero uncharted depths of Division Six await - nice one JB. On Friday night Offley pulled off one of the best wins of the season by routing (sort of) a strong Ickwell side featuring a number of 1st & 2nd XI players. Of course everyone who turns out for Offley is a 1st XI player (sometimes a 1st VIII or 1st IX player) so perhaps it wasn't such an upset. Oscar Welch became the youngest player in club history to claim fi

  In 1859 the American abolitionist John Brown was executed after the doomed raid on Harper's Ferry, an event that sparked the American Civil War. This act inspired the song John Brown's Body Lies A Moldering In The Grave with it's world-renowned chorus of Glory, Glory, Hallelujah . Today, we remember John Brown, known to his followers as the Wrathful Cloud of God, and his famous tune and pay tribute to a contemporary cricketer with this, The Ballad of the Broken Batsman. The Ballad of the Broken Batsman He walked out to the middle for he'd looked death in the eye Doctors told him to retire but he said he'd have another try He hoped that he'd be served up with a tasty juicy pie Now he ain't gonna bat no more (Chorus) Glory, glory hallelujah The bowler ripped it right back through ya It was hitting middle stump but you stomped off with the hump Said you ain't gonna bat no more He took his guard and settled in, he waited for the ball His eyes lost all exp

 OSCC, 118 all out, beat Old Albanians, 110 all out, by eight runs On the day that Luke Munt (pictured ablove) called time on his illustrious cricketing career, selling off his kit to raise money for charity (unfortunately it failed ro raise nearly as many pounds as Luke weighs - if it had we might have cured cancer), Offley recorded their second win of the Saracens campaign with a pulsating victory against the odds and Old Albanians. Richie Barker, captain for the first time since the first victory against Albanians on June 1st, won the toss and elected to bat. Barker got off the mark for the first time in three innings but was out moments later, leading to more observations on retirement, or at the very least dropping down the order. His opening partner, Offley MVP Jamie Cummins, returned to the pavilion shortly afterwards as Offley slumped to 12-2. Ben Southgate and Steve Bexfield added 60 for the third wicket. Southgate reached double figures for Offley for the first time at the se