The season opened on bright but chilly spring day with Holton and Wheatley winning the toss and the captain Robin deciding that batting first seemed like the best way for the team to avoid having to play too late into the evening.
The pitch was in good condition, if not a little slow in the earlier overs and the outfield was quick, but the HAWCC batmen showed some early season rustiness and struggled to get the ball away against some accurate bowling. As the game went on the run rate accelerated, with an excellent innings from Atanu and a 3-ball cameo from debutant Lewis pushing us to a score of 173 from our 35 overs.
The score looked a little short of where we needed to be, and so it proved once the Letcombe batters got to have their chance on a wicket that looked to have dried out nicely in the sun and become even better for batting. Wickets were hard to come by and the Letcombe batters had clearly been practising to get ready for the season and therefore managed to knock the runs off without ever looking like giving HAWCC a chance.
Overall it was great to get the season underway after last year’s delayed start and despite the COVID restrictions being in place, everyone seemed to enjoy the game.