The Strollers mid-season purple patch came to an abrupt and shocking end today at a sunny Ealing Sports Ground where newfound opposition Exiles claimed victory by an enormous 140+ run margin. Fielding a depleted 10 man side largely made up of friends of the few regulars playing and seriously lacking specialist batsmen, the Strollers were somewhat relieved when the Exiles won the toss and opted to bat first - a decision that under normal circumstances may not have been wise, given the moon-surface complexion of the green top wicket. But if the Strollers had any chance of winning, it was felt this could only really be achieved by dismissing the Exiles cheaply.

It all looked so promising at the start, with Simon gaining lift off the pitch and immediately finding edges, with Rob taking an excellent early catch at second slip to dismiss Omer in the third over. But the early advantage was squandered by some truly abject fielding as chance after chance went begging - some difficult, some easy - but, as the catches went down, the Exiles batsmen rode their luck and kept the score ticking over. Wickets fell - Jonny Kemp in particular bamboozling the batsmen with his looping left arm deliveries and claiming two dismissals, and Rob Davies also collecting a couple but, when the Exiles closed their innings on 216-7 the general feeling was that the numerous spilled chances had cost the Strollers somewhere in the region of 60 or 70 runs.

But it wasn't until after the sumptious and excellent tea (truly the highlight of the afternoon!) that disaster really set in. Gav spooned up a dolly catch to mid on in the third over and this set in motion a collapse unlike anything seen in Strollers history for several years as the Exiles schooled their opponents in how to hang onto catches. A couple of dodgy LBWs aside, the Strollers batting ranged from ineffective to calamitous and, whilst the middle order put up a little resistance, it was telling that the only real scoring came by way of extras. To add insult to injury, Simon narrowly missed out on hitting a personal best when he was cruelly run out for 15 (equalling his top score) to bring the Strollers innings to an end for a pitiful 74 all out.

Still, thanks are due to messrs Fryer, Curtis and Gera who all helped fill in to allow us to field a side at all (all of whom are more than welcome to return any time!) and also to Exiles themselves who made fine hosts. We look forward to a rematch sometime soon when surely we can give them more of a game.