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Blubbs entertained Burton Leonard at the Field of Dreams for week six of the season and it was Bon Voyage Bill this week as regular opener Mr Angry went off to France leaving his team mates wondering if they could produce the goods without him.

Still no sign of Lightie and people were starting to wonder if he’d been melted down and made into an Elisabeth Arden brooch.

As usual Stonewall lost the toss and as usual Blubbs were stuck in to bat on an overcast day which looked good for the swingers!

Captain Stonewall and Arnie opened up for the home team, things started well as Dalby crashed a boundary after only three deliveries but things soon changed to not so well when the ball hit a section of Jackson's wall before the cement had set knocking back the stumps leaving Blubbs five for one inside the first over.

MC Craigie got to the wicket a bit sooner than normal joining Dicko who was yet to face a delivery.

The score had slowly moved on to twenty three when Arnie became Ali Wilson's second victim of the day and the stumps were rocked back again leaving Blubbs on a grim looking twenty three for two.

Cookie was next in joining Craigie in the middle and the pair steadied the ship pushing the run rate up and giving Blubbs hope for the second half. The score reached ninety five when College Boy was given out leg before to a delivery hawkeye said was going over the sticks.

The loss of Cookie saw his partner in crime Wilkie the walking wicket take to the field, for how long nobody knew but expectations were it wouldn't be long. It was clear Wilkie was out to prove everyone wrong and he quickly moved on to twelve hitting three fours in not many more deliveries.

Craigie was next to fall, mis-hitting a pull shot over cow corner and falling short into the hands of Stansfield, one hundred and ten for four and Blubbs were back on the rack.

Mad Frankie was in six and helped push the score onto one hundred and forty before leaving a gap between bat and pad (a gap you could have driven a bus through of course) and being bowled for twenty six.

Titchie went in seven and had a lot to do with Blubbs needing at least another sixty to play with in the second half. Sadly only fourteen more were added before he holed out to a delivery from Murray and it was destination compost heap for a dismal nine.

Thack made a welcome return to the 1st team this week and went in eight to accompany Wilkie who was struggling to find the gaps now and runs were few and far between. The partnership had added eighteen when disaster struck, Wilkie struck one square and called for a run, the first run was easy and Wilkie called for a second. Thack charged back for the second like a castrated bull with a blindfold on not seeing Wilkie and sending him tumbling to the ground half way down the pitch, by the time Wilkie had got back to his feet the ball was in the keepers gloves and Wilkie run out for twenty eight.

Sherman was in nine and looking to score quickly but his tin plate armour was no match for the in-swinging yorker fired down by Murray which cleaned him up for a golden duck leaving his rusty tracks propelling him back to the hutch for none, the score one seventy three for eight.

Splinter took to the arena knowing he needed to stick around to get Blubbs at least one point from the game, a quick single saw Bulldozer Thack back on strike. Unfortunately he took one swipe too many at Murray and lost leg stump being bowled for seven, one seventy four for seven.

Hebb was last in and put on seven more runs with Splinter posting a Blubbs total of one hundred and eighty one but securing a vital batting point, was this enough?

Mad Frankie was given the new cherry to get the second half underway and immediately came up with the goods bowling Wray for nought in the first over.

Titchie opened up at the Wood Yard End and found it difficult to keep his line with the ball swinging all ways. He managed to get one right to Parker and skittled him for one putting the visitors nine for two.

Blubbs were riding on the crest of a wave and looking to secure another six pointer to stay in the title race but Stansfield and Thirkell had different ideas. Two loose over's from Frankie and Titchie saw Burton back in the game and four an over was looking like a stroll in the park for the number three and four partnership.

Stonewall brought himself into the attack shortly followed by Splinter but to no avail. Four over's into his spell and Dalby was gifted with a chance from Thirkell who played the ball back to the skipper like a soap bubble out of bottle of detergent but the butterfingered leader spilled the chance and heads began to drop.

Two over's later and Arnie put down another sitter at backward square and the home sides troubles grew.

Splinter and Stonewall were replaced by Sherman and Craigie but the rot continued and the runs came easily to the now solid partnership.

With only fourteen more required Stonewall decided to give Cookie a bowl after his six deliveries only two were required.

Another change at the Riverside End saw monster truck Thack stomping in, he nearly claimed a consolation wicket but Cookie put down the catch at mid-wicket.

One more delivery from Thack and it was all over, Blubbs beaten for the second time this season on a day which saw more pies than Mr Kipling at Christmas and fewer runs than the England cricket squad after a night out in India. Things can only get better!

Points Awarded Blubberhouses:1 Burton Leonard:5

Fielding Points: J Wilkinson, J Fraser (No-one's quite sure why though)

Fact of the day: On March 24th 1989 the Exxon Valdez hit Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil which took months to cleanup. Lets hope Wilkie's dad can sort out the track at Blubberhouses a bit quicker after Thack's collision.

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