It has been said that there are other sports showcases going on this summer; other draws on the national attention span. In cricketing terms, whilst England’s dismantling of Australia may have proved a minor distraction, from the size of the crowd gathered at Aigburth CC it was evident that Action Cricket Club versus the Bar was the tie on everyone’s lips. A crowd so determined that even M. Armstrong’s attempts to harm as many as possible in a savage attack did little to dampen spirits. The Bar lost the toss and were sent into the field, no doubt with the opposition taking account of the hot-house conditions and the fact that we were one or two counsel short just moments before the start of play. Although hard work in the heat, bowling proved to be a surprising strong suit, with C Prior striking early and J Brownson using the most delicate and intentional of flicks to run out numbers one and three respectively. We pause at this stage to ask: how is it possible for batsmen to have crossed on the wicket and yet still be at their original ends when complaining to the umpire? Unfortunately that was not a question that troubled the umpire. Undeterred by wayward decisions, the Bar’s bowling attack was relentless. Wickets fell quickly without much activity in the scorebook and each new bowler seemed to buy into the ethos of bowling “the Bar way”; every spell starting with a trademark wide. D Tinkler and C Prior polished things off, with M Armstrong deserving of a mention for a spectacular diving catch in front of him at point; made all the more spectacular by his little finger trying a daring break for freedom and being left at right angles to the rest of his digits. 91 all out for top-of-the-league Action. [Ed – slightly disappointed the 3 wicketkeeping catches didn’t get a mention in the original draft, albeit such impressive stats behind the stumps have become the norm these days] The Bar started well in response. T Clarke and J Brownson put on a 50 partnership in 30 balls. Clarke provided the sparkle with a bat made of nothing but middle, whilst Brownson contributed a 6 which may well still be travelling to this day. Once broken however, A Jones took the sporting decision to give Action a chance in the game; falling for a golden duck with a hoik across the line that only just entered the same postcode as the ball. With M Chester adding little thereafter it was left to P Harthan and D Tinkler to guide the team home. This was achieved with aplomb - Harthan barely breaking a sweat and D Tinkler feeling comfortable enough to dance down the wicket with single figures required. C Prior at square leg was asked the question for a stumping by a now irate Action side, who all threw their toys out of the pram at once when the shake of the head came. For the record, Tinkler was in by at least 2 feet. All-in-all a well-deserved upset with 92 runs knocked off in 12 overs to tighten the race for Division A cricket.