Our first venue, Marden, possibly the most luxurious ground on which any Bank team plays, had acquired a new scoreboard since last year, directly connected to the laptop on which the game was scored and input to playcricket. So we could see in real time how many balls each batter had faced, full (painful) bowling analyses, and mighty landmarks such as “Bank of England 100 runs”. With over 500 runs in the day, there were plenty of those for a large crowd to enjoy.

We batted first, so in contrast to 2018 the only way Marden could score 300 was if we scored 299. Shiraz Husain (54) and Max Palmer (47) gave us a brisk start. Jon Relleen had not picked up a bat for 2 years, but fortified by coronation chicken and port, he gradually morphed into a right handed Gower, never raising the ball but stroking it to all corners. He reached his 100, Andrew Merriman scampered, Yahya Soofi disposed of a sponsored ball in a distant stream, and we declared on a mighty 255-6.

Marden had around 40 overs to get over 250, which locals felt was tight. But they had a glittering array of international talent (S African accents) while we had several “mature” fielders including Riaz Husain kindly coming out of retirement to make us up to 11. Aaron Crane and Soofi kept it tight, and then their 1st XI captain gave a couple of chances before holing out to Richard Down. We eventually shifted one of the overseas players, there was another c Crane b Down and Aaron mopped up a couple, giving us some hope as one of their tail had been spotted leaving the ground, but in the end Marden had 8 overs to spare. For the full scorecard see here.

Tuesday

Leeds has the castle as a backdrop and alluring boundaries, including a large tree at mid on / third man. They had a young side, although Grace Scrivens, who had played against us last time, was on duty for England A – remember the name. The batting was cheery and uncomplicated, with retirements the main mode of departure until drinks. Later, Richard Kendall took a few wickets, and we were relatively happy that the total did not exceed 271.

This was reachable given that we had made a similar score in 2019, but this time Leeds had some first teamers, who tried out different skills – their normal wicketkeeper opened the bowling and took 2 wickets, while their wicketkeeper had no pads because it was his first time in the role. Shiraz Husain (32) and Max Palmer (58) again raced away to a big stand, while Henry Peirse (32) was more measured. There was a diversion when someone unplugged the scoreboard; wise not to irritate our scorer while he repaired it and tried to keep up with the game.

We got a bit stuck in the face of an accurate first team inswing bowler, but a flurry of boundaries from Richard K and Fred the Ringer allowed us to finish on a high note, albeit 60+ short. For the full scorecard see here.

Dinner afterwards at the pub owned by their captain’s family; serious calories consumed. The Leeds youngsters were very friendly – one of them discovered that his girlfriend’s mother had been on the Bank’s Management 1 course with your scribe. Stories about the last night singsong may have undermined his confidence in monetary policy.

Wednesday

Our visit to Bitchet Green to play Sevenoaks Wednesday is a big local occasion; a reception for VPs was in progress when we arrived. We were inserted, and Shiraz Husain (69) took his Bank tally for the week to 259, while Henry Peirse (53), Mark Roughley (52) and John Jackson (despite hospital repair of split webbing only days earlier) all cashed in. Mark retired after reaching 50 in 30 balls to allow Pieter from Bells Yew Green a chance to deploy his weird front on stance (he asks fielders not to laugh before he takes guard), and he smashed a 4 as well before we took pity on the tiring bowlers. Surely 231-3 was enough?

After two overs, by which time the score was 33, made clear that it was not. SW had yet another S African pro. The sponsored ball was lost, the search parties were in danger of being hit by spares flying over the hedges, and Mo Dilshad had taken himself off. Mark Roughley and Richard Down both sustained hand injuries trying to take miraculous c and bs which might have saved the game. Eyebrows were raised when Mr Pienaar went well past his century before retiring; perhaps the later batters were fragile, but we shall never know. The only wicket fell to a catch by our distinguished local BoE agent, Phil Eckersley. For the full scorecard see here.

And so it ended – sunshine, good food, old friends, nearly 700 runs in 3 days at up to 7 an over, and yet 3 defeats. We do need a few of the club elite, especially bowlers, to help us tackle the S Africans who have taken root in this lovely part of the world. Perhaps the 2023 edition, which is also the 100th anniversary of the tour, will be as successful on the field as off it?