Thursday May 21 at Barn Elms
Strollers lost by 39 runs
Bricklayers Arms 164-5
(20 overs; Wall 2-21, Macaulay 2-39)
Strollers 125
(18.4 overs; Robertson 35, Allen 21, Josh Shattock 17, Markham 17, Le Serve 12)
Opening day of the Strollers 2026 midweek campaign and the chaos began even before a ball was bowled, when skipper Rob Wall was spotted pedalling off in the opposite direction from the ground, unable to find anywhere to dock his Lime Bike near Barn Elms.
Having missed the toss, he eventually arrived on foot, to learn that Alastair Macaulay in his place had lost it, and the Bricklayers had elected to bat.
What followed was a fairly forgettable outing with the ball. The Strollers attack leaked runs steadily, with only Macaulay and Wall among the wickets, taking two Bricklayers scalps apiece.
A generous 36 extras and a fair amount of misfielding helped Bricklayers to a healthy 164-5 after 20 overs – a total that always looked like it might be beyond the Strollers' reach.
The reply started in the best possible fashion. Pete Robertson took the game away from the bowlers early, cracking four boundaries in a rapid opening burst before retiring after just three overs with 31 to his name.
But with the platform set, the middle order could not kick on – tight spin bowling from Anil (3-16), Luke (3-27) and Riaz (2-12) squeezed the innings, with wickets falling regularly through the middle order with Jack Le Serve (12), Josh Shattock (17), George Markham (17) and James Allan (21) all falling before retirement.
Robertson came back to the crease as the innings wound down, but was bowled shortly after, meaning The Strollers were all out for 125, 39 runs short – a defeat that meant only one thing: off to the Red Lion for drinks.
Capt: Rob Wall. Wkt: Kevin Patterson.
Match fees: Glen Oliver. Match report: Pete Robertson.