This is the third time I've written this report now and I'm sodding p#@sed off about it. Word keeps crashing when I try to save it and I can't recover the file. I didn't think that kind of thing happened any more. I blame Vista.

As a result, here's a very brief re-write…

Rust (r st) n.

1. Any of various powdery or scaly reddish-brown or reddish-yellow hydrated ferric oxides formed on iron and iron-containing materials by low-temperature oxidation in the presence of water.

2. Any of various metallic coatings, especially oxides, formed by corrosion.

3. A stain or coating resembling iron rust.

4. Deterioration, as of ability, resulting from inactivity or neglect.

5. Botany a. Rust fungus. b. A plant disease caused by a rust fungus, characterized by reddish or brownish spots on leaves, stems, and other parts.

6. A strong brown.

A rusty performance from HOBs with some of our usual talent misfiring. Some very good individual performances though, most notably from Mike Sergeant with the bat, Ed Davies with the ball and Jon Smith (Man of the Match) with both bat and ball.

Having said that, it was pretty close in the end. Failand & Portbury scored the winning runs in the gathering darkness with only 3 balls remaining to a HOBs field reduced to relying on their sense of smell to track the ball (which Al Pearce managed with remarkable success on one occasion).

Sorry for the lack of detail but I couldn't bring myself to re-type the first draft in all its elegance, besides which the thumping noise from the room above indicates that my son has awoken and is jettisoning all his toys from his cot - I'd best go and attend.