The tourists were Ben, Doc, Ivor, Mick, Harley, Rich, Lol, Dave M., Jon, Geoff, Simon, Footie, Robin ( Catus only), Dave J ( crocked non- player).

 We stayed at the familiar Campanile Hotel, nice and cheap, and with an optional shuttle service by the Footie-taxi to the hotspots of downtown Villeneuve (thanks K) . The old Venturers maxim of Tanning, Gelling, Winning, was uppermost in our minds and with Ivor's supply of lotion too late for the kitbag (Lol to the rescue), gel from Mr Voltarol and occasional thoughts of last year when we scythed through the Damazan batting after great knocks from Ivor, Rich and Steve G. After the Friday- night meal some of us were kindly returned to the hotel by the restauranteur while the rest went in search of some sort of hot spot. Mulligan's was the warmest. 

Damazan was warm too, on Saturday, and we found that Gagan S. was crocked, didn't in fact bat, and had to bowl his slow stuff, and that Goffy was absent. Skipper Wilson, in a spirit of optimism, agreed for Damazan to bat first (35 overs) - and it was looking good for a while with Lol finding his length ( the first ball of the tour went for 4) . In his third over he removed the off-stump of their best player (we were told) who had smacked three fours, and his first spell only yielded 15 runs. At the other end Ben, though he eventually went wicketless, found a good method of bowling on this pitch, not at full pace, and was the most economical bowler (0-32) but we had to concentrate and keep a lid on it as there was never a sign of a batting collapse -the boundaries were frequent even as wickets fell. Footie had to go and move one of the cars. Change-bowler JP  managed a c/b in his fourth over and later provoked a great boundary-catch by Doc off the first ball of his last over. Doc also caught one off DM who had just had a frantic lbw appeal turned down. Dave's adrenaline was up and he promptly turned one past a flailing bat for his second wicket. Ivor's spell was more costly, but  he started off with a wicket, a Ben-catch, who also held on to one off a returning Lol to give him his second wicket, the previous ball being a near c/b. So Lol, Jon, Dave and Ivor all got wickets, and Ben should have - missed catching chances were sharp - but the lid had been kept on even though it looked like bubbling over at times, and the ball was still threatening the parked cars . At the end -  225-7.

 Ivor maybe thought that a winning 226 wasn't beyond the realms of fantasy, but he'd decided that the idea of Mick and DM as an opening pair was just drunken-babble at Mulligan's, so it was himself and Rich who went out to face the first ball. Just as well, as the attack was fierce and restrictive to 3 an over - never enough for us and the fantasy dissolved in the sunshine. They hung-in there for ten overs and there was rather a lot of ball thudding onto unprotected flesh, to Rich's obvious irritation. Damazan were looking like a very good league side, but Ivor and Rich also looked  like an authentic opening pair, and their 14 and 16 respectively were hard-fought for - Rich hit two fours and Ivor three fours. Once they had gone -by the sixteenth over -  Rich stumped, Ivor bowled - it was left to JP and Ben just to see it through, the bowling was too tight. Ben's innings was one of his best, amassing eight fours and driving Gagan straight, ably helped by JP who restricted himself to singles, mostly. Ben was only out, having got his 50, on the last ball, blinded by the late sun and ducking under a looper from Susie S. which demolished the bails. He'd hit 12 off the over but still provided a brown- ale moment..! He had just been joined near the end by Mick (replacing a stumped Jon off a Gagan spinner for 12) who displayed his dead- bat technique again whilst also indulging in three casually-stroked Goweresque singles. Total 133-4. We may have been well beaten, but on the bright side we only lost four wickets, Ben got a fifty, and ( I like to think) every so often Rohan' wise words were ringing in our ears as we stood in the field - " Look around and think, 'This is Great!' " Afterwards there was Voltarol for Rich, speeches, armagnac from Jean-Claude, and the trip back.

It was a misty Sunday matin as we motored eastwards towards Catus, quietly grooving to Ivor's sensuous chantoozies. He'd emerged from his hotel room in skin-tight joggers and batting-helmet, keen to get going. It was a mindset that produced dividends later. The sun came out as we parked-up, and the melange of Vs were re-united with Robin, international traveller and opening bat. There was no toss and we batted first, with Ben maybe remembering our last batting collapse here ( though we were dug out by Steve and Rohan). Catus kindly provided umpires..good news for Footie and DJ who was free to try and get some pics of bowling actions, but missed the wickets of course. And they, initially, came quickly. Robin snicked-on second ball, Simon couldn't improve on last year's 3, Geoff hit our first four before hitting a catch to mid- wicket, Harley smacked ( yes!) a four nearly in the river before being bowled for 6, and Doc was caught at the wicket. We were 29-5 in the 12th over, and the umpire was enquiring if we'd reversed our batting order (which didn't amuse skipper Ben) but the cavalry arrived with an Ivor/Ben partnership of 91 in 19 overs. It must be said that Ben's 23 was as good as his 50 the day before - a model of stubborn support for his partner who was so in form that his 87 not out featured 8  fours and 4 sixes. But they ran the singles beautifully too, as the Catus quickies busted a gut to try to get them out. Given time,  a century for Ivor would have been a formality, but there wasn't quite enough. Ben departed eventually, caught at the wicket; Rich came and went but struck a four, and a cameo from Lol featured a six and a four in his 16 not out. Thus, everyone batted on tour, and the total was 171-7, pretty good considering, and Ivor was his bashful self afterwards. A grand tea!

 Catus' main quickie, the one with the long run-up, opened the batting with a display of six-hitting , and seemed to want to win the game on his own. He didn't get much change from Lol,  who only conceeded 3 boundaries in 5 overs, but he saw off Geoff, hitting 24 in the one over, and was soon heaving away at Jon and Ivor. His partner could hit a four, too, and they put on 100 in 10 overs just before the first wicket fell. It was looking grim for us, but a good period of bowling put us back in it. Ivor trapped the main man lbw for 75, his partner miscued one to Ivor off Lol, and DM bowled the No.3 who had just hit 3 sixes. Suddenly the scoring rate slowed, and there was much drama in the final six overs with five wickets falling and Catus in sight of the line. Highlights were DM on a hat-trick first ball of his last over, Ivor taking wickets in successive overs, one being a wicket-maiden, JP demonstrating a c/b again, Doc re-adjusting himself for an overhead catch off DM's bowling, and the ball flying agonisingly just over Robin's head...but the end came with a six towards the crowd in the 23rd over, and they'd won with two wickets to spare, a close - run thing. Fair play, Catus.!    Ivor reported later that he'd overheard the verbal exchange of the tour at Catus, ie., Bowler- 'Can I come Inside you?' Umpire- ' Of course you can..' But there were more trad. awards to think about, and not dwell on losing three games in a week.

MC Doc officiated and there were many contenders for the Tour Awards. Robin hung on to the Brown-Ale with 'being locked outside his hotel room without trousers, DM's Champagne moment defeating a reverse sweep, (so satisfying),  DJ got the sympathy-vote as Tourist, Lol was the Bowler of the Tour, Ben was the batsman, and, overwhelmingly it was Ivor as Player of the Tour. The Catch was Doc's at Catus, which almost swung it, ...and there were honorable mentions of Rich's batting, DM's bowling (most wickets, 5) JB's c/b,twice!, Simon and Harley in the field, fearless, Footie shouting at the scorers, Robin's kit, Harley's four, Geoff's good humour.

Lol 13-0-69-3: Geoff 1-0-24-0: Jon P. 8.3-0-61-3: Ivor 13-1-113-4: Dave M. 15-0-93-5: Ben 8-1-32-0.     DJ.

soon