The Bogey man is put to sleep.
Yes, we pulled the bogeyman from under our beds, inserted a needle in his veins (always good to keep one handy) and put him to rest, for ever we hope. Our Bogeyman or Angstgegner or team that we recently have had very close games that didn’t go our way is Groningen.

Especially for our skipper Old Macdonald, who played a tie against them last year in his first game ever as a captain after hugging his openers at 9 runs from victory for no loss because he thought he was going to win his first game by 10 wickets. We then lost 10 wickets for 9 runs. We know you have never beaten Groningen. Never. Even now we check ecricket daily to see if their scoreboard isn’t still ticking over. You simply never have won, that is, until last Sunday.
We started batting despite losing the toss. Hans Uijting did a good job opening, by just staying there and seeing their best bowlers off. 5 runs in ten overs is a job well done. Haney went early and brought Duncan in who did the scoring and we were 30 for 1 after 10. Then Hans went and Richard Matchett came in to join Duncan. Now Duncan has a reputation that he statistically runs people out more often than we have rainless days in the summer (not that often he argues being soaked on the way in again.) The two of them do grand and add 40 runs in 8 overs and then disaster strikes. Richard calls for two and lo and behold Duncan is right about the rainy days, for one minute later it is he who is sitting at the side swearing that there were skidmarks on the grass to prove he had his bat on the ground. (What was it McEnroe used to scream – there was chalkdust!)
So Patrick Phillips goes in, to cries of ‘play yourself in Paddy, take your time, etc.’. Paddy crashes his third ball into the fence next to the sight screen and isn’t happy because he was trying to clear it. But he wont get a chance to improve his shot for after the next ball he is sitting next to Duncan in the corner reserved for players run out by Richard trying to think of a new nickname for him. ‘Only a fifty will save you they shouted towards the crease where Haans Smout had joined Richard they immediately agreed to only run the boundaries. And indeed they add another fify in 10 overs before Richard is caught on … 49. He bolted for the clubhouse with the excuse of making lunch… No, not really he was forgiven because of a fine batting performance that gave us a chance of a defendable total. Haans went for 14 and Tim, Fraas, Umer and the Skipper had 20 to add to push us up to 154. Never enough of course, because we’re playing Groningen. But who knows, with Paddy, Duncan and Richard steamed up – what might happen when we field?
Well Paris and Hilton (Umer and Fraas, but don’t ask which is which) had been out living the highlife the night before and it may have cost Mourinho the first aces prize, because Umer’s bowling was not at his usual level. 34-1 off five overs, the wicket coming off a spectacular reflex catch by Paddy in the slips that normally would never have been a wicket. But this was no normal game – and people were fired up… Richard delivered taking very important wickets with his 3-23 in 9.2. Paddy and Duncan backed him up this time (remember you can back up when your running too ladsJ) with great spells Paddy 2-35 in 10 and Duncan 4-38 in 10. Mention must be made of a Haans Smout running catch that everyone (maybe even Haans himself) had thought was a sure six. Cause the bowlers were on fire the skipper let them bowl through which was needed for it still got very close in the end. So the cheer was huge when Richard took their last wicket at 134 in the 33rd over. And the Bogeyman, may he rest in peace, moved on to a better place (or a warm dingy place its hard to tell).