With a new format which is sure to rock the International Cricket Council to its very foundations, villagers from both northern and southern hemispheres staged the inaugural Fernhurst World Cup.

The heatwave having truly broken, Woody Scotson led out his Southern hemisphere team of Kiwis, Saffers and Aussies in light rain. This was a pairs fomat, beginning on 100 runs with -5 for every wicket. Northern openers Joe Unwin and Steve Tytler got stuck in straight away with 19 and 24 runs respectively. Sam and Jon Meier both did well (28 for Sam) while Matt Westley and Bill Gourlay signalled their availability for IPL contracts. Treat of the innings was the last stand by Fernhurst junior players Wilby Westley and James Vigar who ran many nifty singles to add nine runs, topping up the Northern hemisphere score to 271. International Man of Mystery Mick Gill along with ‘Roger’ were the pick of the Southern bowlers with two wickets apiece.

As conditions dried out, an ‘administrative tea’ was hoovered up quicker than you could say ‘pavilion double booking’. Southern began their innings with two wickets in the first over and it never really improved from there. They were in deficit early on as it became apparent they weren’t stuffed with the much-predicted ringers. Simon Vigar, Mark Langridge, Steve Tytler and Rupert Raymond claimed two wickets each while Joe Unwin and Matt Westley claimed three. Sam Meier got four and Bill Gourlay an astonishing six in just 12 balls. There was also a wicket each for Wilby, James and Fernhurst’s secret weapon, Tim Freeman. Woody then came in for a big blast, hitting a net 22 runs, but it was too late. The Southern hemisphere boys finished on 87. However, the score really wasn’t the point.

A happy afternoon was capped off with a BBQ for all the families and an agreement that the Fernhurst World Cup is a fixture for many years to come.