"Just love it when a plan comes together" (Hannibal Smith, the A team, July 1983 & the Skipper, Wanderers, August 2023).

The opposition: Hyde, a strong mix of talented juniors and experienced senior players; victorious over us earlier in the season.
The pitch: 'a road' according to informant Matt Laker, a good looking batting paradise with usually fast, though slightly wet but drying outfield.
The team: well earned promotions for Matty T and Arhum meant debuts for Nik Hinduja and returns for Jimmy Coventry and Ankur B, who generously agreed to grab the gloves again.
The prize: one more win for mathematical safety. Defeat and uncertainty reigns.
The plan: win toss. Bowl first. Restrict them to 160, using tight lines from very good seam and spin attack. Bat sensibly and chase down as outfield dries. Simple.

And that's exactly what happened. :-)

Perhaps a bit more detail? Okay.

So, they started smoothly, handling Ahmad and Amjad capably until Ben decided to begin his audition for an alternative career as a juggler, and somehow managed to hold onto a tough catch in cover. Eventually.

Then, we started to tighten the screw, with Usman almost completely stopping the flow of runs from one end, through some simply outstanding line and length discipline and some noticeable turn. His dots allowed the other bowlers to flourish, as first, a sharp piece of work from debutant Nik allowed Ankur to whip off the bails and claim his first victim, before Harry forced a false shot from the next batter for Ben to grab his second catch of the afternoon.

After a short but highly impressive blast from Nik, Nazim then returned to the Wanderers attack, and was simply too clever for the Hyde batters, getting considerable turn and whipping out a couple to end with figures of 2 for 10 off 5 overs. Brilliant effort Naz.

As we continued to strangle them, we returned to the seamers to try and wipe out their tail. Which Ahmad almost did by bowling an accidental fast beamer to their No.8. Luckily, instead of wiping him out, he hooked it gloriously for a maximum. Undoubtedly the shot of the day.

Amjad, as ever, quietly and frugally got on with his work, beating the bat regularly and being finally rewarded by the wicket of their major run scorer to deprive him of a justified fifty. Them's the breaks.

Nik's second spell was hugely impressive for a young man adjusting to longer pitches, with genuine pace and some excellent shapes - and he was finally rewarded by Ben (hereafter forever known as 'the juggler') showing that as long as the ball doesn't hit the turf, you can juggle it as much as you like. Ben is now booking as an entertainer at children's parties, but don't let him near any flaming torches just yet.

Ahmad showed how simple catching can be, by nonchalantly grabbing a screaming one hander at the death, to give Nik his second, and very well deserved, wicket.

The pick of our bowlers was Usman though. No wickets, but he set up the other bowlers to grab the limelight by absolutely strangling the runs from one end. Thanks, my friend - you deserved a five-for and got none. Shout out also to Ankur, who did a fabulous job behind the stumps - he literally can do everything on a cricket field.

So part one of the plan done. Chasing down 147, with a stacked batting line up and drying pitch. No bother.

Hmm. Things didn't start quite like that, with three LBWs awarded to them up top, as Ben, Tony and James departed quickly, and soon we were on 28-3 and rocking a little. The skipper joined Usman with a plan to rerun the successful partnership from last week, and it was going well until the well set Ussie mistimed one to cover.

Nik then joined the skip, and we reminded ourselves of the plan. To occupy the crease, bat the overs and win the game through focus, patience and shot picking. That's sometimes hard for younger players, bred on a diet of T20 innings and the Hundred, but Nik took to it beautifully, with some rock solid defensive shots and some classical, powerful drives on both sides of the wicket.

At the other end, the skipper did the same. Bat long enough and the bad balls will come. And they did. And they were dispatched. Mostly. Well, often. Okay, sometimes.

A 25 partnership turned into a 50 partnership, to a 75 partnership and by the time they celebrated a 100 partnership, the skipper had his first 50 of the season, and the game was up for Hyde. It just needed another controlled punch through the offside from Nik to finish it off.

Any other week WoW could have been the Juggler or Ussie for his stranglehold on their innings. But we decided that it should be shared between Nik, for some outstanding work with the ball and the bat on his debut, and the skipper for his undefeated 59.

Win toss. Bowl first. Restrict them. Bat sensibly and chase down. Win game. Simple. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?