The side before the ninth and final game of the 1984 week

In those days the week was nine days, running from Saturday through to the following Sunday, and with the weather good and the pitches hard, we brushed aside all visitors in the day and drank King & Barnes, played the stump game, ate Chinese takeways and slept in the San by night.

In the first eight days, when the sun shone almost constantly, no oppoents passed 200 and only two managed to get over 150. In no game did we ever look in danger of losing, or really even of not winning. On the second Saturday, Isaac and Cardwell both scored hundreds as we amassed 297 for 2 and beat Nomads by 167 runs.

As the week wore on, it became clear the second Sunday would be the real test as we faced Lancing Rovers, who we had not beaten since 1963 and who had bowled us out three times for under 100 in the previous five years.

A full-strength side was put out and the weather was glorious. Lancing lost the toss and were stuck in, but after a solid start Howard, bowling with pace from the top end, removed Airey and Head within six balls, and Bugge, sharing the ball, had Heaslip caught at slip by Peter Russell to reduce Lancing to 38 for 3.

The moment of triumph at last as Steve Isaac and Johnny Bodansky return to the pavilion

Bugge marshalled his bowlers superbly and they were backed up with some excellent fielding. Runs came slowly, but the introduction of Webb half an hour before lunch really turned the game our way as he took four quick wickets to send Lancing into lunch on 71 for 7. Webb’s pre-lunch spell was 7-6-8-4

After the interval, although Webb continued to bowl naggingly – he was unchanged through to the end of the innings to finish with 6 for 51 – the usually reliable seamers rather went off the boil and Evans, batting at No. 9, made an excellent 68 not out, allowing Lancing to declare on 160 for 9. We had 107 minutes and 20 overs to make the runs.

Corp and Wilkie fell cheaply, both to catches behind the wicket, but Cardwell and Bugge calmed the nerves in a third-wicket stand of 87, seeing us into the last 20 in a commanding position. However, Cardwell’s dismissal triggered a collapse. He was followed next over by Simon Ward, run out for 0, and then Bugge, leg-before for 49, and Russell, bowled for 4. We had lost four wickets for 13 runs and at 120 for 6, were up against it.

We had Isaac and Bodansky in the middle, but after them the tail – Webb, Howard and Shelley – offered little as batsmen. But we need to have feared as Isaac took command, Bodansky kept his end up with assurance, and, amid much nail-biting on the pavilion balcony, they eased us towards victory. Fittingly, it was Isaac who hit the winning runs, pulling Airey for four through midwicket.

There was no wild celebrations - it had been a long nine days and the pavilion had to be cleared up - but there were s few pints of K&B sunk before the long journey home.

Lancing Rovers

M Ersking       lbw b Webb     27
J Airey   c Russell b Howard	8
S Head              b Howard    0
E Heaslip c Russell b Bugge     5
J Wills     c Bugge b Webb     36
P Baddeley   c Corp b Webb      8
N Bell          lbw b Webb      3
S Bell          lbw b Webb      0
N Evans             Not Out    68
M Bozman	    b Webb	0
B Evans             Not Out     0
Extras		                5
                              160-9

Fall: 24,29,38,48,60,63,71,144,160

Bowling: Howard 8-3-21-2; Bugge 12-2-38-1 Webb 19-6-51-6;
Isaac 11-4-25-0; Russell 3-0-20-0

I Wilkie c Baddeley b Bozman   11
H Corp	     c Head b Bell	3
D Cardwell	    b Bozman   39
D Bugge*	lbw b Airey    49
S Ward	            Run Out     0
S Isaac	            Not Out    32
P Russell           b Airey     4
J Bodansky          Not Out    11
Extras                         15
                              164-6

Fall: 10,20,107,109,115,120

Bowling: Bozman 17-4-52-2; N Bell 6-4-6-1 Wills 7.4-0-29-0;
S Bell 4-0-20-0; Head 4-0-17-0; Airey 11-4-20-1;
Evans 1-0-4-0

G Webb, P Shelley+,M Howard did not bat

Peter Shelley just fails to hold onto a thin edge from M Ersking off David Bugge