Both sides, as has been their wont in recent years, struggled to raise a side; the days when the Rambler Match Manager would receive a letter signed by up to 8 Rambler members of both Houses of Parliament, and the balance made of up journalists and policemen, who were regular cricketers, have vanished with the removal of the match from London, the abolition of hereditary peers, the change in background of members of the House of Commons and its being played on a Friday.

Two members of the House of Commons and one member of the House of Lords played this year and it was only due to great efforts by Bobby Lowe that a side was raised at all, and even by the standards of recent years they were not a strong side, although they could have been helped by more generous umpiring.

The Lords and Commons batted first and the younger Lowe with 43 gave them a decent start but from 74 for 2 they subsided to 140 all out. The Ramblers took a mere 14 overs to knock off the runs, Ed Rowell’s 44 being the main contributor.

Your correspondent – who at the time had access to Burton’s Court – was responsible for the restoration of this fixture in 1970. In recent years it has become a very one sided match – and both sides have struggled for players. It would seem that unless a ground can be arranged mid week back in Central London – where the whips can be pacified – ministers (and the Mayor of London!) dragged from their desks and the Ramblers can deep again into their more elderly players, this match should be given a decent farewell.