The last outing

Never mind India's return to form today (or England's, if you want to look at it like that), the most important result of the weekend was The Times's first ever win over the Lionel Lines XI on Saturday. The Lines, a strong club side who have existed for 20 years, play in North London on a wickedly sloping pitch, the sort where you need crampons if you are bowling in one direction and buffers in front of the crease if you are bowling down the hill.

In a thrilling match, which we won by four wickets with two overs to spare, your blogger didn't get to bat or bowl, but I did hold the catch of my life at square leg to take their fourth wicket, leaping high like a salmon to parry a hard-hit ball upwards and then catching it as it dropped back to earth. It was my first catch for The Times in five years after making two in my debut match and was a good way to end the final match of the season, a year in which The Times lost only one game, to the Daily Mail.