Another balmy Saturday arrived following a week that tested the HOF's administrators' dexterity in producing two sides capable of holding their own in the Surrey Downs League, and as usual it was an experimental HOF's 2nd XI that sat-nav'd their way to Old Woking's functional if heavily disguised ground that lay between No's 95 and 97 of somewhere akin to Coronation Street. Captain "Woll" Hammond and all-rounder Neilo Skinner had been late drafts into the 1st XI and so a depleted 2nd XI took the pitch against a keen looking Old Woking side. This was something of a relegation scrap because neither team had thus far featured in the 3rd Division table promotion-place betting, but there was a feeling of expectation when the previously AWOL Waller was pencilled into the HOF's batting order at No 5.

Unfortunately Waller's vehicle was not sat-navved and his presence at the ground was still anxiously awaited as openers Wood and Hufton strode to the middle to open the batting. Alas, Wood who is returning to the Headley fold after many years in the wilderness was unable to dominate and soon departed, followed quickly by wicket keeper Richardson who had dropped down the order to walkie-talkie Waller to the ground from the pavilion. So HOF's 5 for 2 and not looking in great shape … but nobody told No 4 batsman Ben Whiting there was a crisis as he strode out in full view of his nervous looking parents, to start to save the day. Hufton was still in-situ, looking for a partner - and Whiting was the man for the job. A partnership of over 60 runs followed with sweet shots from both batsmen and Old Woking looking shell-shocked. This caused the introduction of their leggie in a bid to stem the flow of runs. Hufton soon departed to this bowler's mix of long hops, full tosses and unplayable length-balls and Waller strode to the crease with great expectations from the patchy crowd. Waller soon swept at the leggie's "Shane Warne to Mike Gatting" ball and was comprehensively bowled behind his legs by one that "turned faster than a Black & Decker power drill" and repaired to the pavilion to dig out his protractor and compass to work out geometrically how anybody could have played that particular ball.

Whilst Waller toiled away at this complex puzzle, Whiting was steadily making hay, having been joined by a mixture of debutant Mohammed "Mo" Siddique who contributed a promising 20-odd; stand-in skipper Clarke who as usual contributed little by way of runs; and latterly by Smith who bolted his feet to the crease in his customary way and drilled each delivery firmly back to the bowler. So, with the 45th over approaching and Whiting nearing his 100 it was time for the crucial decision - bat onto the 48th over and let him get his ton, or declare at 45 and leave yourself more over's to bowl the oppo out. Clarke thought about his bowling options and counted up to five match-winning supermen before running dry, so the decision was to carry on and hope that Whiting got his ton - which he duly did with one ball remaining.

HOF's started with Waller's usual mix of left-arm in-duckers and "leave-alones" at one end, and new-boy Mo Siddique at the "slightly-nicer-back-gardens" end of Old Woking. What a revelation Mo was to prove, bolting in off a longish run, darting the ball this-way and that-, and getting the occasional one to spit off a length. Soon Old Woking were in trouble at 30 - 3 with Mo having accounted for all 3 victims the combination of himself and Waller was proving difficult to score against. But Mo needed a rest from his physical exertions and Waller was required later in the innings, so changes were called for and the slow left arm of Sunderland was called upon together with the now rested but pumped-up Whiting. Both bowled tidy spells with Sunderland especially causing Old Woking some problems with his line & length and another 4 wickets fell in a fairly short time. At this stage with the oppo around 110 - 7 HOF's looked good for a much-needed win, but Woking had some cards to play and they weren't jokers. Their opening-bowler-cum-slogger was joined at the crease by one of the young bucks, and both started to play their shots with a shortage of fear, to all points of the ground and the score rattled up to 150 fairly quickly with a win now looking possible for Old Woking.

Several things conspired against HOF's at this crucial time: Smith had to leave the field to attend a picnic organised by Mrs S. somewhere in Epsom; Wood suffered a muscle-related injury whilst attempting a fairly straightforward pick-up at slip; and Siddique tried in vain to produce another spell of magic but was thwarted by a side injury and was unable to bowl a planned second spell. However Waller was not through, and his re-introduction saw off the beefy opening-bowler-cum-slogger and very soon the No 10 batsman perished as well. HOF's pressed for the last wicket and Waller had a supremely adjacent LBW appeal turned down by Old Woking's umpire with the totally inappropriate "very close but I'm a batsman" answer to the appeal and following the back-up question of "how close was that ump?". With this scare in mind and Waller chomping at the bit, Old Woking hunkered down to bat-out the last two over's having settled for the dreaded draw.

After the match there was a much enjoyed jug produced by Whiting, and the elders of the HOF's team were heard muttering about whether this ageing team could compete for honours this season, or would it be one of consolidation. There seemed to be no successful resolution to this defining question as all & sundry departed to the comfort of their various nursing-homes.