Morning Baptism then an afternoon at the Ageas Bowl

The weather seemed to be a bit cooler today but the temperature soon rose into the upper 20s – but certainly cooler than yesterday.  I attended All Saints Church this morning where I was the sidesman.  There were supposed to be two of us but the other person did not turn up.  An interesting service combining a baptism, Eucharist and healing service all in one.  I am not sure that is such a good idea especially when over two-thirds of the congregants are the baptism party.  It was, however, a really nice service with Nils preaching on Mary and Martha – one of my favourites in the bible. David called for me at 11.30 a.m. and we set off for the Ageas Bowl with him driving under my directions.  We arrived quite early although the car park was already very full.  This morning there was a T10 match for the disabled using a ball with a bell as some of the players were blind.  Amazing how they can still hit the ball without being able to see it! We had taken packed lunches which we shared supplemented by drinks from the Members’ Bar in the Pavilion.  A lovely afternoon of watching first class cricket; but not such a good afternoon for Hampshire who lost to Kent by eight runs.  Hampshire could have so easily won the match if it wasn’t for poor bowling and fielding which cost them fourteen extras to Kent.  Saving those alone would have been enough.  They also didn’t take the sort of risks necessary in T20 cricket e.g. they only took singles when two runs could have been possible. Somehow they remain on top of the table with a game in hand.  Looking forward to seeing them take on Essex next Friday evening. Watched some baseball on TV when I got home. Still so very hot and difficult to sleep again tonight.