Last year’s defeat to Stevens & Bolton had been lingering for far too long, so when the annual cricket match came around again, Citywide had one objective: get the win back. With temperatures soaring throughout the afternoon, it was less a game of cricket and more a test of who could survive the heat.

There was just one slight problem… Simon, Gemma and I somehow found ourselves playing for Stevens & Bolton after being drafted in to even up the numbers. Becoming temporary traitors wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but it did give us the rare opportunity to spend the afternoon trying to get one over on our own colleagues.

I may have been wearing the wrong shirt, but that didn’t stop me from giving Citywide plenty of stick from the other side. Every dropped catch, wild shot and wayward delivery received the immediate, and very public, commentary it deserved. Judging by some of the bowling on display, a few people seemed to have forgotten how to throw a ball altogether – which only made the heckling even more enjoyable.

There were plenty of memorable moments throughout the afternoon. Simon produced the ball of the day by clean bowling Matt, proving that wearing the opposition’s colours hadn’t affected his competitive spirit.

Meanwhile, many team members Julia, Petra, Elke, Gemma and Nicky tried their hand at bowling for the first time – showing a fantastic willingness to jump in and give it a go.

Despite our best efforts to help the opposition, Team Citywide weren’t having any of it. They put in a brilliant performance to finally get their revenge over Stevens & Bolton, with Tomos stepping up at the crease to seal the victory and secure the bragging rights after last year’s defeat.

Once the final ball had been bowled and everyone had managed to cool down, we swapped cricket bats for cold drinks and tucked into plenty of pizza while celebrating a well-earned victory. Another brilliant afternoon in the sunshine, plenty of laughs, and most importantly, Citywide finally got the result they’d been waiting a year for.

by Max Sapsed, Citywide Cricket Correpondent and part-time Client Services Executive