On the back foot after the Tigers got off to a high-scoring start, Jay hit out confidently for his first home run of the season. And big-hitting newcomer Alex proved a useful addition to the team, as did Emily, on loan from her regular Super Hero duties, to bolster the diminishing troops. But constantly playing catch-up and the gloom of an overcast evening could perhaps be blamed for the litany of woes and the clouds of Deep Heat that then overcame them.

First Joanna felt the dreaded thigh twinge on her initial dash to first base, then Becky too was pulled up short, blaming it on the recurrence of a spacehopper related strain at the weekend. Adam in his familiar scrabble and slide to first base, was next to come a cropper as the ground became more treacherous due to the persistent rain. And to top it all, Ticklers veteran Mikey 'the crock' B, already suffering with a long-standing wrist problem and a new back twinge, dropped to the ground and writhed around in agony after Kyle threw a ball at his inside knee, as the Tigers blithely played on and ran for home.

He bravely executed a brilliant catch hard on the heels of his next pitch and his committed play helped keep the Ticklers in the match. The Tigers also managed to catch the Ticklers dozing and execute a triple play, with Leigh getting home notwithstanding. All the players left standing did a fantastic job but nothing could compensate for the limpers who try as  they might couldn't hop, skip or jump to first base. Spare man Kev was drafted in to provide a new pair of legs for Adam, and despite calls to put everyone out of their misery after five innings the Ticklers still didn't throw in the towel but tried to go the extra mile to catch up.

Alas, it wasn't to be, but they finished with heads high, with three great catches - one on each base. After the match, subcomandante Mike commented 'We could have walked it,if we'd been able to walk' and promptly called for shots all round to numb the collective pain. Do we see a dangerous precedent emerging here?

Final Score 18-13 to the Tigers

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