Shape of things to come?

Paradise at last: Falmouth's ground © Wisden Cricketer

Edward is 19 years old. He is 6ft 6in and has the gangling gait of a generation of West Indian quicks. Edward opened the bowling for Antigua and Barbuda against Zimbabwe last season. I am 5ft 6in and 29 years old. Last season I couldn't get into the Shepherds Bush 1st XI. Edward turns at the top of his run-up, fixes me a stare and starts his approach. Moving wide of the crease, he delivers a bouncer. The ball soars over my head and crashes into the boundary. Welcome to Antigua.

Our tour was 18 months in the making. Our secretary, Imran, made endless calls to the Antigua Cricket Board but no one could help. His first contact promised he could arrange everything but went incommunicado. Another official was helpful but he was seconded on to the World Cup committee. With only days to go before we flew to Antigua we were staggered to find we were due to play the full Antigua team twice and the under-19 side once. We were not even sending our 1st XI.

It soon started to go off the rails. Our opponents kept changing - often at the last minute. Our matches against Antigua never took place and we were not given a convincing excuse.

The only fixture that went ahead as planned was against the Under-19s, where I met Edward. The match was played against a stunning backdrop at Falmouth - mountains rising on two sides of the ground and the local harbour visible from the pavilion end. This was everything we hoped for. Their enthusiasm to knock our heads off meant extras played a tidy innings and we set a half-decent total of 130. Rain meant the game was then reduced to 25 overs and the under-19s scraped home by two wickets. Edward hit the winning runs.

We ended our tour applying lotions to our bruises but also angry with the administrators. If they could barely organise a small club tour, how will they cope with the World Cup?

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