With nothing resting on the outcome of this match it was, perhaps, unsurprising that the players needed some cajoling from Graham Burgess and Barry Dudleston when damp weather marred the opening day of the Whitgift Festival. But a decent-sized half-term holiday crowd obligated both sides to, at the very least, go through the motions, which they did for 24 overs, spread over two acts, before the umpires called an end at 6.30pm to what had eventually become a charade.

With Mark Butcher and Mark Ramprakash both resting ahead of tomorrow's four-day clash against Somerset, Alistair Brown took charge of the Brown Caps, who handed a one-day debut to Stuart Meaker; a 19-year-old fast bowler who moved to the UK from South Africa seven years ago.

Play began at 3.00pm and the visitors' decision to field soon looked to be the correct one. In the third over James Benning was dropped at second slip, on two, by Chris Adams, who promptly left the field to receive attention to a finger injury. Later in the same over, Scott Newman struck the day's first boundary when he cut James Kirtley to the rope at third man.

When Benning departed in the next over, caught at mid-off off the bowling of Robin Martin-Jenkins, Matthew Spriegel, making only his second one-day appearance, came out to bat at his old school and got off the mark with a two to cover.

In the fifth over, Newman edged Kirtley to third man for four, but there was nothing fortuitous about his drive through extra cover later in the same over. After Spriegel was the beneficiary of four overthrows, Newman pulled Martin-Jenkins past mid-on for his fourth boundary. The left-hander's fifth, sixth and seventh came in the seventh over, which was followed by a 45-minute break for light rain.

After the delay, Newman pulled Martin-Jenkins past mid-on for four and, two overs later, Spriegel clipped the 32-year-old all-rounder to the mid-wicket boundary. Newman then pulled Chris Liddle, who had sent down a tight first over, emphatically for six.

The introduction of Ragheb Aga brought the wickets of both Newman, who played Aga's third ball on to his middle stump for 45, and Spriegel, who was caught behind trying to run the 23-year-old down to third man. Two overs later, after flicking Aga to the fine leg boundary, Brown dragged on for eight to make it 81-4.

Usman Afzaal and Jonathan Batty took a few overs to play themselves in, but in the eighteenth, which was bowled by Aga, Afzaal rewarded the crowd's patience with four sixes in as many balls. The first was launched straight back over the bowler's head. The second was picked up over wide mid-on. The third disappeared over long-off and the fourth cleared the rope at deep square leg.

Afzaal was not finished there. In the 19th over, Tom Smith was lifted for a straight maximum. However, the 20-year-old slow left-armer had his revenge when the former Notts and Northants man holed out to long-on for a 21-ball 43.

Batty then took up the reins and pulled Smith for six. Gary Wilson also got in on the act by reverse sweeping the Eastbourne-born youngster for two fours. The last meaningful action came when Batty flat batted Carl Hopkinson for a straight four and, next ball, drove him to the same destination.

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