Anti Bakel protest inspires the Toffs to first win In Beijing in 1989 a lone protester halted a convoy of tanks in protest against the government. In 2003, Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands against the regime of Robert Mugabe. May 14 2011 saw a brave new stand being taken against an unpopular regime as a member of the Real Man Cricket (RMC) brotherhood took to the field sporting a green sombrero, the new symbol of the anti Bakel movement. Three iconic images of heroism in the face of tyranny To the game, Rich Lidsey came into the side in place of Phil Jordan who we hope will recover quickly from glandular fever. Colonel Bakel won the toss and asked Denby to have a bat. The Denby openers survived a really testing first 10 overs from Stew and Waz, scoring just 18 runs. But having got through that burst they began to play their shots and it was a relief when Shah got the first breakthrough with 42 on the board. Denby continued to make great progress and by drinks were on 96-1, with the impressive Perry-Taylor on 50. Bakel looked around, having already used four bowlers, swallowed his pride and approached his sombrero wearing nemisis who he’d tried to avoid using for so long “Erm, fancy a go Bill?”. 23.1 overs gone and Perry –Taylor was gone, caught and bowled by Billy. Duffield built on this as Billy claimed another 2 (to Bakel’s dismay) and Lids and Stew 1 apiece as Denby were reduced to 140-6. At this point the wheels came off the fielding somewhat and Denby posted 20 more than they should finishing on 184-7 with Stew claiming the final wicket and going for only 28 off his 14 overs. Bakel’s inner fury at Billy’s successful afternoon boiled over as he unleashed 4 overthrows to the fence. A sad footnote to the innings was that the “ivory” members of the attack bowled all 23 overs with the strong breeze and long straight boundary whilst all 23 overs into the gale with the small boundary were delivered by those of an “ebony” complexion. After tea the Duffield openers set off at a brisk pace, seemingly with one eye on the weather that was threatening to close in. After a quickfire 52 run stand Jenks was out trying one booming drive too many. Denby then fought back with regular wickets and tight bowling as Duffield slipped gradually to 116-5 as Pup (29), the Colonel (16), Roey (12) and Mush (8) all came snd went. With the required rate up to a run as ball, Duffield were no longer favourites to win. At this point Coxy and Waz joined forces for what proved to be the decisive partnership. At first they calmly settled in and then began to improve the rate, as the Denby attack began to throw in a few extras. They took the score to within 10 of victory before Coxy was dismissed, but Waz hit three boundaries in the next over to secure the win with 4 overs still to go. Probably the best performance of the season so far, and still there seemed a lot of scope for improvement, which can only be an encouraging thing. If the RMC movement can succeed in removing Colonel Bakel and allow the team to truly express themselves, it could result in a new golden era for the Toffs. The RMC movement is gathering momentum, brothers. You’ve been warned Colonel - RMC’s gonna get yer .