‘Marty, I can’t explain now,’ I said, looking him in the eye. He must have noticed the expression of anguish on my face because his tone softened. ‘Listen, Toby. There was an old guy called Jim in here before…’ ‘Jim? Where is he now?’ ‘Beats me.’ ‘How long ago?’ I was wondering if he’d seen the last half-hour. ‘Just after lunch. Toby, go and speak to him. You are both stressed about something.’ Marty raised his hands in a sign of surrender. ‘When you get yourself back here, be ready to play some cricket, okay?’ ‘Thanks, Marty. Don’t worry. As long as Jimbo’s batting, we’re a chance.’ We both turned as a loud shout erupted from the field. Marty groaned. ‘It’s a shame there’s no such thing as last man’s tucker in Ashes Tests.’ Grabbing a drink from the fridge at the back of the players’ viewing room I headed to the library. ‘Hi, David,’ I called out to the librarian. ‘Have you…Jim!’ The two of them were standing in front of the MCC library’s complete set of Wisdens.
