BEGINNERS' luck served me well on my bat and trap debut, but it soon ran out.

If, like me, you have never heard of the game, bat and trap is similar to cricket except it is played in pub beer gardens, and evidently only in Kent.

Luke Murray, 12, showed me how to flick the ball in the air and whack it through two posts 21 yards away.

Players are out if the bowlers at the other end can roll it at a tiny target on the ground, or if they hit the ball wide of the goalposts.

In spite of my ignorance, Luke's dad Kieran and the regulars at The Old Jail, in Biggin Hill, handed me a bright pink shirt and selected me for their crucial Sevenoaks and District League game against The Stanhope.

Warming up, I found an orthodox tennis-swing technique consistently found the goal.

But games are won and lost with the ball, so I tried bowling.

My first throw sailed along the turf and cracked the target head on. My colleagues' eyebrows raised collectively. It seemed I was a natural.

The Stanhope elected to bat first, and a good individual score is around 20. But their third man scored a huge 36 before thankfully hitting the ball wide. I had gone frustratingly close with my throws – but all missed.

I failed to dismiss the next three men, either. Richard Brooks finally had the fourth man walking back to his pint, and we were sent to bat with a huge 55 to beat.

In the unlikely event they were necessary, The Stanhope still had two batsmen to come.

I took heart from there being no pressure on me to put in a winning innings.

However, The Stanhope's bowlers fared worse than us and after what seemed like hours I was called up to the trap.

My talented teammates had amassed 92 for the loss of just four men and the game was up for grabs again.

Suddenly the 13ft-wide target seemed miniscule under floodlights. I was a bag of nerves.

I flicked the ball up, struck it hard and it sailed wide to the left.

I was shamefully out first ball.

Fortunately The Stanhope's last two batsmen, fed up with what was becoming a marathon match, failed to make up the deficit. The Old Jail had romped to victory 134-61, no thanks to me.

I had great fun, and encourage others to have a go at the league's charity open day at The Tally Ho, in Knockholt, on August 15 from 1pm. You can't be worse than me.