Good weather for cricket? I wouldn't bet on it

It's Sunday, the sun is shining, perfect weather for cricket. Unfortunately I went to the England v New Zealand test match yesterday.

The weather forecast was pretty conclusive - there was going to be light rain over London all day from mid-morning. But that didn't put off the thousands who turned up to Lords, leading me to wonder whether we are, at heart, a nation of optimists.

Fine rain was already falling when we parked the car so I offered Charles Godden, my host, a £10 bet that there would be no play that day. He took it immediately. Walking to the ground, additional to that bet, he said he would give me 2-1 for £50 against his hundred.

It was tempting - a win would leave me £110 up. A loss would cost me the price of my ticket, £60, which Charles wouldn't let me pay for anyway. But I declined. By the time I thought better of it, he had withdrawn the bet as the rain had increased a little. Reaching the gates, he offered me a reduced bet - £25 at 2-1 - which we shook on.

Pretty smug

I couldn't believe it. Play had started and I was £35 out of pocket (but not as much as I would have been had I bought my ticket or taken the bigger bet). Charles was pretty smug. We sparred over another bet. He offered me 10 overs only of play. I declined. He offered me the England total not to go over 100 in the day. It was 68 as play started and I refused that one too.

We had some sausages, crisps and opened a bottle of Saint Emilion as the clock under the man with the scythe reached 12 noon. Alastair Cook hit one splendid shot to the boundary, the rain began to get heavier, the umpires conferred, and the teams walked off.

There followed a surreal, but not untypical, English scene on the small patch of grass outside the stand. Eating our picnic in the rain among all the other picnics, we chatted, as you do, about all kinds of things and I mentioned Izaak Walton. I was surprise to learn that Charles had never heard of him. Neither had Horace or Sussex - the other two members of our party - both women (nothing sexist intended in that, just a statement of fact).

Charles suggested that Walton was not so well known so I bet him £35 that most of our fellow picnickers would know who Walton was. Charles took the bet, allowing me three chances. So that allowed me three picks of people I thought might know that Izaak Walton was an early fisherman who wrote The Complete Angler.

Egg and bacon

I picked on a group of grey-haired blazered chaps wearing egg and bacon ties. They all knew the answer. Even again.

We popped in to the Lords museum to look at the little urn that holds the ashes. But outside the rain had grown heavier so we decided to head for home. On the way back Charles offered me a £10 evens bet that there would be some more play that day. I took it and won.

I was happy to end up £10 to the better. Charles was happy too because there had been just under nine overs of play. Unless the teams manage 10 overs of play for the day there is a full ticket refund. Gate receipts yesterday topped £1m and when you add in the profits from drinks and food sales the figure is much higher.

So each ball of the less than two overs that needed to be played to avoid a full refund would have been worth possibly as much as £200,000. What price a few spits of rain? Ten pounds for me and little bit more for the England Cricket Board. I hope they're insured.