ONCE again the borough's two main political parties laid aside their differences and picked up bats and balls for the town hall's annual cricket match.
Sunday was the third time the Labour and Conservative parties have met on the field and, as each had a game in hand, there was everything to play for.
The rare truce was held at Drayton Manor High School's playing fields, in Greenford Avenue, Hanwell.
The match showed how relations had improved between the two sides – last year's was cancelled by the Tories. They scrapped it in response to Labour walking out of a council meeting claiming the mayor was biased. There were no such disagreements this time, a little taunting was the worse relations got.
Labour batted first, reaching 99 runs in 20 overs. It was a close game but when it was their turn the Conservatives got to 100 with a few overs to spare and so took the Mayor's Cup.
Council opposition leader Jason Stacey, who captained the Tory team, said: "It was a fun match and everyone enjoyed it. It was nice to win but it was just as much fun just to play the game. I bowled at Steve Pound and hit his hand, I think it hurt but it wasn't deliberate."
Labours captain, Ealing North MP Steve Pound, had some consolation as he took the title of top scoring player with 27 runs.
He said: "It was very difficult observing the law of cricket having a hard projectile in one hand and a bat in the other while being on the same field as the Conservatives. This was a day when politics took a back seat and the glorious summer game triumphed – if only the Labour Party had as well."
The Conservatives will now keep the Mayor's cup in their members' room in the town hall until the two sides meet on the field again next year.
