eleven o'clock
His own name . If the day happens to be fine , there is a curious , dream-like atmosphere about the opening stages of a first eleven match . Everything seems hushed and expectant . The rest of the school have gone in after the interval at eleven o'clock , and you are alone on the grounds with a cricket-bag . The only signs of life are a few pedestrians on the road beyond the railings and one or two blazer and flannel-clad forms in the pavilion . The sense of isolation is trying to the nerves , and a school team usually bats 25 per cent . better after lunch , when the strangeness has worn off .