Decade

1991 Season

Results

Appearances, runs, wickets and catches totals

Wilman and Ashton put on 126 runs in 58 minutes v. NBW

1991 - nightmare pitches hinder progress

 lthough the first winning season, 1991 was less satisfying than 1990. Gunnersbury Park’s pitches were too bowler-friendly, West XI achieved a unique 3-0 Beggarwash and no player made the Great Leap Forward, Nick Boddington being most surprised to cop both All Rounder and Most Improved Player at the AGM! Mark Ashton carried the batting, scoring three fifties, although the bowling, helped by the awful pitches, improved, at least in statistical terms. Richard Sambrook Smith rightly won Fielder of the Year with some dazzling displays, and in general everyone’s fielding went up a notch or two. The Gents were inconsistent and bumped along stormily, with the odd either very good or pisspoor performance to keep the tabloids happy. The good news was that The Gents began to develop as more sides were added to the card and the September heatwave saw The Gents sign off with a flourish, producing a superlative batting display against The Weasels before skittling Enterprise for 17 runs to go 7-6 up at the season’s end.

                In April an overconfident Gents with no pre-season practice were hammered by Enterprise’s openers, the winning margin being wholly deserved. A tight win against London Owls was then gained in a bizarre, rainy conflict. Only two Gents bowlers were used, Owl Martin Hockey had a slash on the pitch and a record six lbws were given in the game. Charles Arthur’s bowling on a poor wicket was too much three weeks later before two rather good displays saw a five-wicket defeat of Old Cubbs and a typical piece of Ashton rabbit-shooting against Enterprise. The dear old Commander crocked his leg a few overs in against The Cheetahs. Never mind, as great bowling by Wilman, Dolan and Alderman skittled the visitors for 89. Surely, a first win could be got from this position? Think on, chaps. The rematch, with Mr Ashton still crook, was a total embarrassment, among the worst Gents display of all time, with some stiff competition. A week before The Gents played well to beat The Weasels in a sun-kissed inaugural fixture in what has become known as “Bodders’ Match,” mainly by Nick himself, it has to be added. The tall left-hander took 4 for 12, following up with 46 not out to set up a fine multi-jug piss up in the Lord Nelson. An exciting game against Old Cubbs then followed. On an evil wicket, an Ashton/Bodders stand of 63 saw The Gents narrowly past the ton, Mark’s 61* being almost Boycottian. Guest Mr Hill then produced a terrifying spell of 3 for 16 to set up a tense win. The aftermath was, however, notable for a spectacular spat after the game. In a poor mood, the usually placid Mr Townley lost it completely and memorably told the Editor of The Gent to “fuck off” before things were healed over a few pints at the Nelson.

                The Gents were beginning to resemble a cricket team, at least some of the time. Remember, all cricket teams get stuffed from time to time but they usually have some semblance of discipline and may even, sometimes, manifest some generosity of spirit, particularly at this level. Teams take their lead from the captain here and although Mark Ashton’s body language may have left a lot to be desired during the defeats, he captained well on and off the pitch. It was a pity, therefore, that some of his side let him down in the August West XI fixtures. An opening stand of 105 at Boston Manor between Charles Arthur, whose performances were beginning to spook The Gents, and the ageless Steve Bignell saw a loss by 61 runs in a not-very-good, but nonetheless well-behaved Gent display. A week later, The Gents were playing for their pride and, to its credit, Yes..No..Sorry! kindly gave The Gents a good write-up, “Gents batsmen restore pride.” And so they did, but only after some appalling bad sportsmanship and bad temper has disrupted the Beggar innings. The cause was a new Gent, Gary Moore, a volatile character, though one not incapable of gruff cheeriness on occasion. He had bowled well against London Owls in an unchanged spell with Mark Ashton, but struggled thereafter. Sadly, here he lost it completely as West XI’s late order went berserk, insulting a Beggar umpire big time and weighing in to his team-mates for good measure. He was not asked to play again but has been spotted in recent years on a cricket pitch, still bellowing at umpires for giving wides off him and team-mates for making minor misfields (usually the ball before doing the same himself). He will probably never change, although Gents’ management did not handle the situation well (the word “bottle” springs to mind), nobody actually telling Gary he was persona non grata. Maybe he never even noticed.

                The last two matches saw Daniel Todd’s first Gents games. Fed up with West XI’s ragging, he opted to join The Gents “because they don’t take the piss out of me all the time.” Another great victory for the Beggar personnel department. His début saw a typical piece of Toddy magic. Placed at fine-leg against NBW his famously-long attention span was threatened after five minutes of inactivity, so he marched up to slip where by some miracle he took a sharp catch within seconds, a false dawn if ever one existed. This game was a wonderful, wonderful occasion. A first (and only) fifty for Rich Wilman, 93 not out from Mr Ashton off just 54 balls (they added 126), a great Weasel reply with the bat, including a Rosy West ton. Bottle it and bring it out when the blues strike. After that, The Gents were never going to lose to a seven-man Enterprise side in the Gala Game. Ron High produced what is still the best analysis against The Gents, but an Ashton Hat-Trick off the first three balls, including Mike Hughes bowled Ball One, ended the season on a high.

                It had been a frustrating season in some ways, but at least 1991’s averages began to resemble those of a cricket team rather than a bunch of half-wits on whom two or three decent players happened to have stumbled. The Commander dominated with bat and ball (first to 300 runs and 20 wickets in a season) as he did, and would do, most years, but there were good contributions elsewhere. The catching was far better; over three times as many as 1990 in only four more games. A club’s fortunes are, however, often influenced by close season activities. Arguably the most important development of The Gents’ fourth season came in November when Andy Burman, who happened to be Christmas shopping in Kingston, made inquiries at the Guildhall about the possibility of booking a few pitches at Victoria Recreation Ground, a venue which had greatly impressed The Gents in 1991 and 1990. He later claimed to have been given divine inspiration to do this. Mr Gary Privett was most helpful, gave him a form and The Gents were on the move. 1992 would see on average 34 runs per game more than in 1991, with twice the number of batsmen past a hundred runs.

©The Gentlemen of West London Cricket Club 2006