Gentlemen of West London v. Cairns Fudge

Sunday 14 June 2009, Fairfield RG, Kingston. Gents won toss. Sunny, 23C

Won by 22 runs

The Gents, all out for the first time in 2009, scraped a tense shoot out at a humid Fairfield RG on a wicket of variable bounce that assisted seam movement all day. It was a match of two batting collapses: The Gents slumped from a dignified 97-3 after 24 overs to 111 all out a mere five overs later, while Cairns Fudge, not to be outdone, tumbled from 22-2 to 34-7 in three overs. Well though the quicks bowled, The Gents were grateful for the hard graft put in by the top five and the notable contribution of extras, which arguably won the game. It was a gruelling match and the First Aid spray did sterling service as several batsmen and both ’keepers wore a few.

Cairns Fudge are an ambitious, organised and very sociable club with Oxford and London branches. They look the part in their white and purple tops and were up and at ’em in the first innings with a useful pace attack. The first run off the bat did not arrive until the fifth over. Buck scored just a single in seven overs. However, extras kept the board ticking over and he had batted stoutly. Sciberras and Denton also played maturely, though the latter lofted an enormous straight four, the shot of the day.

Sachin Desai and Iqbal carried on the good work but sadly The Gents’ carefully constructed platform became merely the foundation for a suicide leap. Desai perished well caught on the midwicket boundary and Inkollu and Palmer both fell lbw first ball to the wily spinner Sechiari, but a veil really should be drawn over the shot selection of the other batsmen, leaving a justifiably fuming Snelling marooned on 2 not out with six possible overs of the innings left unbowled. Six wickets fell to spin and extras, including two five No balls, top scored.

One felt for poor Ravi Inkollu after his third duck in four innings and Hemin Patel perceptively asked him to open the bowling with Snelling. These two worked up real pace and Inkollu bowled Moore in the second over with a peach of an outswinger, the perfect start for The Gents. Butler and Fargher were class acts though and they took the score to 22 before Inkollu had Butler well caught by a diving Sciberras at point. It was the turning point of the innings as five wickets then fell in three overs. First Iqbal yorked Corriel before Hibbert struck with balls one and six of his first over. Iqbal’s brace of wickets in the tenth over left Cairns Fudge reeling at 34-7. Even allowing for a variable wicket, it was an astonishing period of play. The game seemed won.

How little we know of cricket. Sechiari, Jensen, Yarwood and Howells batted with guts, determination and skill before Hemin Patel struck twice to leave Cairns Fudge nine down. As the final pair grew in confidence, what Ken Toft called ‘the asymmetry of cricket’ beckoned: a lot of runs required, a crocked major batsman bravely returning as last chap to give his side a chance. It couldn’t happen in successive games could it? Alas for the visitors but to great Gent hollering, Inkollu, who had bowled with great hostility, claimed his third wicket and with it the match when he bowled Howells. Hard luck to the gallant visitors and special thanks to injured captain Sanjay, who kindly turned up to support and do a stint of scoring, though by his own admission he is not a good watcher. Hemin captained very well though his facial fuzz made him look like a minor criminal.