Experience shows in breezy Surbiton

An enjoyable if blustery day's cricket saw The Gents' first win in four games as Enterprise, chasing a formidable 182 to win, collapsed to 77 all out in 16.3 overs. Positives from The Gents' point of view were consistency in both batting (something sorely lacking in recent weeks) and bowling while Enterprise bowled and fielded well but, the magnificent Cloete apart, did not do themselves justice with the bat.

The opening salvos were interesting as Parker and Lazel made good use of the new ball, swinging and seaming it and frequently beating the bat. But Khan and Toft produced a model opening stand for captain Gilkes, arguably the bravest of the season against very testing bowling. Though only 17 runs came from the first ten overs, they toughed it out before Khan, after a brief onslaught, edged behind in the 12th. Inkollu then went ballistic, striking five fours and a huge six in just four overs at the crease before being bowled by the Kitchener leg-break. Toft fell lbw after a manful knock but Desai, Dhruv Patel and Gilkes carried on the good work in plummeting temperatures, playing some pleasing shots and running hard. Inkollu apart, though, the batsmen never quite broke free - a hostile spell from the young South African Cloete saw to that - but the skipper was happy with 181 in the 35 overs, the highest score since 7 June.

The DIY tea worked very well, the highlight being bowls of hot vegetable curry and pitta cooked by Reika Patel and brought along by pint-sized twirler Dhruv. Nobody went hungry. It was good to catch up with Dhruv, who was in a particularly sunny mood and lo and behold there was Sanjay Patel, skiving off from a family wedding in Wandsworth to run the rule over the team's tactics and performance. After enjoying half hour or so's cricket he was caught bang to rights by an urgent call from the missus who summoned him back for the photographs, a golden Terry and June moment. Cue the theme music, that instrumental classic penned by John Shakespeare, formerly of 1960's pop group The Ivy League.

The Gents' bowling was terrific. Snelling opened with a maiden, the hostile Leader then bowled batsmen two and three with his first two balls, a double wicket maiden ensuing. Snelling then castled Heap in his second maiden, the score after three overs being 1-3 (the one being a bye). By now the muscular Cloete was at the crease. Keen to have a dart, he bludgeoned Leader for four, six and four as 12 came from the over. Clearly attritional being the sort of cricket up with which he would not put, he went on to strike seven more fours in a remarkable display of clean hitting. Lazel stayed with him as 32 came for the fourth wicket, a nudge to Khan off Leader ending the stand. Inkollu's fiery three overs accounted for skipper Dimond, well held by cover Desai off a top edge. Hemin Patel and Shanvare then cleaned up, Cloete's super innings ('Different level, different class' according to the wise Naveed Khan) ending worthily, caught long-on Gilkes off Shanvare. Had he received more support (six of his side were out for a duck), this could have been a very close game.

With this, his fourth four-wicket return of 2008, young master Hemin 'Future Gents Captain' Patel now has 25 wickets and has Snarler Snelling's monstrous hauls of 39 (in 2001), 40 (1997) and 43 (1999) within range. While clubs such as West XI rely on a stereotypical army of medium-pace trundlers to do their dirty work, Gents attacks remain an aesthetically glorious cynosure, though soon a spoilsport umpire will draw attention to the variety of colourful headgear in which Mr. Shanvare likes to bowl. Not since August 1997 had the club played here and not much has changed since then, the wickets still offering pace and movement for the bowlers, coupled with irregular bounce, the park still infested by pitch-encroaching chavs. Yet despite all that the day went well and this popular fixture will be much looked forward to in 2008.