Scibo leads Gents home

Tight bowling pegged back the powerful Saints' middle order at just the right time to achieve a hard-earned victory in an entertaining match. Mark Sciberras was The Gents' hero, top-scoring with 37, taking three crucial wickets and two catches while his team-mates dropped five as the pressure mounted. There was much to praise in the visitors' batting, including an excellent Denton/Sciberras opening stand, but the outcricket in the hosts' reply in worsening light was patchy and sometimes comedic. Nevertheless, this was a welcome win.

Old Haberdashers' CC is a ground with bags of character and London Saints are always friendly and welcoming, so it was pleasing to be able to field a full side without guest support. After some negotiation about which wicket to use, the one prepared being very close to the boundary, the captains opted for the more central Saturday pitch. Credit to the groundsman, therefore, for it behaved perfectly after 100 overs on it the day before. Stalwarts Denton and Sciberras opened and posted a composed, attractive 76 in only 15 overs, respectively striking four and five fours, the younger man being quite ruthless with the full-toss and long-hop. Both fell in quick succession, Denton run out and Sciberras lbw to Loomes. Gilkes got his head down after recent trauma before falling to a sharp Grimes c&b, while Inkollu, Sanjay Patel and Iqbal batted fluently without ever exerting complete control. The dismissal of Iqbal was spectacular: caught by slip Pearce off the retuning Nanton, the ball travelling like a shell. Nanton was the pick of the bowlers, though Saints were disappointed by their 21 wides. It was a fair score but this Southampton side, even without Berkeley, batted deep.

As a previously sunny, warm day became dull and chilly, one saw both the strengths and frailties of the 2009 model Gents. The early bowling from Snelling and the skipper was tight and accurate. Cotton, in his last game before emigrating to Australia, drove Sanjay to Toft in the covers, 7/1. Good luck to this skilful, popular opponent. Saints were only scoring at two runs per over when Iqbal was brought into the attack, and he struck in his first over, the veteran Grimes driving to Sciberras at short mid-on.

It is difficult to pinpoint where it began to go wrong for The Gents. The darkening skies may have contributed, assertive batting from Yogeswaran, Lui Patel (making his debut in this series) and Velvet Underground fan Wathan certainly did, but for a ten-over period The Gents fell apart. Though Yogeswaran fell caught Inkollu on the mid-wicket boundary off Hemin Patel, Patel and Wathan hauled their side right back into contention. There were five drops. They came twice at slip (one involving a collision), long-on, long-off and silly mid-off, none difficult (we are excluding here the two that flew past Buck). Heartwarming comedy moments became contagious as fielders dived over the ball. Four Inkollu overthrows upgraded a Wathan two to a six. All it needed was Eric Sykes and Tommy Cooper to appear on the ground carrying a plank.

Gradually, the skipper sorted out his fields, drawing praise from his opposite number Dave Thomas, a man wise in the art of field placement. Sciberras's 7-0-33-3 then won the match, though the contributions of others should not be ignored. He bowled Patel and Wathan, had Nanton lbw and took a second catch off the skipper to dismiss Chalmers, thus having a part in the dismissals of each of Saints' main dangermen. His was a towering performance, greatly admired by all participants here, including the groundsman's friendly white cat) and it is marvellous to have him back as a regular. The required run rate rapidly rose and Sanjay Patel's and Snelling's frugal second spells ensured that there would be no repeat of the events here on 12 August 2007, where Thomas and Berkeley thrashed The Gents for 67 in the final five overs as part of their immortal 93-run stand. Saints were 34 runs adrift at the end, but there was little between the sides and the final margin was deceptive.