Nabil and Sanjay whistle down the wind

On a hot, windy day, sterling batsmanship, led by Nabil Husain and Sanjay Patel after a fruitful start by the top three, earned the first Gents’ victory against Urban since 2001. The Gents’ 218 was their highest in this long-running series and Nabil’s only the second Gent fifty after Mark Ashton’s in 1996. Though Clive Howard and Mark Bush posted 72 in reply after Alex Bell’s head injury, Urban fell behind the rate and Sanjay was able to utilise eight bowlers before stumps were drawn at 7pm with the hosts convincing winners. The game never quite caught fire, though it provided plenty of entertainment for the largest home crowd in many a moon.

Most two-hundred totals in the club’s history have contained at least one comedy score, but one searched in vain for such dysfunctionalism here. HP was away with a straight four driven off the back foot and dominated the opening stand before being bowled Van der Merwe, who had moved to round the wicket and tucked him up. Gilkes and the stylish Darpan, in his first Gent innings, were serene in scoring at four an over and though Rich fell to one of three Young catches, the halfway point saw Gents 89 for 2 off 17 overs. Darpan, like Gilkes, was out propping one up to short cover, having hit four fours. Hemin edged behind after lofting a giant four but Nabil (eight fours) and Sanjay (four) added 57 in no time, though umpire HP was sorely tempted to give Nabil out lbw to the ten-year-old Charlie Bush. Reprieved, Nabil took three fours off Young’s first three balls and The Gents were building a very healthy total indeed. The Saudi’s latest extravaganza (that’s 397 runs in nine 2006 knocks) ended on 57 with a well-judged catch at long on, whereupon Sanjay, now back to his prolific best, took command. Forty-nine came for the sixth wicket, of which Buck’s score was 8.

Paceman Alex Aitchison, introduced via 12AM, was The Gents’ 47th. player of 2006. He went wicketless after five torrid overs and it is to be hoped that he will play again, lest he remembered by future cricket historians as The Man Who Poleaxed Bell, a vicious lifter third ball clumping the journalist just below the conk, blood dripping onto the princely batting strip. Alex was helped to the boundary, patched up and bravely resumed his innings at the fall of the ninth wicket. Howard and Bush are accomplished batsmen and rarely looked in trouble, though they were unable to score freely, Alex, H Bomb and Ketan conceding only 69 runs in their 19 overs. Ketan’s leg-spinners had them both, Sanjay taking a well-judged catch at long on to dismiss Bush before Howard was pinned lbw. Buck soon had South African Plum guest Hein Van der Merwe, also lbw, as The Gents began to make a series of incisive cuts into the Urban underbelly. Nabil bowled four men, Urban’s pristine white stumps cartwheeling in the early evening sun, to end up with 4 for 5. Master Gilkes took two before Bell bravely returned to score 11 out of an unbroken tenth wicket stand of 17 with Steve Young.

Though to their great credit they did not blame their defeat on it, Urban were definitely weakened without Scott Kirk, Adrian Gathercole, Graham Young and George Joseph. Indeed, The Gents, like schoolboys enjoying their first adult periodical, feasted their eyes on the lower Urban batsmen, never having seen any of them get his pads on before. You half expected one of the old campaigners like Buck to prod one to see if he was real.

A solid victory was rounded off with some good socialising by both teams and supporters in the Albion, whose landlord promised to sort The Gents for teas, free parking, etc. in 2007, a pleasant and welcoming touch. The pitch played better than Victoria RG and this venue is rapidly gaining popularity.