The Gentlemen of West London Cricket Club

St. Anne’s Allstars v. Gentlemen of West London

Saturday 25 July 2009, Shedfield CC. Toss agreed. Sunny, 21C

Won by 7 wickets

The Gents proceeded to an eventually straightforward seven-wicket victory in the first tour game thanks to a partnership of 105 between Naveed Khan (53* with four fours) and Sanjay Patel (a blistering 63* scored in just 12 overs at the crease with eight fours and a six). Earlier, a St. Anne’s Allstars XI much changed from April had posted 142, thanks to the Sri Lankan De Zoysa and Hautot, while Sanjay Patel and Snelling carded a combined 13-7-11-6 to bail out some patchy support bowling. Thus came The Gents’ 13^th. successive win in the unprecedented 2009 season (and the 14^th. in all) and the 15^th. successive game without defeat. But the statistics are largely unimportant. What mattered is that both sides got a game on the Saturday of their Hampshire tour.

This game came about because St. Anne’s were playing Shedfield on the Sunday but, like GWLCC, could not find Saturday opposition. They got permission from the parish council to use the artificial strip on the Saturday and we had a game. In the confusion, The Gents were not informed about spikes being forbidden, so there was some faffing about as suitable footwear as procured. This caused one SA Snelling to have a negative mood swing and he and the captain produced opening spells of hostility and accuracy. The first six overs were maidens, by which time the score was 0-2, and runs only exceeded overs bowled after ten overs.

By then three were down but the St. Anne’s middle-order applied themselves, though they were chasing the game thereafter. The tough Hautot and the muscular Kiwi Bowman began the fightback. The latter was well caught by Palmer off Buck but Hautot and the powerful De Zoysa scored freely, posting 59. Snelling came back to dispose of Hautot but De Zoysa was striking fours at will, 13 of them in all. The captain got him and the momentum shifted back to The Gents. Though Allstars showed resilience in using up their full allotment of overs, 143 all out was not a huge total with a fast outfield.

The Gents lost Sachin Desai, in a temporary rut, caught behind second ball but for the second week running Gilkes and Khan batted well together. There were by definition no perils in the pitch but Bowman and Ryan were pacy, the former particularly so. He bowled Gilkes for an attractive 19 in the ninth over and Tudge caught and bowled Buck, whereupon Sanjay Patel and Khan batted immaculately. The National Union of Bowlers must have upset Naveed, who batted 29 overs against West XI and 23 here. The captain was more expansive, particularly against Duncan and Abrahams, and victory pennants were hoisted with no further losses.

There had been a filling tea provided by the Samuel’s Rest pub, including hand-sliced pork pies garnished with sliced tomato (a recipe featured in the Lord Nelson Book of Summer Salads) which had been gratefully consumed in the warm sunshine. St. Anne’s had also kindly arranged a post-match curry in the pub, at which Buck and Burman alone represented GWLCC, other team members preferring to go back to Winchester to get changed for their night out. This meant that the refuseniks did not eat until half past two in the morning, by which time several were past their best. On the morrow, their fortunes would decline. The importance of proper diet and a good night’s sleep for sportsmen cannot be overemphasised.

Sunday 26 July 2009, Crown Taverners CC, Blackwater. Gents won toss. Drizzly, 20C

Hampshire Cricket League’s Crown Taverners deservedly beat The Gents in mizzly Blackwater in the second leg of the tour but the team can hold its head up. There were excellent individual performances from Stuart Snelling with the ball and with the bat Himanshu Desai and Richard Palmer who both achieved club personal bests. This was, however, not enough and the talented Taverners won by 36 runs. Three men curiously scored 47 on the day.

The Gents had confirmed a fixture with Crown Taverners back in January but the email did not arrive (the curse of secretaries everywhere) and the ground was booked for a Twenty20 between teams representing the Indian communities of Bracknell and Basingstoke instead. Taverners to their credit took responsibility and kindly offered Gents a game after so a Twenty20 was agreed, as it was rather too gloomy and late for a full 35 over game. The Indians’ game produced terrific entertainment and not a little needle, Burman and Toft umpiring the first innings under intense pressure.

It was an enthralling start to the day and a number of the Bracknell Indians stayed on to watch the second game, possibly opting for safety in numbers in case there was an off with the Basingstoke Crew. Snelling bowled Hunt in the third over and The Gents thought they had Spreadborough run out by ’keeper Desai when he strolled out of his crease, but not out was given. Shu made a great effort to catch a high edge induced by his uncle off the bat of Rees, but could not quite cling on. The two batsmen punished The Gents and after 10 overs Crown Taverners had moved ominously to 86. Had The Gents, in particular Mr Gilkes, not flung themselves about, the halfway damage would have exceeded the ton. The second ten overs therefore represented a partial recovery, even though 75 runs were scored. There was an athletic diving catch from Khan and two more behind the timbers but Rees, Spreadborough (the cheerful Hale chap who had been threatening to do this against The Gents for a while) and the youthful Comfort (who had also scored heavily guesting for Bracknell Indians in the first game) were absolutely top class batsmen.

The Gents did their best with the bat but never threatened the total. Only when Palmer came together with Shu Desai did bat exert any dominance over ball. Their stand of 64 was a treat and included two fours for Palmer and seven fours and an on-driven six for Desai. During this stand, the expectations of The Gents rose from Complete Hammering to They’ll Know They’ve Been In A Game. The cricket played in this segment of the game was of the very highest standard. The bowling was hostile and accurate, the strokeplay defiant and the fielding a class above anything else seen in 2009. Desai fell on 47. He had so deserved a fifty. The cultured Palmer and Sachin Desai were not out at the end. The Gents gave their all, fought to the last and can be proud of their efforts. The unbeaten record had come to an end but there was no disgrace in losing to such a talented and friendly side, who were kind enough to invite The Gents back for a full-length game in 2010.