Gentlemen of West London v. Close PF

Sunday 2 August 2009, Old Tenisonians Sports Club. Close PF won toss. Sunny, 21C

Won by 58 runs

This was a most enjoyable day and just has to become an annual event. In summary, The Gents beat an enthusiastic and capable Close PF by 58 runs in a day which saw 444 runs scored for 33 wickets off 77 legitimate overs bowled. There was little difference in the abilities of the sides but match practice, stamina and extras proved decisive. Twenty-three cricketers and a host of family and friends enjoyed themselves, new friendships were made and old ones strengthened, for Dhruv Patel and his brother Ketan are integral parts of Gents’ history and this match provides the opportunity for catching up with all the news. The highlights for The Gents from the playing viewpoint were Patrudu Lalam’s maiden fifty, a four-wicket haul for Ravi Inkollu and super commitment from potential recruit Greg Newcombe, who got to the game despite his car blowing up on the way up from Brighton. His promising debut saw a wicket, some runs and four fine catches. Sumit, Nilesh and Virag batted well for Close PF, who were well led by Dhruv. The legend put a foolish run out behind him in the first game to provide cheerful leadership and his family did so much to make the day a success.

The format of the game was two average-shredding Twenty20 matches with batting orders reversed in the second game and a limit of four overs per bowler. Dhruv inserted The Gents, who opened with what transpired to be the highest stand of the day, 54 in 9 overs. Khan, continuing to mine a rich seam of runs, received staunch support from Hemin Patel. Both played proper shots, showing the value of orthodox cricket even in the short game. Iqbal hit the only six of the innings, off Dhruv’s loosener, but no other batsman was allowed to go on to play a major innings as the bowling tightened.

Sumit and Nilesh carried Close PF’s first innings which ended disappointingly for them with three overs unbowled. Inkollu and Iqbal were very quick and four good catches were taken but the turning point of the innings was Dhruv’s dismissal. Nimit drove Iqbal high into the afternoon sky. As the ball plummeted to earth, either the bowler or any one of several fielders could have taken it. The chance was shelled but in the confusion Nimit called for a sneaky single. Dhruv, who did not hear the call, was stranded, sacrificed his wicket and colourfully debriefed his dismissal upon his return to the boundary. Sumit hit Rudru out of the attack, his five scoring shots all finding the ropes in an arc between mid-wicket and long-on. Close PF were scoring at a decent rate before Inkollu came back to clean up the innings with Hemin Patel, helped by excellent catching.

After a week that saw a skirmish break out between London Saints and West XI after an allegedly stingy catering effort by the latter at Walthamstow, the ladies ensured that nobody went hungry here. There was a delicious thali provided by the wives of the Close PF lads, home-warmed (if not perhaps completely home-made) samosas supplied by Master Rudru and home-baked cakes. It was arguably the best food seen at a Gents match, a stupendous effort that more than adequately fed the forty or so people present. My, the lads did tuck in.

It seemed that The Gents had some big guns at the top of their order in the second dig but only four runs came off the tight first three overs. Inkollu was well caught at long-off in the second of these before Rudru holed out in the sixth over. By then Lalam was well established, proceeding to a valuable and powerful fifty including seven fours before he was retired according to the rules of the day with six overs left. Kalidindi and the Desais made useful contributions, but the bowling was steady and the batsmen never broke free. The visitors’ fielding was brave and skilful, though sadly there one or two hobbling at the end of the innings. They were stood down and two batsmen allowed to bat twice.

Close PF needed 159 to win, daunting but not impossible. Sanjay Patel made some changes to the bowling in an effort to optimise involvement. Newcombe, having shelled a tough caught and bowled off his first ball in Gents colours, bowled his medium-pacers well, and took a sharp, diving caught and bowled to dismiss Sandeep. He would go on to take two more, making it four in the day. The second of these gave Himanshu Desai his first wicket for the club. Iqbal, Hemin Patel and Kalidindi shared the others. The best batting came towards the end of the innings, Virag smiting three fours and a mighty six before holing out next ball.

So ended a very long day which started at 1.30pm and ended as the early autumnal twilight set in at 8.15pm. The tea interval, a delightful social occasion in itself, was understandably longer than normal but the main reason for the late finish was the 52 extra balls that had to be bowled as a result of bowling extras. The question of whether a tweaking of the format is necessary can wait for another time, for now let a great, great day of fun and friendship be celebrated.