Explosion of boundaries rocks Motspur Park

An astonishing afternoon's cricket saw the club's record book rewritten as The Gents posted 325 for 5, 215 coming in the second 20 over segment of the innings. The Gents' top six, building on an excellent platform set by openers HP Denton and Dhruv Patel of 94 in 14.3 overs, were on fire and in all 38 fours and seven sixes exploded all round the ground. Paul Kain (87 on debut) and Nabil Husain (100 not out, his third ton) posted the highest stand for any Gent wicket.

The weather was humid and draining and it was a great toss to win. It was Saints' first game, so there were a few early long-hops, which were ruthlessly dealt with as 41 runs came off the first four overs. Thomas and Van Marle bowled the openers in quick succession and slowed the rate. At 20-over drinks, The Gents were 110 for 2 with Kain and Husain consolidating. There was no sign of the mayhem to come at this point.

The acceleration came when Kain took a shine to Burrell's seamers, lofting him for four enormous sixes down the ground. One famously took out a local's aluminium clothes line, to vigorously expressed chagrin. It was clean hitting not slogging, Husain at this point taking a back seat but he too soon found his range. The stand of 166 occupied only 17.5 overs. It was compulsive viewing, but not a little terrifying, and one had every sympathy for Southampton, not that they would have asked for any, as Burrell and Griffiths, two competent bowlers who have taken plenty of Gent wickets, went for a combined 97 runs in six overs.

Even when Kain fell bowled Griffiths and Husain was retired by Sanjay on reaching three figures, the scoring rate did not noticeably fall as Toft, despite being handicapped by a groin strain (caused by being boxed and padded up for over an hour according to one wag), played some bold shots before becoming a c&b Berkeley victim and Wahed produced an electric cameo. Poor Hemin Patel, on a hiding to nothing, was bowled in the last over for a duck and the innings closed at ten past four.

London Saints were never run ragged but it was a hot day to field for 40 overs. All credit to them, therefore, for surviving a middle-order collapse in their innings to compose a brave, dignified reply that would have seen them win most games (though here leaving them 141 runs short). Babar and Carroll bowled their complete allocation through and were, in their contrasting ways, unlucky to remain wicketless, well though the Sri Lankan Kumar Yogeswaran (one of two sexagenarians in the side along with Grimes) and John Griffiths batted.

The double change to Sanjay Patel from the Pavilion End and Hemin Patel did the trick for the The Gents, who eventually got their catching sorted out after early drops, Husain, a fine one in the deep, Carroll and Babar obliging. Sanjay's terrific five-for (the club's first since Dhruv Patel's 5 for 11 in the 2004 tour game v. Enville), two good wickets for Hemin and late ones for Dhruv and Wahed kept the pressure on, despite assertive late hitting from Southampton after their middle-order stutter. The score was boosted by the bizarre concession of six lots of four byes, as the ball evaded Denton's dives in the dimming of the day.

As the dust settled, the more perceptive Gents had their doubts about playing Kain, clearly a top-drawer player, so high in the order, but that is with the benefit of hindsight. As a replacement for the flu-ridden Stuart Snelling the captain was entitled to use him as he saw fit and Southampton expressed no concerns.