The Gentlemen of West London

Runs

West XI

Runs

Match Report - Sanjay’s street fighters turn the tide

As the 2005 Bob Ashton Memorial Cup was slipping from their grasp, The Gents dug deep to produce an heroic display to win a titanic encounter by 11 runs. At 83/4 and later 107/5 West XI had the upper hand but their last six wickets added only seven runs in circumstances of rare tension that only dissipated when last man Laing was simply run out at the ’keeper’s end. West XI actually outscored The Gents 103 to 102 with runs from the bat but debut ’keeper Paul Turpin produced a stunning display of wicket-keeping, letting through only one bye on a wicket that offered shooters and lifters at one end (where Wright and Snelling took their eight wickets and where 11 of the 16 batsmen who fell to bowlers were dismissed), and raging turn at the other. There were brave Gent performances galore to complement proven match-winners Nabil Husain and Stuart Snelling. Meanwhile West XI, though they battled to the end, were left to rue the drops by Bapu and Blackmore early in Husain’s brilliant knock, his fifth score of fifty-plus in eight innings this season. On such things as that and Ken Toft’s early instinctive catch to out Vyas, who had already scored 489 runs this season, do such tight games turn.

Sanjay Patel won a rare toss and decided to bat. Wickets fell regularly, including HP and Buck early, but once again Husain looked a class act though both of his two top-edged scoops to square-leg ought to have been held. Thereafter, he played brilliantly, striking eight fours all around the huge ground, including a trademark low straight-drive off Taylor, one of the few boundaries in the V all day. He needed support though but only Dhruv, in a nine-over vigil, really provided it in the highest stand of the day before copping a low lbw. Jim Wright played over a good yorker, but the dismissals of the rest of the middle-order were disappointing, the captain’s in particular, chipping Laing to cover one ball before drinks. Chris Wright bowled fast and accurately and deserved his figures.

 

		At 80/7 Gents were reeling, but Sanjay had noted before the game that the last ten overs would be crucial and he was right as Snelling, Hemin, Toft and Turpin discharged their responsibilities to the letter, using up the overs and punishing the bad ball. Their 125, worth perhaps 150 had this been an 11-a-side match, was, therefore, somewhat curiously compiled. It contained 14 fours (West XI would score only five) but only three double-figure scores, two of those being batsmen ten and jack.
Tail wagging from Turpin

Snelling crucially dismissed Vyas and then bowled Bapu in three balls as he and Husain, running in practically from Acton Town tube, kept the run rate down, but Taylor and Aussie Mark Barling added 35 in an increasingly assured stand before Barling clipped Sanjay to short-extra cover Dhruv. Sanjay and Jim Wright bowled well in tandem, a frustrated Neepam Bhatt driving to deep mid-on Gilkes. Taylor’s long, brave vigil ended when he chipped Scibo to Snelling at mid-off but Walton and Wright, running very well, saw up the ton.

The dismissal of Wright, pulling a Snarler full-pitch to mid-wicket Husain, spooked West XI, for the required run rate, which had hovered around five for a while, now touched six. Dhruv bowled a maiden and West XI panicked as The Gents sensed the game was there for the taking. Blackmore was run out by a good Gilkes throw as Walton attempted an unlikely second, Phil himself then fell next ball, bowled by the Gujerat maestro. Bignell feathered the Snelling away-swinger to Turpin and Hill’s runner Walton was run out by a fine Scibo throw into the keeper. Kevin Allerton and Dave Laing did their best before a simple run out ended matters with six balls remaining amidst scenes of jubilant celebration. The Gents will have a spring in their step until and perhaps even after Berkhamsted. Only an idiot would make predictions for the decider, so we’re going for a Gents win by five wickets with a score of 178-5 in 33.1 overs (Wright 72 not out).