After a wait of five years, London Saints finally secured a win in this series thanks to fine, counter-attacking batsmanship and tight bowling. The Gents were on top for the first hour but then fell apart and can consider themselves fortunate only to have lost by 63 runs, for Dhruv was dropped three times. To cap it all, Gav and Masher suffered injuries and may be out for some time. It was a day to forget in many respects, but Southampton should be saluted for their bold approach and their usual cheerful nature.

After losing some of their best players over the past few years, Dave Thomas has been on a recruitment drive. This has yielded a fine Aussie all-rounder, the 26 year-old Brendon Julian lookalike Chris Swiderski, a solid forty-something wicket-keeper/batsman in O’Donoghue and a 54 year-old white-haired Indian Kumar Yogeswaran, all useful cricketers. It was clear that something unusual was in the air when Dave decided to bat, something almost unheard of in these matches. Early wickets fell to the Gents’ seamers, but Snarler was below his best and with Sanjay drifted too much down leg-side, one ball shooting along the ground and maiming Ashton, who found out here just how tough wicket-keeping can be. With Trevor Mayhew bowled through the gate, Yogeswaran nicking the away-swinger and Hotston castled, the Gents were well on top. Ramdial and Andy Mayhew restored the position slightly before they fell to the Dhruv offie (his 100^th Gents wicket) and a leg-side glance off Sanjay respectively.

It was at this point that the Gents were found tactically wanting. Snarler continued with defensive fields, including only one slip (Southampton would post three) with third-man and fine-leg back on the boundary. Ace outfielders Sanjay Patel and Colin Naish were wasted in these positions. By now Andy Burman’s mate Mel Hooper had pitched up to support. It is in the nature of these visits that sides lent such encouragement invariably cock up under the gaze of publicity. O’Donoghue fell to an excellent Wright catch at deep cover, but Cotton was beginning to time the ball well. He and Cronin added twenty, chiefly off a variable spell by Toddy, perhaps a tad over refuelled pre-match. By now, Ashton was hobbling and poor Gavin had torn a hamstring. The day was going pear-shaped.

Swiderski and Cotton now came together for the pivotal partnership. This coincided with some inaccurate bowling, but both players put bat to ball well in smashing the 8^th-wicket record in Gents matches. The previous record was held by West XI when Gary Moore was briefly allowed back into the community in 1991, but doubt has been recently cast on the validity of that stand due to a dodgy "Retired Not Out" by Mr Christensen. The score was mounting rapidly, though the ground-fielding held up well, but there were too many four-balls. The Gents would enjoy only one more success, a good Richmond catch at mid-on off a vicious skier, his sixth of the season, only three off the record held by a Gent out-fielder. The batting of Mr Cotton has been praised several times in the Beggar house magazine, but this was the first time he had really performed against the Gents. He and his Aussie team-mate are worth their place in the record books.

The less said about the Gents’ reply, the better. Only Dhruv, the gutsy Ashton and Snarler showed any resolution, others being undone by straight medium-pace bowling. Jim and Bill missed straight balls from the Aussie, while Sanjay had a mad heave across the line when the same bowler went around the wicket. While Dhruv and the Commander were together there was brief hope, buoyed up by several simple chances that went begging, but slip Trevor Mayhew made no mistake off a thick edge and the tail collapsed to the Saints spinners Cronin and Keenan. Dhruv’s dismissal prompted him to negotiate with umpire Wright on the basis that "the ball would only have hit leg-stump not middle," but to no avail. Ninety-one all out was a pitiful response, especially at a venue where the Gents have scored heavily over the years. The side was just not up for it and the achievement even of a draw (quite clearly the best they could hope for) would have been grossly unfair on the hosts. As pointed out in these pages before, the club seems to panic when chasing a large total. Unusualists took pleasure, though, from Saints’ declaration, the first v. the Gents for five years.

So, batting 2/10, bowling 3/10, fielding 6/10 and general attitude (the thing they used to get you for at school when they couldn’t pin anything specific on you) 1/10. A good unbeaten run had come to an end in a sad way. Seated round the table in the Old Wheatsheaf later in the evening, Wright, Buck, Todd, Richmond and Naish formed a statistically interesting bunch, for they had not scored a run between them and, sad to report, seemed to revel in the fact. Poor Snarler will have better days at the helm when his players support him more. There was some ritual whining about field placement but overall he did pretty well.

This win spices up the return nicely. After seven successive defeats at the hands of the Gents, the Wessexmen were ecstatic, as well they might be, for they had thoroughly deserved their triumph.