The Gents posted their 100^th win in a gruelling game notable for superlative fast bowling. Captains Horace Hibbert and Stuart Snelling dominated the match but the Gents shaded it due to resilient batting by their lower order, Keith Dimond, Tony Buck and Graham Heap forcing a brave recovery from 63 for seven. On a baking hot day, the game consisted of a mere 60 overs, which were not, however, completed until seven o’clock. It was Snarler’s first win as Gents’ skipper, and was richly deserved.

Both captains would have batted but Snarler was successful with his call. The pitch, firm with a green tinge, was fast and lively all day, as guests Manoj and Rick were soon to discover. Hibbert was carted for ten by Toddy in the second over of the day before a mis-timed cut off the slower, deceptive medium-pacer Shannon spooned a catch to cover. Hibbert then sent the two guests back with corking inswingers. Dhruv posted the shot of the day, a rifle-crack drive off Hibbert, but fell to his first loose shot, mid-on Lagan running round to take a good diving catch. Sanjay was looking very good, striking four beautiful boundaries, and runs came fluently with young Hemin Patel, who seems to have lost about two stone since we last saw him, the stress of "A" levels no doubt accounting for this. The lad fell to a stunning catch from first slip and new dad Adrian Bullock, who belied his ample girth to sprint back to take a low, sprawling catch. Sanjay then fell bowled prodding forward, which made a change from getting bowled to a mad heave ho. Shashi talks the best game on the circuit but soon looped up a simple caught and bowled and the Gents had slumped to 63 for seven. Haresh’s brother kept up his voluble level of support all day, though, and fair play to him for that. The Gents may have been missing a few batsmen but this was dire. There are times when it would make no difference to the total if one selected the batting order at random.

Striding in at eight was Big Keith. Visibly annoyed at Shashi’s foolish dismissal, he and Swiss Tony set about repairing the damage. After a careful single, he began to realise his potential with the day’s only six, a huge back-foot pull off Taylor into the Balaclava Road shrubbery. Runs came throughout the innings at four an over, but exactly off whom, or to whom, this report is a little imprecise due to a case of serial score-book abuse by Toddy. Ten runs were uncredited to the batsmen, the Dimond six went unrecorded in the bowling analysis, along with other peccadilloes. Keith made the white lines twice more, another pull and a top-edge over the slips, before edging to the ‘keeper off the returning Hibbert. Colleague Mr Heap played the paceman very well, blocking the straight ball and clipping off his legs for four. Horace retired from the action and delegated the mopping-up to his spinners. The 9^th and 10^th wickets (both sides had twelve) had nearly doubled the score when umpire Burman fingered Heap with a leg before. There were thirty minutes before the five o’clock batting watershed when Snarler and Swiss decommissioned the forward-defensive and opted for the industrial tonk, 124 all out in 29.1 overs, slowly bowled in two hours, the result.

The Gents were not to exceed this angry tardiness. Between five o’clock and six thirty Snarler’s men hurled down a mere twenty-four overs, yet on neither side did there appear to be a conscious slowing down. On afternoons like this, Victoria Rec resembles an oven, so all credit should be given to Snarler and Sanjay for their heroics, bowling fourteen overs between them without a break. Hughes might have gone in the first over, a sharp edge to Buck at first slip, but he soon fell driving to Wallis at silly mid-off that might just have qualified as a caught and bowled opportunity. With the final two balls of his third over, Snarler turned the game towards the Gents with two blistering deliveries. Bullock was bowled half-forward before the prize wicket of Hadfield followed next ball, bowled on his back foot by a ball that left him and hit off stump just below the bail. Denton and Sawyer then showed good defensive technique to take Angry Men to 33 for three when Snarler replaced himself with Toddy at the Bus Stop end.

Daniel’s third ball was a rank full toss. Sawyer clearly felt that his abstemious hour of attrition had earned him a good thrash at this pathetic offering. Forward came the blade, crash went the ball and there was the boy Todd throwing the ball up in the air and accepting the congratulations of his team-mates for a freak, but significant, dismissal. Inspired, he bowled faultlessly, aside from one wild full toss that went for four byes, the first boundary of the innings. In the next over following Sawyer’s dismissal Sanjay did for Denton and Lagan and the visitors were 35 for six. To this spectator, they had clearly given up the ghost at this point. Three of them lolloped in the shade over at Balaclava Road. Neil Hadfield and Adrian Bullock were deep in conversation at the side of the pavilion and two more were mooching about in the vicinity of the parkie.

The Gents were on fire. The fielding was brilliant, with several demonstrating great stamina on such a sweltering day. Shashi, Manoj and Graham, who seems to have acquired the brilliantly laddish nick-name of "Heapo" were the pick. The last time Shashi went to a cricket match he had been on the business end of a kicking by Pakistan fans in the recent Super Six game, having doubtless wound them up for the whole day. Some find him a bit of a handful but he is a great encourager and it was good to see him again.

As defence had not really done it for the despondent visitors, Leigh wisely went for the aggressive approach. Dhruv, replacing Sanjay after a brief drinks break, went for two leg-side fours in his first over. The score advanced to 49 for six off 21 overs when the umpires called the final twenty. The possibility of a draw, which would have seemed outrageous at the start of the innings, was now no more than five to one. Toddy tore in and dislodged Shannon, who sportingly walked, but Simper kept the belligerent Leigh company for five overs before falling to the flighted Dhruv off-break, which gripped and turned.

Horace admitted halfway through the second innings that he did not think he would have to bat. He professed the strip to be a belter, fast and bouncy, the best wicket he had played on this season. He trudged out to warm applause from a Gents’ side that knows a hero when they see one. Snarler fancied a crack and brought himself back at the Bus Stop End; two perfect cuts for four followed by another boundary off Dhruv and at 82 for eight with a maximum eleven more overs permissible, Angries needed 43 runs to win with three wickets in hand. Cricket form is ephemeral but at the moment you would back the Gents’ tail to come close to such an ask. Coming on the back of some big recent wins, most recently against the able Strongroom, Angries had not been put under pressure for several weeks. Here, just as Horace was forcing them back in the game, they collapsed in a heap to Mr Snelling, three wickets in his 10^th over. Horace fell first ball to much whooping, Taylor’s’ leg-stump was knocked out of the ground and after a bye Leigh was yorked to give Pongo six for 24. He now occupies first and seventh place in the Gents’ all-time bowling, feats achieved within eight weeks of one another, against the same oppo. The Gents’ victory tied up their season at six-all.

A patchwork side, certainly not lacking in ability but with several talented players missing, had done the double over Twelve Angry Men, a feat unthinkable a few years ago. But times change, and whereas the Gents would once have gone into a game like this with nine or ten players, or dragged unwilling and obstreperous ex-Gents out of retirement, thereby stinking up the place, they now have a squad policy and enough contacts to ensure that full sides are fielded. It is instructive to note, however, that not since the Exiles game have the Gents had more than eleven full-time members available for a game. While a vindication of the associate membership policy, it is persuasive evidence that the squad should be expanded even more.

Underpinning all of this is an imminent change in availability of certain players. The Gents have had to do without new dads Chainsaw, Burvo and Haresh this season. Mr Ashton now lives in Durham and is aiming to play only 50% of the games next year. Bodders and the Headmaster contribute as much as they can given their domestic responsibilities and the distance they have to travel. A few old stalwarts aside, the team was utterly transformed between 1993 and 1999 and another huge sea change is in the air. The 2000 side looks at the time of writing to be based around Jimmy, Snarler and the Patels, plus Buck, Naish, Todd, Victor, Dimond, Heap, Beaumont and Murphy. Recruit a good, regularly available batsman, preferably an opener, draft in Ashton, Bodders and Hughes whenever possible and the future looks not too bad.