One of the great days for Gents cricket ended when at two minutes past seven on a glorious summer’s day Bodders bowled Derek Kirkwood first ball. It wrapped up a victory had seemed certain when the hosts stood at 15 for seven after eight overs, then less than likely when Sier and Pinnock resisted stoutly to take NBW to within seven overs of the draw. But Snarler’s bowling changes finally came off and The Gents won a memorable game by the huge margin of 120 runs, the most decisive in the twenty-five game series of matches between the clubs. Jim Wright had earlier posted another memorable and monumental fifty, Sanjay was on excellent all round form, while Swiss Tony achieved his highest Gents score, though his PB remains 43 for FC Chad v. Weasels in his first ever game! Perhaps the bizarre goings on in the second innings were influenced by the after affects of England 1-0 Germany, most of the participants having made serious whoopee up to the wee smalls. History student Eddie Fitch had cavorted in the Trafalgar Square fountains at 2am (later trying without success to gain entry to a Chinese restaurant), Sanjay had larged it up in a dodgy Greenford night-club and most of The Weasels looked a tad fragile. So it was therefore a brilliant toss to win, although Pongo Snelling later confessed that he had been "sorely tempted" to bowl first.

Recent history in the series had favoured The Weasels, so Snarler was keen to put out a strong team. "For the sake of the series," Sanjay had observed a week before, "it is very important that we at least compete with them." Thus, Eddie, Damo and Scibo made their first trip to Berrylands and we were away at 2.15pm, two and a half hours’ first innings followed by 20 overs after 6.15pm. Owen opened with two maidens and a Kirkwood lifter found the shoulder of Bodders’ bat for a streaky two to third-man. Nick cover-drove Owen for four but then drove over the usual accurate delivery and was bowled. Buck then proceeded to play his highest innings for the club. In an excellent 18 over knock, he acquired 37 of the Queen’s runs, all on the off-side of the wicket and looked the biz from Ball One in the club’s new lightweight pads! Three successive lofted fours off Dave Raderecht forced the rate up over three when he was punished for reverting to his leg-side comfort zone, lofting to long-on Richard Flack. Damo acquired a few tentative runs before being fingered lbw by Bodders and Dhruv holed out early doors for the 200^th time in his Gents’ career as the hundred came up in the 29^th over, with Jim’s powers of concentration absolutely unwavering.

Sanjay and Jim were magnificent. Through Raderecht’s long spell of looping leg-spin and Sier’s quicker variations they played shots all round the ground, but never completely broke free, thanks to some good ground fielding and sensible field placement from Gary Lynch. The two Gents moved the score on to 156 in the 40^th over when Sanjay, having struck five fours, became Flack’s third victim. Jim had now moved serenely to his third fifty of the season. The omnipresent Flack dropped him once, when on 44, but otherwise Jim never looked in trouble. He survived the loss of Eddie, hoiking over a straight one, and Snarler, whose lofted on-drive off Owen two balls before his downfall was the shot of the innings. A muted Toddy kept him company as he gave it the long-handle in the final overs, striking two of his ten fours in the final over of the innings. The final total was The Gents’ highest for 24 matches and their best v. Weasels since 1995.

The tea interval saw an amusing misunderstanding. The catering lady, caught by surprise by the timing of the break, brought out some tiny 15°-arc slabs of pizza, one each, and a few crisps. No doubt one or two teams on the circuit would have flounced off there and then to an internet café to post a complaint, but in fact the usual huge plates of sarnies and cakes duly arrived. The game restarted at 5.15pm. Big Derek opined that "with our batting order today we’ll all be back in the hutch in 45 minutes." It turned out that he was not far wrong. When working out one’s tactics, one tends not to assume a position of 15 for seven after eight overs. The bowling from Pongo and Sanjay (on this day almost as fast) was top drawer but in the batting side’s favour were a hard pitch and a fast outfield. It defied logic.

First to go was prolific batter Dave Raderecht. He has scored a century for NBW, averages 26 for them and famously partnered Bill Flack in their 231 unbeaten opening partnership to beat Urban Associates in 1998. Dave dabbed a single in each of the first two overs. A bye saw him at the non-striker’s end. The amusingly named Pagan then clipped to the left of mid-wicket Jim and stayed put as Raderecht tore up the pitch. A good pick-up and throw and Sanjay took the bails off in a flash. Radders was not happy but declined a bat hurl, contenting himself with a soliloquy about rugby, concluding that Pagan was a lurking flanker, or something. Snarler, charging in from the station end, then struck with two lbws in three balls, the umpire scarcely hesitating in either instance before raising the finger. Flack then defiantly drove two fours off Sanjay before Snarler struck twice more in his next over. Southpaw Smith’s dismissal was the most spectacular of the day, the off stump flying along the ground, before Lynch was castled two balls later. Sanjay then got in on the act big time, bowling Flack and Edgerton in his fourth blisteringly fast over.

So, Weasels were 15 for seven. During this mayhem they displayed the usual self-effacement. People like Jez Owen are true sportsmen, behaving the same in victory or defeat. That is not to say that they are not competitive individuals, it is just that they echo Kipling’s wise words on Triumph and Disaster. The Commander phoned several minutes later and gracelessly asked, "Who have they got out today then?" Well, they did not have out Bill Flack, Rosy West, Ernie Tattersdill and Ian Groves-Loader but two of their team had struck centuries. It was all like that mad day in 1993 when The Gents, with massive Beggar support from Bradford, Folley and Hill (eight wickets’ worth to be precise), skittled NBW for 48. But this was barmier and record books were being consulted to check out the Weasels’ nadir. Forty-one all out as it happens. They were praying for that when Edgerton was bowled.

Stefan Sier is a class act and so is the Canadian Jay Pinnock, though heavily favouring the off-side. Pongo made the double change after twelve overs, bringing on Eddie and Dhruv. Mr Fitch got some good lift from the hard wicket and Dhruv turned the leg-break, though not extravagantly as he had against West XI. He did, however, induce an edge into the slips, where Buck shelled it diving forward. At Victoria RG in 1998 and King George’s Fields in 1999, The Gents had clung on for worthy draws, though they were respectively 160 and 93 runs shy come stumps. The Weasels were absolutely right to play for the draw and went about it in a canny way, playing a few aggressive shots to ensure that the field could not be brought in too close for fear of injury. The regulation comedy moment came courtesy of Mr Todd. He did terribly well to chase the ball, which had gone for bye,s down to the sightscreen whence he attempted to throw in. Except that Danny bowls in, he does not throw in. And sometimes, and we’ve all seen it, the ball slips from the bowler’s grasp and flies back over his shoulder. That’ll be four byes debited to Colin Naish then and how he laughed.

The merry tumble of wickets had meant that only fourteen overs could be bowled in the hour before a quarter-past six. The self-imposed task for the eighth-wicket Weasels’ pair was survival for 26 overs, something they looked for a long time that they could achieve. Snarler came back off a shorter run, replacing Fitch, but still could not get the breakthrough. With only seven overs left, the stand was still intact and Snarler rang the changes again, bringing on Sanjay from the south end. This was great cricket, The Weasels cheering every over of survival.