Ts come out second best and Indian Gym cruise home

Twickenham                154-9 (40 overs)                     Martin Fairn 54, P. Sagoo 3-11

Indian Gym                 155-3 (23 overs)                      R. Joshi 59, Eddie Paxton 2-21

A bright and breezy half century from Martin Fairn and a cheeky two wicket haul by Eddie Paxton were the highlights of a disappointing afternoon for Twickenham at Indian Gymkhana.  The hosts bossed the match more or less from start to finish, as the Ts struggled to get out of second gear.  At least the curry for tea was pretty decent …

Cricket games normally throw up more than their fair share of talking points.  And Sunday’s encounter at Indian Gym was no different.  We had stumpings that weren’t given out (fair play to Karl Rand for (i) some pretty speedy glove work and (ii) for not sending a few Anglo-Saxon terms in the direction of the umpire), we had lovely straight sixes by Martin Fairn, we had Sarwant Singh bowling with three slips and two gulleys at one point and we even had Eddie Paxton tweaking and twirling nicely from the Great West Road End.  All good. 

The major talking point, however, came over the Hendo-tea-o-meter.  The discourse would no doubt have left Oxford University’s Debating Society purring in admiration, as most of the team got involved in deep discussion of teas, grades and important points to note in deciding on them.  It quickly became apparent that Eddie Paxton was the hard man of the Ts side, stoutly declaring that the curry (three varieties, one of which was vegetarian), rice and bits of assorted greenery were nothing more than a C+.  “Quantity is the golden rule, and second portions were nowhere to be seen” gravely noted the Ts’ opening bat.  Phil Walker, a learned and highly respected observer of all things tea-like, observed that the curry was actually very nice, and that that should count for something.  Disco bemoaned the disappointingly petite tea cups that were on offer (“in the 21^st Century, mugs are the way forward”), whilst Tom Nickels recalled, all misty-eyed, the wonders of teas in Yorkshire village cricket.  “Nowt beats a Yorkshire village tea, I tell thee” he proclaimed. 

Indeed, the start of the second innings was actually delayed for a few moments as the learned heads drank another cupper and sought consensus.  In the end, Paxton relented and a B was agreed upon.  Curry for tea is superb – full stop.  Although a bit more of it, with the odd naan bread and perhaps a cake or two on top would no doubt see the Hendometer pushing up towards the A bracket.  BUT THEN … after the game another bombshell that threw all previous analysis out of the window.  “That’ll be £45 for teas please” sent murmurs of discontent through the ranks and a thorough revision of the original grade was called for.  “There’s too much grade inflation out there, I tell thee” mumbled Nickels, and the consensus quickly moved back towards the hardline stance of Eddie Paxton.  Obviously suspecting that there was a form of mutiny in the ranks, the Indian Gym skipper Amardeep quickly entered the diplomatic fray by stating that £40 would do after all; a wise move, ultimately preserving the B (even if it was a B-) grade rating.  Savvy stuff from Amardeep, loving your work …

Over and above the tea, there was also a bit of cricket played.  After a pretty woeful start in the face of good bowling Martin Fairn rescued the Ts innings with a belligerent 54.  His two straight sixes were a joy to behold and he brought a welcome bit of impetus to proceedings.  Steve Gomes also played some entertaining shots late on (including a lovely pulled six over square leg), whilst Sarwant Singh and Tom Nickells briefly flickered without really coming to light.

Given that the Ts could only muster 154 the visitors knew that early inroads were the only option if they were to have a chance of winning the game.  Unfortunately, it didn’t quite happen.  Both Garth Borain and Sarwant Singh bowled much better than their figures would have you believe, with chances flying just wide, over or through the slips and gulleys.  Singh was particularly unlucky, opening bat Joshi appearing to have mastered the art of getting balls to land just out of reach of Twickenham fielders.  Eddie Paxton’s two wickets gave the score a hint of respectability, but in truth the Ts were out played for most of the day.  Not to worry, at least the curry was tasty …