It was a day of typically high drama at Ex-Blues on Sunday, as Kent Ramblas got the better of London City at the third time of asking to seal an impressive win on a day that saw plenty of landmarks reached and records broken.

Ahead of the game, there were some personal milestones to acknowledge, with former leader Jonny Stocks receiving his tankard for becoming the third man to reach 100 appearances, while Alex Danks was the recipient of the natty Ramblas floppy blue as he notched up his 50th game in our colours.

Losing the toss, Michael Cooper may well have been forgiven for thinking the worst, but in a change to the previous two encounters, the visitors opted to bat first in the 35-over game, something the Ramblas were relieved to hear having seen London City make light work of the targets set in the last two years.

On a pitch that was surprisingly damp considering it hadn’t rained since Wednesday, the Ramblas’ premium bowling pair of Mark Loughlin and Doug Danks began proceedings and were on the money from the off; the former swinging the ball delightfully to consistently beat the batsman in a four-over spell of the highest order. From the other end, D. Danks was immediately in the wickets, claiming a caught and bowled chance from his first delivery to equal the Ramblas season record for wickets.

D. Danks then got himself in the record books, claiming the wicket of the opposition captain LBW to seal his 24th wicket of a remarkable season, while in the process also collecting his 50th for the Ramblas. Bravo, Deadly Doug!

With the intention of bringing back the all-firing Loughlin later in the game, Cap’n Cooper then opted for twin spin, as Geoff Parrett teamed up with D. Danks. Despite an ‘interesting’ (dare we say Scoates-esque) first over, Parrett showed you can’t keep a good Rambla down, claiming a wicket from the final delivery thanks to a characteristically sharp take at extra cover by Stocks.

The pair continued to probe and challenge, both seeing chances go down in the field, before an eventful last couple of overs from Parrett. First, Ed Gibbs brilliantly ran out the top-scoring City batsman as he scooped the ball up on the run from mid-wicket to get his man with a direct hit, before the rest of the over was seen off and drinks were gratefully consumed with the visitors 75/4 at the halfway stage.

With D. Danks bowled out for the day having posted the impressive figures of 7-1-21-2, Gibbs was brought into the attack to join Parrett who then took the 18th wicket of his own superlative season – Loughlin taking a cracking catch at cow corner.

Cooper then turned to Thomas, who was desperately seeking the two victims he needed to become the second Rambla in the 100-wicket club. Things did not start off encouragingly, with his first ball being smited well over the head of Loughlin for six. However, he got his revenge three balls later as the batsman tried to repeat the feat, but this time the high, looping ball found the hands of Loughlin for his second excellent take of the day.

As Gibbs continued to search for that nagging line and length that has proved successful in previous games, Thomas became wayward as he strived to reach three figures. The pair’s collective lack of control for a few overs helped the visitors’ score pass the hundred mark, but one plus side was that the Ramblas’ fielding was back up to its high standards after a few ropy weeks, with some excellent stops in the field, in particular by Cooper, Dave Green and Steve Fitch, while A. Danks took a fabulous diving take down the leg side to showcase his wicket-keeping talents.

Gibbs was unfortunate not to make any headway before being replaced by Fitch who followed the precedent set by some of his longer-standing colleagues by offering up what can be politely described as a ‘mixed bag’ of a first over.

From the other end, Thomas’s next over saw the ball twice go to the boundary before another drop to the covers saw Stocks move swiftly to his left then propel the ball back to the bowler who whipped the bails off to leave the score at 145/7.

Fitch followed up that first over with a superb maiden to retain the pressure, before Thomas showed more of his season’s form. A single saw the big-hitting Ali off strike and a dot ball was then followed by the bowler’s landmark wicket, caught by Parrett at mid-off. Not content with that, Thomas then caught the new man in from his very next delivery to leave himself on a hat-trick…

…Alas, the hat-trick ball proved a monumental anticlimax, as, with the field brought in for the novice batsman, Thomas proceeded to throw down a filthy wide. A dot ball followed, then from the final ball of the over, the bowler managed to get an off-cutter to jag back in and tickle the bail off to see the visitors post a total of 147 from just 27 overs.

While the Ramblas congratulated themselves on a job well done, the swift conclusion to the innings was not entirely to the liking of the culinary queen that is Mrs C, who was jolted into action before putting on another awesome feast in what was her last selfless offering for us. Thanks for the memories and full stomachs, Mrs C!

After that excellent feed, it was down to Stocks and Cooper to lead the charge. While the former was quickly displaying the touch of a man in peak form, the latter was – for the third successive week – on the end of a snorter, as his timbers were dismantled.

That brought in another who has acted as captain, the headache-ridden Sam Ford. In tandem with Stocks, Ford nudged the score along at a healthy five an over with smart singles and well-timed strokes for four. Meanwhile, Stocks was steadily going about his business before ‘doing a Cooper’ – namely seeing the ball trickle on to the wicket, but not dislodging the bails.

The pair united to make the most of that good fortune to put on a 50 partnership, before Stocks’s luck ran out as a filthy delivery was played onto his stumps. Still, his fine 30 had helped take the score to 67/2 in the 14th over, meaning the Ramblas were well ahead of the game. But, as regular readers know, it’s rarely that straightforward…

In Stocks’s stead was Green, who benefitted from the nous of Ford at the other end. Watchful when necessary, he still showed he wasn’t going to totally rein in his natural game with some big fours.

Alas, the burgeoning partnership came to an end on 37, with Green bowled having reached a valuable – and personal best – score of 18 to help the Ramblas to 104 in the 22nd over. Although never ones to count their chickens, the sight of A. Danks joining Ford was a reassuring one for the Ramblas. With 44 needed from 13 overs, and two of their best batsmen in the middle, it felt as much of a formality as it can be for the hosts.

Not to be outdone by the departed Green, Ford went even bigger with two sweet maximums either side of reaching his own half-century as the Ramblas inched towards the finishing line. However – and as if you didn’t see this coming – a mini collapse soon had nerves frayed and fingernails bitten.

Having scored an impressive 50-ball 58, Ford was bowled by the left-arm pace of Ali with the scoreboard reading 128; the Ramblas still 20 from victory. Then, at the end of the over, Fitch – promoted up the order having been denied the opportunity to add to his two overs with the ball – was caught at square leg for nought.

The situation was compounded further two overs later, with A. Danks departing for six in a similar manner to Fitch – in the blink of an eye, the Ramblas had gone from 128/3 to 129/6 and the visitors now scented blood.

Gibbs and Loughlin were the new men in tasked with accumulating the 19 runs required. The tension was seeping its way out to the field, as quick singles forced the fielders into erratic returns to the wicket-keeper, but the Ramblas’ batsmen were unable to capitalise. Loughlin scored an important four down the ground to take the required runs down to single figures, but that joy was soon eradicated as he was bowled the next ball.

Parrett was the next man to walk the plank, with the words “Play your natural game” ringing in his ears. For those that don’t know, that means biffing the ball an almighty distance – to the delight of his teammates and Ramblas everywhere. However, the London City bowling had tightened up and, having run through for a bye, three dot balls were followed by a four from Parrett; for the non-mathematicians among you, that meant just four more runs were needed.

It was Gibbs’s turn to face at the start of the 31st over and from the very first delivery he hooked the ball to the square-leg boundary to take the Ramblas over the line in what turned out to be a thrillingly close three-wicket win. That win, incidentally, took the Ramblas to a record tenth for the season and also ensures, for the first time in their eight-year history, they’ll end the season with more wins than defeats. That’s what I call progress.

The visitors did well to recover from despairing positions with bat and ball, but the excellent fielding work by the Ramblas more than backed up a stellar effort from the bowlers, before the batsmen saw us home. All in all, it was a game befitting of so many personal and collective milestones and a fine microcosm of what it’s like to be part of the Ramblas collective.

There’s no time to rest on our laurels, though, as we return to West Wickham next week to host Wrotham.

Ramblas MVP: The bowling efforts of Doug Danks, Geoff Parrett and Chris Thomas all deserve a mention, while the superlative work all round from Mark Loughlin who set a new record for catches in a season was important in setting the tone in the field. Likewise, Jonny Stocks’s sharp work in the field was further backed up by a fine 30 with the bat, but for the 50-ball 58 that proved vital in the run chase, this week we give the nod to Sam Ford.