One thing immediately strikes you upon entry to The Surrey Cricketers - the smell of testosterone and aftershave.

At prime time on a Friday night there were 40 middle-to-senior-aged men compared to two young ladies (sat near the door in case they needed a quick getaway I suppose) and the bar woman (who was trapped but seemed to be enjoying herself none-the-less).

Being a man myself you would think I would like the company of so many of my kind but in truth I found it slightly unnerving like I had inadvertently walked into a Gentleman's club and that all of a sudden we were going to start smoking cigars, playing bridge and reminiscing about the good 'ol times when the country wasn't going to pot.

Thankfully none of those things happened during the course of my £3 pint of Carling, drunk in a corner which would normally be the stage for the weekly Saturday night musicians.

The other thing that struck me was the size of it inside.

Situated on a fork in the road it looks a big pub from the outside but is actually rather small once you get though the doors because the bar takes up a lot of space in the middle.

The fact that one part of it is set aside for a pool table and darts board (which was also being shown on the television screens instead of the usual sub-standard Skysports Spanish C-League action you get in other places), might have added to the small feeling but I just found it odd.

I did like the hundred or so tankards that were hanging from the ceiling and the fairy lights twinkling around the bar though and the pint was nice enough.

There were also pictures of cricket teams (hence the name I suppose) from days gone by all over the walls.

If it's raucous Friday night fun you want on your way into town then this is not the place but if talking days gone by with other men is your scene then make sure you stop by.

DECOR: *** Liked the tankards, pictures and fairy lights but the rest was boring.

DRINK: *** A good enough and traditional selection.

PRICE: *** £3 for a pint of Carling is about right these days.

ATMOSPHERE: ** err...maybe I didn't catch it on the best night but there wasn't one.

STAFF: *** There only seemed to be one woman serving on a Friday night but she coped well.

The Surrey Cricketers, 23 West St, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1DJ.