There is spiced lamb, beef rump and sparkling rosé on the 'endless lunch' menu as Andrew Strauss sits down in the hospitality tent at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in west London. But, he admits, after a damaging blow to his self-esteem, he is feeling "pretty sour".
Strauss is playing padel - a squash/tennis hybrid - alongside a professional player but has just been beaten 6-4 in the semi-finals of the pro-celebrity challenge at the inaugural Alfred Dunhill Padel Classic. As, indeed, in the other half of the draw, has another man whose competitive spirit is unlikely to be doused by retirement: James Anderson.
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For Strauss, this was an opportunity to catch up with Anderson after he confirmed that he will retire from international cricket after England's first Test of the summer: "It was just to congratulate him and have a chat about what his plans are moving forward. Rightly, he's going to take stock and he wants to get through this game well, and finish on a real high.
"I really hope he gets the send-off he deserves at Lord's. People have been talking about this moment for years - in a way, we got lured into thinking it was never going to come. It's been an extraordinary career with extraordinary resilience and will to keep going. Playing sport at the highest level is not an easy thing, and bowling's even harder. He's one of the great bowlers of all time."
Anderson was an integral part of the England team that Strauss led to No. 1 in the ICC's rankings: he was the leading wicket-taker in the 2010-11 Ashes, their most recent win in Australia, and took 21 in four Tests against India the following summer. "He was just utterly dependable," Strauss recalls.
"He was one of those bowlers that you knew what you were going to get, every time. He had a great competitive fire and instinct, and extraordinary skill. Any captain would love to have him in their team. The other thing is that he kept fit: he never - or at least, very rarely - got injured. It's quite depressing to think that he made his England debut before I did. I've been retired for 12 years now!"