Kingston Lefthanders v Nomads - 14/6/09

NOMADS' INNINGS

On a very pleasant and sunny day in Surbiton, Clapham Nomads found themselves batting first against Kingston Lefthanders in a timed game. The pitch looked dry and likely to break up as the afternoon went on. Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson opened the batting for Nomads against the the Lefthanders' medium pace opening attack. However, Bradshaw made only five runs before he steered a short-ish ball from Lewis straight to slip. Jim Joyce then joined Fewson in a rollicking partnership of 82 at 7 an over as both players slapped the ball all over the place. Both were given a life by the Lefthanders' fielders before Joyce was bowled by Connett for 40.
Abdul made good use of the sweep shot in a partnership of about 30 with Ben Fewson and kept our run rate up around 6 an over. Abdul was eventually caught behind for 17. Ajmal and Riaz were both dismissed for ducks by the Lefthanders' young medium pacer and the innings was in the balance at about 130 for 5. Amin made a tentative start before he unfurled some outstanding drives. After slowing down around his 50, Ben Fewson attacked once more, playing some particularly good shots off the leg-spin of Connett. Lefthanders continued to drop catches - one poor chap displayed admirable bravery with his ground-fielding but really should have been moved from the catching firing line by his captain. However, the Lefthanders ground-fielding was pretty sound throughout. Ben completed his maiden century with a short single to mid-wicket. Amin fell LBW to Connett for 40 - a very encouraging innings from a new player. Emil Todorow was promptly run out without scoring and Gideon Reeve got off the mark and the innings closed on 233 for 7. Ben Fewson made an outstanding unbeaten 110. The Lefthanders over rate was pretty poor - 34 overs in 2 and a half hours - especially so as none of their bowlers had much of a run-up and there were few fielding changes made. This is one of the reasons why I don't really enjoy timed matches as it can reward such indisciplined cricket. MB

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS' INNINGS

Kingston Lefthanders took the field facing a daunting target of 234 for victory in 1 hour plus 20 overs. They are a formidable defensive batting unit. Nomads have set a target of over 100 on 9 or 10 occasions in time games against them and have only managed to dismiss them twice. At least a repeat of last season's defeat looked unlikely, though with a comparatively new-look Lefthanders side we couldn't be certain.
Lively Medium-Fast bowler Assad, another find from the Riaz Khan production line of talent, took one end with skipper Emil Todorow supplying his usual trickery uphill at the other end. Lefthanders' openers made their intentions clear from the first over, anything accurate was met with a firm, dead bat; pretty much anything else was waved through to wicketkeeper John Crossland. Opener Nick Crouch was particularly solid in a role he has played many times in these fixtures. Excitement was in short supply but, with the score in the teens, Todorow found a bit of extra life and had Crouch's partner magnificently caught, one-handed, in the slips by Ajmal.
The No. 3 proved just as competent as Crouch and, as time drifted by towards the one hour mark with very little acceleration, a draw seemed fairly inevitable. A few spectators approached the boundary, eager to watch some more of the game that has been filling TV screens lately (the one starring Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi,) but left quite suddenly after an over or two, scratching ther heads in bafflement.
Assad and Todorow bowled right through to the drinks break which was taken with 20 overs remaining and the score on 31 for 1. Ajmal replaced Assad after the break and was into his stride with good pace but the batsmen still seemed fairly untroubled. Gideon Reeve replaced Emil Todorow 3 overs later. Reeve had been picked out by Mark Bradshaw in the field as the bowler most likely to find "the ridge" from the Surbiton End and, right on cue in his second over he produced a shooter to send the No 3 on his way. When Gideon followed this by bowling Crouch around his legs in his next over the door had opened slightly. It was forced wide open in the next over when Ajmal scattered the stumps of Dave Connett, one of the best defensive players at this level. With 6 wickets to be claimed in 11 overs, and Kingston's less defensively-minded players to come, there was hope. Ajmal ratched up the excitement level with 3 further wickets - all bowled. Reeve was replaced by Riaz Khan who didn't really find his radar. Likewise the left-armer Amin, though he did claim a wicket.
With 4 overs to go, we needed 2 wickets and the skipper turned to the spin of Jim Joyce. Halfway through the over, the batsman chipped the ball just over Joyce's head. The bowler wheeled back and looked odds-on to claim the catch but he unfortunately collided with the non-striker and the chance went astray. This was now more exciting and incident-packed than any 20-20 rubbish. In an inspired piece of captaincy, Assad was brought back at the Surbiton End and his full toss was steered at waist height straight to the waiting Gideon Reeve at gully. The final over was bowled by Assad and, with 9 wickets down, the Lefthanders batsman known by his team-mates as "Brains" faced the music with stout defence the requirement. Several extravagant strokes failed to connect but, from the fifth ball, Brains smacked it into the off-side and scampered a single; with one wicket in hand and 165 runs required off the last ball, the batsman called for a quick second (the ball was in the fielder's hand) but this was declined by his partner.
The last ball was safely negotiated and an unexpectedly exciting game ended in a draw.
There had been some debate between John and Emil as to whether Emil should have declared with 4 overs of Nomads innings to go (after Ben had completed his 100) and obviously the extra 4 overs could have been decisive, but sometimes the perceived insult of a before-tea declaration can galvanise opposition. Anyway, it was an enjoyable game; certainly more enjoyable than the facile victories we have recorded over Kingston in Limited Overs games at home.
Man of the Match was Ben Fewson for his career-best 110 Not Out, the 6th highest score in Nomads history. Fielder of the Day is a tougher choice. There was very little fielding to be done as very few shots were played. John Crossland was busy and good, but he has been even better at times this season. There were only 2 catches and Ajmal's was tougher so I will nominate him.
NL