Putney v Clapham Nomads - 26/7/09

It was down to Putney to join the long list of players who have performed at Putney's historic ground on Lower Common; Jack Hobbs, Jim Laker and now the Nomads. Putney's skipper had accidentally revealed in a forwarded e-mail that he wanted his Fixtures Secretary to find weak opposition as they had been thrashed a lot lately, so the home side's smiles were bright as Messrs Todorow, Crossland and Lefebve (combined age 158) approached them at the start of play; perhaps less so when the rest of our honed young athletes arrived.

Nomads were inserted under a menacing sky. In the absence of Mark Bradshaw, and with Prasanth running late, Ben Fewson and Mahesh Vyas opened and the start was somewhat shaky. Vyas was dropped twice by first slip in the first 5 overs while Fewson snicked one through the slips for four and dug out one that barely bounced. The bowling wasn't particularly threatening though Willow kept a decent line and length from the Pavilion End. 8 overs passed on 24 for 0 but a double bowling change was the cue for acceleration as the batsmen set about "Kermit" and Fahad. As ever, Vyas played exclusively on the leg side early on while Fewson was strongest through the covers. This disrupted the fielding side almost as well as having a left-hand / right-hand combination. 50 was passed in the 11th over and Vyas celebrated by cutting a 4 past point, a sure sign that he was finding form. Both batsmen looked in good touch, in fact, (though Fewson was dropped at mid-on while in the 30s) and it came as rather a surprise when Vyas finally skied one off Fahad and departed for 40 - his best Nomads score for some time. 79 for 1.

Jim Joyce joined Fewson but still appeared hampered by the back injury he sustained last week and he managed only a rather edgy 6 before being bowled.

Out came Prasanth but, after a couple of nice shots, he was undone by a ball that bowled him around his legs. A rare low score for this most consistent of players. 122 for 3. Ben Fewson had by now reached his 50 and he was joined by Amin in an uncharacteristically defensive mood - he blocked for an over before the top of his bails were clipped by a good 'un. Hassan Khan appeared in the unusually low No.6 slot and faced up to the leg-spinner Hill, whose nickname "McWarne" appeared to be based more on his Scottish accent than his degree of turn. Having said that, he had a close LBW shout against Hassan. The No.6 hit a couple of nice shots but didn't last too long, top-edging a pull and being well snapped up in the deep. 139 for 5 was probably the high-water mark for Putney. Ajmal caused the ball to be lost in undergrowth 3 times in an over from Hill - one a mighty 6 - and Fewson repeated the trick in the following over. Hill took revenge by bowling Ajmal and then did the same to Gopi 3 balls later

Nomads might just about have fitted the bill as the type of opposition Putney were seeking if 179 for 7 had been followed by a tame late-order collapse; instead it was followed by Afghanistani debutant Ismat who absolutely creamed his second ball back over the bowler's head. He followed this with several more good straight hits and, although he was trapped LBW for 25, I think Putney found the strength of this No. 9 a little hard to stomach.

Ben Fewson was beginning to acquire an air of invincibility, firstly when a ball rapped some combination of edge and pad before rolling agonisingly back onto his stumps without dislodging a bail, and then when a throw back to the bowler bounced on top of his helmet and made an interesting springy noise without in any way perturbing the batsman. Even a helmetless blow on the head would probably not have affected him - it was that sort of day - and the chance of a second century this season began to dawn. Emil Todorow came out at No.10 but found difficulty in playing either big shots or giving Fewson the strike. A few scrambled singles left Ben on 88 at the start of the penultimate over and a 4 and 2 from the first two balls put him in pole position. Three were required for the ton with 1 over to go. Fewson hit firmly to long off and, while he and new batsman John Crossland were debating whether to go for 1 or 2, a misfield solved the problem and took him on to a very high quality 101. Nomads closed on an imposing 244 for 9 from the full 40.
Tea was taken in the Pavilion which was oddly situated across 2 main roads and captain Todorow formulated his plans; he would give his six bowlers six overs each and the best 2 would ball the remaining overs if needed. The Putney openers were left hand / right hand and the lefthander attempted to take on Hassan Khan and particularly Todorow. He played 3 or 4 fine straight drives but the wily skipper produced a piece of Ballard-esque trickery and bowled the youngster round his legs. I have never seen a batsman so upset by a dismissal; he shunned the comfort of his team mates and sat in a patch of long grass behind a tree with his head in his hands, gazing at the ground and possibly convulsing a little. He should have realised that it is an honour to be out-thought by Amateur Cricket's craftiest bowler. Hassan picked up a wicket caught behind and then No. 4 Hill smacked a Hassan half-volley straight to Ajmal at square leg. Ajmal caught it cleanly but threw it to the floor instantly in celebration. The batsman was adamant that this counted as a drop and stood his ground. Ajmal was indignant but Nomads allowed the batsman to remain, sensing perhaps that it was unlikely to make too much difference. Ajmal greeted Hill with a bouncer when he entered the attack but this was pulled for 4. Hill was probably Putney's most effective batsman and when he was 4th out with the score in the 40s the game seemed up for the home team.
Wickets were shared out evenly with both openers and both 1st changers (Ajmal and Ismat) taking at least one. I left at 6.30 with the score on 62 for 6 from 22 overs in increasing drizzle and it was evident that not even Duckworth and Lewis could save the home team. In the event, another fine cricketing combination - Gopi and Amin - accounted for the remaining wickets and secured victory for the Nomads by 158 runs.
Man of the Match was clearly Ben Fewson. I'll pass on Fielder of the Day for this one because I've largely forgotten the game by now (7th August). NL

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 244 FOR 9 FROM 40 OVERS

Fewson, 103 Not out
M. Vyas, 40
Joyce, 6
Prasanth, 5
Amin, 0
H. Khan, 8
Ajmal, 16
Gopi, 0
Ismat, 25
Todorow, 1
Crossland, 1 Not out

F.O.W - 79, 98, 122, 124, 142, 179, 181

PUTNEY - 86 All out

H. Khan, 6-1-8-1
Todorow, 4-0-17-1
Ismat, 6-1-16-2
Ajmal, 6-1-29-3
Amin, 3-0-7-2
Gopi, 1.4-0-4-1

Nomads won by 158 runs