Clapham Nomads v Kempton - 16/5/10

Clapham Nomads took on new opposition, Kempton, at the last-resort ground of Fishponds Road Rec in Tooting. There was a delayed start as some of the away players had the misfortune to get stuck in traffic behind Chelsea's FA Cup-winning parade through Wandsworth.

Kempton are a very strong league club and, as they have only one Sunday side, we were up against several Surrey County League first-teamers including an Overseas Player. We had to play on a used pitch as our allocated track was much too close to the cemetery boundary.

Openers Mark Bradshaw and Peter Moth faced the music from the Overseas Player, an Aussie called Henderson who obtained movement both ways at a lively Fast-Medium, and from the distinctly rapid Parks who deployed away swing and some short stuff. It was tough going, particularly when Parks began to find a spot from which the ball barely bounced; thankfully not on the stumps. Both batsmen coped admirably, with Bradshaw playing possibly the shot of the season so far - a textbook square cut for four. Moth looked very solid and hit Parks imperiously back over the paceman's head before succumbing in the 7th over to the first low bounce from Henderson's end. This was Peter's second unlucky dismissal in successive weeks but he played a useful part in blunting some of the new ball attack's edge. This bowling was high quality and there was a sense that they could have run through a Nomads batting line-up containing its share of flamboyant stroke-makers.
Abdul Khan made a welcome return from injury at No.3 but soon flicked Parks up to point. Hassan Khan joined Bradshaw and took Nomads safely through to a double bowling change after 10 overs with the score around 30 for 2. Henderson was replaced by the young spinner Danny Loveridge who gave notice of dangerous intent by turning his 5th ball in very sharply from the off side. He followed this in his next over with possibly the Sunday cricket "Ball of the Century" which jagged alarmingly in from well wide outside off and flicked Mark Bradshaw's shoulder on its way down the leg side. Extraordinary stuff. Fortunately the spinner bowled 1 or 2 looser balls in every over and Hassan Khan was particularly harsh on these with firm straight hitting and excellent use of his feet. The other change bowler was quickish but not that accurate and both batsmen took a heavy toll on him. The fifty partnership was passed with our lads in charge but the tide was stemmed by a brilliant diving catch by Square leg Gavin Miller to dismiss Khan. the fielders acknowledged the importance of this wicket with a football-style celebration.
Out stepped the Comeback Kid Amin who saw off a few tricky deliveries before the familiar twinkle returned to his eye and we realised only one thing was on his mind. Several of his clean hits dropped just short of the rope but he finally got his and our heart's desire to take him from 37 to 43. He fell shortly afterwards; his job done.
Meanwhile, another spinner - the aptly named Trevor Warne - replaced Loveridge. He had been genuinely mistaken for Andrew West when we saw him approach the ground and he soon showed that he shared some of the Nomads legend's accuracy and could also turn the ball. In his 4th over, with Nomads starting to dominate at 133 for 3, Warne struck twice, having Mark Bradshaw leg before for a crucial 47, one of his best Nomads innings, and Riaz Khan, also LBW, 2 balls later.
The innings petered out somewhat after Amin's dismissal but Gopi, Gideon and Emil all chipped in with runs in fading light as rain threatened and Nomads finished on 180 for 8 from the full 35 which seemed more than reasonable against a classy attack on a less than classy pitch.
Heavy rain delayed the reply but bright sunshine then seemed to promise that the game could be completed. Hassan looked in fine form and soon had 2 wickets to his name; a smart catch by Amin under a skier at mid-on and quick revenge by comprehensively bowling Gavin Miller, the youngster who had caught him. Despite these early losses, Kempton were still at the races and No. 3 Natarajan began picking off Emil Todorow for some resounding leg-side boundaries. The skipper did bowl better than last week though, and was perhaps unlucky with a couple of good lbw shouts. A third wicket for H. Khan, from a shocking shooter, was followed by an increase in tempo from Natarajan and a double bowling change after 14 overs with the score on 59 for 3. Gideon Reeve took over from Todorow and set about trying to find the dodgy patch on the pitch. Gopi's second over produced what proved to be the climactic moment of the match as the Mystery Bowler produced a sharp leg-cutter to find the outside edge and keeper John Crossland swooped like a gazelle at full stretch to pouch the chance. As if in appreciation from any Gods that were watching, the heavens then opened and a spectacular thunderstorm brought proceedings to a close with Kempton on 72 for 4. I will discuss the result in the next post when I have looked at Duckworth and Lewis's website. Man of the Match is Hassan Khan again for a barnstorming 39 and 3 quick wickets against a good batting side, though Mark Bradshaw's 47 was a fine innings and puts him a close second. Fielder of the Day can only be John "The Cat" Crossland for his weather-altering moment of brilliance.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 180 for 8 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw - 47
P. Moth - 7
A. Khan - 0
H. Khan - 39
Amin - 43
R. Khan - 0
G. Pala - 5
G. Reeve - 6 not out
E. Todorow - 3

F.O.W. - 16,20,88,137,137,162,170,180

KEMPTON 72 for 4 from 16.4 overs

H. Khan - 7-0-22-3
E. Todorow - 7-1-36-0
G. Pala - 1.4-0-6-1
G. Reeve - 1-0-7-0

Result - Clapham Nomads won by 4 runs (Duckworth-Lewis Method.)