The traditional "Longest Day" fixture against local rivals the Energy Exiles is fast becoming one of the highlights of the season. On Thursday there was some doubt whether the match could go ahead but eventually Exiles filled their final few places - and filled them with quality. The venue was the Del Ballard Recreation Ground in Dundonald Road, Wimbledon. I am starting to love this place; ok you get the occasional dead crow lying around and the pitches are too close together, meaning that you risk being decapitated by shots from Sri Lankan League players; but the wickets always seem to play well, it is easy to get to, it has the Ballard connection and, also, Kingston Lefthanders hate it - which means it must have some merit (only joking KL, if you are reading.)
Nomads were down to 10 men due, sadly, to a bereavement.
Skipper Emil Todorow won yet another toss and chose to bat. With his calm but authoritarian Capello-like air, Todorow is even starting to dominate coins and his call of "Heads" was an order rather than a guess.
Mark Bradshaw faced up to his old colleagues and there was a lively start from left-arm quickie and Exiles skipper Andy Wingfield who found the edge of Bradshaw's bat with movement off the pitch - four runs was the result. At the other end a new face to the Nomads, Jeremy Meyer, soon impressed. Ben Fewson was straight off the mark but Meyer bagged the vital wicket of Bradshaw, bowled in the second over with the help of a thick inside edge and a rather large slice of luck.
It was imperative to steady things straight away and No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil did just that. It was useful to have an experienced opener coming in at this point and Prasanth provided excellent support to Fewson who began to accelerate cautiously. Prasanth scored mostly in ones and twos but played one particularly fine shot past point, making the ball spin away from the clutches of the diving fielder. The recovery was well under way when Fewson really took the attack to Exiles with two resounding boundaries off second change Will Bentall. Wicketkeeper Wil Scott speculated that Fewson had yet to find the middle of the bat. Well if he had timed these shots any better they would have cleared the boundary - the borough boundary.
The partnership cruised past the 50 mark. Simon Gundry as first change had opened with good speed but hadn't really found his accuracy until he appealed for a rather adjacent LBW shout against Prasanth. The rebuttal of this appeal seemed to galvanise the big paceman and he bowled as fiery a spell as I have seen him produce. With the help of a diving catch from Wingfield, he quickly dismissed Fewson for a useful 37 to make the score 69 for 2 and then he ripped out the stumps of Pattiyil and No. 5 Riaz Khan in successive balls. This spell completely changed the character of Nomads' innings and, on reflection, it would probably have been better if the LBW appeal had been granted, whether it was out or not.
This burst brought together Gopi Pala and Emil Todorow, two players who always seem to bat well together. Gopi produced some good leg-side hits to take Nomads past 100, while Todorow produced the shot we all wanted to see; the brutal forced blow through mid-off that is a cross between a cut and a drive. Gopi continued to find success with lofted shots but was unfortunate to send one straight to mid-wicket to end a useful stand of 29 which had put Nomads back in with some kind of a chance at 105 for 6 with plenty of overs to go. Gideon Reeve's first ball was a long-hop from spinner David Stiffell and he had the right idea in aiming to belt it away for 4 but unfortunately he appeared to find the bottom edge and was bowled.
This left Nomads founder-members Todorow, Crossland and Lefebve to attempt to force the score up to respectability and, no doubt, provide some Senior Moments. Crossland stuck around for a while but was bowled by Stiffell. Lefebve was last man as his injury would deprive him of his ability - such as it is - to take sharp singles. The returning Wingfield greeted him with an excellent bouncer which was gloved to safety but followed up with a long-hop on the batsman's favourite leg-side which went for 4. Todorow elbowed a ball from Meyer to the boundary but then fell to the same bowler leaving Nomads all out for 125. We had failed to use 10 of our 40 overs but, since the score was about the same as in last year's match, which Exiles won with 2 balls remaining, there was at least hope that it could be close.
Both Exiles' Patels had turned up to watch part of the match and we had hopes of poaching one of them to make up our 11 but sadly Amil had a broken thumb - we wish you a speedy recovery Amil - and Naren had to leave for family commitments
The familiar left-handed figure of Keith Roberts took guard and applied himself to the task of grinding down Nomads' openers Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow (so often Roberts' nemesis.) The Exiles man looked profoundly untroubled on this occasion but with the normally more aggressive Quentin Davies scoring even more slowly than Roberts, progress was cautious and after 10 overs the score was only 20. With an overall required rate of just above 3 an over, though, there was no need for the batsmen to rush. They saw off the openers but first change Gideon Reeve was into his stride straight away. There was little variable bounce to work with but accuracy soon did the trick as Reeve made the breakthrough in his second over, bowling Davies for 11.
On came Gopi Pala and he quickly produced some of his best bowling of the season. There was a bit of high bounce at his end and the Mystery Bowler exploited this and also bowled No. 3 Searle with a good one. Roberts was perhaps slightly unfortunate to be given LBW to Gopi despite getting in a reasonable stride. 30 for 3 and Nomads were beginning to buzz. A dangerous partnership between Sri Pathmanathan and James Watson was ended by a piece of typical Nomadic fielding brilliance - a bullet throw from Hassan Khan was well collected by Gideon Reeve who whipped off the bails to run out Watson who had been attempting a risky second run.
The required rate at this stage was fluctuating between 4 and 4.5 an over but we knew there were heavy scorers down the order and wickets were paramount. We soon had a vital one with Gopi yorking Pathmanathan to make it 58 for 5. Simon Gundry and Wil Scott dug in but soon began to score fairly freely and made their way up to 80 when Riaz Khan bowled Scott. 4 wickets remained and around 4 an over was needed. Gundry was beginning to look dangerous and we knew Andy Wingfield can disturb the scorers. We also had a suspicion that some of Exiles' new players were unlikely to be the worst batsmen in the world. So it proved as No. 8 Will Bentall, after picking his way gingerly through a tight 5 balls from Emil Todorow, took one step down the pitch and despatched the veteran seamer over long on for 6, dashing Todorow's hopes of yet another maiden and Nomads' hopes of victory.
Riaz Khan planted a short one into S. Gundry's midriff but, like the LBW incident, this proved to be counter-productive as the big all-rounder absolutely murdered the next ball clean out of the ground, narrowly missing a lucky motorist in Dundonald Road. The last rites were administered fairly perfunctorily to Nomads with these two batsmen sharing five sixes as Exiles swept to a 4-wicket victory with 7 overs to spare.
It was a great all-round performance from Simon Gundry without which we could have got a lot closer. Exiles probably had a little more depth in their batting, certainly in the lower order, but it was a good bowling display from Nomads with all 5 bowlers looking good. Fielding was fair from a side depleted by absence and injury; there were a few chances but they were mostly pretty tricky or came too late.
So honours are even between these great rivals over the two games and it would be a particularly cheap and sad individual who would claim an aggregate victory for the Nomads on faster run rate, especially if he added that it was by a margin of 4.98 to 3.81.
Man of the Match has to be Ben Fewson who produced the highest score by quite a margin and also some fine fielding - see below. The best individual piece of fielding was Hassan and Gideon's run out but Ben Fewson is Fielder of the Day for a performance which combined solidity - he stopped just about everything, mostly with one hand -and the type of flair and artistic interpretation which is rarely seen from Clapham Nomads players; well, on the field anyway.
CLAPHAM NOMADS - 125 all out from 29.5 overs
M. Bradshaw b Meyer 4
B. Fewson c Wingfield b Gundry 37
P. Pattiyil b Gundry 15
H. Khan c Searle b Bentall 9
R. Khan b Gundry 0
G. Pala c Gundry b Stiffell 14
E. Todorow (cpt) b Meyer 8
G. Reeve b Stiffell 0
J. Crossland (wkt) b Stiffell 0
N. Lefebve not out 4
F.O.W. - 5, 69, 82, 82, 86, 105, 105, 115, 125
Bowling;
Wingfield 6-0-29-0
Meyer 6.5-2-18-2
Gundry 6-1-15-3
Bentall 8-1-30-2
Stiffell 3-0-17-2
ENERGY EXILES - 127 for 6 from 33.3 overs
K. Roberts lbw Pala 14
Q. Davies b Reeve 11
J. Searle b Pala 0
S. Pathmanathan b Pala 15
Watson run out 7
W. Scott(wkt) b R. Khan 9
S. Gundry not out 37
W. Bentall not out 20
Did not bat; A. Wingfield (cpt), J. Meyer, D. Stiffell
F.O.W. - 24, 29, 30, 54, 58, 80
Bowling;
H. Khan 6.3-0-18-0
E. Todorow 8-1-26-0
G. Reeve 6-2-15-1
G. Pala 8-1-31-3
R. Khan 5-1-32-1
Clapham Nomads lost by 4 wickets
Wednesday 23 June 2010
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Kingston Lefthanders v Clapham Nomads - 13/6/10
There was a welcome return for two Nomads stalwarts - Chris Kennedy and Terry Bruce-Mills - for this trip, and it was a fairly elderly side that took the field, with 6 men admitting to various ages over 47. With two of our seniors carrying leg injuries, there was a sense that this might be an opportunity for an improving Lefthanders side to record their second victory over Nomads in 15 attempts. Emil Todorow won his 5th toss out of 6 and chose to bat.
In the absence of Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas accompanied Ben Fewson out to the wicket to face a very useful opening attack comprising the wily Chris Turner, an accurate League bowler, and the pace and hostility of former Kingston cc player Declan McArdle. There was plenty of extra bounce in the pitch and McArdle found Fewson's edge twice in the first over. Our man responded with the shot of the day in the third over, thumping McArdle imperiously back over the bowler's head for 4. Vyas also did well to cope with some good bowling and a feisty atmosphere enlivened by the presence of several additional "umpires."
Turner had Fewson caught behind with a riser in the 4th over and then clean bowled Prasanth Pattiyil for 4. Three further overs elapsed and Turner had Vyas adjudged caught behind down the leg side to leave the bowler with figures of 3 for 2 and Nomads in dire difficulty at 22 for 3.
At No. 5, Riaz Khan was the last of the recognised top-order strokemakers and an awful lot seemed to depend on his survival, together with that of No. 4 Hassan Khan.
The pair played themselves in admirably on this awkward pitch, seeing off the openers and beginning to increase the tempo against change bowlers Wilkinson and Geoff "Brains" Ashburn. The arc between mid-wicket and long-on was milked for a regular diet of 2s and the occasional 4. Riaz Khan put the success of the team before the entertainment of his fans and carved out a valuable 30 before falling to Wilkinson with the score on 97, ensuring that the second innings would at least be competitive.
Chris Kennedy was unfortunate that the first ball he had faced for a while was a corker. Gopi prevented the hat-trick and then provided company for Hassan Khan who was accelerating past 50. Nick Crouch came on to bowl his incredibly slow, but dangerously accurate, floaters. Nomads are well aware of the danger of Crouch as, for some reason, he always used to dismiss John Chance. Sure enough, the crafty Lefthander achieved success in his second over, having Gopi caught for a useful 11 at fine leg from one of his deceptive, dipping full-tosses.
Hassan Khan was in top form but just needed someone to stay with him. Emil Todorow lost sight of a good-length ball from the returning McArdle and was bowled, but at last Khan found a foil in John Crossland, who kept out everything Lefthanders could throw at him with guile, footwork and sheer force of personality. Although he scored few runs, Crossland imposed himself on the game and at one stage even threatened to become the senior partner in calling urgently for a quick single off the last ball of a McArdle over to keep the strike.
H. Khan was finally dismissed for a crucial 91 with 8 balls remaining. Terry Bruce-Mills and Crossland failed to add to the score of 168 but at least they batted right up to tea, thus avoiding giving any extra overs to Lefthanders for their run chase.
We were unsure whether Lefthanders would go full-tilt for the runs or whether they would see it out for the draw. The score of 12 for 1 from the first 10 overs indicated the latter. The only wicket came from a rank leg-side long-hop from Todorow - the worst ball he bowled. Nick Crouch edged it and wicketkeeper John Crossland very nearly dropped it. This could possibly have been the worst passage of play in cricket history, but thankfully Crossland just clung on to the chance.
The left-handed Uys hit one cracking 4 to show we could take nothing for granted and when "Brains" Ashburn, after a steady start, began to play with panache and chutzpah through the leg-side, the run chase appeared to be back on.
Todorow dragged Nomads back into it by trapping Ashburn LBW for a fine 15. Terry Bruce-Mills had not bowled for over a year and, had he been rusty, we could have been in difficulty. Thankfully he floated down 6 overs of accurate slow-medium at 4 an over which was a severe dent to Lefthanders' hopes of victory. As ever, Gopi produced variation from the very first ball and looked at his best at times, having Uys caught by Lefebve at slip and then producing sharp turn at above Medium pace to bowl Barry. He was a little unlucky to be taken off after 4 overs but skipper Todorow asked Hassan Khan to return in an effort to take the 5 wickets we needed to snatch victory.
No. 4 Wilkinson and captain Chris Wells looked as dangerous as anyone and scored at 7 or 8 an over for a while, which was just about the asking rate with around 15 overs to go. Riaz Khan was perhaps not bowling quite at his best but it was he who accounted for both these batsmen. Emil Todorow snapped up a very smart catch off his toes at mid-wicket; we never doubted you for a moment, Emil...honestly. Wells was then tricked by a high R. Khan full-toss into toe-ending it straight back to the bowler.
The innings then petered out somewhat. We had 6 overs to take the final 3 wickets but McArdle, Ian and Connor are all competent players, though Hassan Khan bowled Ian in the final over to make it look rather more of a winning draw than it really was.
Man of the Match has to be Hassan Khan for his excellent 91, without which defeat would have been a real possibility. Emil Todorow and Nick Lefebve (despite injury) took nice catches and Chris Kennedy made an absolutely brilliant one-handed diving stop but I would have to award Fielder of the Day to Gopi, who must have covered miles running around the boundary rope. By the end of the game, even Kingston Lefthanders were calling him "Speedy."
CLAPHAM NOMADS - 168 for 8 from 35 overs
B. Fewson - 10
M. Vyas - 5
P. Pattiyil - 4
H. Khan - 91
R. Khan - 30
C. Kennedy - 0
G. Pala - 11
E. Todorow - 0
J. Crossland - 3 not out
T. Bruce-Mills - 0 not out
F.O.W. - 11,17,22,97,97,127,136,168
KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 111 for 8 from 36 overs
H. Khan 11-2-31-1
E. Todorow 8-3-18-2
T. Bruce-Mills 6-0-24-0
G. Pala 4-0-12-2
R. Khan 7-1-16-3
Match drawn
In the absence of Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas accompanied Ben Fewson out to the wicket to face a very useful opening attack comprising the wily Chris Turner, an accurate League bowler, and the pace and hostility of former Kingston cc player Declan McArdle. There was plenty of extra bounce in the pitch and McArdle found Fewson's edge twice in the first over. Our man responded with the shot of the day in the third over, thumping McArdle imperiously back over the bowler's head for 4. Vyas also did well to cope with some good bowling and a feisty atmosphere enlivened by the presence of several additional "umpires."
Turner had Fewson caught behind with a riser in the 4th over and then clean bowled Prasanth Pattiyil for 4. Three further overs elapsed and Turner had Vyas adjudged caught behind down the leg side to leave the bowler with figures of 3 for 2 and Nomads in dire difficulty at 22 for 3.
At No. 5, Riaz Khan was the last of the recognised top-order strokemakers and an awful lot seemed to depend on his survival, together with that of No. 4 Hassan Khan.
The pair played themselves in admirably on this awkward pitch, seeing off the openers and beginning to increase the tempo against change bowlers Wilkinson and Geoff "Brains" Ashburn. The arc between mid-wicket and long-on was milked for a regular diet of 2s and the occasional 4. Riaz Khan put the success of the team before the entertainment of his fans and carved out a valuable 30 before falling to Wilkinson with the score on 97, ensuring that the second innings would at least be competitive.
Chris Kennedy was unfortunate that the first ball he had faced for a while was a corker. Gopi prevented the hat-trick and then provided company for Hassan Khan who was accelerating past 50. Nick Crouch came on to bowl his incredibly slow, but dangerously accurate, floaters. Nomads are well aware of the danger of Crouch as, for some reason, he always used to dismiss John Chance. Sure enough, the crafty Lefthander achieved success in his second over, having Gopi caught for a useful 11 at fine leg from one of his deceptive, dipping full-tosses.
Hassan Khan was in top form but just needed someone to stay with him. Emil Todorow lost sight of a good-length ball from the returning McArdle and was bowled, but at last Khan found a foil in John Crossland, who kept out everything Lefthanders could throw at him with guile, footwork and sheer force of personality. Although he scored few runs, Crossland imposed himself on the game and at one stage even threatened to become the senior partner in calling urgently for a quick single off the last ball of a McArdle over to keep the strike.
H. Khan was finally dismissed for a crucial 91 with 8 balls remaining. Terry Bruce-Mills and Crossland failed to add to the score of 168 but at least they batted right up to tea, thus avoiding giving any extra overs to Lefthanders for their run chase.
We were unsure whether Lefthanders would go full-tilt for the runs or whether they would see it out for the draw. The score of 12 for 1 from the first 10 overs indicated the latter. The only wicket came from a rank leg-side long-hop from Todorow - the worst ball he bowled. Nick Crouch edged it and wicketkeeper John Crossland very nearly dropped it. This could possibly have been the worst passage of play in cricket history, but thankfully Crossland just clung on to the chance.
The left-handed Uys hit one cracking 4 to show we could take nothing for granted and when "Brains" Ashburn, after a steady start, began to play with panache and chutzpah through the leg-side, the run chase appeared to be back on.
Todorow dragged Nomads back into it by trapping Ashburn LBW for a fine 15. Terry Bruce-Mills had not bowled for over a year and, had he been rusty, we could have been in difficulty. Thankfully he floated down 6 overs of accurate slow-medium at 4 an over which was a severe dent to Lefthanders' hopes of victory. As ever, Gopi produced variation from the very first ball and looked at his best at times, having Uys caught by Lefebve at slip and then producing sharp turn at above Medium pace to bowl Barry. He was a little unlucky to be taken off after 4 overs but skipper Todorow asked Hassan Khan to return in an effort to take the 5 wickets we needed to snatch victory.
No. 4 Wilkinson and captain Chris Wells looked as dangerous as anyone and scored at 7 or 8 an over for a while, which was just about the asking rate with around 15 overs to go. Riaz Khan was perhaps not bowling quite at his best but it was he who accounted for both these batsmen. Emil Todorow snapped up a very smart catch off his toes at mid-wicket; we never doubted you for a moment, Emil...honestly. Wells was then tricked by a high R. Khan full-toss into toe-ending it straight back to the bowler.
The innings then petered out somewhat. We had 6 overs to take the final 3 wickets but McArdle, Ian and Connor are all competent players, though Hassan Khan bowled Ian in the final over to make it look rather more of a winning draw than it really was.
Man of the Match has to be Hassan Khan for his excellent 91, without which defeat would have been a real possibility. Emil Todorow and Nick Lefebve (despite injury) took nice catches and Chris Kennedy made an absolutely brilliant one-handed diving stop but I would have to award Fielder of the Day to Gopi, who must have covered miles running around the boundary rope. By the end of the game, even Kingston Lefthanders were calling him "Speedy."
CLAPHAM NOMADS - 168 for 8 from 35 overs
B. Fewson - 10
M. Vyas - 5
P. Pattiyil - 4
H. Khan - 91
R. Khan - 30
C. Kennedy - 0
G. Pala - 11
E. Todorow - 0
J. Crossland - 3 not out
T. Bruce-Mills - 0 not out
F.O.W. - 11,17,22,97,97,127,136,168
KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 111 for 8 from 36 overs
H. Khan 11-2-31-1
E. Todorow 8-3-18-2
T. Bruce-Mills 6-0-24-0
G. Pala 4-0-12-2
R. Khan 7-1-16-3
Match drawn
Tuesday 8 June 2010
Bec Old Boys v Clapham Nomads - 6/6/10
It was a new venue and new opponents for the Nomads as we made our way to the Sutton Grammar School Ground in South Cheam, the excellent if slightly inaccessible home of the Bec Old Boys.
The Home side were, rather like Dulwich or Morden, a mixture of Saturday League players and Sunday men and were a bit similar to the Nomads in being a good blend of youth and experience, different nationalities and abilities. The sides shared another similarity as well, Bec being a former club of Nomads' record run-scorer John Chance.
It is hard to believe that the Nomads could possibly improve on the smart and professional appearance for which they are noted but, thanks to the fine Maroon caps acquired for the team by Mark Bradshaw, they did.
Bec skipper Khaled Mohammed, who once scored a half-century for Nomads against Morden, lost the toss to Emil Todorow and the Master of Coinmanship elected to bat in a 35 over contest.
Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson opened and faced a stiff test against Dipak, who slanted it in threateningly with good bounce, and the late movement of the pacy Nav. Neither of our openers looked in much trouble and Bradshaw found plenty of success against Nav with the firm leg glances which are becoming his trademark. Both batsman were as strong between cover and gully as ever but the good bowling and the outfield, slow after the overnight rain, kept a lid on the scoring rate.
Fewson was put down - a sharp chance - at mid-off but fell in the same area, also off the bowling of Dipak, a couple of overs later. The batsman was frustrated as, having done some hard work against the new ball, he could well have been on for a score on a very fair track.
Jim Joyce soon warmed up with some powerful strokes including an excellent clip to mid-wicket for 4 while Mark Bradshaw was untroubled except for one edge off a Nav lifter which was put down by the wicketkeeper Chez Brown. Nav bowled Joyce for 13 with a beauty but Bradshaw was beginning to dominate, especially against Nav's replacement who bowled several short-ish balls outside off stump - meat and drink to our opening batsman.
Hassan Khan came out No. 4 and continued his fine form of recent weeks. Old Boys' second change was Peter Seaden, who with his dapper, balding, moustachioed appearance and cunningly flighted slow medium bowling bore some resemblance to John's father, the late and much-revered Ron Crossland a.k.a The Guru. Nomads continued to be fairly untroubled, though Seaden had an excellent shout for LBW against Khan just before drinks.
Hassan fell for a useful 28 just after the interval and it was clear that Mark Bradshaw was holding things together, even more so when Mahesh Vyas departed early, leg before, with 4 down for not much more than a hundred. Prasanth came out to steady the ship and coped well with some tricky medium pace bowling from skipper Mohammed. Bradshaw passed another valuable 50 but his departure shortly afterwards left Bec on top with Nomads on 119 for 5 and the bowlers looking dangerous.
No. 7 Nick Lefebve had a slice of luck second ball when, surprised by the pace of Bec's first-change bowler, he snicked a four through the vacant first slip area (the fielder had moved to second slip in the previous over.) Prasanth was just starting to settle and play his shots when given LBW off the bowling of K. Mohammed for 5; still a useful contribution from Prasanth - he was out there for a while and helped to arrest the Nomads' slide.
Gopi joined Lefebve and, with five or six overs to go, the plan was clear. Lefebve startled the crowd with an emphatic hoik - more agricultural than Norfolk - over mid wicket for 4. Gopi helped to keep the rate up before falling to a skied catch just behind the bowler with the score on about 150 for 7. Gideon Reeve took guard and the new pair went up a gear. Lefebve troubling Air Traffic Control as much as the scorers with a series of lofted shots; Reeve finding the boundary with more orthodox blows. In the final over, Lefebve called for a suicidal single and, attempting to sprint and dive at the same time, "did a hamstring" - a pleasingly sporty-sounding injury for one of Nomads' less athletic players. Emil Todorow had to come out as a runner; a suitable climax to an innings described by Ben Fewson as "Very Nomads." The innings closed on 192 which sounded impressive, though the pitch was nice for batting and Nomads' bowling was slightly below full strength.
The old firm of economists Khan & Todorow began, and showed their usual reluctance to offer any freebies to the batsman. A wicket fell after about 6 overs and, when 10 overs were passed with score on only 29 for 1, Bec required almost 7 an over and Nomads appeared to be in control.
Sadly, a high-class second-wicket partnership starring Dipak wrested the initiative away from us. The scoring rate was steadily forced up, despite some good bowling from Gopi as Bec scored at more than 8 an over during this period. The stand was finally broken with the score well past 100. Most of the middle order batsmen began with a boundary or two but couldn't really get in. This had no adverse effect on the run rate though, and the home side closed in remorselessly on the total. Nomads dropped at least 5 catches which didn't help. A flurry of wickets from good, full deliveries from Gideon Reeve came too late to have much influence on the outcome and Old Boys reached their target with about 4 overs left. The No. 10 (who was only batting in that position due to arriving late) sealed the victory with a big six off the bowling of Hassan Khan. The victory was rather more comfortable than the margin of two wickets suggests.
A very enjoyable game but it showed that Nomads do have a problem with bowling at good batsmen on a sound surface - mind you, who doesn't? Let's hope it is the first of many games against this very pleasant opposition.
Man of the Match must be Mark Bradshaw, who held the top order together with a fine half-century against some very decent bowling. Nick Lefebve's 42 was his third-highest score in 17 Nomads' seasons but the purists may have been watching from behind the sofa. Fielder of the Day was Hassan Khan who took 3 catches.
CLAPHAM NOMADS - 191 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Bradshaw - 51
B. Fewson - 11
J. Joyce - 13
H. Khan - 28
M. Vyas - 0
P. Pattiyil - 5
N. Lefebve - 42 not out
G. Pala - 3
G. Reeve - 16 not out
F.O.W. - 29,47,105,108,119,141,155
BEC OLD BOYS - 194 for 8 from 30.2 overs
H. Khan 6.2-0-22-2
E. Todorow 7-0-21-1
G. Pala 7-0-58-1
G. Reeve 7-0-59-3
P. Pattiyil 3-0-24-1
Bec Old Boys won by 2 wickets
The Home side were, rather like Dulwich or Morden, a mixture of Saturday League players and Sunday men and were a bit similar to the Nomads in being a good blend of youth and experience, different nationalities and abilities. The sides shared another similarity as well, Bec being a former club of Nomads' record run-scorer John Chance.
It is hard to believe that the Nomads could possibly improve on the smart and professional appearance for which they are noted but, thanks to the fine Maroon caps acquired for the team by Mark Bradshaw, they did.
Bec skipper Khaled Mohammed, who once scored a half-century for Nomads against Morden, lost the toss to Emil Todorow and the Master of Coinmanship elected to bat in a 35 over contest.
Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson opened and faced a stiff test against Dipak, who slanted it in threateningly with good bounce, and the late movement of the pacy Nav. Neither of our openers looked in much trouble and Bradshaw found plenty of success against Nav with the firm leg glances which are becoming his trademark. Both batsman were as strong between cover and gully as ever but the good bowling and the outfield, slow after the overnight rain, kept a lid on the scoring rate.
Fewson was put down - a sharp chance - at mid-off but fell in the same area, also off the bowling of Dipak, a couple of overs later. The batsman was frustrated as, having done some hard work against the new ball, he could well have been on for a score on a very fair track.
Jim Joyce soon warmed up with some powerful strokes including an excellent clip to mid-wicket for 4 while Mark Bradshaw was untroubled except for one edge off a Nav lifter which was put down by the wicketkeeper Chez Brown. Nav bowled Joyce for 13 with a beauty but Bradshaw was beginning to dominate, especially against Nav's replacement who bowled several short-ish balls outside off stump - meat and drink to our opening batsman.
Hassan Khan came out No. 4 and continued his fine form of recent weeks. Old Boys' second change was Peter Seaden, who with his dapper, balding, moustachioed appearance and cunningly flighted slow medium bowling bore some resemblance to John's father, the late and much-revered Ron Crossland a.k.a The Guru. Nomads continued to be fairly untroubled, though Seaden had an excellent shout for LBW against Khan just before drinks.
Hassan fell for a useful 28 just after the interval and it was clear that Mark Bradshaw was holding things together, even more so when Mahesh Vyas departed early, leg before, with 4 down for not much more than a hundred. Prasanth came out to steady the ship and coped well with some tricky medium pace bowling from skipper Mohammed. Bradshaw passed another valuable 50 but his departure shortly afterwards left Bec on top with Nomads on 119 for 5 and the bowlers looking dangerous.
No. 7 Nick Lefebve had a slice of luck second ball when, surprised by the pace of Bec's first-change bowler, he snicked a four through the vacant first slip area (the fielder had moved to second slip in the previous over.) Prasanth was just starting to settle and play his shots when given LBW off the bowling of K. Mohammed for 5; still a useful contribution from Prasanth - he was out there for a while and helped to arrest the Nomads' slide.
Gopi joined Lefebve and, with five or six overs to go, the plan was clear. Lefebve startled the crowd with an emphatic hoik - more agricultural than Norfolk - over mid wicket for 4. Gopi helped to keep the rate up before falling to a skied catch just behind the bowler with the score on about 150 for 7. Gideon Reeve took guard and the new pair went up a gear. Lefebve troubling Air Traffic Control as much as the scorers with a series of lofted shots; Reeve finding the boundary with more orthodox blows. In the final over, Lefebve called for a suicidal single and, attempting to sprint and dive at the same time, "did a hamstring" - a pleasingly sporty-sounding injury for one of Nomads' less athletic players. Emil Todorow had to come out as a runner; a suitable climax to an innings described by Ben Fewson as "Very Nomads." The innings closed on 192 which sounded impressive, though the pitch was nice for batting and Nomads' bowling was slightly below full strength.
The old firm of economists Khan & Todorow began, and showed their usual reluctance to offer any freebies to the batsman. A wicket fell after about 6 overs and, when 10 overs were passed with score on only 29 for 1, Bec required almost 7 an over and Nomads appeared to be in control.
Sadly, a high-class second-wicket partnership starring Dipak wrested the initiative away from us. The scoring rate was steadily forced up, despite some good bowling from Gopi as Bec scored at more than 8 an over during this period. The stand was finally broken with the score well past 100. Most of the middle order batsmen began with a boundary or two but couldn't really get in. This had no adverse effect on the run rate though, and the home side closed in remorselessly on the total. Nomads dropped at least 5 catches which didn't help. A flurry of wickets from good, full deliveries from Gideon Reeve came too late to have much influence on the outcome and Old Boys reached their target with about 4 overs left. The No. 10 (who was only batting in that position due to arriving late) sealed the victory with a big six off the bowling of Hassan Khan. The victory was rather more comfortable than the margin of two wickets suggests.
A very enjoyable game but it showed that Nomads do have a problem with bowling at good batsmen on a sound surface - mind you, who doesn't? Let's hope it is the first of many games against this very pleasant opposition.
Man of the Match must be Mark Bradshaw, who held the top order together with a fine half-century against some very decent bowling. Nick Lefebve's 42 was his third-highest score in 17 Nomads' seasons but the purists may have been watching from behind the sofa. Fielder of the Day was Hassan Khan who took 3 catches.
CLAPHAM NOMADS - 191 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Bradshaw - 51
B. Fewson - 11
J. Joyce - 13
H. Khan - 28
M. Vyas - 0
P. Pattiyil - 5
N. Lefebve - 42 not out
G. Pala - 3
G. Reeve - 16 not out
F.O.W. - 29,47,105,108,119,141,155
BEC OLD BOYS - 194 for 8 from 30.2 overs
H. Khan 6.2-0-22-2
E. Todorow 7-0-21-1
G. Pala 7-0-58-1
G. Reeve 7-0-59-3
P. Pattiyil 3-0-24-1
Bec Old Boys won by 2 wickets
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