Clapham Nomads excelled themselves by all arriving promptly for a 1:30 start after a long journey - with the exception of the Fixtures Secretary, that is, who disgraced himself by turning up 25 minutes late. It seems that as our results have deteriorated, at least our punctuality has improved.
With Hassan Khan still unavailable, Nomads took 10 down to Kenley's delightful ground at Little Roke Road. It seemed a stronger line-up than the previous week, particularly in the bowling department.
After a fairly cautious opening 5 overs, Kenley's young opening pair began to accelerate and assume command. The pitch was perfectly flat, if a touch slow, and the ball soon began to race across a very quick outfield to the short-ish boundaries. The 2 batsmen were the Smiths, and Heaven Knows we were soon Miserable as 50 came up in the 10th over and 100 in the 15th. Tommy Smith dealt out some harsh treatment to Andrew West with a string of classy boundaries, mainly through the unprotected long-on area. West was removed from the attack - prompting the by now customary Retirement Speech. Prasanth took over at the Croydon End and produced some lively pace but the batsmen continued to look untroubled. At the Pavilion End, skipper Emil Todorow looked the pick of the bowlers and was the only one to really keep a lid on the scoring rate, never going for more than about 4 an over.
If any bowler really looked like making the breakthrough, it was Terry Bruce-Mills who did force a few unconvincing aerial shots from these excellent openers, but nothing went close enough to a fielder and the juggernaut rolled on.
Darwin finally prised out James Smith for a fine supporting 40, with the score well over 100, but there was little let up as No. 3 Craig Adie soon established himself. Tommy Smith raced on to a brilliant 100, he had really looked in no trouble whatsoever and he retired on 113 to give the other batsman a chance to sample the Nomads buffet.
This was a Time Game and, as 200 was passed, the canny Mark Bradshaw said that he would declare on about 225 if he was the Home captain. Sure enough, soon after a very well-deserved wicket for Emil Todorow, the declaration came with the score on 233 for 2. An early tea was taken and Nomads were left with extra time (90 minutes plus 20 overs in all) to make of this target what they could, with survival for the draw being whispered as an option by the faint-hearted.
I must say that Nomads didn't bowl that badly. We were reasonably accurate but, on a batsman's track, we posed little threat. The fielding was, in the main, OK and catching was not an issue as Kenley's batsmen adopted the cunning plan of not hitting the ball in the air anywhere near a fielder. Emil Todorow bowled his heart out. I went to pat him on the shoulder after he took his wicket and a mini-tsunami rolled down his back. It was the wettest I have ever seen a man get on a sunny day.
We tried to wind John Crossland up at tea by asking Emil to tell him to open the batting, but Emil was too intent on rehydrating with a fifth cup of tea to play along. The usual openers Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas took guard and the opening over turned out to be one of the most remarkable in Nomads' history. Four high leg-side No Balls were smacked to the boundary by our boys, along with 4 other runs to make a score of 24 for 0 after 1 over. The most we have ever scored in an opening over. We were up with the rate at this point.
This was as good as it got for us. Sanity was restored by the clever spinner John Mitchell and by the excellent seamer Dylan Jones. Jones bowled 5 overs for no runs with accuracy and late swing. Mark Bradshaw did manage to drive him but kept picking out the cover fielders.
The opening stand had realised 33 off only 44 balls when Mitchell broke through, having Mahesh Vyas caught at Square Leg off his first bad ball, a slow full toss. An old cricketing truism was dusted down as the Home Side opined that; "Shit gets Wickets."
No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil played some nice shots including a fine straight drive off Mitchell but the off-spinner was beginning to turn the odd one away and found the outside edge of Pattiyil's bat for a caught behind. 42 for 2.
Darwin came out to join Bradshaw and we hoped for a repeat of their brilliant match-winning stand against Streatham and Marlborough (a not dissimilar team and pitch to Kenley.) Sadly Darwin mis-timed a pull and was caught with the score on 53. Mark Bradshaw continued to play the best knock of any Nomad but when he was caught, again off Mitchell, for 26, the draw became the only target and suddenly a tricky one with approximately 25 overs to survive. No. 6 Nick Lefebve specialised in this type of stone-walling in his Open University days (to the disgust of his team-mates, The Hunter Family) and after surviving an early mis-timed sweep he set his stall out to play not a single shot. Chris Kennedy batted really nicely at the other end to keep some kind of momentum going. Gradually, the fielders crowded Lefebve closer and closer. He did last 7 overs but a bowling change brought on Kenley captain John Hewitt who did for the veteran blocker with a little extra bounce, Man of the Match Tommy Smith taking a smart low catch at Silly Point.
Hewitt ended a good knock from Kennedy a couple of overs later and from then on it was downhill fast. Charlie Nash bowled Emil Todorow. Terry Bruce-Mills survived an absolute snorter from Hewitt before falling to Nash. Andrew West entertained his legion of fans with one of his inimitable back-handed leg-side pulls which stopped millimetres from the rope. He then engineered a fantastic leave, which bamboozled the keeper and gained 4 byes for our paltry total. Sadly a straight one from Hewitt did for West and No. 9 John Crossland was left stranded on 0 not out - possibly a waste of a good defensive player. He should probably have gone in higher, at No. 7. Having said that though, we fell about 15 overs short of surviving for the draw.
Well, it was a day out at a nice ground. The opposition were OK. It was a bit strange out in the middle, being surrounded by impenetrable teenage banter - it felt a bit like being an extra in The Inbetweeners, or possibly Lee Nelson's Well Good Show, but anyway their cricket was "Quaaalllitteee!!!" Tommy Smith's hundred was brilliant.
Man of the Match is tricky. Emil Todorow put everything into his bowling and was the best bowler, but he got it last week and has only taken 2 for 55 across the 2 games which doesn't really justify back-to-back awards. I would go for Mark Bradshaw who provided easily the best Nomads batting, he would have scored more than 26 if not for a very well-placed field. Fielder of the Day - John Crossland who only conceded 1 bye. Crossland's opinion; "How could I concede byes against bowling like that" (implying it was a little one-dimensional.)
Quote of the Day; - As we were leaving, one of the Kenley batsmen said to John Crossland; "Thanks for the practice, lads," which John was a bit indignant about. Having thought about it though, that is not a bad thing. We were never likely to win this game but we did provide Kenley batsmen with some pretty accurate, if unthreatening bowling to practice their shots against. We lasted 32 overs so they had time to give anyone a bowl who wanted it. We were mostly punctual, all sporting and mostly uncomplaining and, finally, we produced a high-class performance in the bar with almost 20 pints being sunk. We're not such a bad little club really.
Southern Railway and Kenley - 233 for 2 Declared from 33 overs
Todorow 12-2-44-1
West 8-1-60-0
Pattiyil 4-0-37-0
Bruce-Mills 5-0-43-0
Darwin 4-0-40-1
Clapham Nomads - 81 from 31.2 overs
Bradshaw 26
Vyas 18
Pattiyil 9
Darwin 0
Kennedy 10
Lefebve 1
Todorow 0
Bruce-Mills 0
Crossland 0 not out
West 2
F.O.W. - 33, 42, 53, 60, 69, 70, 74, 75, 81
Clapham Nomads lost by 152 runs
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Tuesday 16 August 2011
Clapham Nomads v Touring Theatres - 14/8/11
Due to holidays, Ramadan, apathy and pregnancy, Nomads were only able to select 8 for this latest renewal at Barn Elms against our longest-standing opponents. In contrast, the Theatres, who appear to be resurgent, brought 13 and were able to lend us noted Sports and Thriller writer Chic Fowles and former Nomads legend Chris Kennedy, who made the short hop across South London earlier this summer, joining Theatres for an undisclosed fee.
SW13 (and 14, 15 and most others) was in lockdown but it wasn't the Barnes Riots, merely the Olympic Cycle Race rehearsal. This was no obstacle to the mustard-keen Theatres who were limbering up in the nets a good hour before the start. Even Nomads didn't do too badly despite the chaotic traffic, though Andrew West had to walk from Putney which was roughly the same route taken by the cyclists. Rumours that he overtook Sir Chris Hoy remain unsubstantiated.
Asked to field first, Nomads were distinctly light on bowling options so it was hoped that our new ball pairing of West and Emil Todorow would make significant inroads. When Emil bowled Ben Martin in the 3rd over the fixture appeared to be following its traditional course.
At the other end was Ben Tranchell who has always been a more than useful player - he once scored 96 against us - but who has lacked support in recent seasons. This time it was different; finding an able partner in No. 3 Shafiq, Tranchell took 3 fours in an Andrew West over to prompt a double bowling change.
Skipper John Crossland had to juggle his change bowlers; Chris Kennedy went for 19 off his first 2 overs but Prasanth Pattiyil, probably the quickest of the available bowlers, was tighter with only 10 taken off his first 3.
The batsmen looked assured as 50 was passed in the 10th over and the 50 partnership in the 12th. Apart from one close-looking LBW shout and a half-chance in the deep, there seemed no reason why they couldn't bat right through the innings on a placid, slow-ish pitch with only the occasional irregular bounce.
Nick Lefebve was third change and the left-armer kept a reasonable off-side line but the batsmen were able to push singles at will to a deeply-set, some might say negative, field.
The 100 and the century stand both came up in the 18th over before Lefebve finally made the breakthrough in the following over, slanting one in to hit the stumps of Tranchell (55) and greeting the grounding of the bails with a strange, superfluous, full-throated roar of Howzat.
105 for 2 with 11 overs left meant that Theatres would have to bat spectacularly badly not to be in a commanding position by the close. This was unlikely with the excellent Shafiq still there. Chris Kennedy returned to dismiss No. 4 Naseef. Shafiq was dropped by Lefebve - a firm caught and bowled chance - with the score on 119 and he celebrated with a 4 off the same bowler and a big 6 off Kennedy before falling to the latter bowler for a potentially match-winning 67.
The opening bowlers returned but No. 5 Edwards shepherded the lower order, including the redoubtable Roger Daltrey-lookalike John Witham, into plundering 25 useful runs from the last 6 overs; mostly off Andrew West, who had the consolation of 2 late wickets. Emil Todorow remained impressively tight to finish with 1 for 11 as the innings closed on 159.
Nomads really only had 3 recognised front-line top order batsmen and, realistically, to have much chance we would need Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas and Prasanth Pattiyil to chalk up around 90 between them.
The early run out of Vyas was the worst possible start (we are starting to suffer too many of these run outs.) No. 3 Chris Kee looked solid enough on his debut for the club but was the first victim of an accurate spell from spinner Cal Robertson. Kee was bowled by the seasoned blond twirler, a fate shared the following over by Chris Kennedy. Mark Bradshaw was joined by Prasanth Pattiyil and there was still hope at this point as this pair have played many fine and productive partnerships. However, when Bradshaw was dismissed for 9 by a brilliant slip catch from the ubiquitous Cal Robertson, the dye seemed cast.
Prasanth was bowled behind his legs an over or two later and this brought Emil Todorow out to join Nick Lefebve. This pair's running can sometimes be entertaining, especially to the fielding side, but a calf injury to Lefebve caused the batsmen to agree that they would only take absolutely nailed-on singles (2s to many other players.) A partnership of 16 followed but Nomads were falling fatally behind the rate with not a lot of batting to come.
Todorow was eventually bowled via his legs. Chic Fowles attempted a risky single but was unchivalrously sent back by his limping partner and was run out.
Andrew West joined Lefebve and it was time for the purist to look away as the pair made a stand which Emil Todorow would describe as having; "Such command, such elegance." Basically it was two fat blokes cross-batting some cafeteria bowling through the leg-side. West did play the Shot of the Day though, his unique grip meaning that one of his leg-side flicks was a perfect replica of a left-hander's reverse sweep as played by, say, Adam Gilchrist. Unfortunately the non-striker was so stunned by the shot that he failed to notice that the top spin which West had cunningly put on the ball had taken it out of the fielder's reach and the single, which was a fraction of what West deserved for this shot from the Golden Age, was declined.
Inevitably there was an injury to West who was stuck in the splits position for a minute after executing another leg glance. There was a surprising lack of volunteers to help ease him out of this position.
The lofty heights of 61 had been reached when West finally chipped it to a fielder and he was followed 2 balls later by John Crossland to confirm Theatres' 3rd and easiest victory over us. Still, I'm sure John was delighted that we avoided the 100 run defeat.
In truth this was a poor Nomads performance but remember how depleted we were. It was probably the strongest line-up Theatres have ever fielded against us but they all played with enthusiasm and skill and were excellent value for their victory.
Nick Lefebve received a nomination for Man of the Match (thanks for that) but although he did OK, 16 not out and 1 for 33 is not really enough. I would have to award it to the ever-economical Emil Todorow who returned the only really eye-catching figures with his 6-0-11-1. Todorow also fielded well and Mark Bradshaw and John Crossland (only 1 bye) caught the eye in the field, but Fielder of the Day must be the evergreen Chris Kennedy who made a couple of remarkable stops.
Touring Theatres - 159 for 6 from 30 overs
Todorow 6-0-11-1
West 6-0-37-2
Kennedy 6-0-36-2
Pattiyil 6-0-40-0
Lefebve 6-0-33-1
Clapham Nomads - 61 from 25.5 overs
Bradshaw 9
Vyas 1
Kee 2
Kennedy 0
Pattiyil 4
Lefebve 16 not out
Todorow 0
Fowles 0
West 4
Crossland 0
F.O.W. - 7, 17, 17, 22, 29, 45, 45, 61, 61
Nomads lost by 98 runs
SW13 (and 14, 15 and most others) was in lockdown but it wasn't the Barnes Riots, merely the Olympic Cycle Race rehearsal. This was no obstacle to the mustard-keen Theatres who were limbering up in the nets a good hour before the start. Even Nomads didn't do too badly despite the chaotic traffic, though Andrew West had to walk from Putney which was roughly the same route taken by the cyclists. Rumours that he overtook Sir Chris Hoy remain unsubstantiated.
Asked to field first, Nomads were distinctly light on bowling options so it was hoped that our new ball pairing of West and Emil Todorow would make significant inroads. When Emil bowled Ben Martin in the 3rd over the fixture appeared to be following its traditional course.
At the other end was Ben Tranchell who has always been a more than useful player - he once scored 96 against us - but who has lacked support in recent seasons. This time it was different; finding an able partner in No. 3 Shafiq, Tranchell took 3 fours in an Andrew West over to prompt a double bowling change.
Skipper John Crossland had to juggle his change bowlers; Chris Kennedy went for 19 off his first 2 overs but Prasanth Pattiyil, probably the quickest of the available bowlers, was tighter with only 10 taken off his first 3.
The batsmen looked assured as 50 was passed in the 10th over and the 50 partnership in the 12th. Apart from one close-looking LBW shout and a half-chance in the deep, there seemed no reason why they couldn't bat right through the innings on a placid, slow-ish pitch with only the occasional irregular bounce.
Nick Lefebve was third change and the left-armer kept a reasonable off-side line but the batsmen were able to push singles at will to a deeply-set, some might say negative, field.
The 100 and the century stand both came up in the 18th over before Lefebve finally made the breakthrough in the following over, slanting one in to hit the stumps of Tranchell (55) and greeting the grounding of the bails with a strange, superfluous, full-throated roar of Howzat.
105 for 2 with 11 overs left meant that Theatres would have to bat spectacularly badly not to be in a commanding position by the close. This was unlikely with the excellent Shafiq still there. Chris Kennedy returned to dismiss No. 4 Naseef. Shafiq was dropped by Lefebve - a firm caught and bowled chance - with the score on 119 and he celebrated with a 4 off the same bowler and a big 6 off Kennedy before falling to the latter bowler for a potentially match-winning 67.
The opening bowlers returned but No. 5 Edwards shepherded the lower order, including the redoubtable Roger Daltrey-lookalike John Witham, into plundering 25 useful runs from the last 6 overs; mostly off Andrew West, who had the consolation of 2 late wickets. Emil Todorow remained impressively tight to finish with 1 for 11 as the innings closed on 159.
Nomads really only had 3 recognised front-line top order batsmen and, realistically, to have much chance we would need Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas and Prasanth Pattiyil to chalk up around 90 between them.
The early run out of Vyas was the worst possible start (we are starting to suffer too many of these run outs.) No. 3 Chris Kee looked solid enough on his debut for the club but was the first victim of an accurate spell from spinner Cal Robertson. Kee was bowled by the seasoned blond twirler, a fate shared the following over by Chris Kennedy. Mark Bradshaw was joined by Prasanth Pattiyil and there was still hope at this point as this pair have played many fine and productive partnerships. However, when Bradshaw was dismissed for 9 by a brilliant slip catch from the ubiquitous Cal Robertson, the dye seemed cast.
Prasanth was bowled behind his legs an over or two later and this brought Emil Todorow out to join Nick Lefebve. This pair's running can sometimes be entertaining, especially to the fielding side, but a calf injury to Lefebve caused the batsmen to agree that they would only take absolutely nailed-on singles (2s to many other players.) A partnership of 16 followed but Nomads were falling fatally behind the rate with not a lot of batting to come.
Todorow was eventually bowled via his legs. Chic Fowles attempted a risky single but was unchivalrously sent back by his limping partner and was run out.
Andrew West joined Lefebve and it was time for the purist to look away as the pair made a stand which Emil Todorow would describe as having; "Such command, such elegance." Basically it was two fat blokes cross-batting some cafeteria bowling through the leg-side. West did play the Shot of the Day though, his unique grip meaning that one of his leg-side flicks was a perfect replica of a left-hander's reverse sweep as played by, say, Adam Gilchrist. Unfortunately the non-striker was so stunned by the shot that he failed to notice that the top spin which West had cunningly put on the ball had taken it out of the fielder's reach and the single, which was a fraction of what West deserved for this shot from the Golden Age, was declined.
Inevitably there was an injury to West who was stuck in the splits position for a minute after executing another leg glance. There was a surprising lack of volunteers to help ease him out of this position.
The lofty heights of 61 had been reached when West finally chipped it to a fielder and he was followed 2 balls later by John Crossland to confirm Theatres' 3rd and easiest victory over us. Still, I'm sure John was delighted that we avoided the 100 run defeat.
In truth this was a poor Nomads performance but remember how depleted we were. It was probably the strongest line-up Theatres have ever fielded against us but they all played with enthusiasm and skill and were excellent value for their victory.
Nick Lefebve received a nomination for Man of the Match (thanks for that) but although he did OK, 16 not out and 1 for 33 is not really enough. I would have to award it to the ever-economical Emil Todorow who returned the only really eye-catching figures with his 6-0-11-1. Todorow also fielded well and Mark Bradshaw and John Crossland (only 1 bye) caught the eye in the field, but Fielder of the Day must be the evergreen Chris Kennedy who made a couple of remarkable stops.
Touring Theatres - 159 for 6 from 30 overs
Todorow 6-0-11-1
West 6-0-37-2
Kennedy 6-0-36-2
Pattiyil 6-0-40-0
Lefebve 6-0-33-1
Clapham Nomads - 61 from 25.5 overs
Bradshaw 9
Vyas 1
Kee 2
Kennedy 0
Pattiyil 4
Lefebve 16 not out
Todorow 0
Fowles 0
West 4
Crossland 0
F.O.W. - 7, 17, 17, 22, 29, 45, 45, 61, 61
Nomads lost by 98 runs
Monday 1 August 2011
Clapham Nomads v Dulwich - 31/7/11
There was a decidedly unusual feel to 1.45 pm on Sunday. The whole Nomads team (admittedly only 10 men) were primed and ready to start play on a flawless-looking Joseph Hood Rec pitch on a beautiful sunny day, and stood around exchanging polite pleasantries as we prepared to commence our innings, having been thoughtfully put in to bat by Dulwich skipper John Lawrence on the warmest Sunday so far this year. Would we be able to adapt to these highly unusual and unNomadic circumstances?
The calm serenity was soon blown away by Dulwich opener Joe Hale who spiked a sharp in-cutter through to the keeper, a good 15 mph faster than we had been expecting. Game on and normal service resumed.
Nomads' No. 1 Mark Bradshaw dug in again and faced up to the challenge posed by the young paceman. At the other end, Mahesh Vyas collected 7 off the first over from Plummer, for whom there was just a touch of uneven bounce. It was a gritty start from our pair and 15 seemed a fair haul from the first 5 overs. The second ball of the 6th over saw Plummer clip Vyas's bails. Worse was to follow the next over with Hale producing the ball of the day to shatter Prasanth Pattiyil's stumps via the edge of his pad. A rare low score for Prasanth and Nomads in a hole at 16 for 2.
No 4 Hassan Khan has, by his own very high standards, not been on top form with the bat lately and, with Hale whipping up a storm, a challenging passage of play ensued. The young paceman bowled his 7 overs right through in an excellent spell of 1 for 9 with only 5 scoring shots. He had several decent-ish LBW shouts as well, which the umpire declined without making eye contact as the bowler's pace, action and height bore a remarkable resemblance to Energy Exiles' quickie Simon Gundry. Like all Dulwich's youngsters, though, Hale had a very sporting attitude. If there was one small weakness in his bowling, it was that he did stray down leg side on occasions and the 7 or 8 byes that resulted helped Nomads up to a fair score of around 65 for 2 at the 18-over drinks break.
The pick of the change bowlers was the clever Kiwi spinner Ebert who got through his work at 3.5 an over at a time when Nomads were trying to accelerate, and claimed the important wicket of Bradshaw (a well-crafted 29) with a stinging caught and bowled in his final over.
No 5 Chris Kennedy showed a good positive attitude and used his feet well to the spinners, but when he was bowled by Spencer, Nomads were in a little difficulty again at 90 for 4.
Fortunately, Hassan was approaching his best form and began to come forward really well to Spencer and Nair with boundaries in most overs. No 6 Nick Lefebve showed a more positive intent than last week, possibly because he was using Dave Hunter's old bat which, like its former owner, does not tolerate blockers. He even produced a Bradshawesque square cut but all his other 17 runs were leg-side before he was caught by Hale at deep mid-wicket. The pair had put on 56 with Hassan racing to his 50 and then onwards. The real acceleration came with the arrival of No. 7 Abdul Khan. The two Khans taking an impressive 23 off the last 21 balls to leave Nomads on 169 for 5 at the close of the innings on 35 overs.
This seemed a decent score (we only managed one run more off 40 overs the week before.) Dulwich are always well-drilled and technically correct but sometime lack a few really big hitters. Games between these sides tend be very close though and, on a good track and with a rather veteran, 10-man fielding unit, it was likely to be interesting.
Hassan Khan struck right away in the first over with a caught and bowled and, although one batsman managed to find the short off-side boundary on several occasions off Emil Todorow, he tried it once too often and chipped up to Abdul Khan at deep-ish point - Abdul doesn't miss those.
Before this game, Nomads had only taken 5 wickets in the previous 68 overs and there was some animated tactical discussion in the interval concerning our bowling order. Perhaps in response to this, Abdul Khan and Andrew West came on earlier than usual at around the 8-10 over mark. This bore some fruit, particularly in West's case. He did go for a boundary in each of his first 2 overs but, as it became clear that he wasn't going to be as expensive as he has been recently (when bowling later in the innings,) his confidence grew and he bowled a fine and accurate spell. As ever with West, it was injuries that were the abiding memory - 2 this week instead of the usual 1 - The more memorable was when he fell on the ball (poor ball) in stopping a single and lay prone in apparent agony for a minute before calmly standing up, grunting, and sending down some more impeccable line and length deliveries. Abdul was also impressive, bowling 7 overs for just 25 runs despite having an injured shoulder. The upshot of this was that Dulwich were well behind the required rate at Drinks but, with only 3 down and 2 well-played-in batsmen at the crease, the chase promised to go to the wire.
Nomads had only 4 recognised Front Line bowlers but 3rd change Prasanth Pattiyil was brought on fairly early as part of the Todorow Masterplan. After a very expensive first over he recovered well and claimed a wicket with a ball that kept low. This brought Ebert, probably Dulwich's most powerful hitter, to the crease. His partner was a most impressive 14-year-old who batsman went on to make 50. This stand dragged Dulwich right back into the game; the highlight was some very sharp running between the wickets. For a period it was almost "tip and run" as any ball not hit straight back to the bowler resulted in a single and often a 2. Nomads had only 3 players under 47 and only 1 under 35, whereas Dulwich had only 1 player over 35. For a while this generation gap threatened to prove decisive as the required rate dropped towards 6.5 with wickets in hand and our rather defensive field being run ragged. I did hear a mutter of "geriatrics" at one point from the spectators and I would like to say this galvanised us, but unfortunately we were too knackered to be galvanised.
Some confusion arose as Todorow tried to juggle his bowling options. At one point, Prasanth had just bowled at the Morden End and the skipper gazed at the Wimbledon End and scratched his head, wondering who he could bring on next. "Aaahh!," his eyes lit up as inspiration arrived; "Prasanth, can you take this over?" I know Prasanth is good but 2 overs in a row?.... Eventually the skipper turned to 4th-change Nick Lefebve who managed to get through 2 overs at 7 an over which was no more than the required rate.
Prasanth returned after a short break and claimed the vital wicket of Ebert. The asking rate was now over 8 but Dulwich stayed in the hunt with excellent running and the odd blow to the short boundary. 34 were needed with 4 overs to go but Nomads had enjoyed the luxury of bringing Hassan back to bowl at the death. The 4th last over was probably the crucial one with Prasanth only going for 5.
In the penultimate over Prasanth took a smart caught and bowled from a firmly struck drive. The very next ball he moved sharply out to his left and threw down the stumps with a direct hit from 15 yards to dismiss Dulwich's young top-scorer. A further wicket, bowled, on the last ball of the over was merely the encore of a brilliant, 6-ball, One Man Show.
19 were needed off the final over and few players at this or indeed at a higher level would fancy scoring that off Hassan Khan. In the event, Dulwich fell just 10 runs short in a thrilling match that was closer and more exciting than I have made it sound in this report.
Man of the Match was Hassan whose 76 contained enough prolonged rapid scoring to take the game just beyond Dulwich's reach. Mark Bradshaw's resilient 29 against some challenging New Ball bowling was very important too. These 2 were probably the most consistent fielders as well but Fielder of the Day must be Prasanth for his caught and bowled and direct hit in successive balls. Honourable mention must also go to Andrew West, the most economical bowler. I would like to claim this was a victory for "Experience" over Youth but the 4 star players I have just mentioned are Nomads' youngest - plus of course Andrew West who remains forever young at heart.
QUOTE OF THE DAY; "We like playing you but your field placings are always so defensive" - Ebert, Dulwich cc
Clapham Nomads 169 for 5 from 35 overs
Bradshaw 29
Vyas 8
Pattiyil 1
H. Khan 76 not out
Kennedy 5
Lefebve 18
A. Khan 13 not out
F.O.W. - 15, 16, 85, 90, 146
Dulwich 159 for 9 from 35 overs
H. Khan 7-0-27-2
Todorow 7-0-30-2
A. Khan 7-0-25-0
West 7-0-22-0
Pattiyil 5-0-32-4
Lefebve 2-0-14-0
Nomads won by 10 runs
The calm serenity was soon blown away by Dulwich opener Joe Hale who spiked a sharp in-cutter through to the keeper, a good 15 mph faster than we had been expecting. Game on and normal service resumed.
Nomads' No. 1 Mark Bradshaw dug in again and faced up to the challenge posed by the young paceman. At the other end, Mahesh Vyas collected 7 off the first over from Plummer, for whom there was just a touch of uneven bounce. It was a gritty start from our pair and 15 seemed a fair haul from the first 5 overs. The second ball of the 6th over saw Plummer clip Vyas's bails. Worse was to follow the next over with Hale producing the ball of the day to shatter Prasanth Pattiyil's stumps via the edge of his pad. A rare low score for Prasanth and Nomads in a hole at 16 for 2.
No 4 Hassan Khan has, by his own very high standards, not been on top form with the bat lately and, with Hale whipping up a storm, a challenging passage of play ensued. The young paceman bowled his 7 overs right through in an excellent spell of 1 for 9 with only 5 scoring shots. He had several decent-ish LBW shouts as well, which the umpire declined without making eye contact as the bowler's pace, action and height bore a remarkable resemblance to Energy Exiles' quickie Simon Gundry. Like all Dulwich's youngsters, though, Hale had a very sporting attitude. If there was one small weakness in his bowling, it was that he did stray down leg side on occasions and the 7 or 8 byes that resulted helped Nomads up to a fair score of around 65 for 2 at the 18-over drinks break.
The pick of the change bowlers was the clever Kiwi spinner Ebert who got through his work at 3.5 an over at a time when Nomads were trying to accelerate, and claimed the important wicket of Bradshaw (a well-crafted 29) with a stinging caught and bowled in his final over.
No 5 Chris Kennedy showed a good positive attitude and used his feet well to the spinners, but when he was bowled by Spencer, Nomads were in a little difficulty again at 90 for 4.
Fortunately, Hassan was approaching his best form and began to come forward really well to Spencer and Nair with boundaries in most overs. No 6 Nick Lefebve showed a more positive intent than last week, possibly because he was using Dave Hunter's old bat which, like its former owner, does not tolerate blockers. He even produced a Bradshawesque square cut but all his other 17 runs were leg-side before he was caught by Hale at deep mid-wicket. The pair had put on 56 with Hassan racing to his 50 and then onwards. The real acceleration came with the arrival of No. 7 Abdul Khan. The two Khans taking an impressive 23 off the last 21 balls to leave Nomads on 169 for 5 at the close of the innings on 35 overs.
This seemed a decent score (we only managed one run more off 40 overs the week before.) Dulwich are always well-drilled and technically correct but sometime lack a few really big hitters. Games between these sides tend be very close though and, on a good track and with a rather veteran, 10-man fielding unit, it was likely to be interesting.
Hassan Khan struck right away in the first over with a caught and bowled and, although one batsman managed to find the short off-side boundary on several occasions off Emil Todorow, he tried it once too often and chipped up to Abdul Khan at deep-ish point - Abdul doesn't miss those.
Before this game, Nomads had only taken 5 wickets in the previous 68 overs and there was some animated tactical discussion in the interval concerning our bowling order. Perhaps in response to this, Abdul Khan and Andrew West came on earlier than usual at around the 8-10 over mark. This bore some fruit, particularly in West's case. He did go for a boundary in each of his first 2 overs but, as it became clear that he wasn't going to be as expensive as he has been recently (when bowling later in the innings,) his confidence grew and he bowled a fine and accurate spell. As ever with West, it was injuries that were the abiding memory - 2 this week instead of the usual 1 - The more memorable was when he fell on the ball (poor ball) in stopping a single and lay prone in apparent agony for a minute before calmly standing up, grunting, and sending down some more impeccable line and length deliveries. Abdul was also impressive, bowling 7 overs for just 25 runs despite having an injured shoulder. The upshot of this was that Dulwich were well behind the required rate at Drinks but, with only 3 down and 2 well-played-in batsmen at the crease, the chase promised to go to the wire.
Nomads had only 4 recognised Front Line bowlers but 3rd change Prasanth Pattiyil was brought on fairly early as part of the Todorow Masterplan. After a very expensive first over he recovered well and claimed a wicket with a ball that kept low. This brought Ebert, probably Dulwich's most powerful hitter, to the crease. His partner was a most impressive 14-year-old who batsman went on to make 50. This stand dragged Dulwich right back into the game; the highlight was some very sharp running between the wickets. For a period it was almost "tip and run" as any ball not hit straight back to the bowler resulted in a single and often a 2. Nomads had only 3 players under 47 and only 1 under 35, whereas Dulwich had only 1 player over 35. For a while this generation gap threatened to prove decisive as the required rate dropped towards 6.5 with wickets in hand and our rather defensive field being run ragged. I did hear a mutter of "geriatrics" at one point from the spectators and I would like to say this galvanised us, but unfortunately we were too knackered to be galvanised.
Some confusion arose as Todorow tried to juggle his bowling options. At one point, Prasanth had just bowled at the Morden End and the skipper gazed at the Wimbledon End and scratched his head, wondering who he could bring on next. "Aaahh!," his eyes lit up as inspiration arrived; "Prasanth, can you take this over?" I know Prasanth is good but 2 overs in a row?.... Eventually the skipper turned to 4th-change Nick Lefebve who managed to get through 2 overs at 7 an over which was no more than the required rate.
Prasanth returned after a short break and claimed the vital wicket of Ebert. The asking rate was now over 8 but Dulwich stayed in the hunt with excellent running and the odd blow to the short boundary. 34 were needed with 4 overs to go but Nomads had enjoyed the luxury of bringing Hassan back to bowl at the death. The 4th last over was probably the crucial one with Prasanth only going for 5.
In the penultimate over Prasanth took a smart caught and bowled from a firmly struck drive. The very next ball he moved sharply out to his left and threw down the stumps with a direct hit from 15 yards to dismiss Dulwich's young top-scorer. A further wicket, bowled, on the last ball of the over was merely the encore of a brilliant, 6-ball, One Man Show.
19 were needed off the final over and few players at this or indeed at a higher level would fancy scoring that off Hassan Khan. In the event, Dulwich fell just 10 runs short in a thrilling match that was closer and more exciting than I have made it sound in this report.
Man of the Match was Hassan whose 76 contained enough prolonged rapid scoring to take the game just beyond Dulwich's reach. Mark Bradshaw's resilient 29 against some challenging New Ball bowling was very important too. These 2 were probably the most consistent fielders as well but Fielder of the Day must be Prasanth for his caught and bowled and direct hit in successive balls. Honourable mention must also go to Andrew West, the most economical bowler. I would like to claim this was a victory for "Experience" over Youth but the 4 star players I have just mentioned are Nomads' youngest - plus of course Andrew West who remains forever young at heart.
QUOTE OF THE DAY; "We like playing you but your field placings are always so defensive" - Ebert, Dulwich cc
Clapham Nomads 169 for 5 from 35 overs
Bradshaw 29
Vyas 8
Pattiyil 1
H. Khan 76 not out
Kennedy 5
Lefebve 18
A. Khan 13 not out
F.O.W. - 15, 16, 85, 90, 146
Dulwich 159 for 9 from 35 overs
H. Khan 7-0-27-2
Todorow 7-0-30-2
A. Khan 7-0-25-0
West 7-0-22-0
Pattiyil 5-0-32-4
Lefebve 2-0-14-0
Nomads won by 10 runs
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