After 3 successive blank Sundays, the weather - and Merton Council - relented sufficiently to allow our season finally to get under way with this fixture against old friends the Caribbean Mix.
The venue was Joseph Hood Rec in SW20 and, once we had removed the poles and ropes surrounding the square and confirmed that some of the facilities (the Ladies' Lavatory) were open, we took the field shivering, having been asked to field by Mix skipper Jim Ferguson.
Hassan Khan took the new ball, producing his usual excellent probing Medium-Fast straight away, and bowling the dangerous Surrey Over-50s player Ferguson in the 3rd Over. Khan followed this with a fine piece of fielding in his next over; recovering from a misfield off his own bowling to throw the stumps down from 8 yards and run out No. 3 Devon. 6 for 2 but our opponents have recovered from this position before to post 250-plus.
The 3rd wicket partnership stopped the rot and a few shots began to flow. The scoring rate never really exceeded 3 an over for the first 12 or so, thanks to the exceptionally slow outfield and long boundaries and some fine bowling from Hassan supported by his able sidekick Emil Todorow. Todorow wasn't really happy with his bowling and at one point muttered "how can I bowl this shit?" He was going for less than 3 an over against dangerous batsmen at the time. Todorow has always had the knack of being pretty economical even when he is not bowling at his best.
First and second change were Abdul and Darwin with Abdul appearing to match Hassan for pace at times, if not quite for accuracy. Caribbean's score was creeping up but Wayne was becoming frustrated as lusty blows either missed the ball completely or connected but were denied boundaries by the long grass. One four resulted in the ball being lost for several minutes before it was located just outside the boundary in grass that was long, but actually shorter than some of the grass inside the rope. Darwin bowled plenty of good stuff and was unlucky several times with aerial shots dropping short of fielders or, with Wayne on around 40, into Emil's hands and out again. The skipper said that he had been distracted "by the arrival of Mr Profundus." What made Darwin the most expensive bowler was a tendency to throw in the odd Full Toss - seized on eagerly by Wayne.
A wicket for Abdul - a crafty Off Cutter which bowled the bemused batsman - and a well-deserved Caught and Bowled for Darwin ensured that Caribbean's customary 200-plus total was never likely. 3rd-changer Prasanth bowled nicely and, although he went for 5 an over, the batsmen never really dominated him - most of the runs came in 1s and 2s stroked out to the exceptionally deep fielders. The prize wicket of Wayne, LBW for 77, was Prasanth's reward.
With about 5 overs to go, Mark Bradshaw calculated that a 6th bowler would need to deliver the final over. In all probability this would be Nick Lefebve but when the situation became clear after Over 34, skipper Todorow insisted that there must have been a scoring error and Caribbean sportingly allowed Abdul to bowl the final over - officially his 7th but probably his 8th. Lefebve was more than relieved as the 35th and final over of a Caribbean Mix innings is not an ideal time to bowl your first deliveries for 9 months.
A final total of 177 was one that Nomads have passed twice to beat these opponents, but only on outfields with recent acquaintance of a lawnmower.
Tea was supplied by Caribbean Mix and was excellent as always; chicken and rice with Mr Ferguson's Mystery Sauce and cakes which were rated by Andrew West (whose opinion on cake is to be respected) as some of the best he had tasted.
It was only when we commenced our innings that we realised Mix had only 8 players. (They had seemed a bit thin on the ground but we assumed they were sheltering in the Team Bus.) With opening bowlers of the quality of Jono and Wayne (who took 6 for not many last year) though, 178 was still a big ask. Jono's Left Arm Round is awkward early on as he slants the ball in at above Medium and often cuts it away. He found the inside edge of both openers' bats in the first over but Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas settled quickly and looked comfortable, even against the marked variations of pace and length from Wayne. The gaps were there in the field but finding the boundary was going to be hard. Bradshaw began to stroke it through the Off Side for regular 2s, some of which would have been 4s in normal circumstances. In the 8th Over, Wayne rapped one into Bradshaw's pads and the ball squirted out on the leg side. A lacklustre half-appeal from the bowler was not matched by any noise from the keeper or close-up fielders and it was a distinct surprise to see the Umpire's finger go up. Further disaster followed 9 balls later when an ambitious single was denied by a direct hit from 15 yards to run out Mahesh Vyas. The next ball was clipped for 4 by Prasanth (the only boundary on the ground from a Nomads player.) At 31 for 2 there was some hope of a recovery but yet another direct hit, this one from over halfway to the fence, accounted for Prasanth as a 3rd run was being attempted. It appeared Wayne was just returning the ball to the keeper rather than aiming for the stumps, so it was a trifle unlucky.
Hassan was joined by No. 5 Chris Kee who showed promise with a firm leg-side smack for 2 before falling leg before. Abdul and Hassan were possibly our last real chance of getting close and their partnership was classy batting but never quite at a rate to worry the Away side. Yet another run out terminated this stand with Abdul just out of his ground, but with some debate as to whether the keeper had control over the ball (I think the keeper patted the ball onto the stumps - I wish there was a replay.)
Despite 2 late sixes, Hassan fell 1 short of a deserved half-century but respectable batting for 1s and 2s by the late-middle-order of Chris Kennedy, Darwin and Lefebve took Nomads up to 127 for 7 at the close. I can't say we looked like winning at any stage of our innings but the batting was steady and showed promise for the rest of the summer. Nomads didn't really have the rub of the green with run outs and umpiring decisions. If there is such a thing as a 50-run Defeat with Honour against 8 men then this was it.
Man of the Match is Hassan Khan who produced the best figures with bat and ball. He also takes Fielder of the Day with the one moment of real excellence on a day when everyone fielded pretty well and worked damned hard.
Nomads lost by 50 runs
Caribbean Mix - 177 for 5 from 35 overs (Wayne 77)
H. Khan 7-1-10-1
Todorow 7-0-29-0
A. Khan 7-0-33-1
Darwin 7-0-55-1
P. Pattiyil 7-0-37-1
Clapham Nomads - 127 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Bradshaw lbw Wayne, 14
M. Vyas run out, 6
P. Pattiyil run out, 8
H. Khan c b Nigel, 49
C. Kee lbw Nigel, 3
A. Khan run out, 19
C. Kennedy not out, 10
Darwin stumped Devon b Nigel, 7
N. Lefebve not out, 4
Did not bat; E. Todorow, J. Crossland
12th Man - A. West
F.O.W. - 19, 20, 31, 40, 78, 107, 123
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