Friday 29 June 2012
Opposition Tea of the Year
Currently, after 3 Opposition Teas, Caribbean Mix's excellent chicken, rice, salad and exotic cake feast is ahead by a very wide margin. With several away games to go, there is still a possibility of another team snatching the prize (rumoured to be Supper for Two with Andrew West), but they will have to go some.
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Touring Theatres v Clapham Nomads - 24/6/12
This match at Haydons Road, the second part of our double-header against the Theatres, was on a knife-edge throughout the morning after torrential overnight rain. In the end the Supervisor announced that he didn't want to "spoil the fun" and he let play go ahead provided we used a pitch that had been played on the previous day.
Emil Todorow won the toss yet again and Nomads batted in squally conditions against Seethal and Naseef, possibly the best new ball pairing Theatres have used in their 25 or so games against the Nomads.
I was 30 minutes late due to work commitments and when I arrived Nomads were 40 for 1. Mahesh Vyas had started brightly but John Crossland (who is becoming our Nostrodamus - or possibly Mystic Meg - with his uncanny predictions) foretold that Vyas would "give it away" and the opener was promptly bowled by the impressive Seethal who was straight and considerably above Medium off a 6-pace run-up.
Darwin joined Mark Bradshaw and, like last week, a fine 2nd wicket stand took shape. Darwin is rather more front foot than Bradshaw but, in terms of where the ball ends up, they are strikingly similar. They both hit the ball hard and true and find the gaps well, and have produced several valuable partnerships over the last 12 months.
With no restriction on overs per bowler in this Time Game, the opening pair got through 16 overs by which stage Nomads had done very well to reach 90-ish for 1 on a fair but damp pitch. It took Off-Spinner Cal Robertson to really exploit the stickiness and his first 3 overs reminded me of Derek Underwood on a wet pitch as he practically got the ball to make him a cup of tea. Darwin and Hassan were deceived and bowled in quick succession. (Hassan's delivery almost stopped on bouncing.)
After these initial successes, Robertson tended to overpitch and Bradshaw and Chris Kee took full advantage of this, with Kee playing one particularly memorable shot, pulled virtually one-handed from wide outside off and despatched almost for 6 to the mid-wicket boundary.
Bradshaw had held the top order together and reached a fine half-century. He then joined in the acceleration with the arrival of No. 6 Zia. It took a freak dismissal to finally remove him for 72 - the ball slipping from Dirk Fieldhouse's hand and skidding low, hitting Mark on the foot, 2nd bounce, in front of Middle and Off. As the umpire, I regretted raising my finger for this one and would probably have "used my discretion" had the batsman been closer to a ton.
A flurry of hitting from Zia (several massive sixes), Abdul and Riaz took Nomads up to 211 for 7 at tea. This was 86 lower than the previous week and Theatres' batting line-up was arguably slightly stronger, but in a Time Game Todorow would be able to deploy his elite Strike Force (including himself of course) unsparingly.
A finishing time of 7.20 was set so that we would have time to catch the England v Italy Quarter Final (we needn't have bothered.) By the time the rather porky tea had been finished there was time for around 28 overs for Theatres to knock off the 212, or survive for the draw.
Hassan quickly bowled the potentially dangerous Seethal with a beauty. This brought Mahinder Mahinder to the crease. An interesting, entertaining and opinionated character; he has turned out for Energy Exiles and has been selected for Nomads several times without, for various reasons, actually taking the field. On a true and drying track he showed the maker's name and looked very sound. At the other end, Hassan polished off Ben Martin, Naseef and our very own Chris Kennedy. At around 10 for 4 he looked like running through the entire side. Mahinder hit the only 4 of the innings off the bowling of Emil Todorow. Sensing it would take something special to remove the Sri Lankan, Todorow smoothed down his hair (which had been floating ominously), smiled wryly, flexed his wrist and produced his mythical Leg Break for the first time in a competitive match. I'm not sure it actually turned but it bamboozled Mahinder to the extent that he could merely flick it tamely round his legs straight into the gloves of a delighted John Crossland. A hugely entertaining wicket. Next week - The Doosra.
The 74-year-old Novelist and Sports Writer Chic Fowles dug in well and played some firm shots past Cover. Riaz was bowling by now and needed to produce his very best to winkle out the veteran, just clipping the off bail with a quicker one.
Zia was on at the Station End and did Robertson for sheer pace. Theatres had 7 or 8 overs still to survive. Last man was Cochrane who looked athletic and, with his dark green top, also looked South African. (To our relief he was very English and had never set foot on a cricket field before.) Before this though, Dirk Fieldhouse and John Warnaby were together for the 8th wicket. They both have ability, particularly in defence, and I gave them an Evens chance of seeing it through. Zia had been overpitching a bit but this paid off with a low full toss on middle stump surprising Warnaby slightly for the crucial wicket. Zia cleaned up Cochrane next ball and will be on a hat-trick when he next bowls for us.
So Theatres were all out for 23, which is the lowest total Nomads have ever conceded in a completed innings (admittedly Theatres had only 10 men.) Surprisingly, the bowling was actually a little wayward but John Crossland was at his best behind the stumps to save a string of byes. Nomads displayed impressive intensity and fielded well, showing the advantage of a close-up field as Theatres had to take chances to penetrate our ring (so to speak.)
This 23 is actually the lowest team total in any of the 400 or so competitive matches I have played in. When you consider that includes 150 games for Open University (no strangers to the sensational collapse) that is remarkable. Speaking of Open University, the Haydons Road car park was where OU and Nomads legend Dave Hunter finally drove out of our lives in an incident described in the tear-jerking poem "I Just Looked Around and He Was Gone" by the Nomads' Poet Laureate (See last week's Post, which has incidentally provoked a good reaction on Facebook; "Clare in the Community" - I like that.) Another popular Nomads figure, Shailesh Bhatia, also played his last game at Haydons Road so it is a ground steeped in Nomadic history.
Man of the Match was Mark Bradshaw whose untroubled 72 made defeat almost impossible. Zia also had a very good day and Hassan's bowling figures were remarkable. Fielder of the Day was John Crossland whose excellence secured this new Club Record.
Nomads 211 for 7 from 35 overs
Bradshaw 72
M. Vyas 9
Darwin 25
H. Khan 8
Kee 12
Zia 42
A. Khan 8
R. Khan 1 not out
Did not bat; Lefebve, Todorow, Crossland
F.O.W. - 36. 100, 116, 140, 180, 208, 211
Touring Theatres 23 all out from 21.5 overs
H. Khan 7-5-5-4
Todorow 7-4-8-1
R. Khan 4-3-2-1
Zia 3.5-1-4-3
Clapham Nomads won by 188 runs
Emil Todorow won the toss yet again and Nomads batted in squally conditions against Seethal and Naseef, possibly the best new ball pairing Theatres have used in their 25 or so games against the Nomads.
I was 30 minutes late due to work commitments and when I arrived Nomads were 40 for 1. Mahesh Vyas had started brightly but John Crossland (who is becoming our Nostrodamus - or possibly Mystic Meg - with his uncanny predictions) foretold that Vyas would "give it away" and the opener was promptly bowled by the impressive Seethal who was straight and considerably above Medium off a 6-pace run-up.
Darwin joined Mark Bradshaw and, like last week, a fine 2nd wicket stand took shape. Darwin is rather more front foot than Bradshaw but, in terms of where the ball ends up, they are strikingly similar. They both hit the ball hard and true and find the gaps well, and have produced several valuable partnerships over the last 12 months.
With no restriction on overs per bowler in this Time Game, the opening pair got through 16 overs by which stage Nomads had done very well to reach 90-ish for 1 on a fair but damp pitch. It took Off-Spinner Cal Robertson to really exploit the stickiness and his first 3 overs reminded me of Derek Underwood on a wet pitch as he practically got the ball to make him a cup of tea. Darwin and Hassan were deceived and bowled in quick succession. (Hassan's delivery almost stopped on bouncing.)
After these initial successes, Robertson tended to overpitch and Bradshaw and Chris Kee took full advantage of this, with Kee playing one particularly memorable shot, pulled virtually one-handed from wide outside off and despatched almost for 6 to the mid-wicket boundary.
Bradshaw had held the top order together and reached a fine half-century. He then joined in the acceleration with the arrival of No. 6 Zia. It took a freak dismissal to finally remove him for 72 - the ball slipping from Dirk Fieldhouse's hand and skidding low, hitting Mark on the foot, 2nd bounce, in front of Middle and Off. As the umpire, I regretted raising my finger for this one and would probably have "used my discretion" had the batsman been closer to a ton.
A flurry of hitting from Zia (several massive sixes), Abdul and Riaz took Nomads up to 211 for 7 at tea. This was 86 lower than the previous week and Theatres' batting line-up was arguably slightly stronger, but in a Time Game Todorow would be able to deploy his elite Strike Force (including himself of course) unsparingly.
A finishing time of 7.20 was set so that we would have time to catch the England v Italy Quarter Final (we needn't have bothered.) By the time the rather porky tea had been finished there was time for around 28 overs for Theatres to knock off the 212, or survive for the draw.
Hassan quickly bowled the potentially dangerous Seethal with a beauty. This brought Mahinder Mahinder to the crease. An interesting, entertaining and opinionated character; he has turned out for Energy Exiles and has been selected for Nomads several times without, for various reasons, actually taking the field. On a true and drying track he showed the maker's name and looked very sound. At the other end, Hassan polished off Ben Martin, Naseef and our very own Chris Kennedy. At around 10 for 4 he looked like running through the entire side. Mahinder hit the only 4 of the innings off the bowling of Emil Todorow. Sensing it would take something special to remove the Sri Lankan, Todorow smoothed down his hair (which had been floating ominously), smiled wryly, flexed his wrist and produced his mythical Leg Break for the first time in a competitive match. I'm not sure it actually turned but it bamboozled Mahinder to the extent that he could merely flick it tamely round his legs straight into the gloves of a delighted John Crossland. A hugely entertaining wicket. Next week - The Doosra.
The 74-year-old Novelist and Sports Writer Chic Fowles dug in well and played some firm shots past Cover. Riaz was bowling by now and needed to produce his very best to winkle out the veteran, just clipping the off bail with a quicker one.
Zia was on at the Station End and did Robertson for sheer pace. Theatres had 7 or 8 overs still to survive. Last man was Cochrane who looked athletic and, with his dark green top, also looked South African. (To our relief he was very English and had never set foot on a cricket field before.) Before this though, Dirk Fieldhouse and John Warnaby were together for the 8th wicket. They both have ability, particularly in defence, and I gave them an Evens chance of seeing it through. Zia had been overpitching a bit but this paid off with a low full toss on middle stump surprising Warnaby slightly for the crucial wicket. Zia cleaned up Cochrane next ball and will be on a hat-trick when he next bowls for us.
So Theatres were all out for 23, which is the lowest total Nomads have ever conceded in a completed innings (admittedly Theatres had only 10 men.) Surprisingly, the bowling was actually a little wayward but John Crossland was at his best behind the stumps to save a string of byes. Nomads displayed impressive intensity and fielded well, showing the advantage of a close-up field as Theatres had to take chances to penetrate our ring (so to speak.)
This 23 is actually the lowest team total in any of the 400 or so competitive matches I have played in. When you consider that includes 150 games for Open University (no strangers to the sensational collapse) that is remarkable. Speaking of Open University, the Haydons Road car park was where OU and Nomads legend Dave Hunter finally drove out of our lives in an incident described in the tear-jerking poem "I Just Looked Around and He Was Gone" by the Nomads' Poet Laureate (See last week's Post, which has incidentally provoked a good reaction on Facebook; "Clare in the Community" - I like that.) Another popular Nomads figure, Shailesh Bhatia, also played his last game at Haydons Road so it is a ground steeped in Nomadic history.
Man of the Match was Mark Bradshaw whose untroubled 72 made defeat almost impossible. Zia also had a very good day and Hassan's bowling figures were remarkable. Fielder of the Day was John Crossland whose excellence secured this new Club Record.
Nomads 211 for 7 from 35 overs
Bradshaw 72
M. Vyas 9
Darwin 25
H. Khan 8
Kee 12
Zia 42
A. Khan 8
R. Khan 1 not out
Did not bat; Lefebve, Todorow, Crossland
F.O.W. - 36. 100, 116, 140, 180, 208, 211
Touring Theatres 23 all out from 21.5 overs
H. Khan 7-5-5-4
Todorow 7-4-8-1
R. Khan 4-3-2-1
Zia 3.5-1-4-3
Clapham Nomads won by 188 runs
Friday 22 June 2012
Nomads' Poet Laureate
Most cricketers at our level spend the tea interval discussing football, cars, the physical attributes of passing women, the lack of physical attributes of their team-mates, occasionally even cricket. Not the Nomads, though. Last Sunday we had a very pleasant discussion about the Pastoral Poet, John Clare. It was felt that if there is a poet who represents the essence of Clapham Nomads, then it is Clare. After all, the 19th Century versesmith shares several connections with the Clapham side;
East Northants/Stamford/Peterborough area connection - Yes
Epping Forest connection - Yes
Keen walker - Yes (Nomads have several of these, but in the hiking rather than the cricketing sense.)
Madness connection - Yes (but in Nomads' case this is arguably only moderate eccentricity when compared with some of the teams we play.)
Undoubtedly, some of Clare's lines will resonate with many Nomads players, e.g.;
"Into the nothingness of scorn and noise"
and (a slight adaptation here) - "The vast shipwreck of my life's teams."
In conclusion though, much as we are all admirers of the works of Clare, we do already have our own Poet Laureate at the club. Not only does his surname, like the poet's, begin with a C, but he also tends to write on an explicitly cricketing theme. Here is his best-known work which is on the subject of a team we used to play. I have concealed the team's name to avoid causing offence and because some of them are a bit tasty.
"xxxx xxxx as a team,
They're not exactly the best I've seen.
The way they act, it makes me frown
'Cos they resemble a bunch of clowns.
They turned the game to utter shite,
This gang of pissheads dressed in white."
East Northants/Stamford/Peterborough area connection - Yes
Epping Forest connection - Yes
Keen walker - Yes (Nomads have several of these, but in the hiking rather than the cricketing sense.)
Madness connection - Yes (but in Nomads' case this is arguably only moderate eccentricity when compared with some of the teams we play.)
Undoubtedly, some of Clare's lines will resonate with many Nomads players, e.g.;
"Into the nothingness of scorn and noise"
and (a slight adaptation here) - "The vast shipwreck of my life's teams."
In conclusion though, much as we are all admirers of the works of Clare, we do already have our own Poet Laureate at the club. Not only does his surname, like the poet's, begin with a C, but he also tends to write on an explicitly cricketing theme. Here is his best-known work which is on the subject of a team we used to play. I have concealed the team's name to avoid causing offence and because some of them are a bit tasty.
"xxxx xxxx as a team,
They're not exactly the best I've seen.
The way they act, it makes me frown
'Cos they resemble a bunch of clowns.
They turned the game to utter shite,
This gang of pissheads dressed in white."
Clapham Nomads v Touring Theatres - 17/6/12
Nomads finally recorded a win, albeit against a depleted Touring Theatres side at Abbey Rec last Sunday.
Emil Todorow won the toss and his first-choice opening pair of Bradshaw and Vyas quickly took charge against the tidy Medium Pacer Nasif and the occasionally tricky Off-Spinner Cal Robertson. An untroubled 50 stand came up in the 8th over. Bradshaw was finding the off-aside gaps deftly while Vyas put his foot on the gas with a string of leg-side boundaries. With Nomads on 60, Mahesh lofted the ball back over the head of 2nd-changer Dirk Fieldhouse but fell to a brave catch from Robertson who had broken his finger attempting a very similar catch against Nomads s year ago.
Mahesh was a touch unfortunate to be out on his first mistake and this fate also befell Mark Bradshaw who had moved serenely to 38 (adding 54 for the 2nd wicket with Darwin) when he inside-edged a sharp in-slanter from the unorthodox Mike onto his off stump.
At 114 for 2, the hard work was probably just about done, but Darwin and Hassan kicked on; Darwin playing some absolutely cracking forcing drives between Mid-Off and Cover. Darwin was dismissed 3 short of a maiden Nomads 50 to a stumping from stand-in wicketkeeper Robertson off the bowling of noted Character Actor - and star of "Mike Bassett England Manager" - John Warnaby. Darwin was quite stoical about missing out on the landmark, saying that he would have settled for 47 before the start.
This had all been very watchable but the best was to come. Hassan, supported ably by Chris Kee, dismantled the remains of the Theatres' attack for a devastating 121, not far short of Nomads' highest individual score and racing from 50 to 100 in about 22 balls. He was particularly harsh on Tom, who had confidently asserted that a ball bouncing 3 times is not a no-ball, but then bowled to Hassan, of all people, without making it bounce at all. The results were brutal and predictable, with 24 plundered from one over.
Kee had played well for his 15 before holing out on the leg-side with the score on 260. 300 looked a certainty but, with Hassan's departure on 281 for 5, a touch of momentum was lost yet we readily settled for 297 for 6; the 3rd-highest score in Nomads' history.
Clapham had lent Chris Kennedy to Theatres but their batting line-up still had a makeshift look to it with a 13-year-old, a 10-year-old and most of the adult players lacking match practice. They did pretty well to reach almost 100 in 30.5 overs against a fairly strong Nomads bowling attack, for whom newcomer Rahim was impressive.
The reliable Ben Trenchell batted well for Theatres as did Nasif. The ever-obdurate Dirk Fieldhouse stuck around for a fair old while down the order. Hassan, Emil and Abdul all recorded good analyses and Nick Lefebve bowled his first 5 overs of the summer, conceding 14 runs of which 2 were scored by a Primary School Pupil.
The standout moment - and Quote of the Day - was when the 13-year-old Robert faced up to the macho and vaguely intimidating air - and hair - of Emil Todorow and chirped brightly; "It's OK, I don't mind. You can bowl as fast as you like."
Man of the Match is rather easy as centurion Hassan Khan also returned the best bowling figures. It wasn't the most eventful day in the field but, since he set up a run out (an "assist") for John Crossland and chased down several shots off my bowling, Hassan gets Fielder of the Day as well.
Clapham Nomads - 297 for 6 from 35 overs
Bradshaw 38
M. Vyas 35
Darwin 47
H. Khan 121
Kee 15
Rahim 5
A. Khan 3 not out
Todorow 2 not out
F.O.W. - 60. 114, 185, 260, 281, 289
Touring Theatres - 98 all out from 30.5 overs
Todorow 7-0-26-2
Rahim 6-0-25-1
H. Khan 5.5-1-10-3
A. Khan 7-1-21-3
Lefebve 5-0-14-0
Nomads won by 199 runs
Emil Todorow won the toss and his first-choice opening pair of Bradshaw and Vyas quickly took charge against the tidy Medium Pacer Nasif and the occasionally tricky Off-Spinner Cal Robertson. An untroubled 50 stand came up in the 8th over. Bradshaw was finding the off-aside gaps deftly while Vyas put his foot on the gas with a string of leg-side boundaries. With Nomads on 60, Mahesh lofted the ball back over the head of 2nd-changer Dirk Fieldhouse but fell to a brave catch from Robertson who had broken his finger attempting a very similar catch against Nomads s year ago.
Mahesh was a touch unfortunate to be out on his first mistake and this fate also befell Mark Bradshaw who had moved serenely to 38 (adding 54 for the 2nd wicket with Darwin) when he inside-edged a sharp in-slanter from the unorthodox Mike onto his off stump.
At 114 for 2, the hard work was probably just about done, but Darwin and Hassan kicked on; Darwin playing some absolutely cracking forcing drives between Mid-Off and Cover. Darwin was dismissed 3 short of a maiden Nomads 50 to a stumping from stand-in wicketkeeper Robertson off the bowling of noted Character Actor - and star of "Mike Bassett England Manager" - John Warnaby. Darwin was quite stoical about missing out on the landmark, saying that he would have settled for 47 before the start.
This had all been very watchable but the best was to come. Hassan, supported ably by Chris Kee, dismantled the remains of the Theatres' attack for a devastating 121, not far short of Nomads' highest individual score and racing from 50 to 100 in about 22 balls. He was particularly harsh on Tom, who had confidently asserted that a ball bouncing 3 times is not a no-ball, but then bowled to Hassan, of all people, without making it bounce at all. The results were brutal and predictable, with 24 plundered from one over.
Kee had played well for his 15 before holing out on the leg-side with the score on 260. 300 looked a certainty but, with Hassan's departure on 281 for 5, a touch of momentum was lost yet we readily settled for 297 for 6; the 3rd-highest score in Nomads' history.
Clapham had lent Chris Kennedy to Theatres but their batting line-up still had a makeshift look to it with a 13-year-old, a 10-year-old and most of the adult players lacking match practice. They did pretty well to reach almost 100 in 30.5 overs against a fairly strong Nomads bowling attack, for whom newcomer Rahim was impressive.
The reliable Ben Trenchell batted well for Theatres as did Nasif. The ever-obdurate Dirk Fieldhouse stuck around for a fair old while down the order. Hassan, Emil and Abdul all recorded good analyses and Nick Lefebve bowled his first 5 overs of the summer, conceding 14 runs of which 2 were scored by a Primary School Pupil.
The standout moment - and Quote of the Day - was when the 13-year-old Robert faced up to the macho and vaguely intimidating air - and hair - of Emil Todorow and chirped brightly; "It's OK, I don't mind. You can bowl as fast as you like."
Man of the Match is rather easy as centurion Hassan Khan also returned the best bowling figures. It wasn't the most eventful day in the field but, since he set up a run out (an "assist") for John Crossland and chased down several shots off my bowling, Hassan gets Fielder of the Day as well.
Clapham Nomads - 297 for 6 from 35 overs
Bradshaw 38
M. Vyas 35
Darwin 47
H. Khan 121
Kee 15
Rahim 5
A. Khan 3 not out
Todorow 2 not out
F.O.W. - 60. 114, 185, 260, 281, 289
Touring Theatres - 98 all out from 30.5 overs
Todorow 7-0-26-2
Rahim 6-0-25-1
H. Khan 5.5-1-10-3
A. Khan 7-1-21-3
Lefebve 5-0-14-0
Nomads won by 199 runs
Thursday 14 June 2012
Surbiton Imperials v Clapham Nomads - 10/6/12
The smart Colet's Ground in Thames Ditton was the venue for this game against Surbiton Imperials, a side we have beaten on the last 2 occasions, but who have some talented players and interesting characters.
35 overs was agreed, despite the early start, due to the threatening clouds. Todorow chose to bat and pinch-hitter Riaz Khan took Mark Bradshaw's place at the head of the order, soon clouting 2 enormous blows off the tricky left-armer Siddik which landed a foot short of the rope at Cow Corner and just nestled in the damp grass. Boundaries were clearly going to be at a premium as indeed were any runs against a tight attack on a very slow pitch with occasional low bounce.
Siddik, a master of variation of line, bowled Riaz in Over 7. Mahesh Vyas had played himself in carefully and Darwin joined him in careful consolidation before the latter was bowled 5 overs later by former Nomads player Khalid Harris who hailed the wicket with a triumphant and rather piercing whistle.
Mahesh began to flick it cleverly to leg and, with him and Hassan together at 41 for 2 off 14 overs, and with batting to come, it all looked reasonable. But then - double disaster. Khalid yorked Mahesh middle and leg and Hassan was deceived by the sharp in-swing of Aussie 2nd-changer House.
No. 5 Zia led a minor recovery. His 18 contained some good, clean hits, supported by Abdul Khan (8) and Nick Lefebve (1 from 34 balls), but Zia'sdeparture precipitated another collapse from 72 for 5 to 83 all out with only Chris Kennedy (7 Not Out) providing much resistance in the lower order. Nomads failed to use up 4.3 overs and scored at a paltry rate of 2.75 per over.
As John pointed out to anyone willing (or unwilling) to listen, we were 50 or 60 runs short.
A tactical discussion at tea led to Hassan and Zia, Nomads' fastest pair, opening in an attempt to do some early damage. Nomads' best period of the match followed with hostile bowling and tight fielding maintaining a degree of pressure and securing the wicket of Surbiton captain Steve Parratt in the 5th over with the score on 5.
Inperials' wicketkeeper-opening batsman, Johnny, a nice guy but with an intense and borderline-scary demeanour, began to hit the ball hard but sharp fielding, especially from Darwin, kept the scoring rate well below 3. Wickets never really looked likely though, and a record-equalling 9 wicket defeat appeared on the cards, until in an inspired tactical intervention, skipper Todorow turned to himself and soon had his reward courtesy of a fine slip catch from Mahesh Vyas.
With the score in the early 40s, Johnny chipped the ball to mid-wicket for an easy chance which was badly dropped. Probably not crucial but it extinguished Nomads' faint remaining hopes. Johnny snarled his way up to 41 until an outrageous leg-break from Hassan finally brought a smile to his face and, having lost his focus, he promptly lobbed the next ball up to Deep Mid-Off where Abdul Khan took a smart catch.
A further wicket fell to Riaz but. although Imperials scored at below Nomads' rate throughout, they had enough batting in hand to clinch a comfortable win in the 32nd over.
3 defeats out of 3 for Nomads. The batting underachieved but Imperials showed scoring wasn't easy. Bowling and fielding were fine and at least we got a game - and got to play with a remote-controlled electronic scoreboard.
Man of the Match was Mahesh Vyas for showing the most composure of any Nomads batsman and pouching a nice slip catch. Fielder of the Day was Chris Kennedy for diving and getting both hands to an absolute bullet from Johnny that was technically a chance but would have been the best catch in Nomads' history.
Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Nomads 83 all out from 30.3 overs
Vyas - 17
R. Khan - 4
Darwin - 1
H. Khan - 7
Zia - 18
A. Khan - 8
Lefebve - 1
Kee - 0
Kennedy - 7 not out
Todorow - 2
Crossland - 0
F. O. W. - 15, 22, 41, 43, 54, 72, 72, 73, 76, 83
Surbiton Imperials 84 for 4 from 31.1 overs
H. Khan - 7-1-16-2
Zia - 7-1-15-0
A. Khan - 7-0-24-0
Todorow - 6-0-17-1
R. Khan - 4.1-0-14-1
35 overs was agreed, despite the early start, due to the threatening clouds. Todorow chose to bat and pinch-hitter Riaz Khan took Mark Bradshaw's place at the head of the order, soon clouting 2 enormous blows off the tricky left-armer Siddik which landed a foot short of the rope at Cow Corner and just nestled in the damp grass. Boundaries were clearly going to be at a premium as indeed were any runs against a tight attack on a very slow pitch with occasional low bounce.
Siddik, a master of variation of line, bowled Riaz in Over 7. Mahesh Vyas had played himself in carefully and Darwin joined him in careful consolidation before the latter was bowled 5 overs later by former Nomads player Khalid Harris who hailed the wicket with a triumphant and rather piercing whistle.
Mahesh began to flick it cleverly to leg and, with him and Hassan together at 41 for 2 off 14 overs, and with batting to come, it all looked reasonable. But then - double disaster. Khalid yorked Mahesh middle and leg and Hassan was deceived by the sharp in-swing of Aussie 2nd-changer House.
No. 5 Zia led a minor recovery. His 18 contained some good, clean hits, supported by Abdul Khan (8) and Nick Lefebve (1 from 34 balls), but Zia'sdeparture precipitated another collapse from 72 for 5 to 83 all out with only Chris Kennedy (7 Not Out) providing much resistance in the lower order. Nomads failed to use up 4.3 overs and scored at a paltry rate of 2.75 per over.
As John pointed out to anyone willing (or unwilling) to listen, we were 50 or 60 runs short.
A tactical discussion at tea led to Hassan and Zia, Nomads' fastest pair, opening in an attempt to do some early damage. Nomads' best period of the match followed with hostile bowling and tight fielding maintaining a degree of pressure and securing the wicket of Surbiton captain Steve Parratt in the 5th over with the score on 5.
Inperials' wicketkeeper-opening batsman, Johnny, a nice guy but with an intense and borderline-scary demeanour, began to hit the ball hard but sharp fielding, especially from Darwin, kept the scoring rate well below 3. Wickets never really looked likely though, and a record-equalling 9 wicket defeat appeared on the cards, until in an inspired tactical intervention, skipper Todorow turned to himself and soon had his reward courtesy of a fine slip catch from Mahesh Vyas.
With the score in the early 40s, Johnny chipped the ball to mid-wicket for an easy chance which was badly dropped. Probably not crucial but it extinguished Nomads' faint remaining hopes. Johnny snarled his way up to 41 until an outrageous leg-break from Hassan finally brought a smile to his face and, having lost his focus, he promptly lobbed the next ball up to Deep Mid-Off where Abdul Khan took a smart catch.
A further wicket fell to Riaz but. although Imperials scored at below Nomads' rate throughout, they had enough batting in hand to clinch a comfortable win in the 32nd over.
3 defeats out of 3 for Nomads. The batting underachieved but Imperials showed scoring wasn't easy. Bowling and fielding were fine and at least we got a game - and got to play with a remote-controlled electronic scoreboard.
Man of the Match was Mahesh Vyas for showing the most composure of any Nomads batsman and pouching a nice slip catch. Fielder of the Day was Chris Kennedy for diving and getting both hands to an absolute bullet from Johnny that was technically a chance but would have been the best catch in Nomads' history.
Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Nomads 83 all out from 30.3 overs
Vyas - 17
R. Khan - 4
Darwin - 1
H. Khan - 7
Zia - 18
A. Khan - 8
Lefebve - 1
Kee - 0
Kennedy - 7 not out
Todorow - 2
Crossland - 0
F. O. W. - 15, 22, 41, 43, 54, 72, 72, 73, 76, 83
Surbiton Imperials 84 for 4 from 31.1 overs
H. Khan - 7-1-16-2
Zia - 7-1-15-0
A. Khan - 7-0-24-0
Todorow - 6-0-17-1
R. Khan - 4.1-0-14-1
Monday 4 June 2012
Wimbledon United v Clapham Nomads - 3/6/12
This fixture (a replacement for the cancelled game v Bec Old Boys) was called off at 09:45 on Sunday morning after heavy rain overnight. For a while it looked as if this might be a harsh decision by the Council but heavy rain from about 3.30 totally vindicated the call. So Nomads suffered their 4th washout of the season - a record already with 3 months of the season still to go.
Friday 1 June 2012
Clapham Nomads v Wimbledon Corinthians - 27/5/12
The sun finally came out and ensured Nomads' second match of the season, at home to Wimbledon Corinthians, could go ahead.
This was one of the more eventful match-ups last year, what with Jim Joyce's phenomenal century, a 3 and a quarter hour innings from Nomads - our longest ever, and the acrimonious disputed pitch incident in September. Despite Nomads sportingly giving up our pitch last Autumn to allow Corinthians' title decider to go ahead, the opposition organiser told me this was considered a grudge match and they would be fielding a strong side.
Nomads chose an unchanged line-up with reasonable batting strength on a placid-looking pitch, but with the bowling appearing just a touch light as one Nomads fielder wasted absolutely no opportunity to point out repeatedly. Thankfully Raynes Park 3 is one of the worst pitches in London for acoustics thanks to its proximity to the A3 so I had to resort to lip-reading to get the benefit of the fielder's "wisdom."
Unusually, Nomads' assertive skipper, Emil Todorow, was talked into a 40-over game by a Corinthians side who enjoy nothing better than a marathon fielding session in 80 degree heat.
Nomads batted first and Mark Bradshaw was soon away with a classy off-side 4 off Shaan, a bowler who sent down an equal mix of away swingers, erratic stuff and off-cutters. One of the latter accounted for Mahesh Vyas, bowled round his legs in the 5th over.
No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil came out and soon began to hit the ball hard and true. He certainly seems to have added more power to his batting this year but denied rumours that he had been working out in the gym, by stating that he has been watching a lot of IPL. 2 resounding 4s off Shaan and a superb straight 6 off Shaan's otherwise tighter new ball partner Malik provided quality entertainment the equal of anything on ITV4.
Bradshaw had done a good job to see off the opening pair and help us to 44 for 1 off 10. He got hold of the first ball from 1st change swing bowler Clifford, back over the bowler's head but uppishly and Deep Mid-Off took an excellent and important catch.
2nd change bowler Shoaib was a Medium Pace Spinner with an unusual action, possibly the pick of the away side's attack. He ended Prasanth's breezy 30 but was smacked away for 4 next ball by Chris Kee; one of only 2 boundaries off Shoaib.
Clifford removed Kee, LBW as last week and Nomads were down to 87 for 4 with Hassan and Abdul, the last 2 recognized front-line batsmen at the square. This stand seemed vital but only realised a still-useful 23 before the awkward Shoaib had Abdul lbw. Chris Kennedy fell 3 balls later. Hassan was starting to blossom in the 30s, and has had several useful stands with No. 8 Nick Lefebve, but when our star all-rounder skied a catch 9 runs later, Nomads were reduced to 121 for 7 and would gratefully have accepted a final total of 140.
Lefebve and Darwin dug in initially and their contrasting styles soon began to pay dividends. Darwin, the more attacking player, produced one gorgeous Cover Drive - the Shot of the Day. Lefebve set out to leave anything outside off stump and generally match Corinthians for time-wasting in an attempt to blunt their banter. Having said that, the atmosphere was fine, a good laugh in the main. Most of Corinthians chirping was directed at the 17-year-old Mohammed whom they dubbed "The Future." "If he's the future then the past is standing at First Slip," one wag quipped, indicating the evergreen Steve O'Neill Ramsadeo.
A valuable and pugnacious 8th wicket stand of 42 ended with Darwin holing out off the deceptive pace of Victor. O'Neill Ramsadeo trapped Todorow first ball - rather plumb. The veteran then asked 3 successive loud questions as ball after ball rapped John Crossland's pads. Lefebve instructed Crossland to use his bat but our keeper got his revenge in the final over as Lefebve produced a series of hoiks only vaguely in the vicinity of the ball. "Look at the ball," the No. 11 suggested, but his advice went unheeded and an LBW from the 3rd-last delivery was the result.
165 was a decent effort in the end but, with one very short boundary, a dry outfield and a good pitch with just the occasional low bounce, I can't say we were particularly confident.
Emil Todorow seemed to have added half of yard of pace to his bowling in this game and claimed an early scalp with the score on around 20. No. 3 tried to fight fire with fire and lofted 2 enormous sixes off Emil. There was no way our skipper was going to tolerate this sort of treatment and, fuelled by pride and fear of what would be said to him in the pub, he removed his tormentor next ball - admittedly caught at head height by Hassan on the boundary. Corinthians' innings then followed the pattern of last year with a remorseless and fairly uneventful stand of around 100 between Rahman and Clifford virtually sealing victory. Progress wasn't spectacular - the score after 16 overs was only 59 for 2, but acceleration after Drinks made the result a formality. 2 excellent catches in the deep by Abdul Khan gave the score some semblance of respectability but Corinthians clinched a 6-wicket victory, sealed with a 6, in the 34th over.
Man of the Match was Abdul who produce an excellent spell of bowling at less than 2 an over, 2 fine catches and his usual deadly throws, and 14 runs. Abdul clinched Fielder of the Day with his second catch. Prior to this the award was destined to go to Chris Kennedy who, despite being the oldest player on the park (sorry, Chris) and having apparently had a most enjoyable and liquid lunch, produced total commitment and a couple of spectacular full length dives to save a run or two.
Clapham Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Nomads 165 from 39.4 overs
Bradshaw 11
Vyas 1
Pattiyil 30
H. Khan 37
Kee 5
A. Khan 14
Kennedy 0
Lefebve 12
Darwin 18
Todorow 0
Crossland 2 not out
F. O.W. - 18, 44, 78, 87, 112, 112, 121, 163, 163 , 165
Wimbledon Corinthians 171 for 4 from 33.3 overs
H. Khan 8-1-28-0
Todorow 8-2-32-2
A. Khan 8-1-14-0
Darwin 4-0-46-0
Pattiyil 5.3-0-48-2
This was one of the more eventful match-ups last year, what with Jim Joyce's phenomenal century, a 3 and a quarter hour innings from Nomads - our longest ever, and the acrimonious disputed pitch incident in September. Despite Nomads sportingly giving up our pitch last Autumn to allow Corinthians' title decider to go ahead, the opposition organiser told me this was considered a grudge match and they would be fielding a strong side.
Nomads chose an unchanged line-up with reasonable batting strength on a placid-looking pitch, but with the bowling appearing just a touch light as one Nomads fielder wasted absolutely no opportunity to point out repeatedly. Thankfully Raynes Park 3 is one of the worst pitches in London for acoustics thanks to its proximity to the A3 so I had to resort to lip-reading to get the benefit of the fielder's "wisdom."
Unusually, Nomads' assertive skipper, Emil Todorow, was talked into a 40-over game by a Corinthians side who enjoy nothing better than a marathon fielding session in 80 degree heat.
Nomads batted first and Mark Bradshaw was soon away with a classy off-side 4 off Shaan, a bowler who sent down an equal mix of away swingers, erratic stuff and off-cutters. One of the latter accounted for Mahesh Vyas, bowled round his legs in the 5th over.
No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil came out and soon began to hit the ball hard and true. He certainly seems to have added more power to his batting this year but denied rumours that he had been working out in the gym, by stating that he has been watching a lot of IPL. 2 resounding 4s off Shaan and a superb straight 6 off Shaan's otherwise tighter new ball partner Malik provided quality entertainment the equal of anything on ITV4.
Bradshaw had done a good job to see off the opening pair and help us to 44 for 1 off 10. He got hold of the first ball from 1st change swing bowler Clifford, back over the bowler's head but uppishly and Deep Mid-Off took an excellent and important catch.
2nd change bowler Shoaib was a Medium Pace Spinner with an unusual action, possibly the pick of the away side's attack. He ended Prasanth's breezy 30 but was smacked away for 4 next ball by Chris Kee; one of only 2 boundaries off Shoaib.
Clifford removed Kee, LBW as last week and Nomads were down to 87 for 4 with Hassan and Abdul, the last 2 recognized front-line batsmen at the square. This stand seemed vital but only realised a still-useful 23 before the awkward Shoaib had Abdul lbw. Chris Kennedy fell 3 balls later. Hassan was starting to blossom in the 30s, and has had several useful stands with No. 8 Nick Lefebve, but when our star all-rounder skied a catch 9 runs later, Nomads were reduced to 121 for 7 and would gratefully have accepted a final total of 140.
Lefebve and Darwin dug in initially and their contrasting styles soon began to pay dividends. Darwin, the more attacking player, produced one gorgeous Cover Drive - the Shot of the Day. Lefebve set out to leave anything outside off stump and generally match Corinthians for time-wasting in an attempt to blunt their banter. Having said that, the atmosphere was fine, a good laugh in the main. Most of Corinthians chirping was directed at the 17-year-old Mohammed whom they dubbed "The Future." "If he's the future then the past is standing at First Slip," one wag quipped, indicating the evergreen Steve O'Neill Ramsadeo.
A valuable and pugnacious 8th wicket stand of 42 ended with Darwin holing out off the deceptive pace of Victor. O'Neill Ramsadeo trapped Todorow first ball - rather plumb. The veteran then asked 3 successive loud questions as ball after ball rapped John Crossland's pads. Lefebve instructed Crossland to use his bat but our keeper got his revenge in the final over as Lefebve produced a series of hoiks only vaguely in the vicinity of the ball. "Look at the ball," the No. 11 suggested, but his advice went unheeded and an LBW from the 3rd-last delivery was the result.
165 was a decent effort in the end but, with one very short boundary, a dry outfield and a good pitch with just the occasional low bounce, I can't say we were particularly confident.
Emil Todorow seemed to have added half of yard of pace to his bowling in this game and claimed an early scalp with the score on around 20. No. 3 tried to fight fire with fire and lofted 2 enormous sixes off Emil. There was no way our skipper was going to tolerate this sort of treatment and, fuelled by pride and fear of what would be said to him in the pub, he removed his tormentor next ball - admittedly caught at head height by Hassan on the boundary. Corinthians' innings then followed the pattern of last year with a remorseless and fairly uneventful stand of around 100 between Rahman and Clifford virtually sealing victory. Progress wasn't spectacular - the score after 16 overs was only 59 for 2, but acceleration after Drinks made the result a formality. 2 excellent catches in the deep by Abdul Khan gave the score some semblance of respectability but Corinthians clinched a 6-wicket victory, sealed with a 6, in the 34th over.
Man of the Match was Abdul who produce an excellent spell of bowling at less than 2 an over, 2 fine catches and his usual deadly throws, and 14 runs. Abdul clinched Fielder of the Day with his second catch. Prior to this the award was destined to go to Chris Kennedy who, despite being the oldest player on the park (sorry, Chris) and having apparently had a most enjoyable and liquid lunch, produced total commitment and a couple of spectacular full length dives to save a run or two.
Clapham Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Nomads 165 from 39.4 overs
Bradshaw 11
Vyas 1
Pattiyil 30
H. Khan 37
Kee 5
A. Khan 14
Kennedy 0
Lefebve 12
Darwin 18
Todorow 0
Crossland 2 not out
F. O.W. - 18, 44, 78, 87, 112, 112, 121, 163, 163 , 165
Wimbledon Corinthians 171 for 4 from 33.3 overs
H. Khan 8-1-28-0
Todorow 8-2-32-2
A. Khan 8-1-14-0
Darwin 4-0-46-0
Pattiyil 5.3-0-48-2
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