Energy Exiles 227 for 7 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 7-1-28-3
E. Todorow 7-2-28-0
Abbas Khan 7-0-31-2
A. West 7-0-52-0
Abdul Khan 6-0-79-1
Gul 1-0-9-0
Clapham Nomads 127 all out from 34.5 overs
M. Vyas 10
P. Pattiyil 0
Gul 22
H. Khan 50
D. Gunewardena 14
Paul McColgan 2
Abdul Khan 0
E. Todorow (capt) 3
Abbas Khan 4
J. Crossland (wkt) not out 0
A. West 0
F.O.W. - 3, 27, 76, 114, 120, 121, 124, 127, 127, 127
Nomads lost by 100 runs to a strong Energy Exiles side featuring many of the old favourites. Vicious late acceleration took Exiles up to 227 at tea. Nomads could never really match that scoring rate and were all out on the penultimate ball for 127. The final Nomads action of 2014 was Andrew West sliding through the dust and chalk in earnest discussion with John. More to follow...
REPORT.
The last game of 2014 was a trip to Nursery Road to play the Energy Exiles. It was a more traditional line-up for our old rivals (compared to last month's) with many old favourites on show - notably Andy Wingfield, Simon Gundry and skipper John Tither.
For Nomads, a late withdrawal by Riaz meant a call-up for Andrew West and there was a debut for Paul McColgan, who saw West walking to the ground in his cricket gear and, understandably inspired by such a sight, asked if he could play. With one eye on building a squad for next season, we included McColgan, hoping that we could convince the Exiles that he is a Brisbane Grade cricketer (Paul's Glaswegian cadence gave the lie to that one.)
Nomads elected to field and the Auld Firm of Hassan and Emil took the new ball. The more hirsute of the pair immediately found a nagging length just short of half volley. John Tither dug in ominously but there was an early wicket when Vishal Shete skied it to Hassan for a caught and bowled. As the batsman came off he credited the wicket to Todorow's pressure; "The other fella got me. He's just so frustrating with his length and taking so long to bowl and he's got an unusual action."
Good early pressure was maintained with the score on 25 for 1 after 10 and around 3.5 an over at drinks. Emil had only gone for 20 with 2 balls of his spell to go but John Tither hit boundaries off both of Emil's final deliveries.
Gradual acceleration took place but 2 further wickets for Hassan, who looked more of a threat as he slowed down, backed by a good spell from Abbas and excellent catching from several Nomads kept the contest pretty even.
Andrew West, top of the bowling averages at the start of the game, had an enormous shout for caught behind turned down when Karamvir Mangat was on around 30 but it was declined, much to keeper John Crossland's bemusement and the bowler's extreme and possibly Anglo-Saxon consternation.
With 6 overs to go, the score was 155 with Exiles just slightly ahead on points. Energy have often kicked on sharply against us at the death but never as spectacularly as they did in this match. Barry Whiteman, plus proven hitters Gundry and Wingfield, knocked it about most entertainingly but Mangat was an absolute star, racing from 50 to a scintillating ton in only 19 balls. Probably the finest innings in a Nomads/Exiles game. The only knock that could rival it would be Hassan's match-winning century 4 weeks previously.
Exiles raced away at exactly 12 an over off the last 6 to close on 227 for 7 off the full 35. Nomads had scored 208 for 3 off 33.4 in the August game against Exiles on the same ground (and would have got close to 220 off 35), so on paper 228 was not an impossible target with our batting line-up slightly stronger than on 17/8. However, with Wingfield and Gundry set to bowl, we were massively up against it; even more so when Terence Moynihan bowled Prasanth round his legs early on.
With Moynihan obtaining sharp inward movement (making LBWs difficult to give - even for Nomads' umpires) and Andy Wingfield back close to his best, the next few overs were tough but Mahesh Vyas and Gul did a good job to keep their wickets intact and match Exiles' 10-over score of 25 for 1.
Wingfield broke through in the 11th over, having Vyas caught behind for a gritty and useful 10. Last month's hero Hassan joined Gul and steady progress was made against Phil Ling. Skipper Tither played his trump card at this point, introducing Simon Gundry to the attack. The big man generated good pace and conceded only 3 runs from his first 3 overs, leaving Nomads with just a bit too much to do.
Ling bowled Gul for a combative 22. Darwin joined Hassan and the pair played with considerable dash. The pressure was on though and one risky single too many was attempted, Darwin being run out on 114.
After a streaky start, the left-handed McColgan played nice and straight but was the victim of another run out.
Hassan reached another excellent 50 but became Gundry's first victim. The innings then began to tail off. Abdul and Abbas were bowled by Gundry and Moynihan respectively. As the last rites approched, it was pretty much Gundry versus Todorow, West and Crossland - a distillation of all that we love about Exiles/Nomads fixtures. Todorow played a quite glorious Cover Drive against the big paceman; it had grace, command, elegance, everything but power (it was as if a dark-haired, right-handed David Gower was batting with a piece of driftwood) but it still went for a most enjoyable single. The bowler responded with a series of snorting lifters. Emil finally managed to get a thin edge to the 4th one, departing and bringing No. 11 Andrew West out to join John Crossland for the penultimate delivery of the innings. West was incandescent with irritation that he was unlikely to bat so (as umpire) I whispered to him that he should run if the ball beat the keeper or the inner field. Crossland parried the ball towards his feet and West charged up the pitch only to be turned back indignantly by John. West turned - eventually - and dived for the crease but was run out by a yard; and so another golden summer of Nomads cricket ended in a haze of dust, chalk, slanting sunlight and oaths.
It was an enjoyable day despite the heavy defeat. It was good to see all the old faces including the semi-retired Naren Patel who showed up at tea. Exiles have always been a tough bowling unit and a crafty and professional batting side, but they have now added a streak of frighteningly fast-scoring flair and they are going to be very difficult to beat next summer. I may be putting out an inter-continental trunk call to a certain Mr Copeland. One new feature of Exiles' play was the interval huddle. Just in case any Nomad is thinking of suggesting at the meeting that we do this, then please don't. I'm not sure we could afford the Policing fees.
Man of the Match was Hassan, with another fine half-century and the best bowling figures. Abbas took 2 well-judged catches in the deep to claim Fielder of the Day but a much-improved performance from John Crossland behind the sticks ran him close. If Andrew had not played in this match he would have topped the bowling averages. He has dipped below Hassan after this game but has still done well to finish miles clear of any other regular bowler.
Thursday 18 September 2014
Dulwich v Clapham Nomads - 7/9/14
7th September saw another trip to Dulwich Sports Ground, the Turney Road home of Dulwich cc's increasingly formidable Development XI.
Dulwich advertise themselves as South London's top club and it would be hard to argue with that - certainly if you are talking of SE and SW post codes only - their facilities and coaching are excellent.
Nomads won the toss and had a bowl, but once again learnt a lesson that is being drummed into us more and more often; it is almost impossible to dismiss a side full of well-coached youngsters on a good track. Hassan bowled excellently and had at least 2 good chances missed off his bowling, while Emil turned in the best figures with 1 for 29 off his 7 overs. It took the extra pace of Abbas to provide some kind of cutting edge, with 2 wickets for the young paceman. 3 run outs gave the scorebook a slightly healthier sheen from our point of view; John Crossland and Riaz combining for 2 of them.
Dulwich closed on 190 for 6. Nomads had managed 198 against them last year but that was off 43 overs. Our chances took a mortal blow at tea when Hassan had to leave for urgent family reasons. Dulwich supremo John Lawrence sportingly allowed our 12th Man Adnan to bat in Hassan's place.
Mark Bradshaw concluded his fine comeback season with a well-crafted 32. Mahesh Vyas provided some support with 7 and helped see off the openers. Mahesh has done this several times this summer and has had a slightly better season than the averages will suggest.
The highlight of our knock was when Darwin, who had scored 193 runs in the previous 3 games since he was last out, made 10 here to bring up a kind of Double Century; possibly the first Nomad to achieve this feat.
Below Darwin, however, there was little support for Mark and a series of rash shots and soft dismissals caused a steady subsidence. Dulwich had 2 excellent spinners who caused carnage. When I started playing for Open University and Nomads 25 years ago, spinners/slow bowlers were a) fat, b) slow, c) drunk and d) unable to turn the ball. I had 3 of the above characteristics myself. These Dulwich guys, however, had none of the above. They were well-coached and may have been watching video footage of Warne, Murali and even Swann and Panesar. Almost cheating, that is.
Nomads ended on 104 all out. How much difference did Hassan's absence make? Well, Adnan scored 8, so Hassan would have needed to score 95 for us to win, all else being equal.
Man of the Match goes to Darwin for passing the 200 landmark (even though almost all the runs were scored in previous games.) He also took 2 catches to claim Fielder of the Day as well, with Riaz a close second. John Crossland had one of his rare off days behind the stumps and was quite downhearted, but I am so late in writing this report that I already know he bounced back well.
Dulwich 190 for 6 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 7-0-24-0
Sami 7-0-41-0
Abbas Khan 7-0-41-2
E. Todorow 7-0-29-1
R.Khan 3-0-14-0
Abdul Khan 4-0-35-0
Clapham Nomads 104 all out
M. Bradshaw 32
M. Vyas 7
R. Khan 0
Hamid 5
D. Gunewardena 10
Adnan Khan 8
Abdul Khan 13
Sami 10
E. Todorow (capt) not out 1
J. Crossland (wkt) 0
Clapham Nomads lost by 86 runs.
Dulwich advertise themselves as South London's top club and it would be hard to argue with that - certainly if you are talking of SE and SW post codes only - their facilities and coaching are excellent.
Nomads won the toss and had a bowl, but once again learnt a lesson that is being drummed into us more and more often; it is almost impossible to dismiss a side full of well-coached youngsters on a good track. Hassan bowled excellently and had at least 2 good chances missed off his bowling, while Emil turned in the best figures with 1 for 29 off his 7 overs. It took the extra pace of Abbas to provide some kind of cutting edge, with 2 wickets for the young paceman. 3 run outs gave the scorebook a slightly healthier sheen from our point of view; John Crossland and Riaz combining for 2 of them.
Dulwich closed on 190 for 6. Nomads had managed 198 against them last year but that was off 43 overs. Our chances took a mortal blow at tea when Hassan had to leave for urgent family reasons. Dulwich supremo John Lawrence sportingly allowed our 12th Man Adnan to bat in Hassan's place.
Mark Bradshaw concluded his fine comeback season with a well-crafted 32. Mahesh Vyas provided some support with 7 and helped see off the openers. Mahesh has done this several times this summer and has had a slightly better season than the averages will suggest.
The highlight of our knock was when Darwin, who had scored 193 runs in the previous 3 games since he was last out, made 10 here to bring up a kind of Double Century; possibly the first Nomad to achieve this feat.
Below Darwin, however, there was little support for Mark and a series of rash shots and soft dismissals caused a steady subsidence. Dulwich had 2 excellent spinners who caused carnage. When I started playing for Open University and Nomads 25 years ago, spinners/slow bowlers were a) fat, b) slow, c) drunk and d) unable to turn the ball. I had 3 of the above characteristics myself. These Dulwich guys, however, had none of the above. They were well-coached and may have been watching video footage of Warne, Murali and even Swann and Panesar. Almost cheating, that is.
Nomads ended on 104 all out. How much difference did Hassan's absence make? Well, Adnan scored 8, so Hassan would have needed to score 95 for us to win, all else being equal.
Man of the Match goes to Darwin for passing the 200 landmark (even though almost all the runs were scored in previous games.) He also took 2 catches to claim Fielder of the Day as well, with Riaz a close second. John Crossland had one of his rare off days behind the stumps and was quite downhearted, but I am so late in writing this report that I already know he bounced back well.
Dulwich 190 for 6 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 7-0-24-0
Sami 7-0-41-0
Abbas Khan 7-0-41-2
E. Todorow 7-0-29-1
R.Khan 3-0-14-0
Abdul Khan 4-0-35-0
Clapham Nomads 104 all out
M. Bradshaw 32
M. Vyas 7
R. Khan 0
Hamid 5
D. Gunewardena 10
Adnan Khan 8
Abdul Khan 13
Sami 10
E. Todorow (capt) not out 1
J. Crossland (wkt) 0
Clapham Nomads lost by 86 runs.
Thursday 4 September 2014
Clapham Nomads v Touring Theatres - 31/8/14
Theatres were only able to raise 6 for this game at Abbey Rec. Nomads' batting order had a threadbare look to it, especially after we gave Mahesh Vyas to the opposition, We should probably have given them 2 players to make it a 9-8 contest.
There was a welcome return to Nomads action for Abdul, his broken fingers still strapped up.
Skipper John Crossland's search for a replacement opener to accompany Mark Bradshaw led him to Emil Todorow, who has opened the batting many times for the club, though not for a while, and has produced some memorable moments against pace bowlers.
The opening pair played nicely to see off some testing bowling from Ben Tranchell and Hansell, the latter recording figures of 0 for 9 off 7 overs (very economical with such a sparse field.)
Todorow looked sound. If only he was a bit quicker between the wickets, he would be a very useful standby opener. On 31 though, with the shine seen off and the hard work done, Emil middled the 7th ball (including 4 wides) of Pensen's first over, but unfortunately straight to Short Mid-Wicket where Dirk Fieldhouse held onto a sharp catch.
Numbers 3 and 4 Sami and Hamid didn't last too long but Bradshaw was starting to punch it about confidently against the change bowlers. The 3rd wicket fell on 58 and brought Darwin out to join Mark. These two were the only batsmen in out side with any kind of recent form in the book. Fortunately it was absolutely cracking form. This was maintained here; Darwin spanking it straight and towards Mid-Off, with Mark solid as ever, consolidating and rotating the strike, making it look easy.
The pick of Theatres' change bowlers was Nomads Legend Chris Kennedy who got through a 6-over stint conceding only 1 boundary. He was milked for regular singles, but 5.5 an over is not bad at all against a classy pair of batsmen and supported only by a keeper and 5 other fielders.
Great 3rd and 4th wicket stands have been the high spot of our batting this summer and the undefeated 113 put on by Mark and Darwin took Nomads up to 171 at the close. This seemed likely to be enough but the visitors had 2 new players, 1 of whom had travelled all the way from the Isle of Thanet to play, and we still remembered the century scored by another Theatres debutant, John Warnaby's cousin, last summer.
Dirk Fieldhouse's partner Maureen set out our tea for us and it was a more professionally presented meal than we usually get from Nomads. Thanks again for that, Maureen.
Skipper Crossland twirled his moustachioes thoughtfully and produced the tactical rabbit from his cap. The new ball would be shared by Abbas and Andrew West, who are very different in age, build and pace, but alike in their fiery determination.
Our own Mahesh opened with Ben Tranchell and the Theatres star was soon run out. Any suspicions that Mahesh was acting as our 5th Column were soon dispelled as he played smartly for 19, the away side's top score.
There is usually no let-up from a Crossland-captained bowling unit. The openers shared 3 wickets (West's 2 taking him to the top of the 2014 club bowling averages) and bowled their full 7 overs each. Change bowlers Sami (3 overs, 3 maidens) and Abdul (2 for 2) then polished the job off professionally.
It was a pleasant, sociable afternoon. The comedy highlight was when Hassan turned up with his family at half-time and jokingly offered his batting services to the opposition. John Crossland, not realising Hassan was joking, was distraught - his recent 100% record as skipper suddenly seeming under threat.
Man of the Match was Mark Bradshaw who saw off some useful stuff early on in his 68 to underpin our total. Darwin was a close second though, his unbeaten 62 means that, at the end of this game, he had scored 193 runs since he was last dismissed. Fingers crossed for the Double Century in the next game. I can't remember the fielding all that well (early-onset Alzheimer's - it was only 17 days ago) but I will give the fielding award to Hamid who set up the run out of Theatres' best batsman.
Clapham Nomads 171 for 3 from 35 overs
M. Bradshaw not out 68
E. Todorow 5
Sami 0
Hamid 6
D. Gunewardena not out 62
Did not bat; Abdul Khan, Abbas Khan, N. Lefebve, A. West, J, Crossland (capt/wkt)
F.O.W. - 31, 40, 58
Touring Theatres 37 all out from 19.3 overs
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 7-0-17-1
A. West 7-2-8-2
Sami 3-3-0-0
Abdul Khan 2.3-1-2-2
Clapham Nomads won by 134 runs
There was a welcome return to Nomads action for Abdul, his broken fingers still strapped up.
Skipper John Crossland's search for a replacement opener to accompany Mark Bradshaw led him to Emil Todorow, who has opened the batting many times for the club, though not for a while, and has produced some memorable moments against pace bowlers.
The opening pair played nicely to see off some testing bowling from Ben Tranchell and Hansell, the latter recording figures of 0 for 9 off 7 overs (very economical with such a sparse field.)
Todorow looked sound. If only he was a bit quicker between the wickets, he would be a very useful standby opener. On 31 though, with the shine seen off and the hard work done, Emil middled the 7th ball (including 4 wides) of Pensen's first over, but unfortunately straight to Short Mid-Wicket where Dirk Fieldhouse held onto a sharp catch.
Numbers 3 and 4 Sami and Hamid didn't last too long but Bradshaw was starting to punch it about confidently against the change bowlers. The 3rd wicket fell on 58 and brought Darwin out to join Mark. These two were the only batsmen in out side with any kind of recent form in the book. Fortunately it was absolutely cracking form. This was maintained here; Darwin spanking it straight and towards Mid-Off, with Mark solid as ever, consolidating and rotating the strike, making it look easy.
The pick of Theatres' change bowlers was Nomads Legend Chris Kennedy who got through a 6-over stint conceding only 1 boundary. He was milked for regular singles, but 5.5 an over is not bad at all against a classy pair of batsmen and supported only by a keeper and 5 other fielders.
Great 3rd and 4th wicket stands have been the high spot of our batting this summer and the undefeated 113 put on by Mark and Darwin took Nomads up to 171 at the close. This seemed likely to be enough but the visitors had 2 new players, 1 of whom had travelled all the way from the Isle of Thanet to play, and we still remembered the century scored by another Theatres debutant, John Warnaby's cousin, last summer.
Dirk Fieldhouse's partner Maureen set out our tea for us and it was a more professionally presented meal than we usually get from Nomads. Thanks again for that, Maureen.
Skipper Crossland twirled his moustachioes thoughtfully and produced the tactical rabbit from his cap. The new ball would be shared by Abbas and Andrew West, who are very different in age, build and pace, but alike in their fiery determination.
Our own Mahesh opened with Ben Tranchell and the Theatres star was soon run out. Any suspicions that Mahesh was acting as our 5th Column were soon dispelled as he played smartly for 19, the away side's top score.
There is usually no let-up from a Crossland-captained bowling unit. The openers shared 3 wickets (West's 2 taking him to the top of the 2014 club bowling averages) and bowled their full 7 overs each. Change bowlers Sami (3 overs, 3 maidens) and Abdul (2 for 2) then polished the job off professionally.
It was a pleasant, sociable afternoon. The comedy highlight was when Hassan turned up with his family at half-time and jokingly offered his batting services to the opposition. John Crossland, not realising Hassan was joking, was distraught - his recent 100% record as skipper suddenly seeming under threat.
Man of the Match was Mark Bradshaw who saw off some useful stuff early on in his 68 to underpin our total. Darwin was a close second though, his unbeaten 62 means that, at the end of this game, he had scored 193 runs since he was last dismissed. Fingers crossed for the Double Century in the next game. I can't remember the fielding all that well (early-onset Alzheimer's - it was only 17 days ago) but I will give the fielding award to Hamid who set up the run out of Theatres' best batsman.
Clapham Nomads 171 for 3 from 35 overs
M. Bradshaw not out 68
E. Todorow 5
Sami 0
Hamid 6
D. Gunewardena not out 62
Did not bat; Abdul Khan, Abbas Khan, N. Lefebve, A. West, J, Crossland (capt/wkt)
F.O.W. - 31, 40, 58
Touring Theatres 37 all out from 19.3 overs
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 7-0-17-1
A. West 7-2-8-2
Sami 3-3-0-0
Abdul Khan 2.3-1-2-2
Clapham Nomads won by 134 runs
Monday 25 August 2014
Barnes Occasionals v Clapham Nomads - 24/8/14
Sunday 24/8 saw another trip to our old friends Barnes Occasionals at their ground opposite Ham House. Nomads' skipper Emil Todorow had done well to raise 11 on what is traditionally a difficult weekend to put out a full team.
This is an excellent venue. It has the reputation of being a bit remote but Emil Todorow made it door-to-ground in 32 minutes (driving at 29.5 mph all the way.) It has a semi-rustic feel; surrounded by allotments, historic buildings and farm animals and with the faint tang of horseshit (mostly in the literal sense) in the air. As you will see from the scores, it was possible to bat well on this pitch but there was plenty of assistance for both fast and slow bowlers as well.
A strong-ish Nomads batting order was inserted by Occasionals for this time game. It was nice to see two Barnes regulars; Mark Lichfield and Mike Webster, who had not played against us for a while. It was a shame the legend Keith Seed was missing but this could only help our cause.
As ever, Ollie Hogg was one of the New Ball bowlers and he bamboozled the batsmen with his mixture of swing, drift, float and occasional temptation. Tom Hooker, at just above Medium, kept it steady at the other end. Hogg rarely seems to miss out against Nomads and he struck twice in his second over; bowling, in quick succession, Gul and Prasanth, 2 players you would always back to score at least 40 between them.
6 for 2. Time for some hard graft. I thought Mahesh did a fine job in knuckling down and seeing off the shine. Tom Hooker was finding some high bounce and rapped Mahesh on the visor with one ball. Together with Hassan, Mahesh took Nomads into the 30s and his firm pull for 4 off Hogg in the 12th over could have heralded a change in the balance of power. Unfortunately, in trying to follow up, he holed out to Short Mid-Wicket. 37 for 3.
At this stage, it seemed 100 might be a fighting total on this pitch. Nomads were confident of reaching that as Hassan and Darwin continued where they left off the previous week. They soon showed that, once played in, class players could capitalise (particularly against anything short) on the lack of pace in this pitch. Hassan had warmed up with successive 4s off Hooker and a 6 off Hogg and, when change bowlers Findon (later revealed to be a former England Schools bowler), Nigel Pettitt and Mark Lichfield came on, our Middle Order stars cranked it up a few gears, taking these 3 bowlers for almost 9 an over between them. Hassan was still in the zone after last week's match-winning ton and he charged to 50. It then became clear Darwin was playing brilliantly as well with firmly-struck groundshots for 4 in the arc between Cover Point and Long Off. Darwin actually began to catch up with Hassan's score as he passed his first 50 for Nomads. Hassan was on 76 (and Darwin on 62) when someone whispered; "Hassan should get his second ton in a row." The very next ball he unfortunately pulled Mark Lichfield straight to Long Leg but the stand had realised 123. If you add that to their unbeaten partnership in the previous game, they scored 202 in no more than 25 overs.
Jonnie Randall was No. 6 and cracked a fine boundary but his main job was to support Darwin who was dominating and securing his place in Nomads' Hall of Fame. With the score on around 170, John started telling Emil he should declare. We reminded him that Darwin was on 74 and looked in no trouble at all. Once Darwin passed his previous lifetime best of 82, even John just concentrated on enjoying the batting. Darwin entered the 90s which proved to be anything but nervous as two successive 4s (his 13th and 14th) brought up a fantastic and very popular century. Emil promptly declared to give his bowlers an extra quarter of an hour (taken after tea) to go for the win.
Barnes were packed with experience but, on paper, the only player who could take them close to 200 in a couple of hours was opener Roger Price. We managed to get Price fairly early for a change; a fast, straight one from Abbas rattling the stumps with the score on 22.
With Peter Carey defending stoutly, Barnes' stall seemed set out for the draw attempt but Sami kept it interesting by inducing a mis-cued hook from No. 3 Benz which Jonnie Randall clung on to at Fine Leg despite a broken nail.
It was still 2 down at the start of the final 20 overs. Hassan entered the fray with some extravagant Leg Spinners before reverting to pace and bowling the obdurate Carey. Emil also bowled some spinners and even produced a genuine googly which No. 4 Makatrewicz just got his bat down on. The batsmen told Emil he had picked the googly but only because of their shared Slavonic blood.
2 further bowleds for Hassan brought the veteran Mike Webster to the middle. Emil put Abbas back on at the bouncier River End and there was an exciting passage of play as the young paceman bowled a fast, hostile spell and Webster did very well to survive some short stuff. In one over, 3 edges went either short or over the cordon but Webster handled the threat very impressively and even played a couple of deliberate Dilshan shots over the slips.
At the other end, Findon took advantage of the close-up field with a series of boundaries. By the time Hassan finally bowled Findon there were only 3 or 4 overs for Webster and Tom Hooker to survive, which they did quite comfortably and with capable defensive players Mark Lichfield and Ollie Hogg in reserve.
I have to say that Barnes drew this game quite easily and I wouldn't even call it a losing draw for them. It was an enjoyable game with the magic century from Man of the Match Darwin the obvious highlight. You wouldn't often score 76 and take 4 wickets and not be Man of the Match but that is what happened to Hassan. Sami was the most economical bowler. Jonnie Randall was Fielder of the Day with the only catch and the best diving stop; Prasanth was a close second.
Clapham Nomads 203 for 4 declared from 33 overs
M. Vyas 9
Gul 3
P. Pattiyil 0
H. Khan 76
D. Gunawardena not out 100
J. Randall not out 6
Did not bat; N.Lefebve, Sami, E.Todorow, Abbas Khan, J.Crossland
F.O.W. - 6, 6, 37, 160
Barnes' bowling
T. Hooker 9-2-37-0
O. Hogg 9-2-37-3
J. Findon 9-0-68-0
N. Pettitt 2-0-27-0
M. Lichfield 4-0-36-1
Barnes Occasionals 112 for 6 from 41 overs
R. Price 17
P. Carey 14
N. Benz 4
Makatrewicz 19
M. Webster not out 20
N. Pettitt 2
J. Findon 25
T. Hooker not out 0
Did not bat; M.Lichfield, O.Hogg
F.O.W. - 22, 33, 43, 60, 66, 104
Nomads' bowling
Sami 11-4-15-1
Abbas Khan 11-2-38-1
H. Khan 11-5-18-4
E. Todorow 6-2-23-0
Gul 2-0-13-0
Match drawn
This is an excellent venue. It has the reputation of being a bit remote but Emil Todorow made it door-to-ground in 32 minutes (driving at 29.5 mph all the way.) It has a semi-rustic feel; surrounded by allotments, historic buildings and farm animals and with the faint tang of horseshit (mostly in the literal sense) in the air. As you will see from the scores, it was possible to bat well on this pitch but there was plenty of assistance for both fast and slow bowlers as well.
A strong-ish Nomads batting order was inserted by Occasionals for this time game. It was nice to see two Barnes regulars; Mark Lichfield and Mike Webster, who had not played against us for a while. It was a shame the legend Keith Seed was missing but this could only help our cause.
As ever, Ollie Hogg was one of the New Ball bowlers and he bamboozled the batsmen with his mixture of swing, drift, float and occasional temptation. Tom Hooker, at just above Medium, kept it steady at the other end. Hogg rarely seems to miss out against Nomads and he struck twice in his second over; bowling, in quick succession, Gul and Prasanth, 2 players you would always back to score at least 40 between them.
6 for 2. Time for some hard graft. I thought Mahesh did a fine job in knuckling down and seeing off the shine. Tom Hooker was finding some high bounce and rapped Mahesh on the visor with one ball. Together with Hassan, Mahesh took Nomads into the 30s and his firm pull for 4 off Hogg in the 12th over could have heralded a change in the balance of power. Unfortunately, in trying to follow up, he holed out to Short Mid-Wicket. 37 for 3.
At this stage, it seemed 100 might be a fighting total on this pitch. Nomads were confident of reaching that as Hassan and Darwin continued where they left off the previous week. They soon showed that, once played in, class players could capitalise (particularly against anything short) on the lack of pace in this pitch. Hassan had warmed up with successive 4s off Hooker and a 6 off Hogg and, when change bowlers Findon (later revealed to be a former England Schools bowler), Nigel Pettitt and Mark Lichfield came on, our Middle Order stars cranked it up a few gears, taking these 3 bowlers for almost 9 an over between them. Hassan was still in the zone after last week's match-winning ton and he charged to 50. It then became clear Darwin was playing brilliantly as well with firmly-struck groundshots for 4 in the arc between Cover Point and Long Off. Darwin actually began to catch up with Hassan's score as he passed his first 50 for Nomads. Hassan was on 76 (and Darwin on 62) when someone whispered; "Hassan should get his second ton in a row." The very next ball he unfortunately pulled Mark Lichfield straight to Long Leg but the stand had realised 123. If you add that to their unbeaten partnership in the previous game, they scored 202 in no more than 25 overs.
Jonnie Randall was No. 6 and cracked a fine boundary but his main job was to support Darwin who was dominating and securing his place in Nomads' Hall of Fame. With the score on around 170, John started telling Emil he should declare. We reminded him that Darwin was on 74 and looked in no trouble at all. Once Darwin passed his previous lifetime best of 82, even John just concentrated on enjoying the batting. Darwin entered the 90s which proved to be anything but nervous as two successive 4s (his 13th and 14th) brought up a fantastic and very popular century. Emil promptly declared to give his bowlers an extra quarter of an hour (taken after tea) to go for the win.
Barnes were packed with experience but, on paper, the only player who could take them close to 200 in a couple of hours was opener Roger Price. We managed to get Price fairly early for a change; a fast, straight one from Abbas rattling the stumps with the score on 22.
With Peter Carey defending stoutly, Barnes' stall seemed set out for the draw attempt but Sami kept it interesting by inducing a mis-cued hook from No. 3 Benz which Jonnie Randall clung on to at Fine Leg despite a broken nail.
It was still 2 down at the start of the final 20 overs. Hassan entered the fray with some extravagant Leg Spinners before reverting to pace and bowling the obdurate Carey. Emil also bowled some spinners and even produced a genuine googly which No. 4 Makatrewicz just got his bat down on. The batsmen told Emil he had picked the googly but only because of their shared Slavonic blood.
2 further bowleds for Hassan brought the veteran Mike Webster to the middle. Emil put Abbas back on at the bouncier River End and there was an exciting passage of play as the young paceman bowled a fast, hostile spell and Webster did very well to survive some short stuff. In one over, 3 edges went either short or over the cordon but Webster handled the threat very impressively and even played a couple of deliberate Dilshan shots over the slips.
At the other end, Findon took advantage of the close-up field with a series of boundaries. By the time Hassan finally bowled Findon there were only 3 or 4 overs for Webster and Tom Hooker to survive, which they did quite comfortably and with capable defensive players Mark Lichfield and Ollie Hogg in reserve.
I have to say that Barnes drew this game quite easily and I wouldn't even call it a losing draw for them. It was an enjoyable game with the magic century from Man of the Match Darwin the obvious highlight. You wouldn't often score 76 and take 4 wickets and not be Man of the Match but that is what happened to Hassan. Sami was the most economical bowler. Jonnie Randall was Fielder of the Day with the only catch and the best diving stop; Prasanth was a close second.
Clapham Nomads 203 for 4 declared from 33 overs
M. Vyas 9
Gul 3
P. Pattiyil 0
H. Khan 76
D. Gunawardena not out 100
J. Randall not out 6
Did not bat; N.Lefebve, Sami, E.Todorow, Abbas Khan, J.Crossland
F.O.W. - 6, 6, 37, 160
Barnes' bowling
T. Hooker 9-2-37-0
O. Hogg 9-2-37-3
J. Findon 9-0-68-0
N. Pettitt 2-0-27-0
M. Lichfield 4-0-36-1
Barnes Occasionals 112 for 6 from 41 overs
R. Price 17
P. Carey 14
N. Benz 4
Makatrewicz 19
M. Webster not out 20
N. Pettitt 2
J. Findon 25
T. Hooker not out 0
Did not bat; M.Lichfield, O.Hogg
F.O.W. - 22, 33, 43, 60, 66, 104
Nomads' bowling
Sami 11-4-15-1
Abbas Khan 11-2-38-1
H. Khan 11-5-18-4
E. Todorow 6-2-23-0
Gul 2-0-13-0
Match drawn
Clapham Nomads Centuries
Hassan scored his 5th century for Nomads in the win against Exiles on 17/8. (I thought it was more than that. I'll check through the books again.) And now Darwin has joined the club with a ton against Barnes Occasionals yesterday. With Mark making his debut ton for the club in June, that is now 3 centuries - scored by different players - in the last 5 matches. Quite something when you think that it took the club 8 and a half years to record our first hundred. The 10 century-makers are;
2002 - Rafi (128 not out - our highest individual score)
2003 - Rafi, Acharan
2005 - Jean-Claude, Gaurang Vyas
2006 - Hassan Khan
2007 - Hassan Khan (2)
2008 - Cameron Russell
2009 - Ben Fewson (3)
2011 - Jim Joyce
2012 - Hassan Khan
2014 (so far) - Mark Bradshaw, Hassan Khan, Darwin Gunawardena
It is tough to pick the best one. Rafi's in 2002 was against the weakest bowling (including 4 successive sixes off Renato Philip.) I would say it was between Hassan's match-winning 104 not out last week (which John said was Hassan's best-ever innings), another of Hassan's that Emil picked out (? against Woodside Green a few years ago) and Rafi's century against Caribbean Mix in 2003. Jim Joyce's knock in 2011 was an extraordinary attacking innings. I will put more details and scores on this post soon.
2002 - Rafi (128 not out - our highest individual score)
2003 - Rafi, Acharan
2005 - Jean-Claude, Gaurang Vyas
2006 - Hassan Khan
2007 - Hassan Khan (2)
2008 - Cameron Russell
2009 - Ben Fewson (3)
2011 - Jim Joyce
2012 - Hassan Khan
2014 (so far) - Mark Bradshaw, Hassan Khan, Darwin Gunawardena
It is tough to pick the best one. Rafi's in 2002 was against the weakest bowling (including 4 successive sixes off Renato Philip.) I would say it was between Hassan's match-winning 104 not out last week (which John said was Hassan's best-ever innings), another of Hassan's that Emil picked out (? against Woodside Green a few years ago) and Rafi's century against Caribbean Mix in 2003. Jim Joyce's knock in 2011 was an extraordinary attacking innings. I will put more details and scores on this post soon.
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 17/8/14
A brilliant 104 not out from Hassan Khan secured a sensational 7 wicket win over the Energy Exiles on Sunday. Hassan was also the pick of the bowlers and restricted Exiles' run rate early on. They are a fine batting side though and they hit their way up to 205 for 3 from the full 35. Exiles, boosted by guest fielder Andrew West, and with star bowler Terence Moynihan looking threatening and backed up by Marcin Zielenewski and Phil Ling, took 2 early-ish Nomads wickets but a high-class stand of over 100 between Prasanth and Hassan put Nomads in with a good shout even when the consistent Prasanth fell for 59 with Nomads needing around 70 off 10. Excellent work from Darwin to support Hassan clinched the victory just in time for our star all-rounder to pass his century (his 7th or 8th for the club, I think - it could be more. I will list them next time I update the blog.)
Full report and scores to follow when I get the scorebook back....
REPORT....... I arrived to watch this fixture at 3.15 and was impressed to see Nomads (fielding first) had already bowled more than 20 overs. Our over rate had been excellent as had been the Exiles batting with the score on 90 for 1.
A fine early spell from Hassan had accounted for Exiles' skipper, the useful Chris Plume, early on. It was a new-look line-up for our old rivals with Andy Wingfield, John Tither and Simon Gundry all missing and only 2 stalwarts - Marcin Zielenewski and Phil Ling - from the golden age of Nomads/Exiles fixtures. Judging from their match reports though, these new Exiles were more than capable and they proved this by consolidating well after the early wicket.
I emerged from the pavilion again just in time to see Emil Todorow float down an unplayable delivery onto middle stump for the 2nd wicket. He was hailed with a cry of "Lala" from a fielder (which I'm assured is not only a Teletubby - Emil loves pubs so he would surely be Dipsy - but is also a term of respect which translates approximately as "Elder Brother."
With wickets in hand, there was rapid acceleration and the change bowlers came in for some harsh treatment though Andrew West was reasonably accurate and Hamza claimed a wicket on his debut.
200 was passed but a nasty hamstring injury to top-scorer Vishal Shete, who was in overdrive, probably knocked 6 or 7 runs off the final total which was still a daunting 205 for 3.
We didn't know too much about most of the Exiles bowlers but a few South African accents could be heard which is always a cause for concern. The owner of one of them, Terence Moynihan, was rapid and with the accurate Marcin Zielenewski at the other end, progress was cautious. 22 useful runs were ground out before Mahesh Vyas was narrowly run out in the 9th over.
We were told that No. 3 Hamid had not played in a competitive match before but had had loads of net practice. He crashed his 4th ball for 6 on to the tram line. He may have been lucky to survive a confident caught behind shout (3 or 4 different noises, a cloud of dust, difficult to give) but Marcin Z had him shortly afterwards.
Exiles had requested a spare fielder due to injury. It is customary in these situations to give the opposition someone of athleticism, co-ordination and enthusiasm, and so Andrew West took his place at gully and he it was who caught Hamid; coolly and without moving a muscle. Instinctive close-up fielding at its very best.
Prasanth survived an early chance; a skied caught and bowled opportunity that was spilled. In the form Prasanth has been in, fielding sides cannot afford the luxury of a dropped catch and he took full advantage, racing to 50. (Once he had passed 10 he scored at well over a run a ball.)
At the other end, Hassan settled in straight away and immediately looked impressive. He had a slight exchange of views with a fielder early on and he said this galvanised him. His stand-out shot was the Late Cut just behind Point. He played several of these and they reminded me of Graeme Hick at his best.
The asking rate was daunting (it had already climbed to 7 an over by the 9th over) but the pair managed to take each of the change bowlers for at least 7.5 an over. This included the awkward Phil Ling, a fascinating bowler to watch, who either swings it or angles it inwards very sharply. Ling made the eventual breakthrough, having Prasanth caught for a sparkling 59.
129 for 3 meant 77 to win with 10 or 11 overs left. A 50-50 chance at best. If Hassan batted to the end, supported by Darwin and/or Jonnie Randall, we would probably win. It would take fine batting and our boys produced just that. Darwin almost matched Hassan's run rate and, with 2 overs to go, just 7 were needed with Hassan on 96 but not on strike. Darwin nudged a single on the second ball and then Hassan just blew any tension away with two successive 4s to bring up the victory, his ton and prompt John to remark in the scorebook; "Best innings I can remember from Hassan." 7 words of praise from the tough John is probably worth 70 from me so I will leave it at that except to say; "Absolutely brilliant innings."
A cracking victory. The first time we have won two in a row against Exiles for 13 years. Man of the Match is quite easy. Andrew West (sorry, it's obviously Hassan but Andrew takes Fielder of the Day even though his golden moment was actually for the opposition.)
I must also praise Merton Council's pitches. I have criticised them occasionally but they play very well in the main. 413 for 6 in this game. I hesitate to praise them too highly in case any other teams reading this (if there are any, you should get out more) decided to book them and make it more difficult for us to get them. Their groundsmen are doing a great job at the moment.
Energy Exiles 205 for 3 from 35 overs
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 7-3-22-1
Hamza 7-0-44-1
Abbas Khan 7-0-48-0
A. West 5-0-27-0
E. Todorow 5-0-28-1
Hamid 4-0-30-0
Clapham Nomads 208 for 3 from 33.4 overs
M. Vyas 4
P. Pattiyil 59
Hamid 10
H. Khan not out 104
D. Gunawardena not out 31
F.O.W. - 22, 33, 129
Clapham Nomads won by 7 wickets
Full report and scores to follow when I get the scorebook back....
REPORT....... I arrived to watch this fixture at 3.15 and was impressed to see Nomads (fielding first) had already bowled more than 20 overs. Our over rate had been excellent as had been the Exiles batting with the score on 90 for 1.
A fine early spell from Hassan had accounted for Exiles' skipper, the useful Chris Plume, early on. It was a new-look line-up for our old rivals with Andy Wingfield, John Tither and Simon Gundry all missing and only 2 stalwarts - Marcin Zielenewski and Phil Ling - from the golden age of Nomads/Exiles fixtures. Judging from their match reports though, these new Exiles were more than capable and they proved this by consolidating well after the early wicket.
I emerged from the pavilion again just in time to see Emil Todorow float down an unplayable delivery onto middle stump for the 2nd wicket. He was hailed with a cry of "Lala" from a fielder (which I'm assured is not only a Teletubby - Emil loves pubs so he would surely be Dipsy - but is also a term of respect which translates approximately as "Elder Brother."
With wickets in hand, there was rapid acceleration and the change bowlers came in for some harsh treatment though Andrew West was reasonably accurate and Hamza claimed a wicket on his debut.
200 was passed but a nasty hamstring injury to top-scorer Vishal Shete, who was in overdrive, probably knocked 6 or 7 runs off the final total which was still a daunting 205 for 3.
We didn't know too much about most of the Exiles bowlers but a few South African accents could be heard which is always a cause for concern. The owner of one of them, Terence Moynihan, was rapid and with the accurate Marcin Zielenewski at the other end, progress was cautious. 22 useful runs were ground out before Mahesh Vyas was narrowly run out in the 9th over.
We were told that No. 3 Hamid had not played in a competitive match before but had had loads of net practice. He crashed his 4th ball for 6 on to the tram line. He may have been lucky to survive a confident caught behind shout (3 or 4 different noises, a cloud of dust, difficult to give) but Marcin Z had him shortly afterwards.
Exiles had requested a spare fielder due to injury. It is customary in these situations to give the opposition someone of athleticism, co-ordination and enthusiasm, and so Andrew West took his place at gully and he it was who caught Hamid; coolly and without moving a muscle. Instinctive close-up fielding at its very best.
Prasanth survived an early chance; a skied caught and bowled opportunity that was spilled. In the form Prasanth has been in, fielding sides cannot afford the luxury of a dropped catch and he took full advantage, racing to 50. (Once he had passed 10 he scored at well over a run a ball.)
At the other end, Hassan settled in straight away and immediately looked impressive. He had a slight exchange of views with a fielder early on and he said this galvanised him. His stand-out shot was the Late Cut just behind Point. He played several of these and they reminded me of Graeme Hick at his best.
The asking rate was daunting (it had already climbed to 7 an over by the 9th over) but the pair managed to take each of the change bowlers for at least 7.5 an over. This included the awkward Phil Ling, a fascinating bowler to watch, who either swings it or angles it inwards very sharply. Ling made the eventual breakthrough, having Prasanth caught for a sparkling 59.
129 for 3 meant 77 to win with 10 or 11 overs left. A 50-50 chance at best. If Hassan batted to the end, supported by Darwin and/or Jonnie Randall, we would probably win. It would take fine batting and our boys produced just that. Darwin almost matched Hassan's run rate and, with 2 overs to go, just 7 were needed with Hassan on 96 but not on strike. Darwin nudged a single on the second ball and then Hassan just blew any tension away with two successive 4s to bring up the victory, his ton and prompt John to remark in the scorebook; "Best innings I can remember from Hassan." 7 words of praise from the tough John is probably worth 70 from me so I will leave it at that except to say; "Absolutely brilliant innings."
A cracking victory. The first time we have won two in a row against Exiles for 13 years. Man of the Match is quite easy. Andrew West (sorry, it's obviously Hassan but Andrew takes Fielder of the Day even though his golden moment was actually for the opposition.)
I must also praise Merton Council's pitches. I have criticised them occasionally but they play very well in the main. 413 for 6 in this game. I hesitate to praise them too highly in case any other teams reading this (if there are any, you should get out more) decided to book them and make it more difficult for us to get them. Their groundsmen are doing a great job at the moment.
Energy Exiles 205 for 3 from 35 overs
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 7-3-22-1
Hamza 7-0-44-1
Abbas Khan 7-0-48-0
A. West 5-0-27-0
E. Todorow 5-0-28-1
Hamid 4-0-30-0
Clapham Nomads 208 for 3 from 33.4 overs
M. Vyas 4
P. Pattiyil 59
Hamid 10
H. Khan not out 104
D. Gunawardena not out 31
F.O.W. - 22, 33, 129
Clapham Nomads won by 7 wickets
Saturday 9 August 2014
Clapham Nomads v Palm Tree - 3/8/14
Clapham Nomads took on new opponents again at Raynes Park last Sunday. Palm Tree cc from Highgate in North London. It was a gruelling 40-over contest with the Away side having the edge. It was an interesting afternoon, though, as they have some classy and slightly unorthodox players. We had a good post-match chat in the Raynes Park Bowling Club and they brought 8 or 9 drinkers to our 4, which was a fine performance and the booze flowed as 3 of them had to buy jugs. They are quite a left-wing/artistic/literary/highly-educated sort of side. They reminded me a lot of Barnes Occasionals at their peak around 15 years ago. I was flattered that they had read my reports and had done some research on several of our players. I didn't realise this sort of thing happened so, for the benefit of our forthcoming opponents, the bald, Scottish Off-spinner Emil Todorow has been working hard on his Doosra (and John Crossland thinks it is all absolutely marvellous.)
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW
Palm Tree 230 for 6 from 40 overs (Robins 76, Smith 53, Hamer 53)
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 8-2-30-3
Sami 8-0-58-0
E. Todorow 8-0-58-0
Abbas Khan 8-2-24-1
R. Khan 8-1-55-1
Clapham Nomads 157 all out from 38.3 overs
M. Bradshaw 8
P. Pattiyil 23
D. Gunawardena 11
H. Khan 40
M. Vyas 3
R. Khan 29
Sami 5
N. Lefebve 1
E. Todorow (capt) not out 3
Abbas Khan 2
J. Crossland (wkt) 2
F.O.W. - 33, 50, 63, 74, 134, 145, 145, 146, 150, 157
Palm Tree bowling;
McCarthy 7-0-32-2
Maggs 7-1-11-2
Raj 8-2-13-1
Russell 6-0-29-3
Waite 4-1-26-0
Glazier 6.3-0-36-0
Palm Tree won by 73 runs.
Man of the Match for Nomads was Hassan Khan who had the best bowling and batting figures. He was possibly also the Fielder of the Day for a executing a sharp run out at an important time, but I will call it a share as Darwin worked very hard and did some excellent work. Very entertaining batting from Riaz and the opposition were full of praise for Abbas's bowling.
REPORT.......
New opponents Palm Tree, who play their home games in the sylvan oasis of Highgate Woods in North London, made the long journey to Raynes Park Sports Ground - a slightly less idyllic venue bounded by the A3, the London to Portsmouth railway and dense thorn bushes.
Despite a late start, the pre-arranged 40 overs a side was stuck to and the visitors chose to bat on an afternoon that was not too hot but was bathed in really fierce sunlight.
For the first 10 balls this looked like it was going to be fun. Hassan and Sami had the openers on the back foot, beating them at will. Wood then chipped a 4 over the slip cordon and the mood changed, with the No. 2 bat racing along with a series of blows, mostly intended, to the short boundaries. In no time the score was over 30 but a stroke of genius from Hassan brought Nomads back into it; a brilliantly-disguised leg-spinning slower ball deceiving Wood and clipping his bails.
There was a slightly hesitant period before Hamer and Smith began to stroke it around comfortably, taking Palm Tree up to a 20-over drinks score of about 85 for 1. Not devastating but plenty of batting to come.
Abbas, who bowled an excellent fast straight spell, eventually bowled Hamer just after the opener had passed his 50.
Another calm spell followed as the captain, the left-handed Matt Robins, played himself in. Robins confessed later that he had felt ill-at-ease during this passage but a resounding pull from a No-ball got him started and he began to dominate; being especially impressive straight and peppering the thorn bushes behind the bowler with crisp drives so often that the visitors posted a couple of men in front of the mini-jungle to prevent delays. An unusually heavy toll was taken from Sami and Riaz who rarely go for anything like the 7 an over they conceded in this game.
The heavy scoring and the constant left-hand/right-hand juggling caused Nomads' heads to drop a touch around Over 30. Fielding wasn't fantastic. A couple of chances were spilled at crucial times but we kept trying and Darwin, in particular, worked really hard.
The 35-over score was 205 for 2 and, had it been a 35-over contest, we wouldn't have felt totally out of contention with a strong-ish Nomads batting line-up and some short boundaries on a good pitch.
A smart Run Out from the bowler Hassan finally dismissed Robins for 76 and then Hassan took 2 in 2 balls the same over to give the score a healthier sheen.
Following the pattern throughout the innings, the last pair started cautiously but were cracking on in fine style when the 40 overs ran out.
The final total was 230 for either 5 or 6 (we were too exhausted to care which it was.) I don't think Nomads have ever made over 230 to win, though we did once successfully chase down 224 against Morden 1st XI (but only with the help of a spectacularly dodgy umpiring decision.)
A long-drawn-out tea was taken by players who barely had the energy to lift a samosa.
We resumed in the early evening and Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil began well, taking the distinctly sharp McCarthy for over 5 an over while the Medium Fast Maggs, who thinks batsmen out with variations - and bowled a deadly backspinning slower ball in his second spell - tied the other end up.
The accurate Raj and the slower bowler Russell - who looked unorthodox but was confirmed by Hassan to be deadly, wich lots of movement - took over. Russell made the breakthrough, bowling Mark with the score on 33. Russell also dismissed the two other Top 3 batsmen; Prasanth (23 - yet another good contribution from this consistent player) and Darwin in his next 2 overs but good scoring at the other end had taken our tally up to 63 for 3,
Mahesh was run out and was disconsolate ("I keep finding new ways to get myself out,") but then we witnessed a fine stand of 60 between Hassan and Riaz. Riaz clouted 2 enormous sixes and spectators began discussing his immense strength; ("Is he as wide as he is tall?" and "Does he do wrestling?") were two of the offerings. Actually, if Riaz and Emil formed a wrestling "tag team", I'm sure they would be even more successful than the Nomads are at cricket.
The returning Simon Maggs spoilt our fun by removing Riaz and then he caught and bowled Sami very smartly. Paceman McCarthy then had both top-scorer Hassan (a well-crafted 40) and Nick Lefebve caught behind and it was all over on 146 for 8.
9, 10, Jack did show some grit, batting on until the sun had dipped below the dual carriageway. No. 11 John Crossland said he didn't really see the point but we reminded him of the importance of practice. In the words of Mo Farah; "Practice...Protein...Practice." - Appropriate for John as he loves meat.
Glazier dsimissed our keeper in the penultimate over but Crossland and Emil Todorow had stuck it out for 6 overs for a season's best 10th wicket stand of 7.
A 73-run defeat for a Clapham side who were perhaps not fully match fit (we have only played a couple of games since June,) but let's take nothing away from Palm Tree. They have some fine players who performed well on the day and (hat-trick of cliches) were good value for their victory. Let's hope we play Home and Away next season.
We had a good drink afterwards. I don't think Raynes Park Bowling Club Management could believe their luck as three Palm Tree 50-makers (Hamer, Smith and Robins) brought jugs and the Old Speckled Hen was flowing. Palm Tree have strong Socialist leanings. One player told me he had played 20-20 for the TUC (Trades Union Congress for younger readers) against the CBI (Confederation of British Industry.) That must have even greater potential for needle than a Nomads v Energy Exiles game; speaking of which, we are playing the new-look, South African-accented Exiles this Sunday. Should be interesting as always.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW
Palm Tree 230 for 6 from 40 overs (Robins 76, Smith 53, Hamer 53)
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 8-2-30-3
Sami 8-0-58-0
E. Todorow 8-0-58-0
Abbas Khan 8-2-24-1
R. Khan 8-1-55-1
Clapham Nomads 157 all out from 38.3 overs
M. Bradshaw 8
P. Pattiyil 23
D. Gunawardena 11
H. Khan 40
M. Vyas 3
R. Khan 29
Sami 5
N. Lefebve 1
E. Todorow (capt) not out 3
Abbas Khan 2
J. Crossland (wkt) 2
F.O.W. - 33, 50, 63, 74, 134, 145, 145, 146, 150, 157
Palm Tree bowling;
McCarthy 7-0-32-2
Maggs 7-1-11-2
Raj 8-2-13-1
Russell 6-0-29-3
Waite 4-1-26-0
Glazier 6.3-0-36-0
Palm Tree won by 73 runs.
Man of the Match for Nomads was Hassan Khan who had the best bowling and batting figures. He was possibly also the Fielder of the Day for a executing a sharp run out at an important time, but I will call it a share as Darwin worked very hard and did some excellent work. Very entertaining batting from Riaz and the opposition were full of praise for Abbas's bowling.
REPORT.......
New opponents Palm Tree, who play their home games in the sylvan oasis of Highgate Woods in North London, made the long journey to Raynes Park Sports Ground - a slightly less idyllic venue bounded by the A3, the London to Portsmouth railway and dense thorn bushes.
Despite a late start, the pre-arranged 40 overs a side was stuck to and the visitors chose to bat on an afternoon that was not too hot but was bathed in really fierce sunlight.
For the first 10 balls this looked like it was going to be fun. Hassan and Sami had the openers on the back foot, beating them at will. Wood then chipped a 4 over the slip cordon and the mood changed, with the No. 2 bat racing along with a series of blows, mostly intended, to the short boundaries. In no time the score was over 30 but a stroke of genius from Hassan brought Nomads back into it; a brilliantly-disguised leg-spinning slower ball deceiving Wood and clipping his bails.
There was a slightly hesitant period before Hamer and Smith began to stroke it around comfortably, taking Palm Tree up to a 20-over drinks score of about 85 for 1. Not devastating but plenty of batting to come.
Abbas, who bowled an excellent fast straight spell, eventually bowled Hamer just after the opener had passed his 50.
Another calm spell followed as the captain, the left-handed Matt Robins, played himself in. Robins confessed later that he had felt ill-at-ease during this passage but a resounding pull from a No-ball got him started and he began to dominate; being especially impressive straight and peppering the thorn bushes behind the bowler with crisp drives so often that the visitors posted a couple of men in front of the mini-jungle to prevent delays. An unusually heavy toll was taken from Sami and Riaz who rarely go for anything like the 7 an over they conceded in this game.
The heavy scoring and the constant left-hand/right-hand juggling caused Nomads' heads to drop a touch around Over 30. Fielding wasn't fantastic. A couple of chances were spilled at crucial times but we kept trying and Darwin, in particular, worked really hard.
The 35-over score was 205 for 2 and, had it been a 35-over contest, we wouldn't have felt totally out of contention with a strong-ish Nomads batting line-up and some short boundaries on a good pitch.
A smart Run Out from the bowler Hassan finally dismissed Robins for 76 and then Hassan took 2 in 2 balls the same over to give the score a healthier sheen.
Following the pattern throughout the innings, the last pair started cautiously but were cracking on in fine style when the 40 overs ran out.
The final total was 230 for either 5 or 6 (we were too exhausted to care which it was.) I don't think Nomads have ever made over 230 to win, though we did once successfully chase down 224 against Morden 1st XI (but only with the help of a spectacularly dodgy umpiring decision.)
A long-drawn-out tea was taken by players who barely had the energy to lift a samosa.
We resumed in the early evening and Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil began well, taking the distinctly sharp McCarthy for over 5 an over while the Medium Fast Maggs, who thinks batsmen out with variations - and bowled a deadly backspinning slower ball in his second spell - tied the other end up.
The accurate Raj and the slower bowler Russell - who looked unorthodox but was confirmed by Hassan to be deadly, wich lots of movement - took over. Russell made the breakthrough, bowling Mark with the score on 33. Russell also dismissed the two other Top 3 batsmen; Prasanth (23 - yet another good contribution from this consistent player) and Darwin in his next 2 overs but good scoring at the other end had taken our tally up to 63 for 3,
Mahesh was run out and was disconsolate ("I keep finding new ways to get myself out,") but then we witnessed a fine stand of 60 between Hassan and Riaz. Riaz clouted 2 enormous sixes and spectators began discussing his immense strength; ("Is he as wide as he is tall?" and "Does he do wrestling?") were two of the offerings. Actually, if Riaz and Emil formed a wrestling "tag team", I'm sure they would be even more successful than the Nomads are at cricket.
The returning Simon Maggs spoilt our fun by removing Riaz and then he caught and bowled Sami very smartly. Paceman McCarthy then had both top-scorer Hassan (a well-crafted 40) and Nick Lefebve caught behind and it was all over on 146 for 8.
9, 10, Jack did show some grit, batting on until the sun had dipped below the dual carriageway. No. 11 John Crossland said he didn't really see the point but we reminded him of the importance of practice. In the words of Mo Farah; "Practice...Protein...Practice." - Appropriate for John as he loves meat.
Glazier dsimissed our keeper in the penultimate over but Crossland and Emil Todorow had stuck it out for 6 overs for a season's best 10th wicket stand of 7.
A 73-run defeat for a Clapham side who were perhaps not fully match fit (we have only played a couple of games since June,) but let's take nothing away from Palm Tree. They have some fine players who performed well on the day and (hat-trick of cliches) were good value for their victory. Let's hope we play Home and Away next season.
We had a good drink afterwards. I don't think Raynes Park Bowling Club Management could believe their luck as three Palm Tree 50-makers (Hamer, Smith and Robins) brought jugs and the Old Speckled Hen was flowing. Palm Tree have strong Socialist leanings. One player told me he had played 20-20 for the TUC (Trades Union Congress for younger readers) against the CBI (Confederation of British Industry.) That must have even greater potential for needle than a Nomads v Energy Exiles game; speaking of which, we are playing the new-look, South African-accented Exiles this Sunday. Should be interesting as always.
Monday 28 July 2014
Clapham Nomads v Addington 1743 - 20/7/14
Sorry for the delay, I had some problems getting online.
Nomads lost 8 days ago to Addington at Nursery Road. The margin was 9 wickets - in fact we came close to our first ever 10-wicket defeat - but it wasn't quite the thrashing it sounds. It was a reasonably enjoyable day against a pleasant and sporting opposition. FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW,
Clapham Nomads 74 all out from 25.3 overs
M. Bradshaw 2
P. Pattiyil 34
M. Islam 5
M. Vyas 1
G. Poole 4
N. Lefebve not out 4
E. Todorow 1
A. Paz 1
J. Crossland 1
A. West 0
F.O.W. - 4, 16, 48, 53, 61, 64, 66, 70, 74
Addington 1743 - 78 for 1 from 17.2 overs
Nomads bowling;
A. Paz 5-0-26-0
E. Todorow 5-1-20-0
A. West 4-1-12-1
M. Islam 3-0-12-0
G. Poole 0.2-0-5-0
Nomads lost by 9 wickets.
Man of the Match was Prasanth Pattiyil, the one batsman to make much headway against a useful, pacy attack on a slightly trappy pitch. Pick of the bowlers was Andrew West who bowled an accurate spell. Fielder of the Day was debutant Mohammed Islam who took a splendid diving catch when Addington only required 4 to win, to save us from 10-wicket humiliation.
REPORT........ 20th July saw new opponents visit the Nomads at Nursery Road; Addington (1743) who, as indicated by their name, are one of the oldest clubs in the country and have a fascinating history. I wonder how long it will be before we are known as Clapham Nomads (1994). Sometime next century, I guess. How many consecutive appearances will Emil Todorow have made by then?
One piece of trivia that links us is that both clubs have had a Test cricketer play for them in the past 7 years. For more details, google Addington Mohammed Amir.
The start was delayed as several Addington players went to the wrong Nursery Road, SW19. This might have been my fault....sorry, guys! The visiting skipper Frank Gibson eventually won the toss and inserted Nomads on a pitch that looked dodgier than anything Merton Council have produced for a few years, though this could be explained by the weather of the previous few days which had featured 88 degree heat alternating with torrential thunderstorms.
Amsad and Miah took the new ball against a Nomads line-up depleted by Ramadan and the latter bowler struck with the 9th ball of the innings, bowling Mark Bradshaw with a ball that deviated in off the pitch and kept low.
A boundary apiece for Prasanth Pattiyil and debut man Mohammed Islam could not disguise the threat posed by the pacy openers on a track offering plenty of assistance. Miah struck again in his 2nd over, having the former Energy Exiles player Islam smartly caught behind.
Mahesh Vyas joined Prasanth and a lot depended on this stand. These two tend to bat well together but often have a few run out scares as well. The batting below Vyas had a somewhat threadbare look to it.
Prasanth started to play some powerful shots and, with Mahesh providing solid support, the opening spells were seen off. 38 for 2 off 8 overs was a bit more like it.
Reasonable progress was maintained against the change bowlers McDowell and Rehman but on 48 Vyas snicked one leg side a bit unluckily into the keeper's gloves.
Prasanth managed one further 4 but was bowled by Rahman for a fine 34.
George Poole cracked an excellent 4 behind Point but, in doing so, aggravated a shoulder injury and, understandably, failed to get the bat down onto a pearoller from Rehman. 61 for 5.
Nick Lefebve was digging in and, while Poole, Todorow and Paz - who can all play big shots - were around, he was content to hold one end up. Unfortunately, Todorow's wicket was soon snapped up by the lethal Rehman and then Gibson rapped Paz's pads; the ball dropped to the ground, hesitated (if an inanimate object can hesitate) and crawled back onto the base of the stumps with just about enough energy to dislodge a bail. A most unlucky wicket.
Lefebve now had to take the initiative and clipped a few leg-side shots off Gibson but also missed several good opportunities. John Crossland got off the mark nicely but this was the cue for the openers to return and Miah bagged our wicketkeeper to pave the way for the entrance of Mr Andrew West, the type of batsman Addington may not have encountered before, despite their 271-year history.
Miah knocked back West's stumps second ball with a fast full toss which, despite passing West at knee height, was called a No Ball. An understandable call, I suppose, given that West was batting and cricket is all about entertainment. It was only a brief reprieve as a slower ball did for our last man to wrap up the innings on 74.
Victory seemed off the agenda against a sharp-looking Away side but, with the irregular bounce, we were hopeful of taking a few wickets and making it interesting.
Adam Paz had first go and bowled as quickly as he has for Nomads. Emil Todorow featured at the other end. There were chances; a tricky catch went down in the deep and Todorow lost sight of a gentle caught and bowled opportunity in the fierce sun. The batsman cracked on at 5 an over though and any pressure soon dissipated. If I had been captain, I might have brought the change bowlers on earlier. Andrew West is the most accurate of our 4 main bowlers in this match and makes batsmen play - important on this dodgy track, while Mohammed Islam was reputed to be a quality leggie and so he proved; slow and loopy but extracting some sharp turn. These two produced our best bowling but the openers were well set and we looked on course for our first-ever 10-wicket defeat when West caused the batsman to chip one up towards short Mid Off where Mohammed Islam took a superb diving catch.
An injured George Poole bowled his first 2 balls for Nomads as the last rites were administered.
A heavy defeat obviously, but I enjoyed playing against Addington, a nice bunch of guys who play the game the right way; tough but fair and sporting. I hope we'll play them again with a stronger Nomads line-up.
We had a drink in the Prince of Wales with 3 of Addington's elder statesmen who were highly amused as John repeated continuously; "That was a complete waste of my time." I got the impression that John's antics helped to rescue their day from being a waste of time. There was also quite a poignant moment as Andrew West, who has only been a sporadic selection in recent years, suddenly gazed into the distance and said; "I'd love to play every game."
Nomads lost 8 days ago to Addington at Nursery Road. The margin was 9 wickets - in fact we came close to our first ever 10-wicket defeat - but it wasn't quite the thrashing it sounds. It was a reasonably enjoyable day against a pleasant and sporting opposition. FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW,
Clapham Nomads 74 all out from 25.3 overs
M. Bradshaw 2
P. Pattiyil 34
M. Islam 5
M. Vyas 1
G. Poole 4
N. Lefebve not out 4
E. Todorow 1
A. Paz 1
J. Crossland 1
A. West 0
F.O.W. - 4, 16, 48, 53, 61, 64, 66, 70, 74
Addington 1743 - 78 for 1 from 17.2 overs
Nomads bowling;
A. Paz 5-0-26-0
E. Todorow 5-1-20-0
A. West 4-1-12-1
M. Islam 3-0-12-0
G. Poole 0.2-0-5-0
Nomads lost by 9 wickets.
Man of the Match was Prasanth Pattiyil, the one batsman to make much headway against a useful, pacy attack on a slightly trappy pitch. Pick of the bowlers was Andrew West who bowled an accurate spell. Fielder of the Day was debutant Mohammed Islam who took a splendid diving catch when Addington only required 4 to win, to save us from 10-wicket humiliation.
REPORT........ 20th July saw new opponents visit the Nomads at Nursery Road; Addington (1743) who, as indicated by their name, are one of the oldest clubs in the country and have a fascinating history. I wonder how long it will be before we are known as Clapham Nomads (1994). Sometime next century, I guess. How many consecutive appearances will Emil Todorow have made by then?
One piece of trivia that links us is that both clubs have had a Test cricketer play for them in the past 7 years. For more details, google Addington Mohammed Amir.
The start was delayed as several Addington players went to the wrong Nursery Road, SW19. This might have been my fault....sorry, guys! The visiting skipper Frank Gibson eventually won the toss and inserted Nomads on a pitch that looked dodgier than anything Merton Council have produced for a few years, though this could be explained by the weather of the previous few days which had featured 88 degree heat alternating with torrential thunderstorms.
Amsad and Miah took the new ball against a Nomads line-up depleted by Ramadan and the latter bowler struck with the 9th ball of the innings, bowling Mark Bradshaw with a ball that deviated in off the pitch and kept low.
A boundary apiece for Prasanth Pattiyil and debut man Mohammed Islam could not disguise the threat posed by the pacy openers on a track offering plenty of assistance. Miah struck again in his 2nd over, having the former Energy Exiles player Islam smartly caught behind.
Mahesh Vyas joined Prasanth and a lot depended on this stand. These two tend to bat well together but often have a few run out scares as well. The batting below Vyas had a somewhat threadbare look to it.
Prasanth started to play some powerful shots and, with Mahesh providing solid support, the opening spells were seen off. 38 for 2 off 8 overs was a bit more like it.
Reasonable progress was maintained against the change bowlers McDowell and Rehman but on 48 Vyas snicked one leg side a bit unluckily into the keeper's gloves.
Prasanth managed one further 4 but was bowled by Rahman for a fine 34.
George Poole cracked an excellent 4 behind Point but, in doing so, aggravated a shoulder injury and, understandably, failed to get the bat down onto a pearoller from Rehman. 61 for 5.
Nick Lefebve was digging in and, while Poole, Todorow and Paz - who can all play big shots - were around, he was content to hold one end up. Unfortunately, Todorow's wicket was soon snapped up by the lethal Rehman and then Gibson rapped Paz's pads; the ball dropped to the ground, hesitated (if an inanimate object can hesitate) and crawled back onto the base of the stumps with just about enough energy to dislodge a bail. A most unlucky wicket.
Lefebve now had to take the initiative and clipped a few leg-side shots off Gibson but also missed several good opportunities. John Crossland got off the mark nicely but this was the cue for the openers to return and Miah bagged our wicketkeeper to pave the way for the entrance of Mr Andrew West, the type of batsman Addington may not have encountered before, despite their 271-year history.
Miah knocked back West's stumps second ball with a fast full toss which, despite passing West at knee height, was called a No Ball. An understandable call, I suppose, given that West was batting and cricket is all about entertainment. It was only a brief reprieve as a slower ball did for our last man to wrap up the innings on 74.
Victory seemed off the agenda against a sharp-looking Away side but, with the irregular bounce, we were hopeful of taking a few wickets and making it interesting.
Adam Paz had first go and bowled as quickly as he has for Nomads. Emil Todorow featured at the other end. There were chances; a tricky catch went down in the deep and Todorow lost sight of a gentle caught and bowled opportunity in the fierce sun. The batsman cracked on at 5 an over though and any pressure soon dissipated. If I had been captain, I might have brought the change bowlers on earlier. Andrew West is the most accurate of our 4 main bowlers in this match and makes batsmen play - important on this dodgy track, while Mohammed Islam was reputed to be a quality leggie and so he proved; slow and loopy but extracting some sharp turn. These two produced our best bowling but the openers were well set and we looked on course for our first-ever 10-wicket defeat when West caused the batsman to chip one up towards short Mid Off where Mohammed Islam took a superb diving catch.
An injured George Poole bowled his first 2 balls for Nomads as the last rites were administered.
A heavy defeat obviously, but I enjoyed playing against Addington, a nice bunch of guys who play the game the right way; tough but fair and sporting. I hope we'll play them again with a stronger Nomads line-up.
We had a drink in the Prince of Wales with 3 of Addington's elder statesmen who were highly amused as John repeated continuously; "That was a complete waste of my time." I got the impression that John's antics helped to rescue their day from being a waste of time. There was also quite a poignant moment as Andrew West, who has only been a sporadic selection in recent years, suddenly gazed into the distance and said; "I'd love to play every game."
Thursday 3 July 2014
Touring Theatres v Clapham Nomads - 29/6/14
Last Sunday's game against our oldest cricketing friends the Theatres, at the Del Ballard Rec in Wimbledon, looked likely to be over before it started as we arrived to find games in full swing on both pitches. Fortunately, a quick phone call from Home skipper Ben Trenchell solved the problem and 2 of the teams trooped off to Raynes Park Sports Ground. This meant that the 2 pitches were occupied by; Touring Theatres, Clapham Nomads, Caribbean Mix and Kings XI. This represents an incredible cross-section of South London Sunday Cricket.
John Crossland was the captain for this one and Emil had done well to put out 10 men starring controversial, outspoken and injury-prone Medium Pacer Andrew West in his first appearance for a year. Nomads batted first in a 35 overs per side contest as angry clouds lowered and drizzle came and went. This hadn't been forecast but was to be expected I suppose on what was the middle Sunday of Wimbledon and also Glastonbury weekend.
Another fine stand between Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil realised over 50 before Prasanth fell caught behind to Blackmore. An even better stand followed between Bradshaw and Darwin, who is hitting it so hard at the moment that any fielder of less than the highest level of athleticism will not stop the ball unless it is hit straight at him.
Bradshaw passed 50 and then plundered 12 off an over from Dirk Fieldhouse to take him into the mid 60s with that intangible aura of a potential centurion starting to surround him. Darwin, who had feasted on the Cover and Mid Off area was unfortunately out 4 short of his maiden Nomads half-century. A quiet spell followed around drinks with Fieldhouse bowling accurately and John Warnaby turning the odd ball - one really sharply from outside off to missing leg.
Mahesh made 12 and Mark began to pick up the pace again, racing through the 80s and 90s accompanied by debutant George Poole (who hit a nice 4) until he reached 99 with Emil Todorow at the other end. A quick single was attempted but Todorow was run out by inches. The now steady rain suddenly turned torrential as it teemed out of a monochrome mid-grey sky. Both teams fled the field and for a minute or so it looked as though Mark would miss out on his first ton for Nomads in the unluckiest of circumstances.
Fortunately the sky turned a paler shade of white and play resumed after 20 minutes, but Adam Paz was quickly out to a catch in the deep. This left Mark still on 99 and on strike with Nick Lefebve, John Crossland and Andrew West (who had only batted 3 times between them so far this summer) to accompany him and around two and a half overs to go. Thankfully he managed to steer one down to the man on the Point boundary and a comfortable single was taken to bring up a fine and well-deserved Century for Mark. John Crossland promptly declared (possibly the first captain ever to do so in a Limited Overs Match.) on 200 for 6.
Over tea, Crossland explained his rationale; with further rain breaks likely, he figured that bowling the full 35 would be unlikely but he wanted to to maximise the amount of daylight in which he could knock over all 8 wickets of a 9-man Theatres side rather than having to claim a spurious faster ran rate or - God forbid - a Duckworth Lewis Method victory. This seemed sensible and who could doubt the genius of the man.
Crossland gave Emil Todorow the first over but all eyes were on Andrew West at the Leather Bottle End. The big man did not disappoint, producing an excellent 7-over spell in which he removed all 3 of Theatres' best batsmen on the day; Ben Martin, Ben Trenchell and Sujeesh. With his unerring accuracy and use of the drying pitch, he was inevitably compared by fielders to "Deadly" Derek Underwood of Kent and England. One thought back, misty-eyed, to Underwood taking the field after a large Canterbury tea, strolling past the lime tree and immediately finding the spot. Yes, the West of his era, though Underwood did not swear quite as much and got hit in the bollocks rather less. He also, like West, had a telepathic understanding with his wicketkeeper, Alan Knott, who with his hyperactivity and acrobatic keeping was a bit of a Crossland clone.
Anyway, enough utter drivel. Emil Todorow also bowled pretty well for few runs but no reward. Adam Paz replaced Todorow downhill and bowled even better. His figures were dented by a few highly debatable wides but he did take the wicket of our own Chris Kennedy, who plays for both sides these days.
Prasanth Pattiyil had not bowled for a while and had a tough task in replacing West but he did a splendid job and took 3 quick wickets for next to nothing to wipe out the Theatres late-middle order. I had to leave for work at this point (7 down for around 41) but in fact it turned out to be all over as the last man didn't bat. This was not really a surprise as I saw him getting out of his car some way away near the tram stop, dressed in his civvies. He may have had arm ache after his umpiring stint.
A good win after a day that started badly. Mark Bradshaw was obviously Man of the Match and becomes only the 8th player to score a ton for the Nomads. Plenty of very good players have not managed to score one for us. Other excellent performances from Prasanth, Darwin and Andrew. Adam and Emil bowled well. John had a good day as skipper; my only criticism is that he didn't give George Poole a bowl. I hope it didn't put you off, George. You'll definitely get a bowl next time. Fielder of the Day is tough as there wasn't that much fielding to do. Adam Paz and John Crossland took a catch apiece. Nick Lefebve was sound, and quite busy, despite a back injury, but I will give to Andrew West who managed to make several good stops, using various parts of his body, without injuring himself.
Clapham Nomads 200 for 6 declared from 33.3 overs
M. Bradshaw not out 100
P. Pattiyil 24
D. Gunawardene 46
M. Vyas 10
G. Poole 4
E. Todorow 3
A. Paz 3
N. Lefebve not out 0
Did not bat; J.Crossland (capt/wkt), A.West
F.O.W. - 60, 157, 170, 176, 186, 199
Touring Theatres 41 for 7 (All out) from 17.2 overs
Nomads bowling;
E. Todorow 7-0-13-0
A. West 7-2-20-3
A. Paz 2-1-4-1
P. Pattiyil 1.2-0-3-3
Clapham Nomads won by 159 runs
Next Match should be 20th July.
John Crossland was the captain for this one and Emil had done well to put out 10 men starring controversial, outspoken and injury-prone Medium Pacer Andrew West in his first appearance for a year. Nomads batted first in a 35 overs per side contest as angry clouds lowered and drizzle came and went. This hadn't been forecast but was to be expected I suppose on what was the middle Sunday of Wimbledon and also Glastonbury weekend.
Another fine stand between Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil realised over 50 before Prasanth fell caught behind to Blackmore. An even better stand followed between Bradshaw and Darwin, who is hitting it so hard at the moment that any fielder of less than the highest level of athleticism will not stop the ball unless it is hit straight at him.
Bradshaw passed 50 and then plundered 12 off an over from Dirk Fieldhouse to take him into the mid 60s with that intangible aura of a potential centurion starting to surround him. Darwin, who had feasted on the Cover and Mid Off area was unfortunately out 4 short of his maiden Nomads half-century. A quiet spell followed around drinks with Fieldhouse bowling accurately and John Warnaby turning the odd ball - one really sharply from outside off to missing leg.
Mahesh made 12 and Mark began to pick up the pace again, racing through the 80s and 90s accompanied by debutant George Poole (who hit a nice 4) until he reached 99 with Emil Todorow at the other end. A quick single was attempted but Todorow was run out by inches. The now steady rain suddenly turned torrential as it teemed out of a monochrome mid-grey sky. Both teams fled the field and for a minute or so it looked as though Mark would miss out on his first ton for Nomads in the unluckiest of circumstances.
Fortunately the sky turned a paler shade of white and play resumed after 20 minutes, but Adam Paz was quickly out to a catch in the deep. This left Mark still on 99 and on strike with Nick Lefebve, John Crossland and Andrew West (who had only batted 3 times between them so far this summer) to accompany him and around two and a half overs to go. Thankfully he managed to steer one down to the man on the Point boundary and a comfortable single was taken to bring up a fine and well-deserved Century for Mark. John Crossland promptly declared (possibly the first captain ever to do so in a Limited Overs Match.) on 200 for 6.
Over tea, Crossland explained his rationale; with further rain breaks likely, he figured that bowling the full 35 would be unlikely but he wanted to to maximise the amount of daylight in which he could knock over all 8 wickets of a 9-man Theatres side rather than having to claim a spurious faster ran rate or - God forbid - a Duckworth Lewis Method victory. This seemed sensible and who could doubt the genius of the man.
Crossland gave Emil Todorow the first over but all eyes were on Andrew West at the Leather Bottle End. The big man did not disappoint, producing an excellent 7-over spell in which he removed all 3 of Theatres' best batsmen on the day; Ben Martin, Ben Trenchell and Sujeesh. With his unerring accuracy and use of the drying pitch, he was inevitably compared by fielders to "Deadly" Derek Underwood of Kent and England. One thought back, misty-eyed, to Underwood taking the field after a large Canterbury tea, strolling past the lime tree and immediately finding the spot. Yes, the West of his era, though Underwood did not swear quite as much and got hit in the bollocks rather less. He also, like West, had a telepathic understanding with his wicketkeeper, Alan Knott, who with his hyperactivity and acrobatic keeping was a bit of a Crossland clone.
Anyway, enough utter drivel. Emil Todorow also bowled pretty well for few runs but no reward. Adam Paz replaced Todorow downhill and bowled even better. His figures were dented by a few highly debatable wides but he did take the wicket of our own Chris Kennedy, who plays for both sides these days.
Prasanth Pattiyil had not bowled for a while and had a tough task in replacing West but he did a splendid job and took 3 quick wickets for next to nothing to wipe out the Theatres late-middle order. I had to leave for work at this point (7 down for around 41) but in fact it turned out to be all over as the last man didn't bat. This was not really a surprise as I saw him getting out of his car some way away near the tram stop, dressed in his civvies. He may have had arm ache after his umpiring stint.
A good win after a day that started badly. Mark Bradshaw was obviously Man of the Match and becomes only the 8th player to score a ton for the Nomads. Plenty of very good players have not managed to score one for us. Other excellent performances from Prasanth, Darwin and Andrew. Adam and Emil bowled well. John had a good day as skipper; my only criticism is that he didn't give George Poole a bowl. I hope it didn't put you off, George. You'll definitely get a bowl next time. Fielder of the Day is tough as there wasn't that much fielding to do. Adam Paz and John Crossland took a catch apiece. Nick Lefebve was sound, and quite busy, despite a back injury, but I will give to Andrew West who managed to make several good stops, using various parts of his body, without injuring himself.
Clapham Nomads 200 for 6 declared from 33.3 overs
M. Bradshaw not out 100
P. Pattiyil 24
D. Gunawardene 46
M. Vyas 10
G. Poole 4
E. Todorow 3
A. Paz 3
N. Lefebve not out 0
Did not bat; J.Crossland (capt/wkt), A.West
F.O.W. - 60, 157, 170, 176, 186, 199
Touring Theatres 41 for 7 (All out) from 17.2 overs
Nomads bowling;
E. Todorow 7-0-13-0
A. West 7-2-20-3
A. Paz 2-1-4-1
P. Pattiyil 1.2-0-3-3
Clapham Nomads won by 159 runs
Next Match should be 20th July.
Monday 23 June 2014
Caribbean Mix v Clapham Nomads - 22/6/14 (Updated)
Nomads lost by 49 runs at Mayow Park in Sydenham but it was a pretty good performance, especially from the batsmen. You could write a book about this one really but I won't bother; you had to be there. (Quite bizarre behaviour.) Anyway, John could put it better than I could in one of his pithy poems but unfortunately he went to The Oval instead where he watched genuine "First Class" cricket in the company of Nomads' 2nd-highest run scorer of all time, John Chance.
The tea was good and the match finished at 9.10 pm which must be just about the latest finish of any organised, non-floodlit game in England.
Man of the Match was Mark Bradshaw who played really well for his 59 on a ground that didn't suit his strengths. (The square boundaries - where he scores the majority of his runs - were at least twice as long as the straight ones.) Our bowlers did ok to hold back an increasing tide in the second half of the innings. Emil and Hassan struggled on manfully despite foot/ankle injuries and there was a welcome return for Adam Paz, who bowled a lot better than his figures suggest. Fielder of the Day is a tough one. Mahesh kept well in his first outing behind this stumps this season. No-one really stands out though everyone worked hard. possibly Abbas just shades it. (Abbas was the pick of the bowlers as well - a good, straight, quick spell.)
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW
Caribbean Mix 220 for 7 from 40 overs
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 8-0-30-1
R. Khan 8-0-31-1
Abbas Khan 8-0-33-3
E. Todorow 8-0-38-0
A. Paz 8-0-73-2
Clapham Nomads 171 for 9 from 38 overs
M. Bradshaw 59
P. Pattiyil 0
Gul 16
R. Khan 0
M. Vyas (wkt) 25
D. Gunawardena 14
H. Khan 14
C. Kennedy 1
Abbas Khan not out 2
A. Paz 0
E. Todorow (capt) Did not bat (Injured.)
F.O.W. - 12, 61, 70, 133, 138, 160, 169, 171, 171
Nomads lost by 49 runs
Nomads skipper Emil Todorow inserted Caribbean in this 40 overs per side contest and prepared for a long afternoon's work. The Home side's supremo, Jim Ferguson, told us that they were trying out some new players but there were plenty of familiar faces both in the team and watching from the sidelines.
Hassan and Riaz took the new ball and there was an early breakthrough. The score after 5 overs was 18 for 1 and our bowlers and fielders kept up the good work for the majority of the innings. The other interim scores were; 10 overs - 29 for 1; 15 overs - 43 for 2; 20 overs - 63 for 3; 25 overs - 94 for 4; 30 overs - 140 for 5; 35 overs - 166 for 6. So the Mix batsmen never dominated as completely as they have in some of our other games against them. The first 4 bowlers; Hassan, Riaz, Abbas and Emil, all went for between 30 and 38 runs from their 8-over stints. Abbas probably being the pick with a fast straight stint - possibly his best of the summer so far. Adam also bowled well for a similar rate in his first spell. As ever, though, Caribbean had something up their sleeve at the death. No. 6 Mark Green had been playing steadily for a while but, when joined by No. 9 Roy Lawrence in the 36th over, the pair cut loose, with Lawrence being especially harsh on anything short with a string of excellent cuts for 4 between Point and Third Man. Adam was unlucky in this passage of play, with a chance going down off his bowling in the deep and a rather adjacent-looking leg before shout being turned down.
Caribbean closed on 220 for 7 - formidable with these long boundaries - when at one stage we looked on course to restrict them to 180.
A fine tea of chicken, rice and salad was enjoyed in the Bowls Club, with some of our older players perhaps looking at the Bowling Green and wondering whether a change of sport might suit our aching bones.
A few of us found ourselves back at the cricket pitch at past 6.15 pm, with no sight of the majority of the players. Although there hadn't seemed to be an excess of faffing about, any more than there usually is in this fixture anyway, we seemed on course for a floodlit (or moonlit finish.)
Mark and Prasanth took guard for Nomads and there was immediate unsavoury controversy. Basically it was a dispute over a No Ball. A fielder/ ? captain made it clear that he was in charge rather than the umpire. I will avoid boring you all with full details but if anyone can show me the passage in the Laws of Cricket that states that an umpire has to be able to indicate the bowler's footprint as evidence to support a No Ball call, then they will win a pair of cricket boots (old, smelly and discarded in the kit bag.) Anyway, the umpire agreed to be replaced purely to keep the peace. (By the way, there was no footprint either in front, on or behind the line. Whether this was due to the bowler's footwear or because Mayow Park is an Alien Land Mass with unique soil, I don't know.)
Play proceeded but Prasanth may have been distracted by the shenanigans and was out in the 3rd over. The opening bowlers, Edwards and Campbell, proved testing but Mark and Gul were up to the task and soon began to crack on impressively. The rate touched 5 and dipped only slightly before Gul was second man out. 61 for 2. Riaz went for the big one but was caught behind but then Mahesh, keen to impress against his old team and silence the sledgers, resumed the good work. Mahesh and Mark batted stylishly for 15 overs and, with the score on 131 for 3 after 30 overs (90 needed off 10 but 2 well-set batsmen with the hard-hitting Darwin and Hassan to come) the fielding side - including the one that claimed to have played First Class cricket - were becoming decidedly edgy. Sadly, Mahesh was bowled on 133 and Mark, who had played excellently for his half-century on a ground which was his nightmare shape with its incredibly long square boundaries, followed shortly afterwards.
Darwin and Hassan kept up our 5 an over rate but a steady stream of wickets reduced us to 171 for 9 after 38 overs. Last man Emil Todorow was unable to bat due to injury but I'm sure that, trouper that he is, he would have batted had 10 been needed off the last 2 overs rather than 50.
Scores, Man of the Match etc.....see top of page.
The tea was good and the match finished at 9.10 pm which must be just about the latest finish of any organised, non-floodlit game in England.
Man of the Match was Mark Bradshaw who played really well for his 59 on a ground that didn't suit his strengths. (The square boundaries - where he scores the majority of his runs - were at least twice as long as the straight ones.) Our bowlers did ok to hold back an increasing tide in the second half of the innings. Emil and Hassan struggled on manfully despite foot/ankle injuries and there was a welcome return for Adam Paz, who bowled a lot better than his figures suggest. Fielder of the Day is a tough one. Mahesh kept well in his first outing behind this stumps this season. No-one really stands out though everyone worked hard. possibly Abbas just shades it. (Abbas was the pick of the bowlers as well - a good, straight, quick spell.)
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW
Caribbean Mix 220 for 7 from 40 overs
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 8-0-30-1
R. Khan 8-0-31-1
Abbas Khan 8-0-33-3
E. Todorow 8-0-38-0
A. Paz 8-0-73-2
Clapham Nomads 171 for 9 from 38 overs
M. Bradshaw 59
P. Pattiyil 0
Gul 16
R. Khan 0
M. Vyas (wkt) 25
D. Gunawardena 14
H. Khan 14
C. Kennedy 1
Abbas Khan not out 2
A. Paz 0
E. Todorow (capt) Did not bat (Injured.)
F.O.W. - 12, 61, 70, 133, 138, 160, 169, 171, 171
Nomads lost by 49 runs
Nomads skipper Emil Todorow inserted Caribbean in this 40 overs per side contest and prepared for a long afternoon's work. The Home side's supremo, Jim Ferguson, told us that they were trying out some new players but there were plenty of familiar faces both in the team and watching from the sidelines.
Hassan and Riaz took the new ball and there was an early breakthrough. The score after 5 overs was 18 for 1 and our bowlers and fielders kept up the good work for the majority of the innings. The other interim scores were; 10 overs - 29 for 1; 15 overs - 43 for 2; 20 overs - 63 for 3; 25 overs - 94 for 4; 30 overs - 140 for 5; 35 overs - 166 for 6. So the Mix batsmen never dominated as completely as they have in some of our other games against them. The first 4 bowlers; Hassan, Riaz, Abbas and Emil, all went for between 30 and 38 runs from their 8-over stints. Abbas probably being the pick with a fast straight stint - possibly his best of the summer so far. Adam also bowled well for a similar rate in his first spell. As ever, though, Caribbean had something up their sleeve at the death. No. 6 Mark Green had been playing steadily for a while but, when joined by No. 9 Roy Lawrence in the 36th over, the pair cut loose, with Lawrence being especially harsh on anything short with a string of excellent cuts for 4 between Point and Third Man. Adam was unlucky in this passage of play, with a chance going down off his bowling in the deep and a rather adjacent-looking leg before shout being turned down.
Caribbean closed on 220 for 7 - formidable with these long boundaries - when at one stage we looked on course to restrict them to 180.
A fine tea of chicken, rice and salad was enjoyed in the Bowls Club, with some of our older players perhaps looking at the Bowling Green and wondering whether a change of sport might suit our aching bones.
A few of us found ourselves back at the cricket pitch at past 6.15 pm, with no sight of the majority of the players. Although there hadn't seemed to be an excess of faffing about, any more than there usually is in this fixture anyway, we seemed on course for a floodlit (or moonlit finish.)
Mark and Prasanth took guard for Nomads and there was immediate unsavoury controversy. Basically it was a dispute over a No Ball. A fielder/ ? captain made it clear that he was in charge rather than the umpire. I will avoid boring you all with full details but if anyone can show me the passage in the Laws of Cricket that states that an umpire has to be able to indicate the bowler's footprint as evidence to support a No Ball call, then they will win a pair of cricket boots (old, smelly and discarded in the kit bag.) Anyway, the umpire agreed to be replaced purely to keep the peace. (By the way, there was no footprint either in front, on or behind the line. Whether this was due to the bowler's footwear or because Mayow Park is an Alien Land Mass with unique soil, I don't know.)
Play proceeded but Prasanth may have been distracted by the shenanigans and was out in the 3rd over. The opening bowlers, Edwards and Campbell, proved testing but Mark and Gul were up to the task and soon began to crack on impressively. The rate touched 5 and dipped only slightly before Gul was second man out. 61 for 2. Riaz went for the big one but was caught behind but then Mahesh, keen to impress against his old team and silence the sledgers, resumed the good work. Mahesh and Mark batted stylishly for 15 overs and, with the score on 131 for 3 after 30 overs (90 needed off 10 but 2 well-set batsmen with the hard-hitting Darwin and Hassan to come) the fielding side - including the one that claimed to have played First Class cricket - were becoming decidedly edgy. Sadly, Mahesh was bowled on 133 and Mark, who had played excellently for his half-century on a ground which was his nightmare shape with its incredibly long square boundaries, followed shortly afterwards.
Darwin and Hassan kept up our 5 an over rate but a steady stream of wickets reduced us to 171 for 9 after 38 overs. Last man Emil Todorow was unable to bat due to injury but I'm sure that, trouper that he is, he would have batted had 10 been needed off the last 2 overs rather than 50.
Scores, Man of the Match etc.....see top of page.
Tuesday 17 June 2014
Surbiton Imperials v Clapham Nomads - 15/6/14
In our best victory of the season so far, Clapham Nomads batted superbly to achieve a formidable winning target of 195. Four men shone particularly - see below;
Surbiton Imperials 194 for 7 from 35 overs
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 7-3-6-2
E. Todorow 7-0-38-0
R. Khan 7-0-37-1
Abbas Khan 7-0-54-2
Gul 7-0-43-2
Clapham Nomads 198 for 3 from 33.2 overs
M. Bradshaw not out 52
P. Pattiyil 75
Gul 14
R. Khan 24
H. Khan not out 5
Did not bat; M. Vyas, D. Gunawardena, N. Lefebve, E. Todorow, Abbas Khan, J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 134, 150, 193
Clapham Nomads won by 7 wickets.
The 4 Star Men;
Prasanth Pattiyil recorded his highest score for the Nomads and didn't give a chance that I can recall until he was finally caught on 75.
Hassan Khan's bowling and figures were excellent against one of the strongest batting line-ups we will face this summer. He conceded less than 1 per over; the next cheapest bowler went for 5.4 an over.
Mahesh Vyas took an amazing flying one-handed slip catch; the best catch I have seen in a Nomads game.
Mark Bradshaw carved out a gritty and vital unbeaten half-century, sharing in an opening stand of 134 with Prasanth and steering us home when we started to lose wickets.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW....
Nomads made the long journey to the excellent Colet's Ground in Thames Ditton hoping for a first victory there. Surbiton had done very well to put a full team out, having only had 7 or 8 on the Thursday. One of the new players opened the batting for the Home side and it was soon cleared that we had a fight on our hands as he launched an all-out assault on Emil Todorow's bowling, taking the skipper (who was playing in his 204th successive Nomads match) for over 20 from his first 2 overs. Before this though, Hassan struck an important early blow in removing the dangerous hitter Johnny Rosenthal in the first over.
Emil judiciously replaced himself with Riaz and the run rate stabilised, mainly thanks to a quite superb bowling spell from Hassan who was bowling with great pace and accuracy, though the highlight was a massive leg break which made the batsman and keeper John Crossland gasp at its Warne-like turn.
With left-hander Siddik batting with a right-handed colleague, and continual changes to line and field placing needed, Nomads's bowlers - Hassan excepted - could do no more than damage limitation as the score chugged along at around 5.5 an over. Emil Todorow returned around the middle of the innings and did well to concede only 16 from his last 5 overs.
Surbiton had a very high-class hitter in their middle order and shots began to flow, especially to leg. Abbas kept his head and found his reward when he clipped the outside edge of the less attacking player's bat and Mahesh Vyas swopped through the air like an eagle, scooping a breathtaking finger-tip catch an inch from the turf. This was the best catch I have seen in any Nomads match and Mark - who has played in over 500 club games, many at a higher level - said it was the best catch in any game he has played in.
Surbiton's star man raced past 50 but some of his partners could not match his hitting and the scoring rate, after peaking at 6.5, dipped to 5.5 again. The Super Six from May were down to Four with Abdul and Sami missing but Todorow turned to Gul and the off-spinner obliged with a steady 2 for 43 off his 7 overs.
With around 3 overs to go, the Star Man was on 90 and looked odds on for a deserved ton but he rather ran out of steam - and strike - and ended on 93 not out with Imperials closing on 194 for 7 off the full 35. A total we would probably have settled for at any stage from about the second over onwards.
Mahesh Vyas was the obvious fielding star but John took 2 nice catches behind the sticks and didn't let much past him that I can remember.
195 seemed a fair old target as we tucked into a nice tea and watched England struggle at Lord's. Surbiton's new players were unlikely to be the worst bowlers in the world and of course they had the awkward Siddik and also Eric (their saviour from the match in April .)
Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil took guard and managed 3 boundaries from Siddik's first 2 overs which was important as Siddik can be very economical if he gets on top. Prasanth in particular played very positively and took the pressure off the run chase and the pair complemented each other very well. The speedy Faisal was negotiated safely with regular leg-side and straight hits from Prasanth, while Mark was punching it between Point and Cover for 1s and 2s at will. The scoring rate rose from around 3.5 to something up near 5 as the stand built up and drinks approached.
The consistent, enterprising batting continued after the break; Prasanth finding the boundary practically every other over and Mark, having worked very hard for his first 25 runs (with 9 singles between 15 and 24) and survived a caught behind chance and a big leg before shout from Eric, playing with increasing authority taking regular 2s and playing some nice Straight Drives as the 100 stand came up.
Prasanth passed his previous highest for Nomads and, entering the 70s with a maiden hundred becoming a live possibility, he was aware of the need to keep the electronic scoreboard ticking and unfortunately lofted one up to Long On to depart for an excellent 75. The stand of 134 was one of the best ever Nomads opening partnerships; possibly about the 4th biggest.
Still a bit of work to do but a rapid 2nd wicket stand ended with Gul (who had just hit a large 6) being narrowly run out. Enter Riaz Khan who played himself in for at least a ball and then took a massive liking to the bowling of Zulfiqar; 2 sixes in one over, the second one airborne for a considerable period of time before rattling a distant shed roof, possibly somewhere in the Hampton area (oddly there was a lengthy discussion as to whether this was 4 or 6 - it should have been 8.)
This stand put on 43 in no more than 4 overs as Russell, who had bowled well against us in April, also came in for the treatment. Riaz made 24 and Mark was no slouch himself with 15 in this partnership. 2 were now needed off 3.1 overs with 7 wickets remaining, when Riaz was caught and, although there was a shout for No. 11 John Crossland to pad up, this was in jest.
Imperials' skipper Steve Parratt came on and bowled a tidy maiden but Hassan administered the last rites in the penultimate over.
A great win for Nomads over a powerful Surbiton line-up. Particularly fine performances from the 4 men mentioned earlier with Prasanth taking Man of the Match for his fine 75. Mahesh Vyas takes Fielder of the Day - if only our games were filmed so we could watch that catch again.
Surbiton Imperials 194 for 7 from 35 overs
Nomads bowling;
H. Khan 7-3-6-2
E. Todorow 7-0-38-0
R. Khan 7-0-37-1
Abbas Khan 7-0-54-2
Gul 7-0-43-2
Clapham Nomads 198 for 3 from 33.2 overs
M. Bradshaw not out 52
P. Pattiyil 75
Gul 14
R. Khan 24
H. Khan not out 5
Did not bat; M. Vyas, D. Gunawardena, N. Lefebve, E. Todorow, Abbas Khan, J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 134, 150, 193
Clapham Nomads won by 7 wickets.
The 4 Star Men;
Prasanth Pattiyil recorded his highest score for the Nomads and didn't give a chance that I can recall until he was finally caught on 75.
Hassan Khan's bowling and figures were excellent against one of the strongest batting line-ups we will face this summer. He conceded less than 1 per over; the next cheapest bowler went for 5.4 an over.
Mahesh Vyas took an amazing flying one-handed slip catch; the best catch I have seen in a Nomads game.
Mark Bradshaw carved out a gritty and vital unbeaten half-century, sharing in an opening stand of 134 with Prasanth and steering us home when we started to lose wickets.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW....
Nomads made the long journey to the excellent Colet's Ground in Thames Ditton hoping for a first victory there. Surbiton had done very well to put a full team out, having only had 7 or 8 on the Thursday. One of the new players opened the batting for the Home side and it was soon cleared that we had a fight on our hands as he launched an all-out assault on Emil Todorow's bowling, taking the skipper (who was playing in his 204th successive Nomads match) for over 20 from his first 2 overs. Before this though, Hassan struck an important early blow in removing the dangerous hitter Johnny Rosenthal in the first over.
Emil judiciously replaced himself with Riaz and the run rate stabilised, mainly thanks to a quite superb bowling spell from Hassan who was bowling with great pace and accuracy, though the highlight was a massive leg break which made the batsman and keeper John Crossland gasp at its Warne-like turn.
With left-hander Siddik batting with a right-handed colleague, and continual changes to line and field placing needed, Nomads's bowlers - Hassan excepted - could do no more than damage limitation as the score chugged along at around 5.5 an over. Emil Todorow returned around the middle of the innings and did well to concede only 16 from his last 5 overs.
Surbiton had a very high-class hitter in their middle order and shots began to flow, especially to leg. Abbas kept his head and found his reward when he clipped the outside edge of the less attacking player's bat and Mahesh Vyas swopped through the air like an eagle, scooping a breathtaking finger-tip catch an inch from the turf. This was the best catch I have seen in any Nomads match and Mark - who has played in over 500 club games, many at a higher level - said it was the best catch in any game he has played in.
Surbiton's star man raced past 50 but some of his partners could not match his hitting and the scoring rate, after peaking at 6.5, dipped to 5.5 again. The Super Six from May were down to Four with Abdul and Sami missing but Todorow turned to Gul and the off-spinner obliged with a steady 2 for 43 off his 7 overs.
With around 3 overs to go, the Star Man was on 90 and looked odds on for a deserved ton but he rather ran out of steam - and strike - and ended on 93 not out with Imperials closing on 194 for 7 off the full 35. A total we would probably have settled for at any stage from about the second over onwards.
Mahesh Vyas was the obvious fielding star but John took 2 nice catches behind the sticks and didn't let much past him that I can remember.
195 seemed a fair old target as we tucked into a nice tea and watched England struggle at Lord's. Surbiton's new players were unlikely to be the worst bowlers in the world and of course they had the awkward Siddik and also Eric (their saviour from the match in April .)
Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil took guard and managed 3 boundaries from Siddik's first 2 overs which was important as Siddik can be very economical if he gets on top. Prasanth in particular played very positively and took the pressure off the run chase and the pair complemented each other very well. The speedy Faisal was negotiated safely with regular leg-side and straight hits from Prasanth, while Mark was punching it between Point and Cover for 1s and 2s at will. The scoring rate rose from around 3.5 to something up near 5 as the stand built up and drinks approached.
The consistent, enterprising batting continued after the break; Prasanth finding the boundary practically every other over and Mark, having worked very hard for his first 25 runs (with 9 singles between 15 and 24) and survived a caught behind chance and a big leg before shout from Eric, playing with increasing authority taking regular 2s and playing some nice Straight Drives as the 100 stand came up.
Prasanth passed his previous highest for Nomads and, entering the 70s with a maiden hundred becoming a live possibility, he was aware of the need to keep the electronic scoreboard ticking and unfortunately lofted one up to Long On to depart for an excellent 75. The stand of 134 was one of the best ever Nomads opening partnerships; possibly about the 4th biggest.
Still a bit of work to do but a rapid 2nd wicket stand ended with Gul (who had just hit a large 6) being narrowly run out. Enter Riaz Khan who played himself in for at least a ball and then took a massive liking to the bowling of Zulfiqar; 2 sixes in one over, the second one airborne for a considerable period of time before rattling a distant shed roof, possibly somewhere in the Hampton area (oddly there was a lengthy discussion as to whether this was 4 or 6 - it should have been 8.)
This stand put on 43 in no more than 4 overs as Russell, who had bowled well against us in April, also came in for the treatment. Riaz made 24 and Mark was no slouch himself with 15 in this partnership. 2 were now needed off 3.1 overs with 7 wickets remaining, when Riaz was caught and, although there was a shout for No. 11 John Crossland to pad up, this was in jest.
Imperials' skipper Steve Parratt came on and bowled a tidy maiden but Hassan administered the last rites in the penultimate over.
A great win for Nomads over a powerful Surbiton line-up. Particularly fine performances from the 4 men mentioned earlier with Prasanth taking Man of the Match for his fine 75. Mahesh Vyas takes Fielder of the Day - if only our games were filmed so we could watch that catch again.
Monday 9 June 2014
Clapham Nomads v Wimbledon United - 8/6/14
Clapham Nomads produced our best batting of the season on another warm day on a very good pitch at Abbey Rec but still, amazingly, lost by 9 wickets. A superb 92 not out by Wimbledon skipper Dave Hitchman, well-supported by James Flannery in an opening stand of 88 and then by Alex Herbert for the remainder of the innings saw United home with 3.2 overs to spare. Nomads bowling was by no means bad (Riaz was probably the pick while Emil Todorow had the cheapest economy rate - the only bowler to go for under 4 an over.) Abdul took the only wicket to fall but also hurt his finger badly near the end - hope it is OK Abdul. Nomads groundfielding was not fantastic but only one catching chance was put down (and that was right near the end when the game was lost.)
Hitchman and Flannery really kicked on at 6 an over and United were well over 100 at the 20-over drinks break. This took the pressure right off and they only had to bat sensibly to close out the win. This early scoring was the main difference between the sides as Nomads were only 60-odd at our halfway mark.
The other difference was that the Dons had 3 bowlers; Rowan Wijedena, Peter Brown (The Southfields Express) and Alex Herbert who all made our players work much harder for their runs than any Wimbledon batsman had to.
Our innings began quite comfortably with Mark Bradshaw playing such a feather-light leg glance in the first over that Scorer John Crossland shouted to the umpire to signal byes. Both openers dealt well with the awkward Wijedena who kind of thinks batsmen out with accuracy and subtle movement and variation (rather like a quicker and (much) younger Naren Patel of Energy Exiles, and the lively away swing of Brown. Disaster struck in the 5th over when a Nomads player suddenly appeared behind the bowler's arm just as Wijedena was bowling, distracting Bradshaw who played on to a slight in-cutter. In Wijedena's next over, Mahesh Vyas came too far across his stumps and the exposed leg stump was uprooted to the shock of the batsman. 10 for 2 (exactly as in our previous 2 games.) Once No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil had survived a couple of early pull shots off middle stump (was it Sir Geoffrey Boycott that said you should never pull until you have passed 70?) he continued his excellent work of last week and set about recovering the position, ably accompanied by Hassan Khan.
On 48 for 2, Prasanth was adjudged leg before for a useful 12 and Hassan was joined by Gul. There was a massive shout for caught behind against last season's Batsman of the Year early on but the umpire noticed Gul's bat had hit the ground (one of my better decisions though I say so myself and partly compensating for the very many dodgy decisions I have made.) The two friends built a major stand but it was hard work in the 79 degree heat with the long boundaries causing many 2s and 3s to be run.
Gul was back close to his best but was caught behind in Brown's second spell with the stand just 3 short of the century it deserved. Hassan had batted brilliantly but was beginning to find it hard work and looked dehydrated. He retired on 71 with the score on 152. Useful late runs from Darwin, Riaz and Abdul took the score up 174 for 6 at the close. One Nomad said we perhaps hadn't really kicked on sufficiently, late in the innings but the last 6 overs of our knock all went for between 3 and 8, so we weren't exactly static.
It was a tough one to call. Wimbledon notched up 180 for 4 in last year's home match but had scored significantly less in the other 2 recent games. Bookies might have made Nomads 4 to 5 favourites unless, unlike me, they were aware of just what excellent batting stats Dave Hitchman has. He has several recent centuries to his name.
Hassan was still dehydrated so Abbas and Emil opened. They bowled reasonably but fine Wimbledon batting, with sharp running a particular feature, and Nomads' groundfielding a little way short of our best, allowed the Away side to race away at 6 an over early on. One Nomad pointed out at drinks that there was still a fair way to go; another speculated that there might not be too much batting to come (that was certainly not the case.) Riaz bowled very accurately and had some good shouts. Abdul's variety was impressive and he took the only wicket to fall. United kept up reasonable momentum evidenced by Nomads not bowling a single maiden. Hassan returned to the field and bowled 3rd change, predominantly spin. He missed the stumps by a whisker and had a chance dropped off his bowling but United were in the finishing straight by then.
Well done to Wimbledon. Another enjoyable fixture and we saw some fine batting. We have never lost by 10 wickets thankfully but have lost by 9 wickets on 4 or 5 occasions with this 174 being the highest total we have scored in any of those games. Wimbledon's innings would therefore have to go down as one of the best run chases against the Nomads.
Good batting from Nomads, though. In fact our batting has improved game by game in each of our 6 matches. Unfortunately the bowling has rather gone the other way. We have only taken 2 wickets in total in our last 2 games and have conceded 420 runs. Whereas our first 4 matches saw only slightly more runs (465) scored against us while we took 36 wickets. It can't be entirely due to missing Sami (class bowler though he is.) I think the arrival of sunny weather, sound wickets and in-form, well-played-in batsmen has more to do with it.
Man of the Match was Hassan for another excellent innings - he has really found his form, averaging 165 in his last 3 innings. John and Emil also praised his fielding but he didn't field the full innings (he did well to come on though despite being dehydrated.) They also picked out Mark Bradshaw for some good stops, enthusiasm and encouragement, while Abbas worked hard and 12th Man Nick Lefebve did ok in 2 short-notice spells as sub fielder. Emil Todorow showed his fancy footwork again - if the one against Barnes Occasionals was Stoichkov, the one yesterday was Georgi Asparuhov. Mark Bradshaw takes Fielder of the Day.
Clapham Nomads 174 for 6 from 40 overs
M. Bradshaw 6
M. Vyas 0
P. Pattiyil 12
H. Khan retired 71
Gul 45
D. Gunewardena 7
R. Khan 6
Abbas Khan not out 1
Abdul Khan not out 4
Did not bat; E. Todorow, J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 8, 10, 48, 145, 166, 166
Wimbledon United 175 for 1 from 36.4 overs
D. Hitchman not out 92
J. Flannery 33
A. Herbert not out 30
F.O.W. - 88
Nomads bowling;
Abbas Khan 8-0-46-0
E, Todorow 7-0-27-0
Abdul Khan 8-0-44-1
R. Khan 8-0-33-0
H. Khan 5.4-0-25-0
Wimbledon United won by 9 wickets
Hitchman and Flannery really kicked on at 6 an over and United were well over 100 at the 20-over drinks break. This took the pressure right off and they only had to bat sensibly to close out the win. This early scoring was the main difference between the sides as Nomads were only 60-odd at our halfway mark.
The other difference was that the Dons had 3 bowlers; Rowan Wijedena, Peter Brown (The Southfields Express) and Alex Herbert who all made our players work much harder for their runs than any Wimbledon batsman had to.
Our innings began quite comfortably with Mark Bradshaw playing such a feather-light leg glance in the first over that Scorer John Crossland shouted to the umpire to signal byes. Both openers dealt well with the awkward Wijedena who kind of thinks batsmen out with accuracy and subtle movement and variation (rather like a quicker and (much) younger Naren Patel of Energy Exiles, and the lively away swing of Brown. Disaster struck in the 5th over when a Nomads player suddenly appeared behind the bowler's arm just as Wijedena was bowling, distracting Bradshaw who played on to a slight in-cutter. In Wijedena's next over, Mahesh Vyas came too far across his stumps and the exposed leg stump was uprooted to the shock of the batsman. 10 for 2 (exactly as in our previous 2 games.) Once No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil had survived a couple of early pull shots off middle stump (was it Sir Geoffrey Boycott that said you should never pull until you have passed 70?) he continued his excellent work of last week and set about recovering the position, ably accompanied by Hassan Khan.
On 48 for 2, Prasanth was adjudged leg before for a useful 12 and Hassan was joined by Gul. There was a massive shout for caught behind against last season's Batsman of the Year early on but the umpire noticed Gul's bat had hit the ground (one of my better decisions though I say so myself and partly compensating for the very many dodgy decisions I have made.) The two friends built a major stand but it was hard work in the 79 degree heat with the long boundaries causing many 2s and 3s to be run.
Gul was back close to his best but was caught behind in Brown's second spell with the stand just 3 short of the century it deserved. Hassan had batted brilliantly but was beginning to find it hard work and looked dehydrated. He retired on 71 with the score on 152. Useful late runs from Darwin, Riaz and Abdul took the score up 174 for 6 at the close. One Nomad said we perhaps hadn't really kicked on sufficiently, late in the innings but the last 6 overs of our knock all went for between 3 and 8, so we weren't exactly static.
It was a tough one to call. Wimbledon notched up 180 for 4 in last year's home match but had scored significantly less in the other 2 recent games. Bookies might have made Nomads 4 to 5 favourites unless, unlike me, they were aware of just what excellent batting stats Dave Hitchman has. He has several recent centuries to his name.
Hassan was still dehydrated so Abbas and Emil opened. They bowled reasonably but fine Wimbledon batting, with sharp running a particular feature, and Nomads' groundfielding a little way short of our best, allowed the Away side to race away at 6 an over early on. One Nomad pointed out at drinks that there was still a fair way to go; another speculated that there might not be too much batting to come (that was certainly not the case.) Riaz bowled very accurately and had some good shouts. Abdul's variety was impressive and he took the only wicket to fall. United kept up reasonable momentum evidenced by Nomads not bowling a single maiden. Hassan returned to the field and bowled 3rd change, predominantly spin. He missed the stumps by a whisker and had a chance dropped off his bowling but United were in the finishing straight by then.
Well done to Wimbledon. Another enjoyable fixture and we saw some fine batting. We have never lost by 10 wickets thankfully but have lost by 9 wickets on 4 or 5 occasions with this 174 being the highest total we have scored in any of those games. Wimbledon's innings would therefore have to go down as one of the best run chases against the Nomads.
Good batting from Nomads, though. In fact our batting has improved game by game in each of our 6 matches. Unfortunately the bowling has rather gone the other way. We have only taken 2 wickets in total in our last 2 games and have conceded 420 runs. Whereas our first 4 matches saw only slightly more runs (465) scored against us while we took 36 wickets. It can't be entirely due to missing Sami (class bowler though he is.) I think the arrival of sunny weather, sound wickets and in-form, well-played-in batsmen has more to do with it.
Man of the Match was Hassan for another excellent innings - he has really found his form, averaging 165 in his last 3 innings. John and Emil also praised his fielding but he didn't field the full innings (he did well to come on though despite being dehydrated.) They also picked out Mark Bradshaw for some good stops, enthusiasm and encouragement, while Abbas worked hard and 12th Man Nick Lefebve did ok in 2 short-notice spells as sub fielder. Emil Todorow showed his fancy footwork again - if the one against Barnes Occasionals was Stoichkov, the one yesterday was Georgi Asparuhov. Mark Bradshaw takes Fielder of the Day.
Clapham Nomads 174 for 6 from 40 overs
M. Bradshaw 6
M. Vyas 0
P. Pattiyil 12
H. Khan retired 71
Gul 45
D. Gunewardena 7
R. Khan 6
Abbas Khan not out 1
Abdul Khan not out 4
Did not bat; E. Todorow, J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 8, 10, 48, 145, 166, 166
Wimbledon United 175 for 1 from 36.4 overs
D. Hitchman not out 92
J. Flannery 33
A. Herbert not out 30
F.O.W. - 88
Nomads bowling;
Abbas Khan 8-0-46-0
E, Todorow 7-0-27-0
Abdul Khan 8-0-44-1
R. Khan 8-0-33-0
H. Khan 5.4-0-25-0
Wimbledon United won by 9 wickets
Wednesday 4 June 2014
Acton v Clapham Nomads - 1/6/14 (Updated version)
Nomads played a Conference game on Sunday 1st June, making the long journey to Park Sports Ground, London W3; practically a tour match for Nomads' notoriously reluctant travellers.
The absences of star players Mark Bradshaw and Sami, plus a heel injury to Hassan (he played but had to bat lower down) probably meant that our real Conference strength was Medium-Weak (though able replacements were found in Gul and Jonnie Randall) while the home side's "Medium" status was "consolidated" by the presence of at least 2 first-teamers from the Middlesex County League.
After a little trouble finding the pitch in the large sports complex, Nomads arrived (punctuality rating; moderate to ordinary) and skipper Todorow inserted Acton on an excellent-looking flat track. Perhaps noting Todorow's keenness to bat second and observing the age of the Nomads side (one player approaching 70, another in his early 60s, several in their 50s and only 2 under 30), the Home skipper sportingly suggested a time game.
The Super Six were reduced to a Famous Five by injury to Sami. Hassan opened and bowled well despite his heel injury and made an early breakthrough comprehensively bowling Acton's opener who tried to give him the charge. That was probably our high spot in Acton's innings. First-teamers Forsdike and Fell batted remorselessly for a century and 60 odd respectively before retiring. Acton acknowledged in their report that our bowling was a little unthreatening but difficult to get away. Their top 5 all had a bat and at tea their skipper called it a day (as is customary at tea) on 245 for 1.
On one of the best tracks we have played on, we had to have a reasonable chance of the draw. Winning it would have been extraordinary against an attack made up of a couple of young, lively and accurate quicks, at least one decent slower bowler and a smattering of part-timers. Gul and Mahesh both contributed early on, Mahesh falling in the 5th over and Gul in the 10th, but then Prasanth Pattiyil played a superb defensive innings, looking unshiftable for 30 overs until Middlesex County League paceman Forsdike finally got him for 18. Riaz began in the same vein until one of the fielders was given to remark; "can he actually play any shots?" An emphatic boundary was the inevitable result. Riaz went on to top-score with 32. A slight flurry of middle-order wickets reduced us from 56 for 2 to 89 for 6 as the Home team went full throttle for the win, but Jonnie Randall stood his ground and used up vital overs. Hassan did the same but with a few attacking shots thrown in. I wasn't at this game but John pointed out to me how well Hassan batted. Perhaps most impressive of all was the veteran Chris Kennedy in his first outing of the season for the Nomads, having not faced bowling of this calibre for a while. He saw off plenty of overs of spin - not his favourite bowling - and was pivotal in our rearguard effort.
Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow were together with 7 down and 5 overs to go and appeared to be on course to draw the game with ease. Nomads rarely do anything the easy way though and, with 4 balls to go, Hassan was out and Abbas was on his way to the crease causing John to pad up. Surely even Acton's bored "spectator" - see their report - (if he/she was still awake) must have enjoyed the drama of this moment. Abbas managed to snick a single and there was no way past the obdurate Balkan-born legend Todorow for the tiring bowlers. Todorow even cracked Middlesex County League third-tier bowler Fell for 2 off the last ball to bring up the 120.
Not a victory then, not even a "small victory" but a very creditable draw achieved through a lot of hard-work and with something to spare . I wish I had come along after all. Emil told me we faced 51 overs. I'm not quite sure how that is possible but, if it is true, then it was a well-deserved draw. (I've got the scorebook back now and, yes, 51 overs.) This is the largest number of overs Clapham Nomads have batted in any of our 300-plus fixtures. I've known many a team give themselves a hearty pat on the back after surviving far fewer overs to draw against much weaker bowling than Acton cc's.
I doubt there will be a return fixture but we could always book Fishponds Road Rec which might suit our bowlers better..
Quote of the Day came from one of Acton's young pacemen after hitting one of our middle-order batsmen on the bottom (with the ball I hasten to add - the ball must have been missing the stumps by quite a margin as this was our tallest batsman); "What are you even doing here? Get out of here!"................Hohum.
Anyway, thanks to Acton for hosting us. They are a fine club and we wish all their sides success for the rest of the season.
One final word on Conference ratings. It has seemed for some years that Middlesex teams are stronger than Surrey teams with the same rating. Some years ago, I was playing for the Open University and the captain Dave Hunter told us after a heavy defeat; "We'll be alright next week, lads, we're playing a team called Acton Town. They're rated Weak." Come 4.30 pm the following Sunday, 10 of us were glaring at Hunter over tea, having just conceded 234 for 0.
Acton cc 245 for 1 (Forsdike 103 retired) from 32 overs
Nomads bowling;
Abbas Khan 5-0-35-0
H. Khan 9-0-64-1
R. Khan 6-0-37-0
E. Todorow 6-0-53-0
Abdul Khan 5-0-34-0
J. Randall 1-0-11-0
Clapham Nomads 120 for 8 from 51 overs
M. Vyas 0
Gul 10
P. Pattiyil 18
R. Khan 32
J. Randall 7
Abdul Khan 1
C. Kennedy 4
H. Khan 21
E. Todorow not out 3
Abbas Khan not out 1
Did not bat; J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 4, 10, 56, 74, 81, 89, 108, 116
Match drawn
Man of the Match - Prasanth Pattiyil
Fielder of the Day - Hassan Khan (Chris Kennedy was second.)
Scores and adaptations to the report will follow when I get the scorebook back. (Now done.)
Meanwhile read Acton's reasonably fair report on http://actoncricketclub.com/31-may1-june-weekend-round-up
The absences of star players Mark Bradshaw and Sami, plus a heel injury to Hassan (he played but had to bat lower down) probably meant that our real Conference strength was Medium-Weak (though able replacements were found in Gul and Jonnie Randall) while the home side's "Medium" status was "consolidated" by the presence of at least 2 first-teamers from the Middlesex County League.
After a little trouble finding the pitch in the large sports complex, Nomads arrived (punctuality rating; moderate to ordinary) and skipper Todorow inserted Acton on an excellent-looking flat track. Perhaps noting Todorow's keenness to bat second and observing the age of the Nomads side (one player approaching 70, another in his early 60s, several in their 50s and only 2 under 30), the Home skipper sportingly suggested a time game.
The Super Six were reduced to a Famous Five by injury to Sami. Hassan opened and bowled well despite his heel injury and made an early breakthrough comprehensively bowling Acton's opener who tried to give him the charge. That was probably our high spot in Acton's innings. First-teamers Forsdike and Fell batted remorselessly for a century and 60 odd respectively before retiring. Acton acknowledged in their report that our bowling was a little unthreatening but difficult to get away. Their top 5 all had a bat and at tea their skipper called it a day (as is customary at tea) on 245 for 1.
On one of the best tracks we have played on, we had to have a reasonable chance of the draw. Winning it would have been extraordinary against an attack made up of a couple of young, lively and accurate quicks, at least one decent slower bowler and a smattering of part-timers. Gul and Mahesh both contributed early on, Mahesh falling in the 5th over and Gul in the 10th, but then Prasanth Pattiyil played a superb defensive innings, looking unshiftable for 30 overs until Middlesex County League paceman Forsdike finally got him for 18. Riaz began in the same vein until one of the fielders was given to remark; "can he actually play any shots?" An emphatic boundary was the inevitable result. Riaz went on to top-score with 32. A slight flurry of middle-order wickets reduced us from 56 for 2 to 89 for 6 as the Home team went full throttle for the win, but Jonnie Randall stood his ground and used up vital overs. Hassan did the same but with a few attacking shots thrown in. I wasn't at this game but John pointed out to me how well Hassan batted. Perhaps most impressive of all was the veteran Chris Kennedy in his first outing of the season for the Nomads, having not faced bowling of this calibre for a while. He saw off plenty of overs of spin - not his favourite bowling - and was pivotal in our rearguard effort.
Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow were together with 7 down and 5 overs to go and appeared to be on course to draw the game with ease. Nomads rarely do anything the easy way though and, with 4 balls to go, Hassan was out and Abbas was on his way to the crease causing John to pad up. Surely even Acton's bored "spectator" - see their report - (if he/she was still awake) must have enjoyed the drama of this moment. Abbas managed to snick a single and there was no way past the obdurate Balkan-born legend Todorow for the tiring bowlers. Todorow even cracked Middlesex County League third-tier bowler Fell for 2 off the last ball to bring up the 120.
Not a victory then, not even a "small victory" but a very creditable draw achieved through a lot of hard-work and with something to spare . I wish I had come along after all. Emil told me we faced 51 overs. I'm not quite sure how that is possible but, if it is true, then it was a well-deserved draw. (I've got the scorebook back now and, yes, 51 overs.) This is the largest number of overs Clapham Nomads have batted in any of our 300-plus fixtures. I've known many a team give themselves a hearty pat on the back after surviving far fewer overs to draw against much weaker bowling than Acton cc's.
I doubt there will be a return fixture but we could always book Fishponds Road Rec which might suit our bowlers better..
Quote of the Day came from one of Acton's young pacemen after hitting one of our middle-order batsmen on the bottom (with the ball I hasten to add - the ball must have been missing the stumps by quite a margin as this was our tallest batsman); "What are you even doing here? Get out of here!"................Hohum.
Anyway, thanks to Acton for hosting us. They are a fine club and we wish all their sides success for the rest of the season.
One final word on Conference ratings. It has seemed for some years that Middlesex teams are stronger than Surrey teams with the same rating. Some years ago, I was playing for the Open University and the captain Dave Hunter told us after a heavy defeat; "We'll be alright next week, lads, we're playing a team called Acton Town. They're rated Weak." Come 4.30 pm the following Sunday, 10 of us were glaring at Hunter over tea, having just conceded 234 for 0.
Acton cc 245 for 1 (Forsdike 103 retired) from 32 overs
Nomads bowling;
Abbas Khan 5-0-35-0
H. Khan 9-0-64-1
R. Khan 6-0-37-0
E. Todorow 6-0-53-0
Abdul Khan 5-0-34-0
J. Randall 1-0-11-0
Clapham Nomads 120 for 8 from 51 overs
M. Vyas 0
Gul 10
P. Pattiyil 18
R. Khan 32
J. Randall 7
Abdul Khan 1
C. Kennedy 4
H. Khan 21
E. Todorow not out 3
Abbas Khan not out 1
Did not bat; J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 4, 10, 56, 74, 81, 89, 108, 116
Match drawn
Man of the Match - Prasanth Pattiyil
Fielder of the Day - Hassan Khan (Chris Kennedy was second.)
Scores and adaptations to the report will follow when I get the scorebook back. (Now done.)
Meanwhile read Acton's reasonably fair report on http://actoncricketclub.com/31-may1-june-weekend-round-up
Monday 19 May 2014
Wimbledon United v Clapham Nomads - 18/5/14
Clapham Nomads recorded their best performance so far in an already excellent season with a 4-wicket victory over Wimbledon United at Cottenham Park - one of our luckiest grounds. Superb bowling from The Super Six and inspired fielding restricted a strong United batting line-up to 141 all out off 2 balls short of the full, gruelling 40 overs on a very warm day.
A 3rd-wicket stand of 90 between Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan set up victory, with quick late runs from Riaz and Abdul sealing the deal. Wimbledon were a touch unlucky with 3 chances to catch Hassan going to ground, the first 2 of which would have put them on top, if taken.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW.
United won the toss and, unsurprisingly given the 78 degree heat, chose to bat. Nomads dug in for some hard graft against the usual strong Wimbledon batting order. Excellent tight bowling from Sami ( ? slightly quicker than usual at the downhill end) and Hassan Khan saw an early wicket fall and the run rate kept down. Drinks were gratefully downed at 20 overs with the score on around 55 for 2 but the dangerous Herbert still there. The innings was in the balance and much depended on our 4 change bowlers. These 4 did a fine job in limiting the acceleration, bowling 6 overs each and all conceding 20-odd runs. Fielding was as good as has been seen from Nomads. Inspired by an early direct hit from Abdul Khan, few errors were made or soft singles allowed. 5 catches were taken; the most memorable perhaps a slip catch from Mahesh Vyas who changed direction athletically while the ball was approaching him. Wickets fell steadily in the second half of the innings with Riaz and Emil joining Hassan in taking 2. The final United wicket fell with 2 balls to go and the total on 141. A good containing performance from Clapham on the best pitch we have played on so far, with short-ish straight boundaries.
Although the target of 142 would have to be our top score of the season so far, confidence was fair as we tucked into the excellent and varied tea featuring United's signature strawberry and cream scones.
The home side were missing their star paceman Peter Brown but Wijedena proved a decent replacement with tricky length and variation down the hill and he struck two early blows, finding Mahesh Vyas's outside edge for a good, low catch by the keeper and then inducing Prasanth to play across to a deceptively full-length ball which struck middle and leg via the bat and pad. Suddenly we were 10 for 2 and (Nomads' blog cliche time) an awful lot was going to depend on the partnership between Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan. There was an early let-off apiece for the pair with a Khan thunderbolt being put down at Square Leg and a Bradshaw top-edge dropping just short of Short Fine Leg (although this ball may have bounced three times before reaching the bat - I had a Senior Moment as Umpire and had to double-check the No Ball rule with Square Leg Umpire Todorow who admittedly does exude natural authority.)
Undistracted by all this, our batting heroes began to turn the innings round. Bradshaw looking unshiftable and not receiving full reward for some fine Off Side shots thanks to a well-set field. Hassan was fairly cautious until around 20 when a full toss received the full treatment and was past the straight boundary in under a second, almost via the bowler's and umpire's heads. This was Hassan's cue to take charge, with imperious use of his feet against some decent bowling, he raced from 20 to 50 at better than a run a ball. He reached his half-century with the score on around 80 and the fine progress continued to 100 at which point the century stand and victory seemed inevitable. Mark Bradshaw had done a vital job in the supporting role but the awkward Hasan pinned him back on his stumps and somehow found the way through with the score on 100. Nomads were still favourites but the match was right back on a knife-edge when Wijedena bowled Darwin first ball.
There were 2 ways to play this; the middle order to play themselves in and support Hassan, or for Nomads stroke-makers to blast their way to victory against the change bowlers. Riaz inevitably chose the latter option with a rapid and useful 13 and, while Hassan played the shot of the day with a towering 4 just short of the rope off the dangerous quickish spinner Flannery, Abdul did a Riaz impersonation also for 13. At 136 for 6 we were still well in charge while Hassan remained, but when he lofted a drive towards long-on there were a few anxious glances over at Emil and John to see if they were padded up. The chance went down though and No. 8 Sami quickly steered us to a fine victory.
A great day all in all. We witnessed dominating batting from Hassan (9 fours in his 73 not out) with typically gritty support from Mark. The Super Six all did their job and Abdul's early brilliance in the field inspired us to shine despite the heat. Wimbledon United are always very pleasant opponents and we look forward to the return fixture on June 8th.
Wimbledon United 141 all out (Herbert 41) from 39.4 overs.
Sami 8-2-18-1
H. Khan 7.4-0-14-2
Abdul Khan 6-1-26-1
Abbas Khan 6-0-27-0
R. Khan 6-1-22-2
E. Todorow 6-0-29-2
Clapham Nomads 142 for 6 from 35.5 overs
M. Bradshaw 27
M. Vyas 1
P. Pattiyil 0
H. Khan not out 73
D. Gunawardena 0
R. Khan 13
Abdul Khan 13
Sami not out 5
Did not bat; E. Todorow, Abbas Khan, J, Crossland
F.O.W. - 5, 10, 100, 101, 120, 136
Man of the Match - Hassan Khan
Fielder of the Day - Abdul Khan
Clapham Nomads won by 4 wickets
A 3rd-wicket stand of 90 between Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan set up victory, with quick late runs from Riaz and Abdul sealing the deal. Wimbledon were a touch unlucky with 3 chances to catch Hassan going to ground, the first 2 of which would have put them on top, if taken.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW.
United won the toss and, unsurprisingly given the 78 degree heat, chose to bat. Nomads dug in for some hard graft against the usual strong Wimbledon batting order. Excellent tight bowling from Sami ( ? slightly quicker than usual at the downhill end) and Hassan Khan saw an early wicket fall and the run rate kept down. Drinks were gratefully downed at 20 overs with the score on around 55 for 2 but the dangerous Herbert still there. The innings was in the balance and much depended on our 4 change bowlers. These 4 did a fine job in limiting the acceleration, bowling 6 overs each and all conceding 20-odd runs. Fielding was as good as has been seen from Nomads. Inspired by an early direct hit from Abdul Khan, few errors were made or soft singles allowed. 5 catches were taken; the most memorable perhaps a slip catch from Mahesh Vyas who changed direction athletically while the ball was approaching him. Wickets fell steadily in the second half of the innings with Riaz and Emil joining Hassan in taking 2. The final United wicket fell with 2 balls to go and the total on 141. A good containing performance from Clapham on the best pitch we have played on so far, with short-ish straight boundaries.
Although the target of 142 would have to be our top score of the season so far, confidence was fair as we tucked into the excellent and varied tea featuring United's signature strawberry and cream scones.
The home side were missing their star paceman Peter Brown but Wijedena proved a decent replacement with tricky length and variation down the hill and he struck two early blows, finding Mahesh Vyas's outside edge for a good, low catch by the keeper and then inducing Prasanth to play across to a deceptively full-length ball which struck middle and leg via the bat and pad. Suddenly we were 10 for 2 and (Nomads' blog cliche time) an awful lot was going to depend on the partnership between Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan. There was an early let-off apiece for the pair with a Khan thunderbolt being put down at Square Leg and a Bradshaw top-edge dropping just short of Short Fine Leg (although this ball may have bounced three times before reaching the bat - I had a Senior Moment as Umpire and had to double-check the No Ball rule with Square Leg Umpire Todorow who admittedly does exude natural authority.)
Undistracted by all this, our batting heroes began to turn the innings round. Bradshaw looking unshiftable and not receiving full reward for some fine Off Side shots thanks to a well-set field. Hassan was fairly cautious until around 20 when a full toss received the full treatment and was past the straight boundary in under a second, almost via the bowler's and umpire's heads. This was Hassan's cue to take charge, with imperious use of his feet against some decent bowling, he raced from 20 to 50 at better than a run a ball. He reached his half-century with the score on around 80 and the fine progress continued to 100 at which point the century stand and victory seemed inevitable. Mark Bradshaw had done a vital job in the supporting role but the awkward Hasan pinned him back on his stumps and somehow found the way through with the score on 100. Nomads were still favourites but the match was right back on a knife-edge when Wijedena bowled Darwin first ball.
There were 2 ways to play this; the middle order to play themselves in and support Hassan, or for Nomads stroke-makers to blast their way to victory against the change bowlers. Riaz inevitably chose the latter option with a rapid and useful 13 and, while Hassan played the shot of the day with a towering 4 just short of the rope off the dangerous quickish spinner Flannery, Abdul did a Riaz impersonation also for 13. At 136 for 6 we were still well in charge while Hassan remained, but when he lofted a drive towards long-on there were a few anxious glances over at Emil and John to see if they were padded up. The chance went down though and No. 8 Sami quickly steered us to a fine victory.
A great day all in all. We witnessed dominating batting from Hassan (9 fours in his 73 not out) with typically gritty support from Mark. The Super Six all did their job and Abdul's early brilliance in the field inspired us to shine despite the heat. Wimbledon United are always very pleasant opponents and we look forward to the return fixture on June 8th.
Wimbledon United 141 all out (Herbert 41) from 39.4 overs.
Sami 8-2-18-1
H. Khan 7.4-0-14-2
Abdul Khan 6-1-26-1
Abbas Khan 6-0-27-0
R. Khan 6-1-22-2
E. Todorow 6-0-29-2
Clapham Nomads 142 for 6 from 35.5 overs
M. Bradshaw 27
M. Vyas 1
P. Pattiyil 0
H. Khan not out 73
D. Gunawardena 0
R. Khan 13
Abdul Khan 13
Sami not out 5
Did not bat; E. Todorow, Abbas Khan, J, Crossland
F.O.W. - 5, 10, 100, 101, 120, 136
Man of the Match - Hassan Khan
Fielder of the Day - Abdul Khan
Clapham Nomads won by 4 wickets
Wednesday 14 May 2014
Clapham Nomads v Long Ditton - 11/5/14
Nomads were defeated for the first time this season but it was yet another close game. We finally went down by 6 runs in a fluctuating encounter that we had chances to win. 30 overs a side was agreed on as dark clouds encircled Raynes Park Sports Ground. In the event, the weather brightened and we could have played our usual 35. Long Ditton made 128 for 7 from 30 overs with Abdul returning the best bowling figures; 3 for 16. Nomads were 122 all out in reply with Riaz top-scoring on 29. I didn't play in this one myself. I was 12th Man anyway but I was head-hunted by Barnes Occasionals to play on the next pitch against Kingston Lefthanders which was an even closer game than Nomads/Ditton and not as controversial as I was expecting. I was able to glance across at the Nomads match and I could tell it was played in good spirit - other Nomads confirmed this. It has been a bit of a vintage season so far. Next up...Wimbledon United away.
Full report and stats to follow when I get the scorebook back.
MORE ON THIS GAME ..... Long Ditton won the toss and made a very sound start with the bat despite tight spells from opening bowlers Abbas and Hassan. Acceleration was made from 20 off 7 overs up to 71 for 0 at the 15-over drinks break. Emil Todorow found the breakthrough at 76 but the momentum continued and, at 90 for 1, a stern question seemed about to be set to our batting line-up. Fortunately, our front-line bowlers are not known as The Super Six for nothing and, led by Abdul with an important 3 for 16, Nomads roared back into the contest. Between overs 19 and 30 excellent bowling and fielding prevented the Away side's middle order from settling and the innings closed on 128 for 7 which was lower than had seemed likely at any stage of the knock.
Our reply began brightly with a first-ball boundary from Mark Bradshaw but we soon settled down to some hard work against awkward bowling, especially from B. Cheema who claimed the crucial scalp of Bradshaw which was swiftly followed by the running out of Mahesh Vyas. Both openers were back in the pavilion before 20 had been scored and there was a further blow on 29 with the loss of Hassan. Nomads recovered with classy attacking batting from Prasanth, Darwin, Riaz and Abdul. Long Ditton had some very young bowlers but they were no mugs and fast scoring was never without risk. At 103 for 5 Clapham were clear favourites but then a familiar slide took place. Riaz fell for 29 (a welcome return to form though), and was followed fairly quickly by Abdul and Sami. Suddenly we were 6 runs short with Emil, Abbas and John to bat in a scenario horribly remininscent of our tied match against Surbiton Imperials in April. 7 needed off 3 overs. Todorow got his head down and tried to consolidate and wait for the bad ball but it didn't come; just a Jaffa from Cheema to send the skipper on his way. John Crossland strode out and this was a fascinating situation, given his comments on the tied game. Unfortunately, he didn't have too long to reflect on this, failing to pick up another good one from Cheema to end Nomads' valiant attempt on 122 all out.
Third good game in a row though. I hope this will become a regular fixture. Man of the Match was Abdul who returned clearly the best bowling figures and hit 18 late on which took us close to the line. Fielder of the Day was Hassan with a catch and a run out.
Long Ditton 128 for 7 from 30 overs
Abbas Khan 6-0-16-0
Hassan Khan 4-0-14-0
Emil Todorow 5-0-39-1
Sami 6-1-24-1
Abdul Khan 6-1-16-3
Riaz Khan 3-0-16-1
Clapham Nomads 122 all out from 27.5 overs
Mark Bradshaw b B. Cheema 8
Mahesh Vyas run out 5
Prasanth Pattiyil run out 19
Hassan Khan stumped b C. Neely 6
Darwin Gunawardena b Hughes 20
Riaz Khan c b Williams 29
Abdul Khan c b I. Neely 18
Sami b O. Neely 7
Emil Todorow (capt) b B. Cheema 0
Abbas Khan not out 0
John Crossland b B. Cheema 0
F.O.W. - 16. 19, 29, 56, 88, 103, 114, 122, 122, 122
Clapham Nomads lost by 6 runs
Full report and stats to follow when I get the scorebook back.
MORE ON THIS GAME ..... Long Ditton won the toss and made a very sound start with the bat despite tight spells from opening bowlers Abbas and Hassan. Acceleration was made from 20 off 7 overs up to 71 for 0 at the 15-over drinks break. Emil Todorow found the breakthrough at 76 but the momentum continued and, at 90 for 1, a stern question seemed about to be set to our batting line-up. Fortunately, our front-line bowlers are not known as The Super Six for nothing and, led by Abdul with an important 3 for 16, Nomads roared back into the contest. Between overs 19 and 30 excellent bowling and fielding prevented the Away side's middle order from settling and the innings closed on 128 for 7 which was lower than had seemed likely at any stage of the knock.
Our reply began brightly with a first-ball boundary from Mark Bradshaw but we soon settled down to some hard work against awkward bowling, especially from B. Cheema who claimed the crucial scalp of Bradshaw which was swiftly followed by the running out of Mahesh Vyas. Both openers were back in the pavilion before 20 had been scored and there was a further blow on 29 with the loss of Hassan. Nomads recovered with classy attacking batting from Prasanth, Darwin, Riaz and Abdul. Long Ditton had some very young bowlers but they were no mugs and fast scoring was never without risk. At 103 for 5 Clapham were clear favourites but then a familiar slide took place. Riaz fell for 29 (a welcome return to form though), and was followed fairly quickly by Abdul and Sami. Suddenly we were 6 runs short with Emil, Abbas and John to bat in a scenario horribly remininscent of our tied match against Surbiton Imperials in April. 7 needed off 3 overs. Todorow got his head down and tried to consolidate and wait for the bad ball but it didn't come; just a Jaffa from Cheema to send the skipper on his way. John Crossland strode out and this was a fascinating situation, given his comments on the tied game. Unfortunately, he didn't have too long to reflect on this, failing to pick up another good one from Cheema to end Nomads' valiant attempt on 122 all out.
Third good game in a row though. I hope this will become a regular fixture. Man of the Match was Abdul who returned clearly the best bowling figures and hit 18 late on which took us close to the line. Fielder of the Day was Hassan with a catch and a run out.
Long Ditton 128 for 7 from 30 overs
Abbas Khan 6-0-16-0
Hassan Khan 4-0-14-0
Emil Todorow 5-0-39-1
Sami 6-1-24-1
Abdul Khan 6-1-16-3
Riaz Khan 3-0-16-1
Clapham Nomads 122 all out from 27.5 overs
Mark Bradshaw b B. Cheema 8
Mahesh Vyas run out 5
Prasanth Pattiyil run out 19
Hassan Khan stumped b C. Neely 6
Darwin Gunawardena b Hughes 20
Riaz Khan c b Williams 29
Abdul Khan c b I. Neely 18
Sami b O. Neely 7
Emil Todorow (capt) b B. Cheema 0
Abbas Khan not out 0
John Crossland b B. Cheema 0
F.O.W. - 16. 19, 29, 56, 88, 103, 114, 122, 122, 122
Clapham Nomads lost by 6 runs
Monday 5 May 2014
Clapham Nomads v Barnes Occasionals - 4/5/14
Excellent bowling and fielding saw Nomads (116 all out) close out a 22-run victory over Barnes Occasionals at an unusually idyllic Nursery Road. Abdul Khan top-scored with 44 for Clapham. For Barnes, Keith Seed proved almost unplayable with 5 for 13 (? the best bowling figures in Occasionals v Nomads / Open University games.) Scores, report, analysis and trivia to follow.
Barnes inserted Nomads on a beautiful spring afternoon and the reliable pair Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas dug in against Tom Hooker - just above Medium - and the flight, swing and trickery of Ollie Hogg.
7 overs were seen off. 17 for 1 with few alarms on a Nursery Road pitch that behaved well but was a touch slow. I got the impression that the track might benefit Occasionals' bowlers whose average pace is a notch below Nomads' but whose accuracy is sometimes a notch above.
Hogg in particular can be a handful. He does a bit with the ball at below Medium and he chucks in the occasional loose ball to tempt the batting side. A judiciously-set leg-side field prevented Vyas from cashing in on two of his favourite full tosses and, perhaps frustrated, our opener holed out on the penultimate ball of Hogg's 4th over. 18 for 1.
This brought Hassan Khan out to join Bradshaw and an air of calm assurance descended as the pair went about their usual business of building a major stand.
I was starting to think we were fortunate not to be facing Keith Seed on a pitch that looked tailor-made for him but I was aware that Barnes had only 10 men on the field. As this thought crossed my mind, the legendary maestro himself appeared through a gap in the fence from the adjacent Abbey Rec. Once he had the ball it didn't take him long. Mark Bradshaw, who had played well for his 19, tried to drive back over the bowler's head and Seed held onto a smart catch.
No. 4 Darwin pulled Gohar for an emphatic 4 but Seed had him in his second over. His third over accounted for Hassan, who sportingly walked after a thin edge to the keeper, and Riaz Khan, who has not yet recovered his form of last September. He surely will soon and it will be worth watching.
At this stage - 60 for 5 - Seed was 4 for 4 from 14 balls and Nomads were on the slippery slope. Fortunately there was depth to our batting as Abdul Khan was joined by Gul. Abdul was the one batsman to cut loose in this match. Unfortunately I missed most of his innings because of tea duties but the figures tell the story; 44 runs including eight 4s (the other Nomads only managed 3 boundaries between them.) Gul was struggling with a neck injury but gave Abdul solid support before being hit and retiring on 89. Sami continued the good work for a while as did Emil Todorow and, when he bravely returned, Gul.
116 for 6 with just under 3 overs to go and Nomads hoping for 130 (slightly above par for the pitch), but Tom Hooker struck two mortal blows, removing Abdul and Abbas. Keith Seed secured his "Michelle", trapping Todorow leg before. John Crossland was No. 11. He talked last week at great length about people blocking at the death and that is just what he did this time, but the 4 dot balls he played at least enabled Gul to take strike for the final over. A fully-fit Gul would surely have knocked 5 or 6 but Hooker was offering nothing for free and snapped up the 10th wicket with the catch taken by Nigel Pettitt.
The last 4 wickets had crashed on 116. There were a few tea-time whispers from Nomads that this might be enough but my feeling was that a vastly-experienced Barnes line-up would eat 3.4 an over for breakfast if we were at all wayward.
Roger Price and A.Metcalfe opened for a Barnes batting order that looked full of experience, but lacked their batting stars of recent fixtures against Nomads; Rohit Benjamin and J. Bunyan. Hassan Khan bowled Metcalfe early on and, as the batsman put his kit away, he told his team-mates that he doesn't really enjoy playing against the Nomads anyway. On seeing 2 members of the home side behind him, he assured us that this was because of our fearsome ruthlessness.... and that was even without Emil Todorow opening the bowling. The ever-reliable Price - who has made several large scores against us - began to hit it around nicely without getting full reward for his shots on the slowish outfield. No. 3 T. Edwards proved an able partner and steady progress was made up to 40 with the asking rate flickering between 3.5 and 4.5 throughout economical spells from Hassan and Sami. Abdul and Emil replaced these two and just as Barnes were looking slight favourites, the 2 Nomads stalwarts combined for an absolutely vital wicket; Emil inducing an uppish, though powerful, drive from Edwards which was very well caught by Abdul deep behind the bowler's head.
At drinks there was an amazing festival of facial hair as one of the Barnes umpires, who had a debonair waxed/shaped moustache in the style of a Victorian Lieutenant-Colonel or an Edwardian Dandy (or possibly the other way round), was deep in conversation with John Crossland, who has such an excellent 'tache himself that he has appeared as an Extra in Film/TV Productions featuring large crowds of Victorians, and Emil Todorow whose hair has been commented on favourably, in terms of both quantity and quality, many times on this blog. Soon John praised the Barnes man's lip furniture; "I would love to have a moustache like that, but I would be worried I would get comments."
The cricket would have to go some to match that and the game hung quite excitingly in the balance as Price and Barnes's keeper pushed the score up to 67 but both men fell to Riaz Khan in the space of four runs. Carey (predominantly defensive but played a a couple of nice shots) and Nigel Pettitt came together. Four or five of the mighty blows Pettitt has shown us in the past could have won the game quickly. He played well enough for 8 but couldn't cut loose against some Nomads bowling and fielding which just got better and better as the innings progressed. No 7 was Dan Hogg, nephew of Ollie and son of Adam (the Hogg dynasty must rival the Hunters as one of Sunday Cricket's foremost families). Dan is left-handed and with a couple of fine leg-side shots looked the last real hope of scoring at the 8 an over required by this stage. Fortunately Riaz Khan deployed his uncanny knack of dismissing left-handers.
90 for 6 and Nomads kept the jugular firmly grasped. Back came Hassan and the innings petered out rather similarly to Nomads' with wickets falling on 91, 91, 93 and 94, climaxing with Hassan and John Crossland combining well to run out Man of the Match Keith Seed.
This was a really impressive team performance, especially in the field, from Nomads. Our Man of the Match, despite excellent bowling figures from Hassan, Sami and Riaz, was Abdul with by far the largest score and a crucial catch. The fielding was great to watch. Abdul was excellent as always as was John Crossland. Mark Bradshaw was sharp, made a fine diving stop and kept us on our toes with vocal encouragement. I will give Fielder of the Day to Emil who stopped everything that came at him and showed one nifty piece of footwork which had one of the Barnes spectators purring; "Ooh I say! Hristo Stoichkov!"
Clapham Nomads 116 from 34.1 overs
M.Bradshaw c and b Seed 19
M.Vyas c b O.Hogg 5
H.Khan c Makahewicz b Seed 24
D.Gunawardena c b Seed 6
R.Khan c b Seed 0
Abdul Khan b Hooker 44
Gul c Pettitt b Hooker 1
Sami b D.Hogg 3
E.Todorow lbw b Seed 3
Abbas Khan b Hooker 0
J.Crossland not out 0
F.O.W. - 18, 45, 58, 60, 60, 108, 116, 116, 116, 116
(Barnes bowling)
T. Hooker 6.1-1-10-3
O. Hogg 7-1-20-1
D. Hogg 7-1-22-1
G. Akhtar 4-0-27-0
K. Seed 7-2-12-5
N. Pettitt 3-0-24-0
Barnes Occasionals 94 from 33.2 overs
R.Price c Abbas Khan b R. Khan 39
A. Metcalfe b H. Khan 2
T. Edwards c Abdul Khan b Todorow 13
P. Makahewicz b R. Khan 7
P. Carey b Abdul Khan 4
N. Pettitt b Sami 8
D. Hogg b R. Khan 10
T. Hooker b H. Khan 0
G.Akhtar b H. Khan 0
K.Seed run out 2
O. Hogg not out 1
F.O.W. - 8, 40, 67, 71, 73, 90, 91, 91, 93, 94
(Nomads bowling)
Sami 6-2-10-1
H. Khan 6.2-2-7-3
Abbas Khan 4-0-19-0
E. Todorow 5-0-19-1
R. Khan 7-0-15-3
Abdul Khan 5-0-23-1
Since we've been going down Memory Lane lately, I found an old scorecard which I think is the first time some of us (in the guise of Open University cc) came up against the Occasionals. This was 21 years ago, pre-Nomads even, on 18/7/1993 at King George's Field, (?)Tolworth
OU made 120 all out. The line-up was; Nick Lefebve, John Chance, Robert Reader, Dave Hunter (Capt), Graeme Douglas, Dave Stevens, Sai To, Mick Hunter, George Jeffrey, Ian Redmond, Joe Chance.
Barnes made 100 for 6 when the rain came (probably a winning draw for them - just.) Their order; Ollie Hogg, Adam Hogg, Frank Hanmer, Mike Webster, Tagg, Keith Seed, Steve Flower, Williams, Ian Haddow, Merriman.
Keith Seed took 5 wickets in this match as well (nothing really changes) but at least OU managed to take 20 runs from him. I think his 5 for 12 last Sunday might be the best analysis in any Occasionals/OU/Nomads match
Dave Hunter described the 1993 game in the scorebook as a "horrible, bitty, rain-interrupted match." When you think that OU only won 1 game that whole summer, I think this was one of the better performances. Perhaps he was just upset by the surprising absence of Emil Todorow.
Barnes inserted Nomads on a beautiful spring afternoon and the reliable pair Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas dug in against Tom Hooker - just above Medium - and the flight, swing and trickery of Ollie Hogg.
7 overs were seen off. 17 for 1 with few alarms on a Nursery Road pitch that behaved well but was a touch slow. I got the impression that the track might benefit Occasionals' bowlers whose average pace is a notch below Nomads' but whose accuracy is sometimes a notch above.
Hogg in particular can be a handful. He does a bit with the ball at below Medium and he chucks in the occasional loose ball to tempt the batting side. A judiciously-set leg-side field prevented Vyas from cashing in on two of his favourite full tosses and, perhaps frustrated, our opener holed out on the penultimate ball of Hogg's 4th over. 18 for 1.
This brought Hassan Khan out to join Bradshaw and an air of calm assurance descended as the pair went about their usual business of building a major stand.
I was starting to think we were fortunate not to be facing Keith Seed on a pitch that looked tailor-made for him but I was aware that Barnes had only 10 men on the field. As this thought crossed my mind, the legendary maestro himself appeared through a gap in the fence from the adjacent Abbey Rec. Once he had the ball it didn't take him long. Mark Bradshaw, who had played well for his 19, tried to drive back over the bowler's head and Seed held onto a smart catch.
No. 4 Darwin pulled Gohar for an emphatic 4 but Seed had him in his second over. His third over accounted for Hassan, who sportingly walked after a thin edge to the keeper, and Riaz Khan, who has not yet recovered his form of last September. He surely will soon and it will be worth watching.
At this stage - 60 for 5 - Seed was 4 for 4 from 14 balls and Nomads were on the slippery slope. Fortunately there was depth to our batting as Abdul Khan was joined by Gul. Abdul was the one batsman to cut loose in this match. Unfortunately I missed most of his innings because of tea duties but the figures tell the story; 44 runs including eight 4s (the other Nomads only managed 3 boundaries between them.) Gul was struggling with a neck injury but gave Abdul solid support before being hit and retiring on 89. Sami continued the good work for a while as did Emil Todorow and, when he bravely returned, Gul.
116 for 6 with just under 3 overs to go and Nomads hoping for 130 (slightly above par for the pitch), but Tom Hooker struck two mortal blows, removing Abdul and Abbas. Keith Seed secured his "Michelle", trapping Todorow leg before. John Crossland was No. 11. He talked last week at great length about people blocking at the death and that is just what he did this time, but the 4 dot balls he played at least enabled Gul to take strike for the final over. A fully-fit Gul would surely have knocked 5 or 6 but Hooker was offering nothing for free and snapped up the 10th wicket with the catch taken by Nigel Pettitt.
The last 4 wickets had crashed on 116. There were a few tea-time whispers from Nomads that this might be enough but my feeling was that a vastly-experienced Barnes line-up would eat 3.4 an over for breakfast if we were at all wayward.
Roger Price and A.Metcalfe opened for a Barnes batting order that looked full of experience, but lacked their batting stars of recent fixtures against Nomads; Rohit Benjamin and J. Bunyan. Hassan Khan bowled Metcalfe early on and, as the batsman put his kit away, he told his team-mates that he doesn't really enjoy playing against the Nomads anyway. On seeing 2 members of the home side behind him, he assured us that this was because of our fearsome ruthlessness.... and that was even without Emil Todorow opening the bowling. The ever-reliable Price - who has made several large scores against us - began to hit it around nicely without getting full reward for his shots on the slowish outfield. No. 3 T. Edwards proved an able partner and steady progress was made up to 40 with the asking rate flickering between 3.5 and 4.5 throughout economical spells from Hassan and Sami. Abdul and Emil replaced these two and just as Barnes were looking slight favourites, the 2 Nomads stalwarts combined for an absolutely vital wicket; Emil inducing an uppish, though powerful, drive from Edwards which was very well caught by Abdul deep behind the bowler's head.
At drinks there was an amazing festival of facial hair as one of the Barnes umpires, who had a debonair waxed/shaped moustache in the style of a Victorian Lieutenant-Colonel or an Edwardian Dandy (or possibly the other way round), was deep in conversation with John Crossland, who has such an excellent 'tache himself that he has appeared as an Extra in Film/TV Productions featuring large crowds of Victorians, and Emil Todorow whose hair has been commented on favourably, in terms of both quantity and quality, many times on this blog. Soon John praised the Barnes man's lip furniture; "I would love to have a moustache like that, but I would be worried I would get comments."
The cricket would have to go some to match that and the game hung quite excitingly in the balance as Price and Barnes's keeper pushed the score up to 67 but both men fell to Riaz Khan in the space of four runs. Carey (predominantly defensive but played a a couple of nice shots) and Nigel Pettitt came together. Four or five of the mighty blows Pettitt has shown us in the past could have won the game quickly. He played well enough for 8 but couldn't cut loose against some Nomads bowling and fielding which just got better and better as the innings progressed. No 7 was Dan Hogg, nephew of Ollie and son of Adam (the Hogg dynasty must rival the Hunters as one of Sunday Cricket's foremost families). Dan is left-handed and with a couple of fine leg-side shots looked the last real hope of scoring at the 8 an over required by this stage. Fortunately Riaz Khan deployed his uncanny knack of dismissing left-handers.
90 for 6 and Nomads kept the jugular firmly grasped. Back came Hassan and the innings petered out rather similarly to Nomads' with wickets falling on 91, 91, 93 and 94, climaxing with Hassan and John Crossland combining well to run out Man of the Match Keith Seed.
This was a really impressive team performance, especially in the field, from Nomads. Our Man of the Match, despite excellent bowling figures from Hassan, Sami and Riaz, was Abdul with by far the largest score and a crucial catch. The fielding was great to watch. Abdul was excellent as always as was John Crossland. Mark Bradshaw was sharp, made a fine diving stop and kept us on our toes with vocal encouragement. I will give Fielder of the Day to Emil who stopped everything that came at him and showed one nifty piece of footwork which had one of the Barnes spectators purring; "Ooh I say! Hristo Stoichkov!"
Clapham Nomads 116 from 34.1 overs
M.Bradshaw c and b Seed 19
M.Vyas c b O.Hogg 5
H.Khan c Makahewicz b Seed 24
D.Gunawardena c b Seed 6
R.Khan c b Seed 0
Abdul Khan b Hooker 44
Gul c Pettitt b Hooker 1
Sami b D.Hogg 3
E.Todorow lbw b Seed 3
Abbas Khan b Hooker 0
J.Crossland not out 0
F.O.W. - 18, 45, 58, 60, 60, 108, 116, 116, 116, 116
(Barnes bowling)
T. Hooker 6.1-1-10-3
O. Hogg 7-1-20-1
D. Hogg 7-1-22-1
G. Akhtar 4-0-27-0
K. Seed 7-2-12-5
N. Pettitt 3-0-24-0
Barnes Occasionals 94 from 33.2 overs
R.Price c Abbas Khan b R. Khan 39
A. Metcalfe b H. Khan 2
T. Edwards c Abdul Khan b Todorow 13
P. Makahewicz b R. Khan 7
P. Carey b Abdul Khan 4
N. Pettitt b Sami 8
D. Hogg b R. Khan 10
T. Hooker b H. Khan 0
G.Akhtar b H. Khan 0
K.Seed run out 2
O. Hogg not out 1
F.O.W. - 8, 40, 67, 71, 73, 90, 91, 91, 93, 94
(Nomads bowling)
Sami 6-2-10-1
H. Khan 6.2-2-7-3
Abbas Khan 4-0-19-0
E. Todorow 5-0-19-1
R. Khan 7-0-15-3
Abdul Khan 5-0-23-1
Since we've been going down Memory Lane lately, I found an old scorecard which I think is the first time some of us (in the guise of Open University cc) came up against the Occasionals. This was 21 years ago, pre-Nomads even, on 18/7/1993 at King George's Field, (?)Tolworth
OU made 120 all out. The line-up was; Nick Lefebve, John Chance, Robert Reader, Dave Hunter (Capt), Graeme Douglas, Dave Stevens, Sai To, Mick Hunter, George Jeffrey, Ian Redmond, Joe Chance.
Barnes made 100 for 6 when the rain came (probably a winning draw for them - just.) Their order; Ollie Hogg, Adam Hogg, Frank Hanmer, Mike Webster, Tagg, Keith Seed, Steve Flower, Williams, Ian Haddow, Merriman.
Keith Seed took 5 wickets in this match as well (nothing really changes) but at least OU managed to take 20 runs from him. I think his 5 for 12 last Sunday might be the best analysis in any Occasionals/OU/Nomads match
Dave Hunter described the 1993 game in the scorebook as a "horrible, bitty, rain-interrupted match." When you think that OU only won 1 game that whole summer, I think this was one of the better performances. Perhaps he was just upset by the surprising absence of Emil Todorow.
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