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.
Monday 23 June 2014
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
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