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
Monday 25 August 2014
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.
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