Late May Bank Holiday Sunday saw Nomads make the long trip to King George's Field, Ham, the riverside home of our old friends the Barnes Occasionals; a side some of us have been playing against now for 23 years.
Both teams have been struggling slightly for players this season so it was testament to the enduring popularity of this fixture that each side had 12 available, Either that or some of us are too old and sad to have anything else to do on a Bank Holiday weekend.
John Crossland was due for his annual turn as captain. He always used to skipper against Touring Theatres (our weakest opponents) before they folded in 2014, but he can't really be accused of cherry-picking by choosing this fixture as Occasionals are a talented and rather unpredictable side against whom we have a less than fantastic record.
Crossland won the toss and, seeking to maximise our chances of a second win before the end of May, inserted the Home side.
Roger Price and Peter Carey opened for Barnes and Abbas was handed the new ball. Price was out of the blocks immediately, hooking the young Nomads paceman out of the ground. Abbas himself had to retrieve the ball by climbing a high barbed wire fence and negotiating a field full of ponies. Abbas and Riaz tightened it up after this. Price (a talented wicket-keeper/batsman who, it was later revealed, once bowled to England test player Wilf Slack) was looking in ominous form. Usually, once he gets a start, he goes on to make a major and often match-winning score, so we were extremely grateful to bag both openers with the score in the early thirties.
I went for a stroll at this point and watched Richmond Baseball Club playing nearby (Random question.....Do Baseball players ever bat left-handed?). When I returned, a further 30 runs had been added in 10 overs for the loss of one more wicket - an attritional passage of play. There were also some murmurings of discontent that one bowler had been kept on for 10 overs - although admittedly it was an excellent spell from Riaz and you could understand John keeping him on as he is very accurate - a wicketkeeper's dream bowler.
After drinks the tempo increased somewhat. Barnes' two Aussies/Kiwis played nicely and a grey-haired chap, whose name I forget (?? Williams) but who has played against us several times down the years, all played some forceful shots and a total of 180 looked a possibility at one point. Fortunately, Emil Todorow intervened in characteristic style, a slow-ish full toss hitting the pad outside the crease and rolling agonisingly back onto the stumps before exhaustedly dislodging a bail. Someone muttered that "Shit gets wickets" but I must assume that this dismissal was cooked up in Emil's extremely conspiratorial brain.
Further wickets followed and a few of John's field position changes came off. Gul took a very smart catch at Deep Backward Square off Todorow's bowling to remove Barnes' classy left-hander. Nomads then didn't exactly cover themselves in glory by bowling a bouncer at Stan (aged 13 or 14). Riaz bowled the youngster via the edge of the bat in the following over.
Good fielding from Nomads, especially the catching from Gul, KK and Crossland, despite a comedy collision between sub-fielder Nick and Zia, both trying to catch the same skier (my fault, I didn't call, but at least the collision prevented me from dropping it....NL)
Nomads' over rate had not been brilliant and 35 overs had been bowled as the 2 and a half hours ran out with the score on 148 for 9.
Tea was enlivened by the appearance of Andrew West and reminiscences with Keith Seed about the halcyon days of the mid-1990s and feisty matches between the Occasionals and Open University (captained by Dave Hunter.)
The match situation looked well-balanced. Trackside bookies would probably have offered 4-5 both teams for the win and the draw a rank outsider at about 8 to 1, given Nomads' reliance on strokemakers. Hassan had left injured and Nick Lefebve took his place in the batting order. The pitch was producing some very low bounce but we had the men to see us home if things went well.
Paceman Daniel Hogg took an over to find his range and Nomads took advantage with 11 (7 in extras and a pull for 4 from the excellent pinch-hitter KK Khusro.) Warwick Proctor was steadier at the other end and had KK trapped plumb in front in the 4th over but we already had 29 on the board. In the following over, D. Hogg produced the ball of the day to clean bowl Gul. 30 for 2 and this was too close to call. Despite creaking knees, Barnes captain Ollie Hogg came on to bowl a 2-over spell and, though not at his best, inevitably produced at least 3 very awkward deliveries resulting in a close LBW shout and the wicket of Zeeshan who skied the ball to mid-on for Hogg's 705th wicket for the Occasionals. 44 for 3. Prasanth has been in excellent form and with one 4 already in the book, looked the man to steady Nomads' ship. Unfortunately, he didn't quite middle a half volley from Aaron Blair and chipped a catch up to the covers. 53 for 4 and Barnes moving slightly ahead on points.
Zia and Abdul kept up a fair pace with 2 resounding fours from Abdul off the bowling of Stan the highlight, before Blair jagged one back into Abdul's pads for an LBW that was possibly a little generous, especially by Nomads' standards. 83 for 5. 66 to win, ample time but the last of the 2 recognised specialist batsmen at the square. Happily, both players, Zia and Riaz, are in fine form and they continued this with a high-quality stand full of shots, the highlight was the 6 - the only maximum in Nomads' innings - struck by Riaz of the curmudgeonly bowling of Keith Seed, a notoriously difficult bowler to get after on a tricky pitch. At 128 for 5, Nomads were clear favourites for the first time but Zia was well-caught and, 6 runs later, an even better catch removed Riaz to tilt the balance back to the home side once more.
Fortunately, D. Hogg and Blair bowled some short leg-side stuff at No. 9 Nick Lefebve and the veteran was able to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Abbas then departed to make the score 143 for 8. Lefebve at the crease, Todorow and Crossland to come. 6 to win. 4.1 overs to go. You would have to say that there was a fair chance of any of the 4 results (including a tie) with a draw possibly the slight favourite. There is always potential for controversy and tragicomedy in any stand between Lefebve/Todorow/Crossland - you would think they would all have a telepathic understanding after over 30 years of acquaintance; but no. On this day though, Nick and Emil played it out calmly with a few singles before the ball flicked off Nick's pad for a likely 2 which would level the scores. "Come the **** on!!" the younger man bellowed at his partner, desperate for a tie, before both realised that the ball had crossed the boundary line and a hard-fought victory had been secured.
I have to say that there was a bit of bad feeling around, especially regarding some of the captaincy decisions, but I hope this won't put anyone off playing. We really enjoy having our current players in the side. Normally, we are very careful to make sure everyone gets a fair slice of the action and we appreciate people giving up their precious days off and paying to play. Please stick with it and let the good times continue.
John came out with a good quote while he was justifying his bowling changes (or lack of changes.) "I just couldn't afford to give away too many runs," he said. "It is not as it we have got Nick Cook batting for us." Hmmm, Nick Cook, the Leicestershire and England spinner from the 1980s. Actually, I'm sure Nick Cook could do a good job for us with the bat; he is probably still only about 60 years old. In fact, if you are reading this, Mr Cook, please get in touch. I think John might have meant Alastair Cook but you are never totally sure with John; he might well have meant Sam Cooke.
Man of the Match was Riaz for another fine knock and a tight, lengthy spell of bowling. Close second was top-scorer Zia. Fielder of the Day was Gul for his fine and crucial catch.
Barnes Occasionals - 148 for 9 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 4-0-19-0
R. Khan 12-2-29-3
Zia 8-1-41-2
E. Todorow 6-1-27-3
KK Khusro 3-1-11-1
Abdul Khan 2-0-14-0
Clapham Nomads - 150 for 8 from 26.5 overs
Gul b D.Hogg 4
KK Khusro lbw Proctor 14
P. Pattiyil c --------- b Blair 5
Zeeshan c -------- b O. Hogg 6
Zia c ---------- b Blair 39
Abdul Khan lbw Blair 15
R. Khan c -------- b D.Hogg 24
Abbas Khan b D.Hogg 4
N. Lefebve not out 13
E. Todorow not out 1
Did not bat; J. Crossland (cpt/wkt)
Fielded in 1st innings; H. Khan
Clapham Nomads won by 2 wickets
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