Banstead v Clapham Nomads - 13/8/17

Banstead 196 for 9 declared from 39.5 overs

Nomads' bowling;

Sami  7-1-11-0
Emil  7-0-31-1
Abbas  7-0-43-1
Zia  7-0-44-0
KK  5-0-22-4
Hassan  4-0-35-1
Riaz  1-0-1-1

Clapham Nomads  200 for 6 from 36.2 overs

Mahesh  2
Darwin  25
Javed  0
Hassan  54
Riaz  10
Zia  not out 88
KK  1
Abbas  not out 2
Did not bat; Sami, Emil (capt), John (Wkt)

F.O.W. - 34, 38, 53, 73, 151, 187

Clapham Nomads won by 4 wickets

Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - John.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

REPORT;

Nomads had a home pitch and opponents - Burgh Heath - lined up but the Surrey side were unable to get a team out - they did seem to be in transition when we played them in April.
I thought we were going to miss out as masses of home teams were circling like hungry vultures around the handful of sides who were looking for an Away game. In the end, I had to settle for an Away game but the pain of missing out on a few quid was alleviated by the knowledge that we would be playing on one of the most picturesque grounds in Surrey.  Not that I would be able to attend; it's work work work work work work at the moment but at least Nomads always seem to win when I don't turn up.
We last played at Banstead in 2002 and held on for a losing draw. I think it was Abdul's debut. Nomads are much stronger this season though, and Banstead had assured me they were Weak-Medium, so we looked set for a decent game.
As ever with this type of opponent, the pitch was excellent and the Home side had its share of well-coached youngsters who are very hard to shift on a good track.  Banstead did bat well but Nomads kept their shape with the ball and in the field.  Sami, although he didn't get a wicket, had absolutely excellent figures, going for only 11 off his 7 overs.  This is some achievement on such a good wicket - equivalent to bowling a couple of maidens in a T-20.  It was KK, slightly unorthodox and with a little more variety than some of the other bowlers, who really found the key and he took 4 for 22.  The fielding looks in the book as if it was a great effort with 5 catches taken and a run out.  Banstead declared on 196 for 9.
Clapham were up against a high class opening  bowler in Kugathas and, this being a time game, he got through 13 overs taking 4 for 43 with 6 maidens. In many seasons, that would have been crucial, but this is one of the best batting line-ups Nomads have been able to boast and we chased down a famous victory. A cracking start from Darwin with a rapid 25 had us 34 for 0. A mini-collapse dragged us down to 73 for 4 but this brought together the Dream Team of Hassan and Zia and this pair have been mostly unstoppable this season. Hassan fell just after reaching a vital half-century to make the score 151 for 5. Zia then took over and put on 36 for the 6th wicket with KK. (KK only scored 1 of these but played a useful supporting role.)
Zia just got better and better and raced from 60 to victory with three sixes and a couple of fours with Abbas keeping the other end intact. Zia was 88 when we ran out of target but he would surely have made his first Nomads century had Banstead scored 20 or so more.
An excellent and enjoyable day out and a good warm-up for the important business - The Exiles next week.

Nomads won by 4 wickets