Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 20/8/17

Nomads beat Energy Exiles by 7 wickets at Abbey Rec. Exiles were depleted but, thanks to Hassan for finding them some extra players - including former Nomads 20-20 hero Bilal - they were able to put a side out.

Energy Exiles 117 all out from 32.2 overs

Nomads' bowling

Sami  6.2-2-17-3
Emil  7-0-21-0
Abbas  7-1-30-4
Zia  7-1-16-2
KK  5-0-28-0


Clapham Nomads 120 for 3 from 25.3 overs

Mahesh  7
Darwin  16
Javed  25
Hassan  37 not out
Riaz  19 not out

Did not bat; Zia, KK, Abbas, Sami, Emil (capt), John (Wkt)

F.O.W. - 27, 35, 87

More on this and other recent games to follow soon.

THERE IS NO MATCH NEXT SUNDAY 27th AUGUST AS IT IS BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND WHICH IS ALWAYS A PROBLEM, (We have had many games cancelled on this date)

UPDATE ON EXILES' MATCH;

This game against our fiercest rivals but closest cricketing friends the Energy Exiles looked in doubt the evening before the match as Exiles were down to 6 or 7 players but Emil and Hassan got together to save the day with Hassan finding 3 or 4 extra players to bolster the away side. I'm glad he did as this is always a fixture to savour, particularly as Nomads managed to record our first victory over Energy for 3 years.  At that time, 2014, Exiles were riding high but Hassan played probably the finest innings ever seen from a Nomads player to secure victory. This season, Exiles have been struggling a little for players but they are still very hard to beat.
Energy won the toss and elected to bat on a strip at Abbey Rec, which used to be Merton's best batting venue but must now tip its hat to Cottenham Park in this respect. This track was rather worn and tired. Exiles found it hard going against some excellent pace and seam bowling from Sami, Abbas and Zia - backed up by the trickery and guile of Emil and KK.  The Away side had a fine half-century from skipper Chris Plume to thank (along with sensible support from Andy Wingfield) for achieving some kind of respectability on 117 all out. This is a total that has won several Exiles/Nomads games and come close to winning others so we could not be complacent, given our historical tendency to freeze against these opponents.
An unfortunate early-ish run out saw off Mahesh and then, when Darwin fell on 35 for 2, we had reached a point when less ruthless Nomads line-ups from the past might have thrown it away. We have added a streak of steel to our batting this year though. A useful 25 from Javed was followed by a very controlled 37 not out from Hassan; unusually for him, there was not a single boundary in this knock, but it was a vital innings. Riaz then helped to shove us over the line with 4 boundaries in a cameo 19.
A very satisfying win for Nomads.

Man of the Match - Abbas's spell of 4 for 30 was high-class fast bowling but winning is all-important against the Exiles and the sheer professionalism of Hassan's innings made him Man of the Match.
Fielder of the Day - I missed this game due to work and no-one particularly mentioned the fielding afterwards; but Zia took 2 catches so that is good enough for me.

Nomads won by 7 wickets.