Sorry, I've been very busy....and lazy, but I will put the 2018 averages on the blog soon.
We will have the Annual Meeting on a Sunday in February at Mirch Masala or maybe Namak Mandi if I can remember to book it. Nick
Thursday 20 December 2018
Thursday 27 September 2018
Corrected bowling figures, John's report and averages
I have got the correct bowling figures for the India Legends match now so I will change the ones I entered in my report (they were estimates) soon. John has made a report on this match which I will also put on, along with the averages for 2018. Nick
Wednesday 19 September 2018
India Legends v Clapham Nomads - 16/9/18
For what was supposed to be the last game of the season, Nomads made the long journey to play India Legends (formerly Team India A) at Bromley Common cc. "The Common" are a Kent Premier League side and I cannot praise their set-up highly enough. Lovely facilities. We met the groundsman and found that he was chosen as Kent Premier groundsman of the year for 2018 which meant that we were, theoretically, playing on one of the best 20 or so pitches (below county level) in the country. It did play well; possibly a bit too well for Nomads as we tend to struggle to dismiss or restrict good players on a top class pitch far more than our batters benefit from the surface.
The Legends adopted the "anything down leg side is a wide" rule which was an interesting innovation - in the 1990s - and also allowed players to retire and return later in the innings.
Skipper Emil Todorow won the toss and batted. Mahesh, who has been struggling for runs, immediately showed very good determination and looked unshiftable at the crease. There was an unfortunate run out which saw Abdul depart with the score on 12 and then Darwin fell, having hit one resounding 4, on 23. A fine half-century stand between Mahesh and Hasan ended unfortunately with a superb jumping catch from Short Backward Point to dismiss the legendary all-rounder. 78 for 3.
Zia came out needing 46 to break Hasan's all-time record for runs in a season but Mahesh fell victim to the first of three unlucky "played on" dismissals in our innings as he seemed to have middled a leg glance but must have fetched it from outside off as the ball crashed into the base of leg stump. 90 for 4.
There were horses in the field beyond the ground and these creatures should have been nervous as Zia found his touch; sure enough, the ball soon sailed over the sightscreen and fence for 6. Next time I looked up, the beasts had removed themselves to the next field - possibly still within Riaz's range, though Riaz had fallen caught behind just after Mahesh when attempting to pull the wily leg-spinner Puneet.
Zia and Sami kept up some momentum but this was a phase of regular vociferous appeals and more cries of "plum / plumb" than Covent Garden Fruit and Veg market. In truth, only one of these shouts was plumb and this was duly given; Sami trapped in front of Off and Middle for 6.
Zia was bearing down on the record, and a 7th successive half-century, and when we called to scorer Crossland for an update, he confirmed that the star middle order player was on 46 and had achieved the record. As if to celebrate, he went for one of his massive straight hits but, surprisingly, it dipped into the hands of a swooping Long Off. 693 runs in a season, an outstanding performance and 7 successive scores of over 45 is incredible - some players (NL) have not achieved half of these 45 plusses in 29 seasons, never mind in consecutive games.
Before this, KK and Abbas had both been unlucky to be out Played On.
By now only Emil and John remained and it was hoped they might provide some entertainment and drama as they did in this fixture last year. Sadly it was not to be as Emil tried to pull the wrong ball and we were all out for 159 with 6.1 overs unused and Wides on 33 being the second top scorer.
After a very light tea, Clapham took the field but some short bowling and the old school wides rule had the Legends on 24 for 0 after 2 overs.
The rest of Abbas's spell - opening from the Pavilion End - was good and then Riaz made the breakthrough with the score on about 50. Sami was also pretty good. The Legends had won 7 of their 8 games this season and it was going to be very difficult to dismiss them for under 160 on such an immaculate strip. Zia induced a false leg-side clip, resulting in a neat catch for Abdul at Deep Square Leg. Nomads groundfielding was excellent and there were 2 classy catches from Keeper John Crossland, one off KK's first ball and one that could just about be called a diving effort, and a further catch - probably the best of the lot - from Abbas who ran a good 10 yards to pouch it at Long On. The bowlers kept their heads and bowled commendably few wides and a few close-looking decisions went against us. There were 2 brief glimmers of hope when the 4th wicket fell with 65 still needed and the 5th wicket went down with over 50 required. India's fast start meant they only needed to bat sensibly to close out the victory and they seemed to bat most of the way down, and despite Hasan coming on to bowl some spin, they finished the job off in some style with almost 10 overs to spare.
So probably our heaviest defeat of 2018 against a team who have had an excellent year (their skipper confirmed they often post 230 or 240) but overall our season has probably been a bit better than the final tally of 6 wins and 7 defeats would indicate. Most games have been close.
Man of the Match is once again Zia whose 46 gave our total some respectability and clinched the all-time batting record.
Fielder of the Day is John Crossland who took 2 good catches and stopped at least a dozen bullet throws in from all parts of the ground and saved a hatful of overthrows.
There was talk of arranging another fixture for 23/9 but I have not been able to do so, which is probably just as well as it has rained most of the day today (Sat 22/9) and is forecast to do so tomorrow in the form of thunderstorms.
Clapham Nomads 159 from 33.1 overs
Mahesh 26
Abdul 2
Darwin 9
Hasan 23
Zia 46
Riaz 0
Sami 6
KK 0
Abbas 6
Emil (capt) 1
John (wkt) 0
(Sub-Fielder - Nick)
F.O.W. - 12, 23, 78, 90, 90, 133, 144, 157, 159, 159
India Legends 161 for 5 from 30.3 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 6-0-23-0
Emil 3-0-20-0
Sami 3-0-16-0
Riaz 3-0-16-1
Zia 6-0-33-1
KK 6.5-0-35-3
Hasan 2-0-11-0
Abdul 1-0-5-0
Nomads lost by 5 wickets.
UPDATE - I have corrected the bowling figures as I have received the scorecard from the opposition.
A couple of bits in my report will have been slightly wrong. Abbas was the most economical bowler (his first over was quite expensive so his last 5 were excellent.)
JOHN'S REPORT -
Mahesh found a bit of form but otherwise only Hasan with 23 and Zia, who made 46 and beat the Nomads record for most runs scored in a season, made wothwhile contributions. When Zia was cught on the boundary, Nomads' hopes of getting a decent total went out of the window. Too much rests on these 2 to get runs.
159 was never likely to be enough and so it proved with India Legends winning by 5 wickets with nearly 10 overs to spare. JC.
AVERAGES - Now that I have got the correct figures for this match I will post the averages on here soon.
The Legends adopted the "anything down leg side is a wide" rule which was an interesting innovation - in the 1990s - and also allowed players to retire and return later in the innings.
Skipper Emil Todorow won the toss and batted. Mahesh, who has been struggling for runs, immediately showed very good determination and looked unshiftable at the crease. There was an unfortunate run out which saw Abdul depart with the score on 12 and then Darwin fell, having hit one resounding 4, on 23. A fine half-century stand between Mahesh and Hasan ended unfortunately with a superb jumping catch from Short Backward Point to dismiss the legendary all-rounder. 78 for 3.
Zia came out needing 46 to break Hasan's all-time record for runs in a season but Mahesh fell victim to the first of three unlucky "played on" dismissals in our innings as he seemed to have middled a leg glance but must have fetched it from outside off as the ball crashed into the base of leg stump. 90 for 4.
There were horses in the field beyond the ground and these creatures should have been nervous as Zia found his touch; sure enough, the ball soon sailed over the sightscreen and fence for 6. Next time I looked up, the beasts had removed themselves to the next field - possibly still within Riaz's range, though Riaz had fallen caught behind just after Mahesh when attempting to pull the wily leg-spinner Puneet.
Zia and Sami kept up some momentum but this was a phase of regular vociferous appeals and more cries of "plum / plumb" than Covent Garden Fruit and Veg market. In truth, only one of these shouts was plumb and this was duly given; Sami trapped in front of Off and Middle for 6.
Zia was bearing down on the record, and a 7th successive half-century, and when we called to scorer Crossland for an update, he confirmed that the star middle order player was on 46 and had achieved the record. As if to celebrate, he went for one of his massive straight hits but, surprisingly, it dipped into the hands of a swooping Long Off. 693 runs in a season, an outstanding performance and 7 successive scores of over 45 is incredible - some players (NL) have not achieved half of these 45 plusses in 29 seasons, never mind in consecutive games.
Before this, KK and Abbas had both been unlucky to be out Played On.
By now only Emil and John remained and it was hoped they might provide some entertainment and drama as they did in this fixture last year. Sadly it was not to be as Emil tried to pull the wrong ball and we were all out for 159 with 6.1 overs unused and Wides on 33 being the second top scorer.
After a very light tea, Clapham took the field but some short bowling and the old school wides rule had the Legends on 24 for 0 after 2 overs.
The rest of Abbas's spell - opening from the Pavilion End - was good and then Riaz made the breakthrough with the score on about 50. Sami was also pretty good. The Legends had won 7 of their 8 games this season and it was going to be very difficult to dismiss them for under 160 on such an immaculate strip. Zia induced a false leg-side clip, resulting in a neat catch for Abdul at Deep Square Leg. Nomads groundfielding was excellent and there were 2 classy catches from Keeper John Crossland, one off KK's first ball and one that could just about be called a diving effort, and a further catch - probably the best of the lot - from Abbas who ran a good 10 yards to pouch it at Long On. The bowlers kept their heads and bowled commendably few wides and a few close-looking decisions went against us. There were 2 brief glimmers of hope when the 4th wicket fell with 65 still needed and the 5th wicket went down with over 50 required. India's fast start meant they only needed to bat sensibly to close out the victory and they seemed to bat most of the way down, and despite Hasan coming on to bowl some spin, they finished the job off in some style with almost 10 overs to spare.
So probably our heaviest defeat of 2018 against a team who have had an excellent year (their skipper confirmed they often post 230 or 240) but overall our season has probably been a bit better than the final tally of 6 wins and 7 defeats would indicate. Most games have been close.
Man of the Match is once again Zia whose 46 gave our total some respectability and clinched the all-time batting record.
Fielder of the Day is John Crossland who took 2 good catches and stopped at least a dozen bullet throws in from all parts of the ground and saved a hatful of overthrows.
There was talk of arranging another fixture for 23/9 but I have not been able to do so, which is probably just as well as it has rained most of the day today (Sat 22/9) and is forecast to do so tomorrow in the form of thunderstorms.
Clapham Nomads 159 from 33.1 overs
Mahesh 26
Abdul 2
Darwin 9
Hasan 23
Zia 46
Riaz 0
Sami 6
KK 0
Abbas 6
Emil (capt) 1
John (wkt) 0
(Sub-Fielder - Nick)
F.O.W. - 12, 23, 78, 90, 90, 133, 144, 157, 159, 159
India Legends 161 for 5 from 30.3 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 6-0-23-0
Emil 3-0-20-0
Sami 3-0-16-0
Riaz 3-0-16-1
Zia 6-0-33-1
KK 6.5-0-35-3
Hasan 2-0-11-0
Abdul 1-0-5-0
Nomads lost by 5 wickets.
UPDATE - I have corrected the bowling figures as I have received the scorecard from the opposition.
A couple of bits in my report will have been slightly wrong. Abbas was the most economical bowler (his first over was quite expensive so his last 5 were excellent.)
JOHN'S REPORT -
Mahesh found a bit of form but otherwise only Hasan with 23 and Zia, who made 46 and beat the Nomads record for most runs scored in a season, made wothwhile contributions. When Zia was cught on the boundary, Nomads' hopes of getting a decent total went out of the window. Too much rests on these 2 to get runs.
159 was never likely to be enough and so it proved with India Legends winning by 5 wickets with nearly 10 overs to spare. JC.
AVERAGES - Now that I have got the correct figures for this match I will post the averages on here soon.
Saturday 15 September 2018
John's report on last game and Zia's total runs etc.
I have gone through the scorebooks and found that Zia has scored 647 runs this season. The missing score was, surprisingly, 0 against Surbiton Imperials and the score I was guessing as 60 (against Gentlemen of Hampstead) was 61. The all-time record for runs scored by one player for Nomads in a season is held by Hasan with 692 runs in 2010.
John also made a report for last Sunday's win over Barnes Occasionals. Here it is;
"Nomads' game against Barnes Occasionals was, in some respects, similar to the previous game at Harrow. This time batting first, the Nomads lost 3 early wickets but then came another huge partnership between Hasan and Zia who is a run machine at the moment. Last week (against Harrow) the pair scored on an unbeaten 157, a club record for the 5th wicket. This time they put on 142 for the 4th wicket with Zia making 91 and Hasan 60. The Nomads finished on 228 for 7 off 35 overs, a score which Barnes Occasionals were unlikely to get. For a change, Nomads held all their catches and Barnes were all out for 145 in the final over of the game.
Strangely enough, 228 was the same score that Harrow made against the Nomads on 2nd September." JC
John also made a report for last Sunday's win over Barnes Occasionals. Here it is;
"Nomads' game against Barnes Occasionals was, in some respects, similar to the previous game at Harrow. This time batting first, the Nomads lost 3 early wickets but then came another huge partnership between Hasan and Zia who is a run machine at the moment. Last week (against Harrow) the pair scored on an unbeaten 157, a club record for the 5th wicket. This time they put on 142 for the 4th wicket with Zia making 91 and Hasan 60. The Nomads finished on 228 for 7 off 35 overs, a score which Barnes Occasionals were unlikely to get. For a change, Nomads held all their catches and Barnes were all out for 145 in the final over of the game.
Strangely enough, 228 was the same score that Harrow made against the Nomads on 2nd September." JC
Tuesday 11 September 2018
Clapham Nomads v Barnes Occasionals - 9/9/18
For our last home match of the season, Nomads entertained our oldest cricketing friends Barnes Occasionals at a sunny but somehow still bleak Joseph Hood Rec.
Several of us (Emil, John and I) first met the Occasionals back in 1991 when we were all young (ish). I recently found a results list from the Open University cc who we used to play for and, to disprove that old cliche, "the good old days" found that we lost by 7 wickets to Barnes on our terrible pitch (a public park) Bishops Park - in the shadow of Fulham football ground. I can remember literally nothing about this match but it was the 4th defeat in a run of 12 successive losses for Open University and I am guessing that OU captain Dave Hunter may have had some choice words to say about our performance.
The line-ups would have been something like; OU - Graeme Douglas (wkt), Nick Lefebve, Peter Price, Alan Cotter, Dave Hunter (capt), Peter King, Clive Howard, Joe Chance, John Crossland, Emil Todorow, Nasser........ Barnes would probably have contained Hogg (A), Hogg (O), Seed, Flower, Williams, Webster, Mundy, Lichfield, Hanmer, Tagg..... give or take one or two of these.
Anyway, enough false nostalgia. A rather more robust Nomads line up took the field looking to make it 6 wins and 6 defeats this season. Emil called correctly and chose to bat but we started poorly again. After playing one of the shots of the day - a feather-light leg glance, Mahesh unfortunately picked out the only fielder in a wide arc on the leg side and departed. A slight recovery took us up to 28 but Darwin and Abdul departed in quick succession leaving us in peril at 30 for 3. This brought Hasan and Zia together - could they do it again? They needed to. They did not disappoint and brilliant and remorseless batting added 142 for the 4th wicket. Zia was finally prised out on 91, his 6th successive half-century and Hasan - who has been having a fine season himself - made 60.
170-odd for 5 and we still needed a few more to make it safe as Barnes appeared pretty strong, and good rapid scoring from Abbas, Safi, Sami and KK took us up to 228 for 7 off the full 35. The wickets were shared out and inevitably Keith Seed - who has rarely come away empty-handed against OU or Nomads over the years - pitched in with 2 late strikes.
A quick strike by Emil Todorow (with the help of a nice catch from Darwin) brought on scrutiny of Emil's classical bowling action. Some of the Occasionals speculated that our skipper might be delivering the ball with both his feet off the ground - a feat demanding great athleticism, which admittedly Todorow does possess - and there was even a hopeful and plaintive cry of "No ball" from one of the spectators. It seems clear though that, although Emil does perfom a little skip in his penultimate stride, at least one boot is firmly planted on the turf at the point of delivery. Thank Goodness. It must be hard enough facing Emil anyway; imagine how disconcerting an airborne Todorow would be. Anyway, Emil soared above it all and bowled pretty well, as did Sami at the other end, but Barnes made serene progress with Roger Price, as ever, looking dangerous. At 66, however, Price was adjudged LBW, possibly a little harshly. His 2nd wicket partner soon followed, nicely caught by Sami in the deep, and this just about made us safe. There was some good batting further down from Barnes, particularly from Nick Benz, but excellent catching from Nomads - a superb diving caught and bowled from Abbas and a juggling effort from Sami would have kept the wickets section of the scoreboard rolling (if only we owned a scoreboard.) There was a brilliant direct hit by Zia from 20 yards back and last man Keith Seed was bowled by Safi in the final over in near-darkness to wrap up a solid victory for Clapham. KK was the top wicket-taker with 3. I do think though that, had it been a time match - which is Barnes' preference - the Away side could probably have secured a draw. Anyway, this good win puts Nomads on 6 wins and 6 defeats with all to play for in our final match on Sunday against India Legends.
In the pub afterwards, we found out that Barnes have at least 4 or 5 professional players of the French Horn (and that is not a euphemism.) Nomads cannot match that, although we are quite harmonious on the pitch these days; but in our early days we did have a classical cellist, a jazz composer and a man who had made several appearances on Top of the Pops all in the same line-up.
Clapham Nomads 228 for 7 beat Barnes Occasionals 145 by 83 runs.
Man of the Match - Zia (he has had the most incredible season. I will try to work back through the reports and calculate how many runs he has scored - it must be near a club record.).... Update.... I have been pretty useless at updating this blog this year and I don't have scores for a couple of the matches but Zia's scores have been; 31 not out, 40 not out, 53, ??, 26 not out, 0, 51, 105 not out, approximately 60, 85, 104 not out, 91. This is a total of 646 runs at an average of 92.29. I will get the missing scores from John and the true figure is likely to be about 655 at an average in the mid to high 80s. I think the club record for runs scored in a seaon is 668 (Hasan last year.) .... I HAVE UPDATED THIS IN A NEW POST... Nick.
Fielder of the Day - Sami
Full scores to follow
Clapham Nomads 228 for 7 from 35 overs
Mahesh 2
Abdul 20
Darwin 7
Hasan 60
Zia 91
Safi 5
Abbas 9
KK 9 not out
Sami 10 not out
Did not bat; Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 3, 28, 30, 172, 179, 195, 215
Barnes Occasionals 145 from 34.4 overs (Benz 33, Prasad 35, Price 23)
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 7-2-20-0
Emil 5-0-28-1
KK 7-2-18-3
Abbas 7-0-26-2
Zia 3-0-12-0
Hasan 3-0-19-1
Safi 2.4-0-16-1
F.O.W. - 3, 66, 69, 70, 73, 82, 93, 117, 145, 145
Clapham Nomads won by 83 runs.
Last game of the season this Sunday so after that I will update all the other matches on this blog and do the averages etc. NL
Several of us (Emil, John and I) first met the Occasionals back in 1991 when we were all young (ish). I recently found a results list from the Open University cc who we used to play for and, to disprove that old cliche, "the good old days" found that we lost by 7 wickets to Barnes on our terrible pitch (a public park) Bishops Park - in the shadow of Fulham football ground. I can remember literally nothing about this match but it was the 4th defeat in a run of 12 successive losses for Open University and I am guessing that OU captain Dave Hunter may have had some choice words to say about our performance.
The line-ups would have been something like; OU - Graeme Douglas (wkt), Nick Lefebve, Peter Price, Alan Cotter, Dave Hunter (capt), Peter King, Clive Howard, Joe Chance, John Crossland, Emil Todorow, Nasser........ Barnes would probably have contained Hogg (A), Hogg (O), Seed, Flower, Williams, Webster, Mundy, Lichfield, Hanmer, Tagg..... give or take one or two of these.
Anyway, enough false nostalgia. A rather more robust Nomads line up took the field looking to make it 6 wins and 6 defeats this season. Emil called correctly and chose to bat but we started poorly again. After playing one of the shots of the day - a feather-light leg glance, Mahesh unfortunately picked out the only fielder in a wide arc on the leg side and departed. A slight recovery took us up to 28 but Darwin and Abdul departed in quick succession leaving us in peril at 30 for 3. This brought Hasan and Zia together - could they do it again? They needed to. They did not disappoint and brilliant and remorseless batting added 142 for the 4th wicket. Zia was finally prised out on 91, his 6th successive half-century and Hasan - who has been having a fine season himself - made 60.
170-odd for 5 and we still needed a few more to make it safe as Barnes appeared pretty strong, and good rapid scoring from Abbas, Safi, Sami and KK took us up to 228 for 7 off the full 35. The wickets were shared out and inevitably Keith Seed - who has rarely come away empty-handed against OU or Nomads over the years - pitched in with 2 late strikes.
A quick strike by Emil Todorow (with the help of a nice catch from Darwin) brought on scrutiny of Emil's classical bowling action. Some of the Occasionals speculated that our skipper might be delivering the ball with both his feet off the ground - a feat demanding great athleticism, which admittedly Todorow does possess - and there was even a hopeful and plaintive cry of "No ball" from one of the spectators. It seems clear though that, although Emil does perfom a little skip in his penultimate stride, at least one boot is firmly planted on the turf at the point of delivery. Thank Goodness. It must be hard enough facing Emil anyway; imagine how disconcerting an airborne Todorow would be. Anyway, Emil soared above it all and bowled pretty well, as did Sami at the other end, but Barnes made serene progress with Roger Price, as ever, looking dangerous. At 66, however, Price was adjudged LBW, possibly a little harshly. His 2nd wicket partner soon followed, nicely caught by Sami in the deep, and this just about made us safe. There was some good batting further down from Barnes, particularly from Nick Benz, but excellent catching from Nomads - a superb diving caught and bowled from Abbas and a juggling effort from Sami would have kept the wickets section of the scoreboard rolling (if only we owned a scoreboard.) There was a brilliant direct hit by Zia from 20 yards back and last man Keith Seed was bowled by Safi in the final over in near-darkness to wrap up a solid victory for Clapham. KK was the top wicket-taker with 3. I do think though that, had it been a time match - which is Barnes' preference - the Away side could probably have secured a draw. Anyway, this good win puts Nomads on 6 wins and 6 defeats with all to play for in our final match on Sunday against India Legends.
In the pub afterwards, we found out that Barnes have at least 4 or 5 professional players of the French Horn (and that is not a euphemism.) Nomads cannot match that, although we are quite harmonious on the pitch these days; but in our early days we did have a classical cellist, a jazz composer and a man who had made several appearances on Top of the Pops all in the same line-up.
Clapham Nomads 228 for 7 beat Barnes Occasionals 145 by 83 runs.
Man of the Match - Zia (he has had the most incredible season. I will try to work back through the reports and calculate how many runs he has scored - it must be near a club record.).... Update.... I have been pretty useless at updating this blog this year and I don't have scores for a couple of the matches but Zia's scores have been; 31 not out, 40 not out, 53, ??, 26 not out, 0, 51, 105 not out, approximately 60, 85, 104 not out, 91. This is a total of 646 runs at an average of 92.29. I will get the missing scores from John and the true figure is likely to be about 655 at an average in the mid to high 80s. I think the club record for runs scored in a seaon is 668 (Hasan last year.) .... I HAVE UPDATED THIS IN A NEW POST... Nick.
Fielder of the Day - Sami
Full scores to follow
Clapham Nomads 228 for 7 from 35 overs
Mahesh 2
Abdul 20
Darwin 7
Hasan 60
Zia 91
Safi 5
Abbas 9
KK 9 not out
Sami 10 not out
Did not bat; Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 3, 28, 30, 172, 179, 195, 215
Barnes Occasionals 145 from 34.4 overs (Benz 33, Prasad 35, Price 23)
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 7-2-20-0
Emil 5-0-28-1
KK 7-2-18-3
Abbas 7-0-26-2
Zia 3-0-12-0
Hasan 3-0-19-1
Safi 2.4-0-16-1
F.O.W. - 3, 66, 69, 70, 73, 82, 93, 117, 145, 145
Clapham Nomads won by 83 runs.
Last game of the season this Sunday so after that I will update all the other matches on this blog and do the averages etc. NL
Monday 10 September 2018
Harrow v Clapham Nomads - 2/9/18
Nomads continued our tour of the more picturesque grounds of Middlesex with a trip to the Sudbury Hill home of Harrow cc. The facilities were great, including a bar and a sloping pitch and we had a chance to play with a remote-controlled electronic scoreboard.
The home side were Harrow 4th eleven, basically the fathers of players in their youth team. As expected they were pretty sound and played mainly good orthodox cricket shots after they won the toss and chose to bat in the searing heat.
There was an early wicket for Nomads with an acrobatic diving catch from slip specialist Mahesh Vyas.
Harrow then pushed on and, for most of the innings, the scoring rate fluctuated between 5 and 5.5 per over. Nomads' fielding was a little ragged before drinks and a few chances went down but we gradually improved and some of the ground-fielding towards the end was excellent; Abbas, Safi and Darwin spring to mind for some great stops and commitment and there was a direct hit from Hasan with just one stump to aim at. Abdul also hit the stumps from three quarters of the way back to the boundary but the batsman had just made his ground.
After around 27 overs (with 8 to go) Harrow were on about 155 for 4 but they had wickets in hand and some of Nomads premier bowling options had been used up. I will hand over to John for his report....
........" On a good batting wicket, Harrow's innings had contributions of 70, 66 and a quickfire 24 not out near the end to bring their total up to 228 for 5 off 35 overs. It looked a pretty formidable score.
In reply, Nomads lost 2 wickets in the first over without a run on the board and then another wicket on 25. Abdul and Hasan added 50 before Abdul was bowled off his arm for 26. This brought in Zia and, together with Hasan, he changed the course of the game as they added 157 - a Nomads record for the 5th wicket. Hasan and Zia were both unbeaten, with 74 and 104 respectively, at the finish as Nomads wrapped it up with nearly 3 overs to spare. Zia's form with the bat in recent weeks has been amazing. He hit 3 sixes and 15 fours in his century but Hasan was a bit more restrained in his innings and was happy to let Zia have more of the strike. This, by the way, was Nomads' first win for several weeks although we could and should have won a couple of the recent games if catches had been taken and other things had gone our way." JC.
So, an excellent victory and some of the best batting ever seen from Nomads on a pitch that did have a little help for the bowlers at times. When either the second or third wicket fell, I heard one of the Harrow fielders remark; "Oh well, at least they turned up." We certainly did, and several club records were broken. The 5-wicket stand record which broke my treasured record, shared with Hasan, for the 5th wicket of about 138 (when the fifty partnership came up on that day in 2007, I was still on 0); also probably the fastest century scored for Nomads. Additionally, it was Zia's 5th successive half-century (2 of them were converted into tons) which is quite a rare feat in any form of cricket.
Clapham Nomads won by 6 wickets.
Scores to follow.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Mahesh.
The home side were Harrow 4th eleven, basically the fathers of players in their youth team. As expected they were pretty sound and played mainly good orthodox cricket shots after they won the toss and chose to bat in the searing heat.
There was an early wicket for Nomads with an acrobatic diving catch from slip specialist Mahesh Vyas.
Harrow then pushed on and, for most of the innings, the scoring rate fluctuated between 5 and 5.5 per over. Nomads' fielding was a little ragged before drinks and a few chances went down but we gradually improved and some of the ground-fielding towards the end was excellent; Abbas, Safi and Darwin spring to mind for some great stops and commitment and there was a direct hit from Hasan with just one stump to aim at. Abdul also hit the stumps from three quarters of the way back to the boundary but the batsman had just made his ground.
After around 27 overs (with 8 to go) Harrow were on about 155 for 4 but they had wickets in hand and some of Nomads premier bowling options had been used up. I will hand over to John for his report....
........" On a good batting wicket, Harrow's innings had contributions of 70, 66 and a quickfire 24 not out near the end to bring their total up to 228 for 5 off 35 overs. It looked a pretty formidable score.
In reply, Nomads lost 2 wickets in the first over without a run on the board and then another wicket on 25. Abdul and Hasan added 50 before Abdul was bowled off his arm for 26. This brought in Zia and, together with Hasan, he changed the course of the game as they added 157 - a Nomads record for the 5th wicket. Hasan and Zia were both unbeaten, with 74 and 104 respectively, at the finish as Nomads wrapped it up with nearly 3 overs to spare. Zia's form with the bat in recent weeks has been amazing. He hit 3 sixes and 15 fours in his century but Hasan was a bit more restrained in his innings and was happy to let Zia have more of the strike. This, by the way, was Nomads' first win for several weeks although we could and should have won a couple of the recent games if catches had been taken and other things had gone our way." JC.
So, an excellent victory and some of the best batting ever seen from Nomads on a pitch that did have a little help for the bowlers at times. When either the second or third wicket fell, I heard one of the Harrow fielders remark; "Oh well, at least they turned up." We certainly did, and several club records were broken. The 5-wicket stand record which broke my treasured record, shared with Hasan, for the 5th wicket of about 138 (when the fifty partnership came up on that day in 2007, I was still on 0); also probably the fastest century scored for Nomads. Additionally, it was Zia's 5th successive half-century (2 of them were converted into tons) which is quite a rare feat in any form of cricket.
Clapham Nomads won by 6 wickets.
Scores to follow.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Mahesh.
Thursday 23 August 2018
Hayes v Clapham Nomads - 19/8/18
Nomads made the long trip to Hayes, in the farthest reaches of West London, last Sunday. They are a long-established club and Nomads' captain Emil Todorow was impressed with their set-up, if not the 45-mile round trip to get there.
We lost again and, to mark this, Nomads' wicketkeeper and Founder Member John Crossland has written a report of the game. Here it is;
"After having the opposition 8 wickets down for about 130, we let them off the hook with 4 dropped catches. The Hayes No. 9 scored 70 which was a great effort but he should have been out earlier. None of the missed catches were difficult chances. Hayes rode their luck and made 220 for 9 off 40 overs.
In reply, Nomads were once again indebted to Zia who made 85 with 4 sixes and 11 fours. Unfortunately no-one else could really get going and Nomads were all out for 200. Hasan did not play.
At the moment, Nomads are a one-man team with Zia's batting. His bowling is also very effective of late. He took 3 for 22 in this game." JC.
Emil also added that Zia was brilliantly caught right on the boundary so, if that had gone for 6, he would have been 2 shots away from his second century of the season and Nomads would have been only 15 short of the required total.
Zia has been brilliant over the last month but I (Nick) must point out that there have been plenty of other decent perfomances as well. Although we have lost our last 5 games, there were periods in 4, if not all, of them when we looked to be in a decent position. In fact, all our games this season, with the exception of the 160-run win over Plastics XI, have been reasonably competitive.
No game on 26th August due to the Bank Holiday weekend but we will arrange an away game for 2nd September.
Hayes 220 for 9 from 40 overs
Clapham Nomads 200 all out from ??? overs (Zia 85)
Clapham Nomads lost by 20 runs.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - to be awarded.
Full scores to follow soon.
We lost again and, to mark this, Nomads' wicketkeeper and Founder Member John Crossland has written a report of the game. Here it is;
"After having the opposition 8 wickets down for about 130, we let them off the hook with 4 dropped catches. The Hayes No. 9 scored 70 which was a great effort but he should have been out earlier. None of the missed catches were difficult chances. Hayes rode their luck and made 220 for 9 off 40 overs.
In reply, Nomads were once again indebted to Zia who made 85 with 4 sixes and 11 fours. Unfortunately no-one else could really get going and Nomads were all out for 200. Hasan did not play.
At the moment, Nomads are a one-man team with Zia's batting. His bowling is also very effective of late. He took 3 for 22 in this game." JC.
Emil also added that Zia was brilliantly caught right on the boundary so, if that had gone for 6, he would have been 2 shots away from his second century of the season and Nomads would have been only 15 short of the required total.
Zia has been brilliant over the last month but I (Nick) must point out that there have been plenty of other decent perfomances as well. Although we have lost our last 5 games, there were periods in 4, if not all, of them when we looked to be in a decent position. In fact, all our games this season, with the exception of the 160-run win over Plastics XI, have been reasonably competitive.
No game on 26th August due to the Bank Holiday weekend but we will arrange an away game for 2nd September.
Hayes 220 for 9 from 40 overs
Clapham Nomads 200 all out from ??? overs (Zia 85)
Clapham Nomads lost by 20 runs.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - to be awarded.
Full scores to follow soon.
Saturday 18 August 2018
Clapham Nomads v Gentlemen of Hampstead
The Gents took their revenge for our victory over them last September by recording a victory over Nomads by about 40 runs at Joseph Hood on Sunday the 12th. We did pretty well to restrict them to 160 or so after they looked on course for a big score at one stage. In the second innings Nomads started poorly again and didn't bat too well in truth, but we retained some chance until Zia was given out unluckily LBW for 60-odd. Yes, I was the guilty umpire, and that is something that has been said quite a few times over the years, but almost always by the opposition. We finished on around 125 for 8. The Gents had one particularly good South African bowler who only went for 10 runs off his 7 overs. Next up is Hayes tomorrow, in the shadow of Heathrow Airport...?? our tour match?
Clapham Nomads lost by about 40 runs.
Man of the Match - Zia.
Scores and proper report to follow.
Clapham Nomads lost by about 40 runs.
Man of the Match - Zia.
Scores and proper report to follow.
Saturday 11 August 2018
Clapham Nomads v SW United - 5/8/18
More new opponents for this match at Joseph Hood and it was rather similar to the previous week. Nomads batted first and started poorly but recovered to make a decent total. Our performance was dominated by a superb display with bat, ball and in the field from Zia who made his first century for the club with a blockbusting 105 not out including 17 fours and a six. He dominated good partnerships of 43 for the 7th wicket with Sami (9) and of 76 for the 8th wicket with Abbas (12 not out). Hasan also played well for 37. SW United had an interesting medium pacer, Nafees, who was all angle and subtle variation and ripped the heart out of Clapham's middle order with 3 wickets in 5 balls starting with the crucial wicket of Hasan. Nonetheless it was a decent effort from the home side.
There was a bit of an inquest afterwards in which some of Nomads' more vocal critics said that we started badly with the ball and got worse. However a look at the scorebook shows that SW were 5 for 0 off 2 and then 19 for 2 off 4. After this though, they did get off the leash somewhat and Amit and Malik pretty much did as they pleased during a 3rd wicket stand of 118. Zia dragged us back into some sort of contention with 2 catches including a brilliant caught and bowled. SW always had a bit in hand and, apart from 4 overs from the end when 12 were still needed with only 4 wickets left, the result was never in much doubt from 6 or 7 overs onwards.
A fuller report will follow soon.
Clapham Nomads 198 for 7 from 35 overs
Mahesh 1
Darwin 0
Riaz 11
Hasan 37
Zia 105 not out
KK 0
Javed 0
Sami 9
Abbas 12 not out
Did not bat: Emil (capt), John (wkt) - Substitute fielder (yet again) - Nick
F.o.w. - 3, 15, 45, 71, 79, 79, 122
SW United 199 for 6 from 33 overs (Amit 47; Malik 69)
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 5-0-38-1
Emil 5-1-40-1
Riaz 3-0-25-0
Abbas 7-1-51-1
Zia 7-0-26-0
KK 6-0-18-2
Clapham Nomads lost by 4 wickets
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Zia.
There was a bit of an inquest afterwards in which some of Nomads' more vocal critics said that we started badly with the ball and got worse. However a look at the scorebook shows that SW were 5 for 0 off 2 and then 19 for 2 off 4. After this though, they did get off the leash somewhat and Amit and Malik pretty much did as they pleased during a 3rd wicket stand of 118. Zia dragged us back into some sort of contention with 2 catches including a brilliant caught and bowled. SW always had a bit in hand and, apart from 4 overs from the end when 12 were still needed with only 4 wickets left, the result was never in much doubt from 6 or 7 overs onwards.
A fuller report will follow soon.
Clapham Nomads 198 for 7 from 35 overs
Mahesh 1
Darwin 0
Riaz 11
Hasan 37
Zia 105 not out
KK 0
Javed 0
Sami 9
Abbas 12 not out
Did not bat: Emil (capt), John (wkt) - Substitute fielder (yet again) - Nick
F.o.w. - 3, 15, 45, 71, 79, 79, 122
SW United 199 for 6 from 33 overs (Amit 47; Malik 69)
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 5-0-38-1
Emil 5-1-40-1
Riaz 3-0-25-0
Abbas 7-1-51-1
Zia 7-0-26-0
KK 6-0-18-2
Clapham Nomads lost by 4 wickets
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Zia.
Saturday 4 August 2018
Clapham Nomads v Monty cc
Nomads were due to play new opponents Friends XI but 7 days before the match, the Friends announced that all 11 of them would be attending a wedding. It must have been the Social event of the summer to justify missing a trip to play Clapham Nomads at a deserted Raynes Park Rec in steady drizzle - and a chance to meet Andrew West, but I hope it was a nice day and best wishes to the happy couple.
Anyway, Nomads had the bonus of meeting very pleasant new opponents in Monty CC who had some familiar faces with a smattering of Burgh Heath players and also the Sunday cricket legend Khalid who has turned out for most south-west London teams including the Nomads and Surbiton Imperials.
Nomads did brilliantly well to recover from 19 for 3 to the heights of 224 for 8 off the full 30. The pitch was a bit erratic and bouncy but it can't have helped Monty bowling with a soggy ball. Great knocks from Riaz (45), Zia (51), KK (36) and Abbas (36 not out) saw us to a very businesslike total.
The imposing figure of Andrew West arrived in time for tea and it will not surprise readers to hear that all the food that was not blown by the harsh breeze to all parts of the ground was eaten.
Monty started quite sedately against the accuracy and guile of Sami and Emil. 43 for 0 off 8 overs but, led by their former Burgh Heath opener they then began to flay anything too short or over-pitched - of which there was plenty when the change bowlers came on - all over the park. It must have been difficult bowling in the wet conditions, I must add. At one point over 40 runs were taken off 2 overs. It took a good straight one from Abbas to dismiss what we thought was the main danger man but Monty kept up the pace. A good spell from Zia with 2 wickets kept us in the game but I always felt Monty had just enough in hand. Nomads' catching was poor - at least 5 catches went down, notably when Emil ran to get under a skyer but, due to wearing a Mexican-inspired broad-brimmed hat rather than a cap, the chance was spilled and actually caught our skipper a nasty blow on the eye. Emil said the ball had briefly disappeared behind the brim of his sombrero when he was shaping to catch it.
Emil said he briefly lost his vision and had to come off. Fortunately Nomads had a very athletic substitute's bench featuring Nick Lefebve and Andrew West and Nick came out to replace the skipper. Riaz took over the captain's armband with the match finely balanced. Khalid started cautiously but soon found his range with some slogs over mid-wicket before Zia bowled him. 27 were needed off 4 but there was plenty of batting to come. A tight penultimate over from Riaz left the visitors needing 5 off the last over and the first ball of over 30 from Abbas was a dot leaving a run a ball needed. Unfortunately an edge went high over the slips for 4 next ball and Nomads were passed with 3 balls to spare.
It was a pleasant - if damp - match against sporting opponents. As he reached the pub, John began to say his usual "that was rubbish etc...." but then he stopped and realised it had actually been rather a good, close game.
Nomads lost by 6 wickets with 3 balls to spare. Scores to follow.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Zia (a run out)
Clapham Nomads 224 for 8 from 30 overs
Mahesh 4
Darwin 8
Riaz 45
Javed 0
Zia 51
KK 36
Abbas 36
Sami 0
Yahyah 0
Emil(capt) 2 not out
Did not bat - John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 14, 14, 19, 107, 128, 198, 198, 208
Monty cc 225 for 4 from 29.3 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 6-1-36-0
Emil 5-0-27-0
Yahyah 2-0-29-0
Abbas 4.3-0-50-1
Zia 6-0-27-2
KK 4-0-34-0
Javed 1-0-11-0
Riaz 1-0-5-0
Anyway, Nomads had the bonus of meeting very pleasant new opponents in Monty CC who had some familiar faces with a smattering of Burgh Heath players and also the Sunday cricket legend Khalid who has turned out for most south-west London teams including the Nomads and Surbiton Imperials.
Nomads did brilliantly well to recover from 19 for 3 to the heights of 224 for 8 off the full 30. The pitch was a bit erratic and bouncy but it can't have helped Monty bowling with a soggy ball. Great knocks from Riaz (45), Zia (51), KK (36) and Abbas (36 not out) saw us to a very businesslike total.
The imposing figure of Andrew West arrived in time for tea and it will not surprise readers to hear that all the food that was not blown by the harsh breeze to all parts of the ground was eaten.
Monty started quite sedately against the accuracy and guile of Sami and Emil. 43 for 0 off 8 overs but, led by their former Burgh Heath opener they then began to flay anything too short or over-pitched - of which there was plenty when the change bowlers came on - all over the park. It must have been difficult bowling in the wet conditions, I must add. At one point over 40 runs were taken off 2 overs. It took a good straight one from Abbas to dismiss what we thought was the main danger man but Monty kept up the pace. A good spell from Zia with 2 wickets kept us in the game but I always felt Monty had just enough in hand. Nomads' catching was poor - at least 5 catches went down, notably when Emil ran to get under a skyer but, due to wearing a Mexican-inspired broad-brimmed hat rather than a cap, the chance was spilled and actually caught our skipper a nasty blow on the eye. Emil said the ball had briefly disappeared behind the brim of his sombrero when he was shaping to catch it.
Emil said he briefly lost his vision and had to come off. Fortunately Nomads had a very athletic substitute's bench featuring Nick Lefebve and Andrew West and Nick came out to replace the skipper. Riaz took over the captain's armband with the match finely balanced. Khalid started cautiously but soon found his range with some slogs over mid-wicket before Zia bowled him. 27 were needed off 4 but there was plenty of batting to come. A tight penultimate over from Riaz left the visitors needing 5 off the last over and the first ball of over 30 from Abbas was a dot leaving a run a ball needed. Unfortunately an edge went high over the slips for 4 next ball and Nomads were passed with 3 balls to spare.
It was a pleasant - if damp - match against sporting opponents. As he reached the pub, John began to say his usual "that was rubbish etc...." but then he stopped and realised it had actually been rather a good, close game.
Nomads lost by 6 wickets with 3 balls to spare. Scores to follow.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Zia (a run out)
Clapham Nomads 224 for 8 from 30 overs
Mahesh 4
Darwin 8
Riaz 45
Javed 0
Zia 51
KK 36
Abbas 36
Sami 0
Yahyah 0
Emil(capt) 2 not out
Did not bat - John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 14, 14, 19, 107, 128, 198, 198, 208
Monty cc 225 for 4 from 29.3 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 6-1-36-0
Emil 5-0-27-0
Yahyah 2-0-29-0
Abbas 4.3-0-50-1
Zia 6-0-27-2
KK 4-0-34-0
Javed 1-0-11-0
Riaz 1-0-5-0
Wednesday 25 July 2018
Northfields v Clapham Nomads - 22/7/18
Nomads made our annual trip to Northfields on Sunday for the latest renewal of what is becoming a classic fixture. Last year saw Nomads record our narrowest-ever victory; by 1 run in an incident-packed game. This year's game came close to matching that.
I didn't go to this one but Emil and John told me about it in the pub. According to former Nomads all-rounder Joe Chance, they had been excitedly recounting every ball for over an hour but were a bit worn out by the time I arrived.
Some Nomads were a little late - no great surprise, we had to cross the Thames - and Clapham batted first by arrangement to allow for a 40-over-a-side match. As we know, Northfields have some high-class bowlers but the outfield was extremely fast. As usual Nomads' run rate was fairly rapid but our seniors told me that a few wickets were thrown away. Nomads made 143 all out from 31 overs. Emil flagged up KK with about 40 or so, and Hasan with some late runs, but I'm sure there were other good contributions too. The guy who made his debut hit a large 6. More details to follow.
In the reply, wickets fell quite steadily and were shared around but Hasan's 3 late wickets reduced the Home side to about 125 for 9. From then on, according to John, every ball was unbearably tense, especially the one which was middled right into the chest of Emil Todorow at silly mid off (or on) and out again to the ground via the skipper's despairing hands (you could say it was 4 runs saved.)
Time was a factor as well as wickets but Northfields eventually secured victory by 1 wicket with an over to go.
John said that this prompted a pitch invasion by the entire home side - fair enough, Nomads are not easy to beat this year - and Joe Chance then asked if Nomads had ever invaded the pitch in similar fashion. John confirmed that we had; Joe then took the piss and compared it to Alex Ferguson and his coaching staff charging halfway across Old Trafford when Manchester United notched a late winner deep into Fergie time. It was quite funny but you probably had to be there. John was less than pleased.
It is all becoming a bit like the 2005 Ashes series. Whatever will happen next year?
More details to follow when I get the scorebook.
Clapham Nomads 143 from 31 overs.
Mahesh 2
Darwin 24
Riaz 14
Hasan 25
Zia 0
KK 31
Yahyah 8
Abbas 0
Sami 6
Emil 10
John not out 0
F.O.W. - 25, 44, 48, 94, 102, 107, 131, 134, 143
Northfields 146 for 9 from 39 overs.
Nomads Bowling;
Sami 6-0-40-0
Abbas 8-1-17-2
Zia 8-0-33-1
Yahyah 8-2-19-2
Hasan 7-1-27-3
KK 2-1-3-0
Nomads lost by 1 wicket.
Man of the Match - Abbas
Fielder of the Day - Hasan
I didn't go to this one but Emil and John told me about it in the pub. According to former Nomads all-rounder Joe Chance, they had been excitedly recounting every ball for over an hour but were a bit worn out by the time I arrived.
Some Nomads were a little late - no great surprise, we had to cross the Thames - and Clapham batted first by arrangement to allow for a 40-over-a-side match. As we know, Northfields have some high-class bowlers but the outfield was extremely fast. As usual Nomads' run rate was fairly rapid but our seniors told me that a few wickets were thrown away. Nomads made 143 all out from 31 overs. Emil flagged up KK with about 40 or so, and Hasan with some late runs, but I'm sure there were other good contributions too. The guy who made his debut hit a large 6. More details to follow.
In the reply, wickets fell quite steadily and were shared around but Hasan's 3 late wickets reduced the Home side to about 125 for 9. From then on, according to John, every ball was unbearably tense, especially the one which was middled right into the chest of Emil Todorow at silly mid off (or on) and out again to the ground via the skipper's despairing hands (you could say it was 4 runs saved.)
Time was a factor as well as wickets but Northfields eventually secured victory by 1 wicket with an over to go.
John said that this prompted a pitch invasion by the entire home side - fair enough, Nomads are not easy to beat this year - and Joe Chance then asked if Nomads had ever invaded the pitch in similar fashion. John confirmed that we had; Joe then took the piss and compared it to Alex Ferguson and his coaching staff charging halfway across Old Trafford when Manchester United notched a late winner deep into Fergie time. It was quite funny but you probably had to be there. John was less than pleased.
It is all becoming a bit like the 2005 Ashes series. Whatever will happen next year?
More details to follow when I get the scorebook.
Clapham Nomads 143 from 31 overs.
Mahesh 2
Darwin 24
Riaz 14
Hasan 25
Zia 0
KK 31
Yahyah 8
Abbas 0
Sami 6
Emil 10
John not out 0
F.O.W. - 25, 44, 48, 94, 102, 107, 131, 134, 143
Northfields 146 for 9 from 39 overs.
Nomads Bowling;
Sami 6-0-40-0
Abbas 8-1-17-2
Zia 8-0-33-1
Yahyah 8-2-19-2
Hasan 7-1-27-3
KK 2-1-3-0
Nomads lost by 1 wicket.
Man of the Match - Abbas
Fielder of the Day - Hasan
Wednesday 11 July 2018
Clapham Nomads v Octopus cc - 8/7/18
Nomads "entertained" new opponents Octopus cc an another scorching afternoon at Farm Road, Morden.
There was immediate controversy as Nomads' imposing but trustworthy skipper, Emil Todorow, stated that he felt he might have been diddled out of his usual winning toss by the opposing captain. To summarise his version; Emil tossed, Oppo skipper called heads, it landed on tails, Emil said "we'll bat", Oppo skipper said "no, I called tails, you called heads". This seems strange as the tosser... sorry, the person who tosses the coin, never calls. Anyway Emil, with his love of diplomacy and consensus, let it go and ceded a huge advantage as Nomads, on average at least 10 years per man older than the opponents, took to the field under the baking Morden sun.
Fortunately Octopus did not really gain from this as they only lasted 27 overs so exhaustion was staved off for our boys.
It was Emil himself who exacted some clinical revenge very early on with what I'm told (by Emil) was an excellent off-cutter. The 2nd wicket partnership looked assured and began to smack it about but Hasan struck with another beauty to peg back the stumps - about 40 for 2. The best batting of the match followed with an excellent partnership for the 3rd wicket - fluent and aggressive strokeplay to all parts of the ground which had me preparing my apologies for booking the fixture and anticipating a record score of close to 300. It took Sami to change the course of the game; the breakthrough - on 130 - was fortunate as it came off the batsman's heel onto the stumps but Sami followed this up with a further 4 wickets - quickish and straight with a low trajectory and making use of some irregular bounce from the Bottom End. We witnessed something I have never seen before in about 500 games of Sunday cricket; 2 LBW decisions in successive balls. I mentioned this to the opposition and they said; "Yes, we need to send him back to Not Out School." That is somewhere I like the sound of but I think that I, like several other Nomads umpires, probably have their diploma certificate already.
In the context of this, I think Octopus possibly expected some generosity from Nomads umpires - it was easy to tell they had not played us before.
Anyway, 2 quick wickets from Zia sealed the Away side's collapse from 130 for 2 to 164 all out from only about 27 overs.
With probably our strongest batting line-up, a parched outfield and a reasonable track with some low bounce, Nomads seemed to be in with a fair chance but it was clear from Octopus's early batting that they were likely to have some decent bowlers.
So it proved as Mahesh was bowled Leg Stump to a sharp inswinger in the first over. Very solid and sensible batting from Darwin and Riaz consolidated our position and they were still there at the first drinks break after 12 overs with the score about 40 for 1. Skipper Todorow began to call for shots and Riaz fell for a fine 30. Javed changed the pace of the innings with a towering 6 before falling for 10. Darwin and KK ruthlessly exploited the vast playing area and picked out the gaps behind square on the leg side. Octopus began to show the "appealing side" of their personalities with some decidedly optimistic shouts - an inaudible "edge" from KK and a fantasy stumping where Darwin's back foot had not shifted from its usual position of well inside the crease. KK fell for a good 25 or 30 but Nomads' order had a cast iron look with Zia and Hasan the next two.
The away side's discipline was beginning to crumble and a close-ish stumping call against Darwin - a VAR shout at best - was turned down and this resulted in comments such as "Can't you see?" and "You can't see." I could have responded appropriately with "Ner, ner, ner, ner, ner, you can't bat" but I opted for the less childish option of stalking off in a huff. Fortunately the replacement umpire gave nothing either - in fact there was nothing that could really have been given out in the whole innings.
Nomads were up with the required rate by now and, although Darwin fell 5 short of a second successive half century, we had the luxury of Hasan at No. 7 and he and Zia stroked us home to a comfortable and well-deserved victory.
I stated on Facebook that we won by 6 wickets but the margin was, in fact, 5 wickets. Perhaps I can adopt the tone of sporting triumphalism that is sweeping the nation and say that it felt more like a 6-wicket victory.
Clapham Nomads won by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match - Sami
Fielder of the Day - Darwin
Nomads' line-up - Mahesh, Darwin, Riaz, Javed, KK, Zia, Hasan, Abbas, Sami, Emil (capt), John (wkt). 12th Man - Nick.
UPDATE -
Octopus XI 163 all out in 26.3 overs
Nomads's bowling
Hasan 7-1-28-1
Emil 5-0-38-1
Sami 7-0-47-5
Abbas 6.3-0-48-1
Zia 1-1-0-2
Clapham Nomads 166 for 5 in 33.2 overs
Mahesh 0
Darwin 45
Riaz 31
Javed 11
KK 31
Zia not out 26
Hasan not out 4
Did not bat: Abbas, Sami, Emil (cpt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 0, 61, 76, 115, 151
There was immediate controversy as Nomads' imposing but trustworthy skipper, Emil Todorow, stated that he felt he might have been diddled out of his usual winning toss by the opposing captain. To summarise his version; Emil tossed, Oppo skipper called heads, it landed on tails, Emil said "we'll bat", Oppo skipper said "no, I called tails, you called heads". This seems strange as the tosser... sorry, the person who tosses the coin, never calls. Anyway Emil, with his love of diplomacy and consensus, let it go and ceded a huge advantage as Nomads, on average at least 10 years per man older than the opponents, took to the field under the baking Morden sun.
Fortunately Octopus did not really gain from this as they only lasted 27 overs so exhaustion was staved off for our boys.
It was Emil himself who exacted some clinical revenge very early on with what I'm told (by Emil) was an excellent off-cutter. The 2nd wicket partnership looked assured and began to smack it about but Hasan struck with another beauty to peg back the stumps - about 40 for 2. The best batting of the match followed with an excellent partnership for the 3rd wicket - fluent and aggressive strokeplay to all parts of the ground which had me preparing my apologies for booking the fixture and anticipating a record score of close to 300. It took Sami to change the course of the game; the breakthrough - on 130 - was fortunate as it came off the batsman's heel onto the stumps but Sami followed this up with a further 4 wickets - quickish and straight with a low trajectory and making use of some irregular bounce from the Bottom End. We witnessed something I have never seen before in about 500 games of Sunday cricket; 2 LBW decisions in successive balls. I mentioned this to the opposition and they said; "Yes, we need to send him back to Not Out School." That is somewhere I like the sound of but I think that I, like several other Nomads umpires, probably have their diploma certificate already.
In the context of this, I think Octopus possibly expected some generosity from Nomads umpires - it was easy to tell they had not played us before.
Anyway, 2 quick wickets from Zia sealed the Away side's collapse from 130 for 2 to 164 all out from only about 27 overs.
With probably our strongest batting line-up, a parched outfield and a reasonable track with some low bounce, Nomads seemed to be in with a fair chance but it was clear from Octopus's early batting that they were likely to have some decent bowlers.
So it proved as Mahesh was bowled Leg Stump to a sharp inswinger in the first over. Very solid and sensible batting from Darwin and Riaz consolidated our position and they were still there at the first drinks break after 12 overs with the score about 40 for 1. Skipper Todorow began to call for shots and Riaz fell for a fine 30. Javed changed the pace of the innings with a towering 6 before falling for 10. Darwin and KK ruthlessly exploited the vast playing area and picked out the gaps behind square on the leg side. Octopus began to show the "appealing side" of their personalities with some decidedly optimistic shouts - an inaudible "edge" from KK and a fantasy stumping where Darwin's back foot had not shifted from its usual position of well inside the crease. KK fell for a good 25 or 30 but Nomads' order had a cast iron look with Zia and Hasan the next two.
The away side's discipline was beginning to crumble and a close-ish stumping call against Darwin - a VAR shout at best - was turned down and this resulted in comments such as "Can't you see?" and "You can't see." I could have responded appropriately with "Ner, ner, ner, ner, ner, you can't bat" but I opted for the less childish option of stalking off in a huff. Fortunately the replacement umpire gave nothing either - in fact there was nothing that could really have been given out in the whole innings.
Nomads were up with the required rate by now and, although Darwin fell 5 short of a second successive half century, we had the luxury of Hasan at No. 7 and he and Zia stroked us home to a comfortable and well-deserved victory.
I stated on Facebook that we won by 6 wickets but the margin was, in fact, 5 wickets. Perhaps I can adopt the tone of sporting triumphalism that is sweeping the nation and say that it felt more like a 6-wicket victory.
Clapham Nomads won by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match - Sami
Fielder of the Day - Darwin
Nomads' line-up - Mahesh, Darwin, Riaz, Javed, KK, Zia, Hasan, Abbas, Sami, Emil (capt), John (wkt). 12th Man - Nick.
UPDATE -
Octopus XI 163 all out in 26.3 overs
Nomads's bowling
Hasan 7-1-28-1
Emil 5-0-38-1
Sami 7-0-47-5
Abbas 6.3-0-48-1
Zia 1-1-0-2
Clapham Nomads 166 for 5 in 33.2 overs
Mahesh 0
Darwin 45
Riaz 31
Javed 11
KK 31
Zia not out 26
Hasan not out 4
Did not bat: Abbas, Sami, Emil (cpt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 0, 61, 76, 115, 151
Friday 6 July 2018
Reports to be updated - also Kieran Lynch
I will update the reports soon for the 4 matches we have played so far. The latest mini-report I wrote for the Surbiton Imperials match consisted almost entirely of cricket cliches.
Also, we had a few Facebook "likes" from a former player Kieran Lynch, who played for Nomads in 2007. Thanks for that Kieran. I will put the results for that season on here soon. At the moment, all Nomads results can be found on this blog, except for seasons 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Also, we had a few Facebook "likes" from a former player Kieran Lynch, who played for Nomads in 2007. Thanks for that Kieran. I will put the results for that season on here soon. At the moment, all Nomads results can be found on this blog, except for seasons 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Clapham Nomads v Surbiton Imperials - 1/7/18
Nomads took on old friends Surbiton Imperials at Raynes Park last Sunday. Inserted in sweltering heat by Clapham skipper Emil Todorow, Surbiton showed their gratitude by making a fairly circumspect start. The scoring rate was only around 3.5 but the batting was fairly remorseless and the first wicket didn't fell until about 50 was on the board. Surbiton's captain, the usually explosive Jonny, played a careful hand and ensured there were no collapses. Imperials are only playing about once a month now but still have some familiar faces and fine players. Our fielding, especially catching, was not the best but once we had finally removed Jonny for 45 we managed to reduce the Away side to about 105 for 6 but a later flurry took them over the 150, losing their last man in the final over.
Nomads were missing Hasan, Riaz and KK but probably fancied the target on a pitch which had some low bounce but was also surrounded by a lightning-paced, parched outfield. Darwin and Mahesh made a good start before Mahesh and Javed fell in quick succession but Bilal showed some promising play before being bowled to make it 74 for 3 with Nomads well ahead of the rate.
I had to leave at this point but I saw on Imperials' Twitter feed that we collapsed to around 125 all out off only about 20 overs.
Full scores etc when I get the book back.
Nomads' team - Mahesh, Darwin, Javed, Bilal, Zia, Abbas, Sami, Hussein, Emil (capt), John (wkt), Nick (could not bat as had to leave for work.)
Nomads lost by around 30 runs.
Man of the Match - Darwin
Darwin made a fine 50 but there was controversy in his dismissal. Umpire Todorow turned down a massive and extended appeal for caught - and Darwin said that he thought it was a bump ball. However, Imperials were pretty insistent and, sportingly and with a wish to keep the peace, Darwin walked. This could have been quite significant given the losing margin.
MORE TO FOLLOW
Nomads were missing Hasan, Riaz and KK but probably fancied the target on a pitch which had some low bounce but was also surrounded by a lightning-paced, parched outfield. Darwin and Mahesh made a good start before Mahesh and Javed fell in quick succession but Bilal showed some promising play before being bowled to make it 74 for 3 with Nomads well ahead of the rate.
I had to leave at this point but I saw on Imperials' Twitter feed that we collapsed to around 125 all out off only about 20 overs.
Full scores etc when I get the book back.
Nomads' team - Mahesh, Darwin, Javed, Bilal, Zia, Abbas, Sami, Hussein, Emil (capt), John (wkt), Nick (could not bat as had to leave for work.)
Nomads lost by around 30 runs.
Man of the Match - Darwin
Darwin made a fine 50 but there was controversy in his dismissal. Umpire Todorow turned down a massive and extended appeal for caught - and Darwin said that he thought it was a bump ball. However, Imperials were pretty insistent and, sportingly and with a wish to keep the peace, Darwin walked. This could have been quite significant given the losing margin.
MORE TO FOLLOW
Friday 29 June 2018
Clapham Nomads v Plastics XI - 24/6/18
Nomads made a fine return from our break with a convincing win over new opponents Plastics XI, a friendly, sporting bunch, at Farm Road, Morden on Sunday.
In temperatures approaching 30 degrees, skipper Emil Todorow won a crucial toss and batted. Nomads racked up 245 for 6 with Zia the top scorer on 53 and Abbas making his first half-century for Clapham. Abbas also took 4 wickets as Plastics were dismissed for 84 with John Crossland taking a brilliant catch for the crucial wicket just as the Away side were making good progress with only 3 down.
Clapham Nomads 245 for 6 from 35 overs.
Plastics XI 84 from 28.1 overs.
Nomads won by 161 runs.
Man of the Match - Abbas
Fielder of the Day - John.
Full scores for this and the other games will follow now that I have got the scorebook back.
Clapham Nomads 245 for 6 from 35 overs
Riaz 36
KK 28
Darwin 1
Javed ? 28 - to be confirmed
Hasan 29
Zia 53
Abbas 52 not out
Sami 0 not out
Did not bat - Nick, Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 68, 68, 73, 130, 132, 228
In temperatures approaching 30 degrees, skipper Emil Todorow won a crucial toss and batted. Nomads racked up 245 for 6 with Zia the top scorer on 53 and Abbas making his first half-century for Clapham. Abbas also took 4 wickets as Plastics were dismissed for 84 with John Crossland taking a brilliant catch for the crucial wicket just as the Away side were making good progress with only 3 down.
Clapham Nomads 245 for 6 from 35 overs.
Plastics XI 84 from 28.1 overs.
Nomads won by 161 runs.
Man of the Match - Abbas
Fielder of the Day - John.
Full scores for this and the other games will follow now that I have got the scorebook back.
Clapham Nomads 245 for 6 from 35 overs
Riaz 36
KK 28
Darwin 1
Javed ? 28 - to be confirmed
Hasan 29
Zia 53
Abbas 52 not out
Sami 0 not out
Did not bat - Nick, Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 68, 68, 73, 130, 132, 228
Tuesday 15 May 2018
Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 13/5/18
Nomads made it 2 out of 2 with a professional performance to close out a win against our dearest rivals the Energy Exiles. Exiles had several new faces but it was pleasing to record a second win in a row against Energy - for I think the first time in about 7 years.
Skipper Emil Todorow guessed correctly and inserted the Home side at a damp but drying Abbey Rec - a good toss to win.
Exiles started cautiously - which they often do to great effect - but a sensational diving slip catch by Mahesh "The Gazelle" Vyas broke the opening stand. Exiles' skipper Chris Plume carved out a fine half-century but - despite a period when singles were being taken almost at will - Nomads kept our shape and, despite late acceleration, restricted Energy to 160 for 8 off the full 35.
I don't have the scorebook and I missed the game due to family illness (about the first time I have missed one of these fascinating clashes for a non work-related reason) but Emil and John told me that KK, Zia (with 3), Hasan and Abbas shared the wickets and that Sami also bowled well. Emil also bowled but did not tell me - Mr Modesty that he is - whether he bowled well; however he only went for about 20 off 5 overs and John did not criticise him so he must have been fairly good.
It was all rather similar to last week; local rivals, a tight bowling performance, a target in the 160s - and the similarities continued in our innings with a cautious but important opening stand (Mahesh returning to his rightful spot this week to accompany Darwin, replacing last week's opener Emil.)
This was followed - as last week - by a cameo burst of acceleration from Javed, sensible batting from Hasan and aggressive shot-making from Riaz and Zia. We lost 5 wickets this week and Sami came in at 7 to secure the victory with Zia.
Next game is not until 24th June so, in the meantime, best wishes to all those who observe Ramadan and Eid.
SCORES AND FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW.
Man of the Match - Hasan.
Fielder of the Day - Mahesh
Nomads' team - Mahesh, Darwin, Javed, Hasan, Riaz, Zia, Sami, KK, Abbas, Emil (Capt), John (Wkt)
Energy Exiles 160 for 8 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Hasan 4-3-1-1
Sami 7-0-36-0
Emil 5-0-16-0
Abbas 7-1-38-1
KK 6-0-25-2
Zia 5-0-24-3
Riaz 1-0-10-1
Clapham Nomads 161 for 5 from 32.2 overs
Mahesh 16
Darwin 21
Javed 11
Hasan 40
Riaz 10
Zia 40 not out
Sami 7 not out
Did not bat - KK, Abbas, Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W - 33, 53, 58, 78, 142
Clapham Nomads won by 5 wickets
Skipper Emil Todorow guessed correctly and inserted the Home side at a damp but drying Abbey Rec - a good toss to win.
Exiles started cautiously - which they often do to great effect - but a sensational diving slip catch by Mahesh "The Gazelle" Vyas broke the opening stand. Exiles' skipper Chris Plume carved out a fine half-century but - despite a period when singles were being taken almost at will - Nomads kept our shape and, despite late acceleration, restricted Energy to 160 for 8 off the full 35.
I don't have the scorebook and I missed the game due to family illness (about the first time I have missed one of these fascinating clashes for a non work-related reason) but Emil and John told me that KK, Zia (with 3), Hasan and Abbas shared the wickets and that Sami also bowled well. Emil also bowled but did not tell me - Mr Modesty that he is - whether he bowled well; however he only went for about 20 off 5 overs and John did not criticise him so he must have been fairly good.
It was all rather similar to last week; local rivals, a tight bowling performance, a target in the 160s - and the similarities continued in our innings with a cautious but important opening stand (Mahesh returning to his rightful spot this week to accompany Darwin, replacing last week's opener Emil.)
This was followed - as last week - by a cameo burst of acceleration from Javed, sensible batting from Hasan and aggressive shot-making from Riaz and Zia. We lost 5 wickets this week and Sami came in at 7 to secure the victory with Zia.
Next game is not until 24th June so, in the meantime, best wishes to all those who observe Ramadan and Eid.
SCORES AND FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW.
Man of the Match - Hasan.
Fielder of the Day - Mahesh
Nomads' team - Mahesh, Darwin, Javed, Hasan, Riaz, Zia, Sami, KK, Abbas, Emil (Capt), John (Wkt)
Energy Exiles 160 for 8 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Hasan 4-3-1-1
Sami 7-0-36-0
Emil 5-0-16-0
Abbas 7-1-38-1
KK 6-0-25-2
Zia 5-0-24-3
Riaz 1-0-10-1
Clapham Nomads 161 for 5 from 32.2 overs
Mahesh 16
Darwin 21
Javed 11
Hasan 40
Riaz 10
Zia 40 not out
Sami 7 not out
Did not bat - KK, Abbas, Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W - 33, 53, 58, 78, 142
Clapham Nomads won by 5 wickets
Wednesday 9 May 2018
Wimbledon United v Clapham Nomads - 6/5/18
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW.
Wimbledon United 166 all out from approx. 38 overs
Nomads top bowler was KK with 4 for 20something
Clapham Nomads passed the total for the loss of 4 wickets with about 8 overs remaining
Top scorer was Hasan with 40 not out. Responsible and elegant batting
Riaz made approx. 38. Several big hits.
Zia was not out for something in the 30s - he hit some enormous sixes. He almost hit it over the trees; the ball just clipped the top branch on its way out of the ground.
Emil not only opened the batting and made 8 out of an opening stand of 41 with Darwin, but also took an incredible one-handed catch as Square Leg. I compared this to Andrew's one-handed catch from 2000 and John said; "Yeah, well they've both got big fleshy palms."
Zia engineered a magical run out at a crucial stage by knocking out the only stump he could see - from 20 yards back.
A great win for Nomads by 6 wickets.
Nomads' team - Darwin, Emil (capt), Javed, Hasan, Riaz, Zia, KK, Sami, Abbas, Nick, John (wkt)
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Emil
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON...
Wimbledon United 166 from 39.4 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 8-2-22-0
Hasan 7.4-0-27-2
Abbas 8-0-36-2
Zia 8-0-41-1
KK 8-0-29-4
Clapham Nomads 168 for 4 from 30.5 overs
Darwin 28
Emil (capt) 8
Javed 10
Hasan 40 not out
Riaz 38
Zia 31 not out
Did not bat - KK, Sami, Abbas, Nick, John (wkt)
F.O.W - 41, 52, 52, 129
Clapham Nomads won by 6 wickets
Wimbledon United 166 all out from approx. 38 overs
Nomads top bowler was KK with 4 for 20something
Clapham Nomads passed the total for the loss of 4 wickets with about 8 overs remaining
Top scorer was Hasan with 40 not out. Responsible and elegant batting
Riaz made approx. 38. Several big hits.
Zia was not out for something in the 30s - he hit some enormous sixes. He almost hit it over the trees; the ball just clipped the top branch on its way out of the ground.
Emil not only opened the batting and made 8 out of an opening stand of 41 with Darwin, but also took an incredible one-handed catch as Square Leg. I compared this to Andrew's one-handed catch from 2000 and John said; "Yeah, well they've both got big fleshy palms."
Zia engineered a magical run out at a crucial stage by knocking out the only stump he could see - from 20 yards back.
A great win for Nomads by 6 wickets.
Nomads' team - Darwin, Emil (capt), Javed, Hasan, Riaz, Zia, KK, Sami, Abbas, Nick, John (wkt)
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - Emil
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON...
Wimbledon United 166 from 39.4 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 8-2-22-0
Hasan 7.4-0-27-2
Abbas 8-0-36-2
Zia 8-0-41-1
KK 8-0-29-4
Clapham Nomads 168 for 4 from 30.5 overs
Darwin 28
Emil (capt) 8
Javed 10
Hasan 40 not out
Riaz 38
Zia 31 not out
Did not bat - KK, Sami, Abbas, Nick, John (wkt)
F.O.W - 41, 52, 52, 129
Clapham Nomads won by 6 wickets
Monday 30 April 2018
Ottershaw & Ham Moor v Clapham Nomads - 29/4/18
After the disappointment of not playing on one of the warmest April Sundays on record (sorry guys, but it is very difficult to pick up a spare away fixture as early as 22/4), Nomads arranged a match for 29/4 in one of the lesser-known corners of Surrey. Unfortunately, the pitch was waterlogged so the game was called off. Despite the dodgy forecast, it didn't actually rain, but I think it would have been the coldest day on which Nomads had played.
Anyway thanks to Ottershaw (and Ham Moor of course) for the offer of a game - they sound a nice, well-organised club.
Next week is Wimbledon United at Cottenham Park.
Anyway thanks to Ottershaw (and Ham Moor of course) for the offer of a game - they sound a nice, well-organised club.
Next week is Wimbledon United at Cottenham Park.
Player of the Season 2017 etc.
Nomads had our Annual Meeting in March at The Mirch Masala in Tooting. There was a good turnout and, apart from enjoying the fine food which has been endorsed by the Mayor of London (any chance of a discount next season for the plug?), we voted for players of the year 2017, which was one of the club's best seasons.
The winners were;
Batsman of the Year and Player of the Year - Hasan
Bowler of the Year - Abbas
Fielder of the Year - Zia
Mahesh did point out that, had the matches been recorded on video, he might have had a chance of Fielder of the Year, and some of his catches were certainly spectacular.
I still plan to do tributes on this blog to Hasan (5,000 runs for the club - he is now nearer 6,000) and Emil (250 successive appearances) but I have been very busy (a life outside of Clapham Nomads....it's hard to believe, I know) but for the moment let me just say that they are, respectively, one of the best all-rounders at this level, and the most reliable player in Sunday cricket.
The winners were;
Batsman of the Year and Player of the Year - Hasan
Bowler of the Year - Abbas
Fielder of the Year - Zia
Mahesh did point out that, had the matches been recorded on video, he might have had a chance of Fielder of the Year, and some of his catches were certainly spectacular.
I still plan to do tributes on this blog to Hasan (5,000 runs for the club - he is now nearer 6,000) and Emil (250 successive appearances) but I have been very busy (a life outside of Clapham Nomads....it's hard to believe, I know) but for the moment let me just say that they are, respectively, one of the best all-rounders at this level, and the most reliable player in Sunday cricket.
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