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
Wednesday 25 July 2018
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)