Clapham Nomads v Chelsea and Westminster - 8/9/19

Unfortunately Nomads' fixture against our oldest friend Barnes Occasionals fell through last Sunday as several of them were unable to play due to family commitments (in other words they were told the dreaded words; "Darling, you have to choose. It's me or Clapham Nomads!")
Well, surprisingly, few of them chose Clapham Nomads and it was back to the internet to find a replacement fixture which soon came in the shape of Chelsea and Westminster. I had a gut feeling that they might be rather a decent side and so it proved; they were a nice bunch of guys as well.
The legendary Emil Todorow made his re-appearance after a 3-game absence - hopefully this was the first of another 285-game unbroken run.
I arrived with the tea just before the interval and Chelsea were in the 220s - they closed on an imposing 232 for 9 from 35 overs. Most of our bowling figures were decent and 5 catches were taken and Sami and KK combined for a run out however, as that astute judge John Crossland pointed out in the scorebook; "Seven dropped catches didn't help."
Against Chelsea's impressive new ball pairing, Zahi and Naya, who both did a fair bit with the ball, Mahesh looked particularly determined and dug in with grit and used his feet to good effect. Unfortunately wickets fell at the other end. Last week's hero Darwin was bowled early on, Kalam played a few nice shots before falling and then Hasan, who has been in great from, holed out over the bowler's head. The West London side were now clear favourites and worse was to follow as Mahesh fell to a bizarre run out and Zia and Riaz were back in the pavilion for 4 between them. This must be the first time for ages, possibly ever, that star men Hasan and Zia failed to score a run between them. However, they have done incredible things for the Nomads and even Steve Smith fails occasionally (or does he?)
Nomads were 39 for 6 at this stage but KK and Sami combined very nicely to take us up to 72 before Sami was bowled. I left for work at this stage and, as always seems to happen, I missed the best as KK kicked on for a fine innings of 79, his best for the Nomads and he completely dominated stands of 20 and 43 with Zaman and Emil, taking us up to 135 for 9 and he added a further 9 after last man John had arrived at the crease. A great innings and a bit unlucky as, with a capable blocker at the other end and 22 balls to go, he must have been in with a chance of a ton.
Anyway, one of our few heavy defeats this season but not the worst day in the world.

Chelsea and Westminster - 232 for 9 from 35 overs

Nomads' bowling;

Sami  7-0-32-1
Zaman  7-0-42-1
Zia 2-0-23-0
Emil (not Jamil as the opposition called him in their scorebook)  5-0-32-1
KK  7-0-38-2
Riaz  3-0-21-1
Kalam  2-0-15-1
Hasan  2-0-16-1

Clapham Nomads  144 all out from 31.2 overs

Mahesh  19
Darwin  0
Kalam  11
Hasan  0
Riaz  4
Zia  0
KK  79
Sami  14
Zaman  4
Emil (capt)  2-
John  0 not out

F.O.W. - 2, 25, 25, 39, 39, 39, 72, 92, 135, 144

Clapham Nomads lost by 88 runs

Man of the Match - KK
Fielder of the Day - Kalam