Player of the Year etc - 2010

There was little surprise that HASSAN KHAN was unanimously voted Player of the Year for 2010.
Hassan was also voted Batsman of the Year
Bowler of the Year was a share between Hassan and Gopi
Fielder of the Year was a share between Hassan and John Crossland

Averages for 2010 Season

BATTING (qualification - 2 completed innings.)



Hassan Khan - Innings 15, Not out 0, Runs 692, HS 91, Average 46.13

Mark Bradshaw - Innings 13, Not out 2, Runs 397, HS 81*, Average 36.09

Jim Joyce - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs 64, HS 51, Average 32.00

Sumith Prasanna -Innings 4, Not out 0, Runs 117, HS 64, Average 29.25

Nick Lefebve - Innings 9, Not out 4, Runs 132, HS 42*, Average 26.40

Ben Fewson - Innings 6, Not out 0, Runs 145, HS 64, Average 24.17

Amin - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs 44, HS 43, Average 22.00

Darwin - Innings 3, Not out 1, Runs 40, HS 23*, Average 20.00

Riaz Khan - Innings 9, Not out 1, Runs 156, HS 42, Average 19.50

Bilal - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs 32, HS 19, Average 16.00

Mahesh Vyas - Innings 10, Not out 0, Runs 158, HS 60, Average 15.80

Prasanth Pattiyil - Innings 13, Not out 0. Runs 186, HS 35, Average 14.31

Gopi Pala - Innings 14, Not out 3, Runs 149, HS 41*, Average 13.55

Abdul Khan - Innings 6, Not out 0. Runs 72, HS 26, Average 12.00

Gideon Reeve - Innings 7, Not out 5, Runs 23. HS 16*, Average 11.50

Peter Moth - Innings 3, Not out 0, Runs 34, HS 14, Average 11.33

Emil Todorow - Innings 12, Not out 4, Runs 45, HS 15*, Average 5.63

John Crossland - Innings 7, Not out 3, Runs 10, HS 6*, Average 2.50

Sohail - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs, 4, HS 4, Average 2.00



BOWLING (Qualification 10 overs or 4 wickets)



Tahir - Overs 14, Maidens 4, Runs 28, Wkts 4 BB 2-7, Average 7.00

Hassan Khan - Overs 91.2, Maidens 13, Runs 258, Wkts 25, BB 5-14, Average 10.32

Abdul Khan - Overs 9, Maidens 0, Runs 51, Wkts 4, BB 2-18, Average 12.75

Riaz Khan - Overs 34, Maidens 4, Runs 161, Wkts 11, BB 3-12, Average 14.64

Gopi Pala - Overs 95.1, Maidens 6, Runs 446, Wkts 27, BB 7-29, Average 16.52

Emil Todorow - Overs 107, Maidens 13, Runs 382, Wkts 20, BB 4-5, Average 19.10

Prasanth Pattiyil - Overs 16, maidens 1, Runs 98, Wkts 5, BB 4-31, Average 19.60

Gideon Reeve - Overs 38, Maidens 4, Runs 209, Wkts 10, BB 3-59, Average 20.90

Terry Bruce-Mills- Overs 22.1, Maidens 2, Runs 75, Wkts 2, BB 1-0, Average 37.50

CATCHES (Qualification 2 catches)

9 - Hassan Khan
7- John Crossland (all as wicketkeeper)
3 - Abdul Khan, Gideon Reeve, Gopi Pala
2- Amin, Ben Fewson (both as wicketkeeper), Mark Bradshaw, Riaz Khan, Prasanth Pattiyil


STUMPINGS

2 - John Crossland


PARTNERSHIP RECORDS FOR 2010

1st wicket - 93 - Mark Bradshaw & Mahesh Vyas - 22/8/10 v Touring Theatres
2nd wicket - 64 - Ben Fewson & Prasanth Pattiyil - 20/6/10 v Energy Exiles
3rd wicket - 133 - Mark Bradshaw & Hassan Khan - 12/9/10 v Surbiton Imperials
4th wicket - 75 - Hassan Khan & Jim Joyce - 30/5/10 v Touring Theatres
5th wicket - 48 - Prasanth Pattiyil & Nick Lefebve - 29/8/10 v Bec Old Boys
6th wicket - 62 - Hassan Khan & Abdul Khan - 4/7/10 v Caribbean Mix
7th wicket - 46 - Hassan Khan & Riaz Khan - 4/7/10 v Caribbean Mix
8th wicket - 45 - Riaz Khan & Emil Todorow - 23/5/10 v Energy Exiles
9th wicket - 33* - Gopi Pala & Emil Todorow - 4/7/10 v Caribbean Mix
10th wicket - 3 - Nick Lefebve & John Crossland - 25/7/10 v Chalfont St Peter

OVERALL RESULTS RECORD - 2010

Played - 16
Won - 8
Drawn - 1
Lost - 6
Other - 1 (This was the game against Kempton in May where rain prevented any further play halfway through the second innings. At the time, I claimed a victory under the Duckworth Lewis Formula but perhaps this was a bit petty. Maybe we should decide at the Annual Meeting whether this game should count as a win on D/L, a win on faster scoring rate, or a No Result.)

Update - 10/12/2010;

We didn't get round to discussing this at the meeting so I will just put it down as a win.

AMENDED OVERALL RESULTS RECORD - 2010

Played - 16
Won - 9
Drawn - 1
Lost - 6

Goodbye Gopi

As there is no match on Sunday 19th, it seems that, very sadly, Gopi has played his last match for the club. He made his debut for the Nomads in the very eventful game against Morden on 12th July 2009, taking 3 vital wickets. The incidents and aggravation in that game did not put him off and he has only missed one game since then.
Even in his first match, he was calling out encouragement to the other players and he has kept this enthusiasm going all the way. He really has been a great pleasure to play with and has been one of the most popular players Clapham Nomads have had. Even opposition players have enjoyed playing with him as we saw by the massive cheer that Southall Eagles gave him when he came out to bat against them this season.
He took 25 wickets last season at an incredible average of 5.88. He had so many tricks up his sleeve and batsmen just fell for them time after time. He got several wickets with bouncers which were always enjoyable but my favourite was the slower ball which a Kingston Lefthanders batsman made 3 attempts to hit before the ball rolled onto the stumps.
It was always going to be difficult to follow that but, by bowling more orthodox Medium Pace this season, he has still had great success and is the highest wicket taker of the season with 27 (Hassan is next with 25.) His hat-trick against Chalfont St. Peter was a moment of pure joy and don't forget he took 7 for 29 that day - even the opposition wrote his name as "The Mighty Gopi" in their scorebook.
Perhaps his best point as a bowler is that he is such a consistent wicket-taker. He has bowled in all his Nomads appearances and on only one occasion has he failed to take a wicket.
He has shown this season that he is a good middle order batsman and has earned the right to be called an all-rounder. His 41 not out against West One in August was a particularly entertaining innings and I'm sure he would have made 50 if we had not run out of overs. His pace in the field meant that everyone in the club nicknamed him "Speedy."
We all enjoyed playing with you, Gopi, and hope you get to play some cricket in India. Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

Gopi's career statistics for Clapham Nomads;

25 appearances.
Man of the Match 4 times
Fielder of the Day 3 times
9 catches
BATTING - Innings 17; Not out 3 times; Runs scored 182; High score 41 not out; Average 13.00
BOWLING- Overs 135.5; Maidens 12; Runs conceded 593; Best bowling 7-29; Wickets 52; Bowling Average 11.40
Strike rate - A wicket every 15.67 balls
Economy rate - 4.37 per over
Top of the bowling Averages in 2009 with 5.88
Highest wicket-taker in 2010 with 27
CLUB RECORDS; Only man to take 2 hat-tricks in Nomads history.
Fastest player to take 50 wickets for the club

Clapham Nomads v Surbiton Imperials - 12/9/10

The 4-week Raynes Park Festival concluded with a visit from Surbiton Imperials, a team that hammered us in our one previous meeting but really should become regular opponents, given that they play several of the teams that we play; Energy Exiles, Barnes Occasionals etc.


A 12-man Nomads squad lent Mahesh Vyas to the 9-man opposition and Nomads looked powerful on paper, with enough bowling strength to have a shot at subduing a Surbiton side that have won two-thirds of their matches this season. Andrew West finally made his first appearance of the season in a Nomads shirt. A white one.


Openers Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil have been in good form lately - Bradshaw especially - and it was soon clear that this form would be needed against the lively medium-fast left-arm swing bowler Siddique who was shaping it it into the bat threateningly and finding a little irregular bounce. Several balls kept a touch low and another one spat like a llama and found the splice of Prasanth's bat, just looping to safety. A good contest ensued with several decent LBW shouts from Siddique but the usual off-side blows and sharp singles from our pair. The other left-arm opener, Dan, posed little threat until he switched to round the wicket in the 8th over and angled one in to Pattiyil's pads in front. A possible inside edge saved our man who looked in the mood to take advantage with a cracking straight drive for 4 off Siddique in the next over. Unfortunately the bowler exacted quick revenge for this with a somewhat debatable caught behind decision 2 balls later. 24 for 1.


No. 3 Bilal had decided that his first ball really ought to go for 6. He failed by a yard, but continued in this vein, showing a desire to "clear his left leg." A few more lusty blows followed before he edged one straight up vertically as high as I have seen a cricket ball hit and the keeper held onto a real glove-stinger.


Hassan Khan strode out and Dan was inexplicably taken off. He had 2 overs to go and had just bowled the Ball of the Day. I doubt he could have removed Bradshaw, who was looking rock-solid by now, but he might just have had a shot at prising out H. Khan early which, on current form, is a bowler's only real chance against the increasingly Bradmanesque postal worker.


This pair put on 80 last week and, having played out Siddique's remaining over conservatively, and played first-changer Tom with ease, looked in with a chance of at least matching this.


Drinks were taken at around 80 for 2 off 18 overs but didn't disrupt our batsmen's rhythm. What followed was an exhibition by two fine players on top form. The second change bowler was Geoff, who once bowled an 18-ball over against Energy Exiles that yielded 31 runs. There was nothing like that on Sunday but there was plenty of sound play and class shots; likewise against spinners Eric and Kit who could have been awkward had the pitch played up but, as so often at Raynes Park, the track looked tough but was really just a big softie. Leg-spinner Kit caused Bradshaw some problems with his googly but once Mark began to pick it - the bowler cocks his head to one side for the googly (sorry to give away your secrets on the internet, Kit) - he reverted to the leg break, which sat up nicely outside off stump, with predictable results.

There was so much good batting that I will just give the highlights as a murderous stright drive from H. Khan and a textbook off / cover drive from Bradshaw right out of the screws. Imperials began to call anxiously for regular score updates. After one over Crossland called out 112 and then six balls later (and distracted by incessant questioning and badinage from Andrew West) he called out 160 in error. The fielders were so demoralised that they didn't really question him.

The batsmen reached 49 together and Khan was first to the half-century, his 6th of the season. The following over, Bradshaw notched his third successive 50 which was also his 50th half-century in competitive cricket; a brilliant achievement from a fine and consistent player, and a feat which, at current rates, would take me another 980 years to match.

A stand of 133 was finally broken when Geoff bowled Hassan for 78. Nomads had some capable hitters straining at the leash; 2 quick boundaries from Sumith Prasanna were followed by a cameo 11 not out from Tahir as fingers were kept firmly on the jugular right up to the final ball with Nomads closing on an imposing 220 for 4 off the full 35.

Tea was enlivened by a pleasant pasta-based milky dessert supplied by Hassan to celebrate Eid. Emil Todorow was certainly licking his lips in anticipation of juggling his strongest bowling line-up of the season, starring the unique talents of Nomads' 3rd highest all-time wicket-taker, Andrew West.

For a horrible moment early in Surbiton's innings it looked as if we would be deprived of our star medium pacer as West stopped a firm pull with his shin bone. He hopped several times before falling to earth with an impressive thud. Fortunately, Sunday Cricket's Most Injury-Prone Player soon staggered to his feet, skipped in a circle, swore vigorously and resumed fielding as if nothing had happened.

Our very own Mahesh Vyas was opening for Imperials together with Siddique in an awkward left-hand / right-hand pairing. Todorow fed Vyas one of his favourite leg-side full tosses before sensibly concentrating on an off-side line. Ominously though, Vyas began to play nicely on the off side. He always seems to bat well against the Nomads. Left-handed Siddique looked classy and pushed for regular ones and twos. The batsmen had a good understanding for men who had never met before and some quick singles were taken. Hassan Khan bowled accurately but Siddique took a liking to his slower ball with two 4s through long-off which kept Imperials in touch with the scoring rate.
A double bowling change after 10 overs brought on Tahir, our quickest bowler, and Gopi, in sadly possibly his last game for the Nomads. Mahesh Vyas rather ran out of steam against Tahir and, after narrowly avoiding being out LBW and bowled in successive balls, did a little dance to the big paceman on the third ball and was bowled for 13.
Gopi, our top wicket taker of the season so far, took a while to get into his rhythm and bowled a bit short at first but Tahir soon claimed his second wicket with a sharp, low caught and bowled. No. 4 Steve Parratt looked awkward at first but soon began to spank it around quite effectively. Drinks were taken after 18 overs and at 75 for 2, Surbiton needed above 8.5 an over. Their fine record this season indicated that they might just have the men to achieve this.
Gopi was a different bowler after the break and soon rattled the stumps twice. Siddique had been taking a few quick singles to Lefebve at mid-off but, attempting another, his partner failed to back up and Lefebve lobbed a throw over the jogging non-striker's head into John Crossland's gloves. The keeper whipped off the bails with glee.
From this point, 90-ish for 5, Tahir kept the lid firmly on the scoring rate and the target climbed above 10 an over.
With victory almost in the bag, skipper Todorow revealed his master plan. Andrew West would star from the bottom end, with a succession of support acts - who had 2 overs each left - from the top end. West trotted up but Imperials immediately took a massive liking to him. Several big hits took Siddique past his 50 but West got the Surbiton star halfway through his spell with a crafty dipper which lured the batsman forward. Crossland grabbed the ball and had the stumps down in one feline movement. Their celebratory hug demonstrated the great affection these 2 men feel for each other.
Imperials' wicketkeeper/captain Johnny proved an even cleaner hitter and basically put West to the sword with a series of brutal blows - a 6 halfway up the poplar trees was the pick. A couple of his batting partners joined in the carnage. It is so difficult to hear anthing on Pitch 3 that I didn't catch the score until there were 3 overs left and it was a distinct relief to find 55 were still needed. Johnny had one more hoik at a West half-volley and the ball soared over the bowler's head. Long-on Lefebve made good ground to get under it but merely succeeded in not only dropping the chance but "tipping it over the bar" for 6. I didn't dare look at West; Bilal said he was crying but I don't believe that for a second; Bilal is a comedian and also, as 10cc pointed out, "Big Boys don't Cry."
Imperials closed on 186 for 8 and West on 1 for 68 off 6 which really should have been 2 for 62. To be fair, West didn't really bowl that badly at all. To me, he shouldn't really bowl at the death as he can be a little predictable. He has done a fine job for Nomads many times as 1st changer or opener.
This was rather a good victory against a side with many fine players. I can see that they would be a formidable proposition with a full-strength team. We may well find out next season.
Classy stroke play from Hassan Khan took our total away from Surbiton's reach but Man of the Match goes to Mark Bradshaw whose chanceless 81 not out underpinned the innings and was set up by negotiating a testing opening spell from Siddique. He also fielded well. Elsewhere in the field Lefebve provided a good moment - and a shocking one, Crossland was sharp, West was entertaining but the skipper's vote for Fielder of the Day went to Bilal.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 220 for 4 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 81 not out
P. Pattiyil 12
Bilal 13
H. Khan 78
S. Prasanna 8
Tahir 13 not out

F.O.W. - 24, 38, 171, 183

SURBITON IMPERIALS - 186 for 8

H. Khan 7-1-22-1
E. Todorow 7-0-37-1
Tahir 7-0-21-2
G. Pala 7-0-33-2
A. West 6-0-68-1
Bilal 1-0-5-0

Clapham Nomads won by 34 runs

Clapham Nomads v Dulwich - 5/9/10

A report by Mark Bradshaw.

This match took place on the middle pitch at Raynes Park and it was pretty dry and bare and looked likely to disintegrate as the match continued. Dulwich won the toss and elected to field. Sumith Prasanna and Mark Bradshaw opened the batting against a tall, young left-armer from one end and an older chap bowling tidy medium-pace off-cutters from the bottom end. Sumith played some fine shots including a huge six over mid-wicket before he chipped a catch to mid-off for 32 as the opening stand put on 49.
Debutant Bilal off-drove his first ball for four and made a breezy 19 before he was bowled by a flighted, turning ball from canny Dulwich spinner Ebert. There followed the biggest stand of the innings between Bradshaw (53) and Hassan Khan (63). Darwin and Emil Todorow chipped in with some late runs and we finished on 195 for 6 from our 35 overs, which we felt was probably enough as the pitch was showing signs of wear.
During the Nomads innings, Andrew West turned up (in his purple top), but unlike previous weeks, both sides had enough players so his playing services were not required. However, he amused himself by feeding the birds.
Hassan took 3 wickets in his opening spell as Dulwich declined to 30 for 3. Todorow bowled a tidy spell and was unlucky not to take a wicket. The Dulwich 4th wicket partnership hit back and needed 7 per over from the last 15 overs. The Nomads were starting to look a little ragged in the field but we were rescued by Terry Bruce-Mills who took a vital catch at cover off Gopi's bowling to dismiss the Dulwich top-scorer for a well-made 50. Terry then bowled an outstanding spell of accurate medium pace, restricting the Dulwich batsmen who could not get him away for boundaries. Bilal had a bowl and took a wicket with his medium pace, as did Sumith as Dulwich closed on 166 for 6.
Man of the Match was Hassan Khan, who was also Fielder of the Day with 3 catches.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 195 for 6 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 53 not out
S. Prasanna 32
Bilal 19
H. Khan 63
P. Pattiyil 1
Darwin 7
G. Pala 0
E. Todorow 3

Did not bat; G. Reeve, T. Bruce-Mills, J. Crossland

F.O.W. - 49, 75, 155, 161, 179, 182

DULWICH - 166 for 6 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-3-12-3
E. Todorow 7-1-25-0
G. Reeve 3-0-30-0
G. Pala 7-1-26-1
T. Bruce-Mills 7-0-28-0
Bilal 3-0-26-1
S. Prasanna 1-0-12-1

Clapham Nomads won by 29 runs

Clapham Nomads v Bec Old Boys - 29/8/10

This was not a match we have had high hopes of winning since Bec's brilliant batting display in the Away game in June, so it was a shock when their skipper phoned at 12.15 to say they only had 8 men but would turn up anyway, and even more so when he told Emil Todorow at the ground that it would be better if Nomads batted first, in order to make a game of it.
Nomads did bat first by agreement (the only piece of match-fixing that occurred to my knowledge) but it soon looked like being a very short game after all as 2 wickets fell for 9 runs to shocking shooters from Bec medium pacer R. Anthony. Mahesh Vyas departed for 1 and then Mark Milnes, who had played a nice off-side shot for 3, fell to a pea-roller which shaved leg stump.
No. 4 Hassan Khan dug out a further shooter, but the pitch then seemed to improve somewhat and Khan began to turn the tables with some fine straight drives. Opener Sumith Prasanna also upped the tempo with a baseball-style straight hit for 4 and a big hit through mid-wicket. Bec's other bowler, the youngster Adam Freeman, floated the ball in nicely on the stiff breeze but didn't quite present the same threat as his partner. Nomads cruised into the 40s at around 4 an over. Nomads had agreed to lend Old Boys a fielder and this came back to bite us as Hassan, who was approaching his best form, cracked a firm cut straight to cover point where it was well held by Mark Milnes. When Sumith chipped Freeman up to gully 1 run later things began to look grim again.
Nick Lefebve joined Prasanth Pattiyil in the 12th over on 45 for 4 under a massive grey cloud and the pair had 2 immediate tasks; to see off R. Anthony's final over and to play through to the inevitable rain storm. A few runs were milked from 14-year-old leg spinner Sean Mason before a pleasant autumnal day turned sub-Arctic with gale force winds bearing horizontal rain and bits of twig from the thorn bushes surrounding pitch 3. An early tea was taken which lasted about an hour.
When play resumed it was almost impossible to stand upright on the soaked, skiddy pitch, but thankfully this affected the bowlers as much as the batsmen. Our pair survived and began to play with something approaching confidence. Lefebve connected with a few more leg-side blows off Mason, while Prasanth negotiated paceman Nav Jaswel and skipper Ches Brown with increasing authority and began to play some fine straight and leg-side strokes. At 93, Nomads had, at the very least, guaranteed a contest but Prasanth was caught for a useful 26 with the partnership just 2 short of the half-century.
Acceleration was needed and No. 7 Gopi had shown he is capable of this with his fine 41 against West One 2 weeks ago, but unfortunately he flicked Mason up to Backward Point and departed early. No. 8 Tahir was playing his first game for the club and had told Todorow that he was more of a bowler than a batsman. He was arguably our last real hope of quick, substantial runs and he didn't disappoint, carting the bowling quite classily to all parts of the ground - a large six over mid-wicket being the highlight - and dominating (an understatement) a stand of 38 with Nick Lefebve - Lefebve contributed 1. During this stand, with about 10 overs to go, Andrew West turned up and Todorow lent him to the opposition, but adding the proviso that he would be allowed to field and bat but not bowl - quite a crafty deal when you think about it, though there are those who would say that the Man in Purple is becoming more of a specialist batsman these days anyway.
The wily Ches Browne accounted for Tahir for 36 and followed up by getting one to spit and kick at Emil Todorow and find the glove of Nomads' Mr Reliable.
133 for 8 and John Crossland joined Lefebve with 4 and a half overs to go. After a couple of balls Crossland, wearing a deep frown, called his partner for an urgent mid-pitch conference. It looked serious. "Whatever you do," growled the wicketkeeper, "don't throw it away." The veteran pair did ok by sticking to a rigid plan - charging down the pitch and flicking the ball to the leg side for scampered singles. It wouldn't have won the X Factor but it did realise 13 runs. The highlight was a gorgeous straight drive from Crossland back over the bowler's head which only the recent monsoon rains prevented from reaching the boundary it deserved. Nomads closed on 146 for 8, which looked half-decent on this pitch. Lefebve was left on a useful / turgid 24 not out off 23 overs.
After a quick turnaround, The familiar pairing of Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow prepared to apply the pressure. Bec's openers. Nav Jaswel and Ches Browne looked fairly accomplished, with some good off-side shots played. We were unsure quite how depleted they were, though we suspected they would have few specialist batsmen below Andrew West at 7. This pair cracked along at a reasonable rate and it was quite a relief when Todorow was slightly fortunate to find the stumps via the inside edge of Jaswel's bat to break the stand on 27. No. 3 tried to slog Todorow out of the ground straight away and paid the customary penalty - bowled. There was a further wicket apiece for these bowlers, the more memorable was an LBW for Todorow which the skipper secured with a quite bizarre high-pitched, elongated appeal which sounded a bit like a large farm animal in distress (but in a dignified way, of course.) It frightened me and I have known Todorow for years, it must have terrified the umpire.
Gopi was first-change and, once he switched to bowling round the wicket, bowled an accurate spell, using the breeze well and claiming a wicket, bowled. Tahir was the pick of the bowlers, though, showing accuracy and reasonable pace in a fine spell of 2 for 7 from his 7 overs. Wickets were falling steadily but this spell put Bec so far behind the run rate that any hopes of victory were extinguished.
Of course, Bec's real batting star was Andrew West who made an eventful 4, getting off the mark by playing a firm on drive with his thumb, then spanking 2 through mid-wicket and rounding off with a thunderous, acrobatic dive to reach his ground on a risky single. Tahir eventually produced one of his best deliveries to bowl West.
Everything else was an anti-climax, though the last-wicket stand produced about 20 with G. Mason playing well for 19 but by then the required rate was up around 14 an over. Terry Bruce-Mills eventually administered the last rites and victory was secured, albeit over a team that was severely depleted, particularly in their batting.
Anyway, we are grateful to the opposition for showing up for a match they could easily have cancelled. Man of the Match is Tahir for a brilliant all-round performance. Our best fielder was Mark Milnes, but he did his best work fielding for the opposition. There wasn't that much fielding for us to do in Bec's innings but I would say Fielder of the Day was John Crossland, his second successive match without conceding a bye, this time on a difficult track.

Clapham Nomads 146 for 8 from 35 overs

M. Vyas 1
S. Prasanna 13
M. Milnes 3
H. Khan 25
P. Pattiyil 26
N. Lefebve 24 not out
G. Pala 0
Tahir 36
E. Todorow 0
J. Crossland 6 not out

F.O.W. - 2, 9, 44, 45, 93, 95, 133, 133

Bec Old Boys 71 all out from 29.1 overs

H. Khan 7-1-15-1
E. Todorow 7-0-21-3
Tahir 7-3-7-2
G. Pala 7-0-26-1
T. Bruce-Mills 1.1-1-0-1

Clapham Nomads won by 75 runs

Clapham Nomads v Touring Theatre XI - 22/8/10

Our old friends the Touring Theatres turned up at Raynes Park with only 8 players. Fortunately, Nomads had 12 and so we lent the away side Terry Bruce-Mills (who has played a few games for Theatres recently anyway) and, most generously of all, the elusive medium pace bowling genius Andrew West.
West was wearing his famous tight-fitting purple top but, to the disappointment of many, got changed into a white cricket shirt.
A 35-over per innings, 10-a-side match was agreed on. Emil Todorow won yet another toss and Nomads batted first on a dry, patchy wicket, typical of Merton Council this year. Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas made good early progress in decent time against new ball pairing Wilson and Fieldhouse. The introduction of Bruce-Mills slowed things down a little as he extracted some bounce from the pitch. Terry made the first breakthrough, hitting the top of Vyas' off-stump as Mahesh played across the line for a well-made 38. The opening stand realised 93, Nomads' best 1st wicket partnership of the season so far.
Prasanth top-edged his first ball straight to Deep Square Leg, but a difficult chance was put down and Prasanth settled down to play solidly before he was LBW for 35 to the medium pace of Danny (who bowled very tidily to take 3 for 40.)
Hassan fell cheaply and Sumith Prasanna came in for his first match in nearly two years. The big Sri Lankan hit his third ball, from John Warnaby, for 6. The Nomads were all a little surprised that Theatres had not yet called upon the bowling skills of Andrew West, who had fielded stoutly at Mid-Wicket, stopping one very hard shot with his foot much to umpire Todorow's amusement. Before the game, Andrew had told Hassan Khan that he would get him out and this looked a possibility as his first ball reared alarmingly from just short of a length. It looked as though he would make things very difficult for the Nomads' batsmen. However, this was about as good as it got as Bradshaw and Sumith took 14 from his first over. Sumith hit 3 big sixes off Andrew's bowling as the Nomads legend was retired from the attack having bowled 3 overs for 45 runs.
In the meantime, Mark Bradshaw had fallen to Danny for 64. Sumith Prasanna raced on and I noticed that he uses a "BDM NS Sidhu" bat. I am sure that the former India opener would have approved of his mighty hitting and especially his calculated assault on the opposition's most dangerous bowler, Andrew West.
Sumith was finally bowled by Dirk Fieldhouse for 64. Darwin made a brisk unbeaten 23 and Mark Milnes opened his batting account for the team with 4 not out as Nomads finished on 259 for 5. A special mention should be made of the fielding of Milton for the Touring Theatres - he fielded absolutely magnificantly, stopping everything that came his way, throwing well and taking the very important catch to dismiss Hassan.
In reply, Theatres lost both their openers - Wilson and the usually obdurate Roger Daltrey lookalike John Whitham - in the first 2 overs. There followed a steady fall of wickets as Hassan took 5 for 14, moving the ball both ways and throwing in the occasional leg-spinner. At 27 for 7 only a heroic partnership could restore some pride to the Thespians and up stepped 2 unlikely heroes in the form of the 72-year-old Anthony "Chick" Fowles - who has written several well-received Sports books and a Crime novel, Chinamen, based around South London club cricket, and has recovered from very serious knee surgery - and our very own Andrew West, who has not written any best-selling books to my knowledge but has certainly had a lot written about him. The pair performed admirably with Fowles, the fitter of the 2, defending stoutly and deploying a one-handed sweep to excellent effect. Many present feared that Andrew West was having an off day and would be dismissed for 0, but the Nomads legend dispelled these fears by whacking his first delivery through mid-wicket for a couple of runs. He followed up with a boundary to cow corner and showed some good defence too. Mark Milnes eventually prised out Andrew with a well-directed yorker. Gopi took the final 2 wickets, rounding it off with a clever low full toss which was difficult to pick up from the A3 end as Nomads sealed a comfortable win against these very pleasant opponents.
After the game, Andrew sought solace in looking at the scorebook and reciting some of his previous glories to those present. I am sure he will be back with a vengeance in the next game.
Several candidates for Man of the Match; Mark Bradshaw with a fine 64, Hassan Khan with his season's best figures of 5 for 14 but Sumith Prasanna takes it with a very entertaining 64. His 50 came up in just 22 balls, only 2 more than the club record. It was good to have him back. Fielder of the Day was Darwin, who had the most to do and did it well. MB / NL

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 259 for 5 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 64
M. Vyas 38
P. Pattiyil 35
H. Khan 4
S. Prasanna 64
Darwin 23 not out
M. Milnes 4 not out

F.O.W. - 93, 139, 146, 207, 239

TOURING THEATRE XI - 56 all out from 21 overs

J. Whitham 0
Wilson 0
D. Fieldhouse 1
Stephenson 8
T. Bruce-Mills 1
D. Counihan 4
A. Fowles 15
C. Robertson 2
A. West 7
J. Warnaby 4

F.O.W. - 0, 0, 8, 9, 11, 12, 27, 47, 56

Clapham Nomads won by 203 runs

Emil Todorow 150 Not Out

Not words that I ever thought I would write in a cricket report but they refer not to an innings, but to the magnificent feat achieved by the Nomads' skipper in playing 150 successive games for the club, not missing a match since September 2002 - and even then he was in Bulgaria and didn't know there was a game on. The Blogspot is therefore honoured to present "Todorow - A Tribute."
Emil Todorow was born in Bulgaria but he soon realised that cricketing opportunities were likely to be limited there and left the country for the Home of Cricket - Clapham.
He was initially baffled by cricket and confined his games-playing to chess, which he plays to a very high level - he is believed to have been in the top 1,000 players in the country. I can assure you that he is just as lethal with a bishop in his hand as he is with a ball.
He first tried cricket in 1985. Being a sociable person, he wanted to go for a drink with John Crossland, Nick Lefebve and Joe Chance but was disturbed to hear that they were going to play that tedious, incomprehensible game he had seen on TV, briefly, before switching off. Clapham Common used to have 3 excellent artificial pitches and the 4 friends pitched stumps. Todorow asked Lefebve what was the point of the game and the youngster replied "Try to hit it in the road. Not that road....Lavender Hill" (about 1/2 a mile away.) Todorow nodded in understanding and, taking a diagonal guard, attempted the feat. He had such a mighty slog that, had he connected, I think he would have managed it.
They ended up playing every week for the next few summers, along with Simon Sparssis, Chris Holland, Bob Aspin, Peter Morris and Gerry Blackwood; most of whom went on to play for Open University or for the Nomads. Chance and, unbelievably, Lefebve were quite quick in those days and Emil often found himself bruised but he was willing to fight fire with fire. "For every bouncer I receive," he told Chance, "you will receive 3." His action was not the free-flowing thing of beauty you see today; in fact it was a chuck, but he started to get more accurate and also became a fan of the game, being particularly devoted to Richard Hadlee.
He first played a competitive match in 1987 when local character Paul Riche assembled a scratch eleven including Lefebve, Todorow, several Open University players, a women's hockey international and a guy who was sunbathing nearby. The opposition was a fairly strong team called Wandsworth Gods. Todorow batted number 3 and soon struck a mighty off-side blow which fell just short of the rope. "Where's that bloke from?" one of the Riche XI asked. "Bulgaria, eh? I bet they've got some dodgy pitches out there. Goats nibbling the outfield." Thankfully Todorow didn't hear him and he thoroughly enjoyed the match, taking a wicket and not being called for no-ball, which increased his confidence as a bowler.
In 1990, Todorow and Crossland heard that the Open University CC were looking for players and, remembering the nice, quiet guys from the Gods match, they turned up at Lillie Road nets in Fulham, only to be greeted by the sound of several hang-dog cricketers being ruthlessly bossed about by a man with a harsh Dublin accent. Crossland nearly turned and fled remembering the man, Dave Hunter, as his former football captain from Balham Celtic.
Todorow began to play regularly for the OU and, though it is fair to say that Dave Hunter never really rated Todorow as a bowler, and certainly not as a batsman, the two men had a grudging respect for each other as forceful characters. I often sat in the pub listening to them arguing, each taking points of view they didn't really hold, just to wind the other one up. Emil began to bowl regularly; his first bowl was in a game in August 1990 on a day when the all-time record high temperature was set. Two rotund men, Peter Price and Alan Cotter (known to Emil as "The Pack Pair") were toiling away and getting carted and I noticed Todorow pacing up and down restlessly. He confirmed that, had he not been brought on to bowl, he would have quit cricket. Hunter must have sensed this and a quick wicket for our hero was the result.
Deep down, D. Hunter was a great guy and appreciated the competitiveness Todorow brought to the side, but that didn't stop him - a football captain to his bones - from berating the Bulgarian's bowling. "Emil, for Christ's sake, bowl on the off-stump to this one and leg-stump to his partner," the Irish skipper yelled. "It's a secret," Emil replied, "and I wish I had your level of control." I also recall Emil straying down leg side one over and being hit for 4 successive fours though an acre of unguarded space behind square. When Emil protested after the first ball, Hunter replied "You don't deserve a Fine Leg."
We had some good times in the OU and there was usually something going on, such as when, on tour in Stroud, some local yobs took a dislike to Todorow in a curry house and threatened to make him "eat dog." He informed them that, if he encountered them again, they would need to be accompanied by the army. The trouble was, the team was either losing, or recording a losing draw (50 for 8 in reply to 200) almost every week and inevitably there were murmurings of discontent. (4-hour-long, weekly murmurings.) In 1994 Todorow, along with Nick Lefebve, John Crossland, Joe Chance and John Chance, formed the Clapham Nomads.
At this stage, Open University would probably have collapsed without these 5 and so they carried on playing for both clubs. Todorow must have played in well over 30 matches in 1994 and the constant bowling that he got through seemed to be the making of him as a bowler. His action smoothed out, he became more accurate and he introduced such variations as the BY Special (Balkan Yorker,) the Remarkable Delivery, which kicks up to neck height at slow medium pace off a good length and the Accidental Leg Spinner. He can also bowl a deadly deliberate Leg Spinner, but rarely uses it outside the nets. He still cherished dreams of being a fast bowler at this stage; "this summer....you will see some pace," he repeated every April.
Todorow continued playing 2 games a weekend regularly as OU and Nomads carried on a strange on-off romance for several years, finally coming to an acrimonious divorce in a game against the Energy Exiles at Tolworth in September 1998. I still have a letter from the OU regretting any upset the split caused us. Todorow laughed at that one.
Nomads had gradually ceased to be a "Friends and Friends of Friends" side and starting building a decent team, even joining the All London League in 2000. Around this time, there was an article in Wisden Cricket Monthly by cricket journalist Peter Roebuck saying that cricket is not a game played in the darkness, in rain, sleet, snow, or in Bulgaria. Todorow, by now a cricket die-hard, took offence at this and wrote to the journalist but didn't receive a reply. We were also thinking of submitting a piece to "The Cricketer" when Todorow captained Nomads to the top of the League after 3 games. Sadly, Nomads lost all their remaining League matches and sank to last place, and the moment passed. There have been at least 2 mentions of Todorow in a cricketing context, however, in the National Press. Occasionally he can be rather put out if people imply there is something strange about a Balkan-born man being so devoted to cricket, but surely there is merit in the fact that he has achieved a decent standard without, obviously, playing the game as a child. Occasionally he is taken for a South African by people confused by his interest in the game. Once he was watching a Test Match on TV in a pub in Clapham Junction and England were being peppered by bouncers from Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. "Yeessss, " some West Indians cried, turning to Todorow. "Your lot are going to mash 'em up next." "What do you mean?" replied Todorow, placing his pipe on the table, "my lot." The West Indians looked at each other and tutted indignantly, "Your lot....South Africa, man!"
Nomads left the League in a hurry and Todorow was the prime mover behind this. The League was plagued by sledging, bad sportsmanship, over-competitiveness and dodgy umpiring - and that was just the Nomads, you should have seen the other teams - though there was some good cricket played. Todorow was becoming a cricket purist and felt that Sunday games should, above all, be played in a good spirit. As regards the professional game, he is staunchly in favour of traditional forms of cricket, and traditional clothing, and decries 20-20 and "The Pyjama Game," as he terms it. He is passionately opposed to Sky's monopoly on Test match coverage, advocating that it should be available free to people of limited means. and that widespread Terrestrial TV coverage is the only way cricket will retain a sufficiently broad fan-base to continue as England's National Sport.
For most of the past 25 years, he appeared particularly obsessed with Graeme Hick. Any mention of Hick, or Worcestershire, or Zimbabwe or even just Africa, would lead to an impassioned diatribe; either that Hick should be rushed into the England side (ignoring the residential qualification,) or later that he should be brought back into the side, or that he should always bat at 3 for England and the team should be built around him. We began to wonder how any man could love another man so much, but I have come to realise that it was largely one of his famous wind-ups. He has always been willing to talk cricket at great length with anyone and his late night discussions with John Crossland and Joe Chance were legendary. (All Night Bull, Crossland dubbed them.)
After Nomads left the League, we began to acquire some seriously good players, such as Rafi, Hassan and Kabir. It was around this time that Todorow took over the bulk of the captaincy, which had previously been shared around the 5 founder members. It has always been a strength of Emil's captaincy that even players who have more talent than him still respect him as a skipper, and this has, with occasional spectacular exceptions, prevented the team from descending into cliqueyness and acrimony.
For the past 8 or 9 years, Nomads have been winning more than they lose. Todorow has plugged away with his bowling, usually getting his 20 wickets a season. He has perhaps underused himself as a batsman, although he has opened many times as this used to be a bit of a problem position in the days before Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson. He can play some really fine shots on occasions and claims to relish pace. I recall him being rapped on the hand once by a South African bowler at Kenley, who was bowling at 80 mph. Todorow shook his paw carefully, glared at the big Saffer, and absolutely crucified the next ball with a text book cut that must have crossed the Point boundary in under a second. I went to the indoor nets last winter with Emil and Mark. Emil was playing some fine shots against a bowling machine set to well over 80 mph. "Up..." he cried, "More." We turned it up to 93 and he was hit on the hand. He played the next ball with no problem though and looked disappointed to be told that machine couldn't bowl any faster.
He really showed what he could do in a game against Battersea Spinners in 2000. Chasing 105 to win, Todorow went in at No. 3 at 5 for 1 against some good bowling. Joined by his favourite batting partner, the left-handed Gaurang Vyas on 29 for 2, Todorow played brilliantly with shots all around the wicket and the pair saw Nomads home with Emil stranded on 36 not out. I am convinced he would have made 50 that day had we not passed the Spinners' total. His best bowling came in a game against Crete Sports, a really strong Guyanese-run side, when he took 6 for 37. He is unfortunate that this performance is remembered not for his running through a fine batting line-up, but for the absolutely massive six hit off him by a bald, 60-year-old Barbadian.
This is starting to sound like an Oscar winner's acceptance speech but I must mention he has done lots of good work off the field too, doing the team selection for the past 4 seasons and handling the banning of a certain well-known Nomads player with skilful diplomacy. Thanking him for his considerable contribution in a well-worded letter, he went on to advise the player that unfortunately there would be no opportunity for this contribution to be continued. He has also put in many thousands of miles of driving for the team (or acting as a C-Cab, as Todorow would put it.) Using his original car, The Bullmobile, and a series of other quality, value-for-money vehicles, he has been willing to transport Nomads' rancid and malodorous kit bag and sometimes equally rancid and malodorous players. He has put up with some terrible back seat driving and routefinding, being sent the wrong way up countless one way streets and culs-de-sac and once nearly ending up in the Thames. I should mention, though, the time he protested indignantly "We are lost. I can see the sea." (We were on the Swindon by-pass at the time.)
To sum up, Emil Todorow has become probably the most legendary figure in South London cricket and I can summarise the club's appreciation in 4 simple words - BETTER THAN DEL BALLARD.

Career Summary;

Appearances for Clapham Nomads - To be added
Total Competitive matches - approximately 400
Total runs scored for Clapham Nomads - 1,013 at an average of 7.08
Highest score - 36 not out v Battersea Spinners on 16/9/00 - also scored 36 for Open University v Nutley Hall in August 1990.
Total wickets taken for Clapham Nomads - 298 at an average of 17.97
Best Bowling - 6 for 37 v Crete Sports in May 1997. He did take 6 for 34 in an Open University match v Whitton Wanderers in 1994 but this was a 12-a-side match and Todorow took the 11th wicket.
Most wickets for Clapham Nomads in a season - 32 in 2003

Records.

Most appearances for Clapham Nomads.
Most appearances for the club as captain.
Most successive appearances for the club - 151 as at 25/8/10
Most wickets for the club
9th in list of all-time run-scorers.

West One v Clapham Nomads - 15/8/10

It was a much-changed Nomads side that made the journey to Ruxley Lane, Ewell, for the revival of this fixture against a side we used to play a few years back. Several regulars dropped out due to Ramadan and Andrew West failed to appear, due to Arsenal.
Batting and especially bowling had a makeshift look and Emil Todorow inserted West One on a damp wicket. With only three front-line bowlers, Todorow had to consider his options carefully and he decided to play his trump cards first in a bid to cut through the top order and protect his lesser bowlers. Gopi took the new ball for the first time for Nomads and soon had success with the total on 6, scattering the stumps with a ball that kept low. Emil Todorow locked on to the target and also found some irregular bounce and the score trickled along quite gently at around 3 an over until a double-bowling change after 12 overs. Terry Bruce-Mills took over from Gopi and his accurate, floated slow medium had West One's Australian / South African pair looking to force the score. Not so easy on this pitch and the chances soon began to come. 2 catches were put down off Terry 's bowling by out-fielders and at least one sharp caught behind shout went begging. Nomads kept a lid on things nicely, although the batsmen were fairly conservative in their running between the wickets. The Australian No. 3 began to play some powerful leg-side shots off Prasanth but Darwin intervened with a good catch at cover off Bruce-Mills's bowling before too much damage was done.
Drinks were taken at 20 overs with the score only about 70 for 2 and the partnership consolidated further after the break. On about 100 for 2 off 25, although Nomads' bowling figures looked good, you would have to say that West One's early order had done a fine job and given the team ample opportunity to accelerate against Nomads' part-time bowlers.
Prasanth Pattiyil, Darwin and Nick Lefebve have only bowled 20 competitive overs between them this season and they didn't really bowl all that badly, but the pressure was right off for West One who could play their shots at will. Lefebve started ok with 1 for 15 off his first 3 overs of Round-Arm slows, and made the breakthrough by dismissing the South African opener for 68 courtesy of a good catch by Gopi at short mid-on; but the replacement batsman, Attwood-Smith looked "a class above" and, with a series of gorgeous straight and off drives, dismissed the veteran left-armer imperiously from the attack. There was also a wicket for Darwin but the scoring rate of around 8 an over in this period probably took the total beyond the reach of this Nomads line-up. The pick of the part-time bowlers was debutant Mark Milnes who, despite not having bowled for 12 years, showed good accuracy in bowling 2 men in the final over, when the slog was on. Emil Todorow also came back for 2 overs at the death and looked almost unplayable in this second spell. West One closed on 210 for 6 off 40 which no sane man could say was a disaster with the bowling line-up we had.
West One's tea is legendary. A few years ago, they played at a ground in West Wimbledon that also had good quality tennis courts and they trooped in at the interval during a June fixture to find the Williams sisters munching their sandwiches. There can surely be no finer endorsement and I like to think that the sisters, Serena certainly, came back for seconds and also sampled the excellent cake selection. I know I did.
There was plenty to chew over for Todorow and the early Nomads batting-order. The target of 211 was unlikely to be straightforward, given the slowness of the pitch and the amount of Southern Hemisphere accents we could hear.
Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas opened and it was clear they had a job on their hands against the rapid Attwood-Smith, a South African Grade Cricketer, and the swing of Chet Bain, an archetypal London club cricketer; busy, competitive and shaping the ball away from the bat. Our lads kept out plenty of good stuff and managed to keep the run rate just shy of 3 an over with deft placement and excellent running between the wickets. Mahesh was a little bogged down by Bain who bowled a good off-side line and he was the first man to fall at 36, trying to pull from outside off and skying the ball. The good start was continued by Prasanth in support of Bradshaw, who looked in fine touch with plenty of time to play the ball, and began to up the tempo with his trademark off-side shots.
Webber, bowling a little too short, and the innocuous-looking Burton were brought into the attack and it was Burton who did the damage. Prasanth snatched at his first ball, a long hop, and was caught off the top edge in the deep. Burton soon accounted for Mark Milnes and Nomads found themselves 71 for 3 with 140 to win off about 18 overs and missing most of our middle-order hitters. No. 5 Nick Lefebve had instructions to stay there and stop the rot while Mark Bradshaw approached a deserved half-century; sadly, on 37, Bradshaw scooped a Burton delivery up to wide mid-off to give West One's big third-changer his 3rd wicket.
Enter Darwin, whose batting has evolved since last season and showed plenty of promise with a crackerjack off-drive which a brave fielder did well to stop. Inevitably, our No. 6 fell to Burton for 10, shortly after he had edged the same bowler onto the stumps without dislodging a bail.
Nick Lefebve had meanwhile fallen, again to Burton, for 13 but not before inadvertently causing a nasty injury to West One's keeper, Adam Fahey. Lefebve skied a pull which looked like just clearing the keeper but the glovesman stretched and dived and looked to have held on to a good catch, unfortunately he dropped it when hitting the ground and, in the process, appeared to dislocate a shoulder. He was in agony and it resulted in, perhaps surprisingly, the first appearance at a Nomads fixture of the London Ambulance Service. We wish Adam, a lovely bloke, a speedy recovery and hope he can make West One's forthcoming tour of Romania.
Nomads batting could have tailed off as the required rate rose but instead we were treated a brilliantly entertaining display of hitting from No. 7 Gopi who hit a series of shots through and over mid-wicket, a couple of them dropping inches from the rope. Emil Todorow was run out but the Mystery Bowler, who is becoming a batting star, just got better and better, taking 14 off the final over. It was a shame that we ran out of overs as he would surely have made his first 50 for the club. Nomads fell well short of the target with 156 but, with a depleted side, this was not a bad effort. Even John acknowledged this.
West One had a fine array of talent and were worthy victors but their bowling star was Burton, who it is fair to say is not a bowler who would give many batsmen sleepless nights. He took 5 for 27 and, as John Crossland so aptly put it; "Nomads went for a Burton."
A pleasant day was rounded off at dusk as 3 Nomads (average alcohol intake; 2 pints) claimed to have seen a UFO, an orange diamond shape, take off from the nearby woods, ascend gently vertically, hover and then shoot off in overdrive and suddenly disappear. Of course, it is not the only time Nomads have encountered alien life forms - we have selected quite a few over the years. We did wonder if this had any connection with the non-appearance of Andrew West; did West know they were going to come looking for him to take him home? The strange thing is, I looked on the website "UK UFO Sightings" and there were several reports of a similar object being seen above Ewell on 15th August 2009, exactly one year previously. How scary is that? Maybe it is a birthday. Maybe it is Andrew West's birthday.
Man of the Match is quite difficult. Mark Bradshaw's innings was vital and Gopi's was very enjoyable but I am going for a controversial choice, Terry Bruce-Mills. With a severely depleted bowling line-up, Nomads' top bowlers really had to get wickets. Terry bowled well for his 1 for 23 but there were at least 3, possibly 4, drops off his bowling. There was also a ball that hung in the sky above mid-on which could be called a chance. It is not Bruce-Mills' fault that these chances were not taken and he could quite conceivably have had a five-fer, which could have made the game quite different. Fielder of the Day is also hard; Darwin, Bradshaw, Bruce-Mills and Lefebve all put in pretty much error-free rounds but I will award it to Gopi, who took arguably the best catch and was as busy and fast as usual.

WEST ONE - 210 for 6 from 40 overs

G. Pala 8-0-39-1
E. Todorow 8-0-18-0
T. Bruce-Mills 8-1-23-1
P. Pattiyil 6-0-43-0
Darwin 4-0-33-1
N. Lefebve 5-0-41-1
M. Milnes 1-0-7-2

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 156 for 8 from 40 overs

M. Bradshaw 37
M. Vyas 13
P. Pattiyil 8
M. Milnes 0
N. Lefebve 13
Darwin 10
G. Pala 41 not out
E. Todorow 1
T. Bruce-Mills 2
J. Crossland 0 not out

F.O.W. - 36, 64, 71, 89, 105, 126, 134, 142

Clapham Nomads lost by 54 runs

Clapham Nomads v Kingston Lefthanders - 1/8/10

It was back to our favourite home venue, Joseph Hood Rec, for another visit from long-standing rivals Kingston Lefthanders. Once again, half the Nomads team was late but the Lefthanders didn't mind as they were able to continue their long, liquid lunch while they waited.
A 35-over game eventually got underway and Mark Bradshaw was soon out of the blocks with a trademark cut for 4 off the bowling of the excellent Paul Thatcher. This was to be the only boundary off Thatcher who was "Not for Turning" into quick runs and improved steadily throughout our innings.
Experienced leg-spinner Dave Connett shared the new ball and controversy soon reared its head. Distracted by banter while the bowler was running in, Mahesh Vyas took 3 strides down the pitch and blocked the ball with his pads. A preposterous LBW appeal was answered by umpire Todorow giving the "Dead Ball" signal. A bit of backchat escalated into a tirade of obscenities from a fielder to Todorow which our umpire did well to ignore. There does seem to have been a bit of bad blood between the two sides lately, possibly dating back to the Dead Crow match in 2008 and our supposed use of Australian ringers, one of whom hails from Lincolnshire. I suppose we have hardly been blameless over the years; especially Mr C and the player referred to in one of Kingston's reports as "Shorts Knob."
Thankfully, this was as bad as it got and, as the alcohol was absorbed, a reasonably pleasant game continued. Bradshaw and Vyas made good, steady progress against some decent bowling but Vyas unfortunately missed a short, leg-side Connett delivery which appeared tailor-made for him and the leg bail was clipped - 27 for 1.
Bradshaw was looking in good touch and heading for a 50 at least, so it was unfortunate when he was hit on the pad in front of leg and middle in the 9th over. This was the last over in the first spell for Thatcher, comfortably the best bowler, and Mark looked set to cash in on his hard work, but at least the LBW decision prevented a mass throwing-out of toys from prams by the fielders, as happened in the reverse fixture in June.
Prasanth Pattiyil and Hassan Khan settled in against the second-string bowling pair of Matt "Brains" Ashburn and Nick Crouch, Sunday Cricket's slowest, most tempting, but occasionally deadly bowler. Ashburn is usually a reasonable bowler but had radar problems this time and Pattiyil, Khan and Extras all took a toll on him. Both batsmen played Crouch the textbook way, if there is one, by sauntering down the pitch and clipping him behind square on the leg-side. One of the best fielders was placed in the key Deep Backward Square position and saved a stack of runs. We almost had a chance to cash in when he abandoned his post to urinate behind a tree at the start of one over, but the bowler noticed just in time.
Nomads raced to 100 as each of Crouch's first 18 balls went for runs. His 19th ball, however, produced one of his notorious dippers and the ball sneaked under Prasanth's bat and rolled exhaustedly onto the stumps, just about removing a bail. This is just the way he always used to get John Chance out, but Prasanth is a gentleman so there was no pad throwing or finger pointing, nor any suppressed laughter from the Nomads.
Abdul Khan made the most of the rest of Crouch's spell with a series of boundaries before falling to Ashburn. Riaz Khan then joined Hassan and the serious acceleration could begin.
At drinks, Kingston's captain revealed he felt aggrieved at skipper Todorow's insistence on an Overs Game despite Lefthanders being very short of bowlers. We hadn't realised quite how depleted they were and so Todorow sportingly agreed that the 2 opening bowlers could bowl 9 overs each, rather than the normal 7. This had quite a bearing as the returning Thatcher soon bowled Riaz for 12.
Nick Lefebve joined Hassan Khan but unfortunately jinxed his partner by exhorting him to go on and get a ton. Thatcher promptly bowled Khan for 86 to impose savage cuts on our scoring rate. Gopi walked out at 179 for 6 but Thatcher quickly had him glove a catch to the keeper. The bowler, with his 2 extra overs still to bowl, looked like running right through us for a score under 200. At this point the captain, Tugboat, seemed to make an error; he seemed determined to claim Emil Todorow's wicket for himself and came on at Thatcher's expense. Neither batsman had much trouble with him and he gifted Lefebve a couple of juicy leg-side treats. The veteran pair put on 31 in good time until the returning Thatcher bowled Lefebve with an Exocet missile in the final over to complete a high-class five-fer.
Nomads closed on 210 which is considerably more than Lefthanders have ever scored against us, even with stronger batting line-ups than Sunday. Defence was not an option on this occasion though, so who knew.
The usually obdurate Crouch opened but seemed slightly demoralised and swung aross the line to Hassan Khan. Tut tut. 0 for 1. The green-shirted Nicholas thumped a lusty 4 off Todorow and was badly dropped in attempting to repeat the feat. This merely galvanised the Slavic-Speaking Legend and he bowled the Man in Green next ball with ease.
Our two opening bowlers, who are getting better and better as the season goes by, matched each other with a further 2 wickets apiece to reduce Lefthanders to 12 for 6 and give our visitors a shot at breaking a long-standing record; the 31 all out recorded by Stratford in 1994 in the teeth of a fast-bowling gale from Joe Chance - the lowest total Nomads have ever conceded.
Gideon Reeve and Gopi Pala took over after 6 overs and kept up the good work. At 18 for 7, 24 for 8 and even 29 for 9 the record was still on. Reeve produced some of his best bowling of the season, clipping the bails with a quick-ish beauty for the 8th wicket. Paul Thatcher and Dave Connett came together and proved the best batsmen as well as the best bowlers in taking the score up to 59 in a breezy stand before Connett smacked the ball straight back at Gopi who accepted the chance very nicely to wrap up a comfortable 5th victory of the season, which now equals our 5 defeats.
With an outstanding one-handed catch, 3 wickets for 7 and 86 runs, Hassan Khan is Man of the Match by the width of Kingston Marketplace, but I'm sure he must have batted better on occasions for half the score he made in this game. The most consistent fielders were probably Gideon Reeve and Prasanth Pattiyil and, since Prasanth kept his cool for a juggling catch, I will award him Fielder of the Day.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 210 FOR 8 off 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 14
M. Vyas 12
P. Pattiyil 23
H. Khan 86
A. Khan 15
R. Khan 12
N. Lefebve 17
G. Pala 0
E. Todorow 14 not out
G. Reeve 0 not out
J. Crossland did not bat

F.O.W. - 27, 29, 101, 126, 164, 179, 179, 201

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 59 all out off 13.3 overs

H. Khan 3-0-7-3
E. Todorow 3-0-10-3
G. Reeve 4-0-22-2
G. Pala 3.3-0-11-2

Clapham Nomads won by 151 runs

Clapham Nomads v Chalfont St Peter - 25/7/10

It was one of the most chaotic pre-match build-ups anyone could recall which, for Clapham Nomads, is saying something. Most players were late, one car almost ended up in the Thames, there was a major controversy about parking; in the end it was a relief to take the field, even though the pitch was surrounded by hushed players, gazing at it rather in the manner of Junior Doctors witnessing some horrific skin condition for the first time.
The late start necessitated a 30-over game. Chalfont's skipper eagerly inserted Nomads and Mark Bradshaw was joined on the parched, bumpy-looking strip by a new opening partner in Gideon Reeve. Disaster struck in the first over with the pacy Dorman finding the edge of Bradshaw's bat; 1 for 1. Reeve followed in the next over when Watson cut in a ball that also kept a little low, but by that time the score had raced to 12 courtesy of a classy cut from Prasanth Pattiyil and six wides from Dorman.
Hassan Khan came out and soon showed the pitch was playable with a series of boundaries, at least one in each over, with Watson being the chief victim. 14-year-old spinner Dunn replaced Dorman and initially impressed, but he wilted rather in the face of an onslaught from Hassan, a glorious cover drive being the highlight. The score raced past 50 in the 11th over and it looked rosy for Nomads with our battery of bowlers who specialize in bowling on dodgy pitches - though at this stage the track was looking half-decent.
That theory took a knock, as did Nomads' chances, in the next over with the arrival of the tall left-arm quickie Noot. His first two balls got up sharply on off-stump and Hassan did well to keep them down. The third ball pitched similarly, Hassan shaped to cut but the ball bounced no more than nine inches and took out the off stump.
Prasanth took centre stage but No. 5 Sohail soon departed. A new bowler, Murphy, seemed temptingly driveable but took 3 important wickets in a 4-over burst. Prasanth fell for a most valuable 26 to a fine running catch deep in the covers and Abdul Khan and Riaz Khan were also caught in the deep. Abdul had played particularly well in keeping out some threatening bowling from Noot and some variable bounce. Riaz inevitably managed one of his trademark straight fours before departing for 8.
Nick Lefebve and Gopi Pala came together at a rather worrying 109 for 7 and, with the fastest and the slowest Nomad in partnership, there was definite Run Out potential. The pair played well though; Lefebve mostly blocking while Gopi produced one of his best Nomads innings with some hearty leg-side blows, a 4 and a big 6 over mid-wicket in one over from the wilting spinner Dunn being the highlight.
Gopi was finally caught for 29 off the returning Dorman with 13 balls remaining and Emil Todorow soon followed, bowled by a complete pea-roller which didn't bounce at all. It was down to Lefebve and John Crossland to unleash some fury at the death. Lefebve did unleash a massive swipe, but not particularly near the ball, and he was trapped in front LBW to end the innings in the final over on 145 - which we would certainly have settled for after 2 overs, or probably even at the start of the game.
Chalfont were a very pleasant bunch of young guys and we sensed that their batting was likely to have some class, but also that they would be more used to the lush greens of South Buckinghamshire than the Council-prepared deserts of North Richmond. It was hard to guess how things were going to pan out. There was a low-key start with Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow sending down their usual tight, probing, stuff but Chalfont coping comfortably. Todorow produced several of the B.Y. Specials (Balkan Yorkers) which were a feature of the earlier part of his career and claimed many a head-scratching victim. The closest we came to a wicket was another excellent direct hit from the golden arm of Abdul Khan - it would have been a fourth umpire referral and I think it would have been just out.
For the seventh over, H. Khan was replaced by Gopi who gradually eased himself into a truly devastating spell of medium-pace bowling. In his second over, John Crossland leapt like a salmon to prevent 4 byes and keep the pressure on and then, the following ball, the evergreen keeper pounced like a vulture to glove a sharp chance and end a threatening opening stand of 31. Todorow kept the pressure on at the other end and then the Hyderabad Hurricane just blew St Peter apart - and left Nomads at the gates of heaven; No. 3 I. Cottam was comprehensively bowled, Ben scooped the next ball, a rare long-hop, up to Gideon Reeve at Short Cover Point and, with No. 5 McHale encircled by Nomads who were hungry for the hat-trick like a pack of ravenous hounds, the youngster clipped it straight to Short Square leg where Riaz Khan took an excellent pressure catch to spark off scenes of joy.
Gopi completed his five-fer with another bowled in the next over and, at that stage, looked like he might claim all ten. Riaz Khan bowled the potentially dangerous Noot in his first over to end the chances of a ten-wicket haul but Gopi took a wicket in each of his last two overs to finish with figures of 7 for 29 which is the best Nomads analysis for 7 or 8 years. This left the score at 66 for 8 and, with the opener O. Cottam still at the crease, Dorman on his way out and Gopi having finished his overs, there was at least some chance that St Peter could score the required 80 from the last 14 overs. The Khans did a professional job though; a wicket apiece for Abdul and Riaz - and a sporting LBW decision from the umpire for the 10th wicket - ended the visitors' innings on 82 with O. Cottam carrying his bat for 40 Not Out. A day that had started badly ended brilliantly with a much-needed victory over a side that had a lot of talent.
To award Gopi Man of the Match is not a difficult decision. What a spell of bowling. Some captains would have claimed credit for Tactical Intervention in making the early bowling change but Todorow sportingly admitted that Hassan asked to be taken off as he was tired. Fielding wasn't too bad and catching was excellent for the 2nd week in a row. Fielder of the Day must be Riaz Khan for clinching Gopi's hat-trick with a sharp catch.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 145 from 29.2 overs

M. Bradshaw 0
G. Reeve 0
P. Pattiyil 26
H. Khan 36
Sohail 0
A. Khan 11
R. Khan 8
N. Lefebve 8
G. Pala 29
E. Todorow 0
J. Crossland 1 not out

F.O.W. - 1, 12, 53, 67, 75, 102, 109, 141, 142, 145

CHALFONT St PETER 82 from 20 overs

O. Cottam not out 40
Ben c Crossland b G. Pala 16
I. Cottam b G. Pala 7
Ben c G. Reeve b G. Pala 0
C. McHale c R.Khan 0
Pomarenke b G. Pala 0
Noot b R. Khan b G. Pala 0
Jake c M Bradshaw b G. Pala 0
Dorman b G. Pala 6
Dunn b A. Khan 8
Tom lbw R. Khan 0

Nomads' bowling;

H. Khan 3-1-8-0
E. Todorow 6-0-24-0
G. Pala 6-1-29-7
R. Khan 4-0-17-2
A. Khan 1-0-6-1

F.O.W. - 31, 40, 40, 40, 47, 54, 66, 66, 77, 82

Clapham Nomads won by 63 runs

Clapham Nomads v Southall Eagles - 18/7/10

After last week's debacle we just wanted a game of cricket, so it was a heart-stopping moment when the opposition rang at 1 o'clock. Thankfully they were just calling to say they were all at the ground (one hour early) and were waiting for us. It was easy to tell that it was the first time they had played Clapham Nomads.
Anyway despite the ground, King George's Playing Field in Ham, being pretty inaccessible, we all got there in reasonable time. There was an unexpected treat on the journey as Emil Todorow drove us past the posh cricket pitch at the other end of Ham Street and there, looking every inch the senior professional, with the sun bringing out the highlights in his hair, was Morden legend Del Ballard. Unfortunately he didn't see us but it would have been marvellous if he had called out to Emil; "And I'm a better driver than you as well," as we bounced off up the road.
I'm not sure which was more intimidating; the organised-looking opposition, all dressed in matching India one-day international shirts, or the worn, green and ragged-looking pitch. Skipper Todorow inevitably won the toss, put the Eagles in and pushed the boundary flags out as far as possible.
Eagles seemed very wary of the pitch at first, and excellent bowling from Todorow and Hassan Khan had them mostly defending, though their skipper did stroke away a couple of off-side fours. Todorow, playing his 147th consecutive Nomads match, made the breakthrough in the sixth over, forcing the batsman back onto his stumps with deceptive flight and thudding the ball into the off stick half way up. An accusatory glance at the pitch from the batsman was an anomaly; he should have been looking accusingly at Todorow for out-thinking him. In truth the pitch didn't play too badly; there was some high bounce at the Tennis Courts End and low bounce at the Allotments End but it played a whole lot better than it looked. (Mind you, it had to.)
Hassan Khan was producing good pace and movement off the pitch but it was a great diving catch from Prasanth that secured Hassan's first wicket. Nomads began to fight their way ahead. Hassan bowled the young No. 4 around his legs and then Todorow hit the No. 3 in the beard with a surprise lifter. I'm not sure the pitch can be blamed for this; I've seen the Bulgarian maestro do it on all types of surface. I think he could do it if he bowled on blancmange. The batsman was impressed; "How did you do that mate? You should give us lessons," he called out to the bowler. Emil just smiled enigmatically and produced a real lesson - a ball that pitched well outside leg stump but turned sharply to clip the stunned batsman's bails. For that one golden moment Todorow was Warne, with the only difference being that Todorow manages to spin the ball without actually rotating his wrist or fingers.
Hassan claimed another wicket and after 14 overs the score was 46 for 5. When Gopi knocked back the stumps in his second over there seemed a chance that it might all be over rather quickly. Gideon Reeve was unlucky when two edges off his bowling flew over the slips for 4 but 20 runs were taken off the 2 overs before drinks . In hindsight this was the turning point but with Eagles on 76 for 6 from 18, the orange tasted sweet.
The seventh-wicket partnership pressed on, sedately at first, but from about Over 23 onwards they really upped the tempo, with particularly good running between the wickets and regular boundaries straight and square. Nomads ground-fielding was ok but we were getting just a little fractious as the partnership dragged on and on. The eventual breakthrough came from a great reflex catch from Gideon Reeve after a ball from Riaz Khan was absolutely mullered straight at him. Abdul Khan out-thought the batsman in a skilful over full of variety, finally claiming his man caught and bowled with a slower 6th ball. A comical run out from Hassan Khan, set up by some bizarre overthrowing and running, was the 9th wicket, but Eagles kept scoring off almost every ball right up the end. It was still a surprise, though that they had notched 174. The excellent 7th wicket stand had realised 90.
Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas donned helmets and strode out to face the music. The openers were quite pacy and lively and the pitch managed to give the impression that it was about to do something seriously nasty, without ever quite carrying through the threat. Both our men looked in good touch. Bradshaw connected with several good off-side shots but they either found the fielders or failed to reach the (rather too long) boundary. Vyas played several off-side shots - including an exquisite late cut - which is always a sign that he is on song. Bradshaw finally found the boundary with a lovely cut past point but played uppishly to the next ball from Rachit, a lifter, which unfortunately flew straight to a man in a rather unorthodox position, a kind of Short Backward Point / Deep Gully. 21 for 1 off 8 overs and a reasonable start with hitters to come and the change bowlers an unknown quantity. Unfortunately, Rachit bowled Prasanth in his next over. Enter Hassan Khan, with a fair bit of work to do, but the star batsman of this season so far skied the left-arm first changer, Avi, when on 3 and gully took a fine running catch to massively dent Nomads' chances.
The second change bowler, Sonu, generated some velocity off a 5-pace run up. Mahesh Vyas took advantage with a couple of boundaries before the bowler's radar had really locked on. But it was clear that cheap runs were not going to be in plentiful supply for the foreseeable future. Sonu had quick revenge on Vyas, sticking out an arm for a reflex catch - almost as good as Gideon's - off his own bowling. 38 for 4. Riaz Khan managed one of his emphatic straight 4s off Sonu but the increasingly impressive bowler soon pegged back Riaz's stumps by way of reply. Abdul Khan and Gopi both hit nice 4s before being caught off the bowling of Avi, but then Sonu took centre stage. Nick Lefebve, Emil Todorow and John Crossland can all defend but Sonu was through them all like a dose of Senna; bowled, bowled, bowled in a spell of accurate medium-fast bowling with a hint of movement to complete a most impressive five-fer and seal a resounding victory for the away side.
I guess you'd call it a thrashing but it wasn't completely unenjoyable. Apart from the horrible music from a 70s Progressive Rock tribute band playing an open air concert somewhere across the river, and the smoke from burning vegetables on the allotments, it was quite an idyllic venue. If only the pitch was given a bit more (or, in fact, any) attention and it was 5 miles nearer Central London, we could consider using it again. Not otherwise, though. The cricket wasn't quite such a horror story as the scorecard suggests. The bowling was fairly good, very good from Emil and Hassan. The fielding was a big improvement on the last match and the catching was excellent. All I can say about the batting was that the openers played pretty well. The opposition were a nice bunch and had plenty of talent but were not the type of team that would always thrash us. I hope we get another crack at them next season. They seemed to quite enjoy playing us and they gave Gopi the biggest round of applause I have heard a fielding side give to an incoming batsman.
Man of the Match was, I suppose, Hassan who took the most wickets and was, just, the most economical bowler. He also ran a man out. He only made 3 runs but, as John pertinently put it; he can't save us every week. Fielder of the Day is tougher; Gideon took the best catch. Gopi also took a good catch and as usual did loads of work but I will award it to Prasanth for a great diving catch and plenty of stops on the ground.

Southall Eagles 174 for 9 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-0-21-3
E. Todorow 7-1-23-2
G. Pala 6-1-31-1
G. Reeve 6-0-32-0
A. Khan 5-0-27-1
R. Khan 4-0-38-1

Clapham Nomads 57 all out from 20 overs

M. Bradshaw 12
M. Vyas 14
P. Pattiyil 0
H. Khan 3
A. Khan 4
R. Khan 4
N. Lefebve 1
G. Pala 6
G. Reeve 1 not out
E. Todorow 0
J. Crossland 0

F.O.W. - 21, 23, 28, 38, 46, 49, 49, 56, 57, 57

Clapham Nomads lost by 117 runs

"Woodside Green" v Clapham Nomads - 10/7/10

Sincere apologies to everyone who made the long and fruitless journey to Warlingham for this match.
This sort of thing just doesn't normally happen with the Nomads. It's been at least 9 years since there has been a wasted journey for any reason other than weather, but I know that doesn't make it any less annoying for you guys.
Normally I'm very careful to ensure that the opposition are lined up and ready for a match but occasionally, such as today, I have been a bit over-confident and have just taken it on trust that an opposition who have been extremely reliable in the past will continue to be so.
I don't really know what has happened with Woodside Green. Their website is almost no use at all. We did ask around at a few local grounds and it seems they may have a Sunday match against different opposition, so I can only speculate that their Fixtures Secretary must have either forgotten to write down the fixture - and it definitely was arranged because it is rare for Nomads to play a Saturday game so it is something I would remember - or else he was not able to get a pitch for the game and omitted to tell us.
Anyway, very sorry again and if it ever does happen again, and I sincerely hope it won't, it will not be because of a lack of effort on our part. NL

Caribbean Mix v Clapham Nomads - 4/7/10

It was a much-changed Nomads line-up that took the field for the 10th match between these close rivals. Abdul Khan made a very welcome return, as did Sohail who has played one or two games previously. Most intriguingly there was a debut for Moin, the brother of Rafi, possibly Nomads' finest all-rounder of all time.
Just like last year, Caribbean were unable to secure a pitch and it fell to Nomads to book Joseph Hood Recreation Ground in Raynes Park and, as it turned out, it played excellently.
Emil Todorow lost his first toss in ages and this may have had an unsettling effect on Nomads as Caribbean Mix's opener was dropped in the first over; this set an unfortunate pattern as a minimum of six - and possibly as many as ten - chances were put down.
Nomads remained competitive for a while and with Caribbean on about 100 for 3 after 20 overs we were still in the game. This was probably the highpoint for Nomads, however, and Mix rather raced away in the second half of the innings which featured a series of ground-fielding errors and a lively exchange of tactical views between skipper Todorow and John Crossland. The pick of the change bowlers was Abdul Khan who took two wickets and showed good control for a man who has bowled very few competitive overs in the last year. This strong batting line-up was not overly concerned though, and raced away to a final total of 247 for 7 off their 35 overs.
The opposition redeemed themselves for failing to get a pitch by producing probably the Tea of the Season so far - halal chicken and rice with potato salad - and then Nomads set about their stiff task. There was a bright start from Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson with 22 off the first 3 overs before Fewson was bowled for 9. Bradshaw fell for 11 a couple of overs later. Mahesh Vyas also chipped in with 11. Sohail didn't last too long but there were high hopes for Moin. Rafi scored a most destructive century in the first game between the two sides but sadly his brother could not emulate the great man and his demise left Nomads heading for ignominious defeat on about 80 for 5.
Hassan was still there and continued the excellent form he has shown this season. Abdul Khan joined him and produced one of his most careful and sensible innings in support before falling for 25. Riaz Khan inevitably hit an early six, to match the one he thumped over Emil Todorow's head for Caribbean in the corresponding fixture last year, but the opening bowler returned to claim two Khans in one over; Riaz for 20 and Hassan for a fine 75.
The game seemed just about up for Nomads but Gopi produced some very entertaining batting, including a towering six over mid-wicket, and his regular sidekick Emil Todorow stuck around in support though a massive run out appeal was rather controversially turned down. The run rate had been just too steep and Nomads' 35 overs closed at 210 for 8. A decent and enjoyable game; Caribbean Mix's seventh win over Nomads in 10 games but certainly not one of the wider margins. The match was played in good spirit but there was nothing to match Jim Ferguson's exhortations to show "Sex Appeal" from last year. The closest anyone came was the remarkably accurate barking dog impression produced by a Mix fielder whenever a Nomads wicket fell.
Man of the Match was Hassan Khan whose 75 was by far the largest innings, though Abdul Khan's bowling and batting made him a close runner-up. I asked Emil Todorow who he thought was Fielder of the Day. "None of them," he replied with a thick frown. Ben Fewson has subsquently been selected as his fielding was less error-strewn than most.

Caribbean Mix 247 for 7 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-0-41-1
E. Todorow 7-0-46-1
G. Pala 6-0-33-1
R. Khan 7-0-46-1
M. Chand 3-0-26-0
A. Khan 3-0-18-2
Sohail 2-0-22-0

Clapham Nomads 210 for 8 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 11
B. Fewson 9
M. Vyas 11
H. Khan 75
Sohail 4
M. Chand 0
A. Khan 26
R. Khan 19
G. Pala 26 not out
E. Todorow 2 not out
Did not bat; J. Crossland

F.O.W. - 22, 23, 39, 69, 69, 131, 177, 177

Clapham Nomads lost by 37 runs

Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 20/6/10

The traditional "Longest Day" fixture against local rivals the Energy Exiles is fast becoming one of the highlights of the season. On Thursday there was some doubt whether the match could go ahead but eventually Exiles filled their final few places - and filled them with quality. The venue was the Del Ballard Recreation Ground in Dundonald Road, Wimbledon. I am starting to love this place; ok you get the occasional dead crow lying around and the pitches are too close together, meaning that you risk being decapitated by shots from Sri Lankan League players; but the wickets always seem to play well, it is easy to get to, it has the Ballard connection and, also, Kingston Lefthanders hate it - which means it must have some merit (only joking KL, if you are reading.)
Nomads were down to 10 men due, sadly, to a bereavement.
Skipper Emil Todorow won yet another toss and chose to bat. With his calm but authoritarian Capello-like air, Todorow is even starting to dominate coins and his call of "Heads" was an order rather than a guess.
Mark Bradshaw faced up to his old colleagues and there was a lively start from left-arm quickie and Exiles skipper Andy Wingfield who found the edge of Bradshaw's bat with movement off the pitch - four runs was the result. At the other end a new face to the Nomads, Jeremy Meyer, soon impressed. Ben Fewson was straight off the mark but Meyer bagged the vital wicket of Bradshaw, bowled in the second over with the help of a thick inside edge and a rather large slice of luck.
It was imperative to steady things straight away and No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil did just that. It was useful to have an experienced opener coming in at this point and Prasanth provided excellent support to Fewson who began to accelerate cautiously. Prasanth scored mostly in ones and twos but played one particularly fine shot past point, making the ball spin away from the clutches of the diving fielder. The recovery was well under way when Fewson really took the attack to Exiles with two resounding boundaries off second change Will Bentall. Wicketkeeper Wil Scott speculated that Fewson had yet to find the middle of the bat. Well if he had timed these shots any better they would have cleared the boundary - the borough boundary.
The partnership cruised past the 50 mark. Simon Gundry as first change had opened with good speed but hadn't really found his accuracy until he appealed for a rather adjacent LBW shout against Prasanth. The rebuttal of this appeal seemed to galvanise the big paceman and he bowled as fiery a spell as I have seen him produce. With the help of a diving catch from Wingfield, he quickly dismissed Fewson for a useful 37 to make the score 69 for 2 and then he ripped out the stumps of Pattiyil and No. 5 Riaz Khan in successive balls. This spell completely changed the character of Nomads' innings and, on reflection, it would probably have been better if the LBW appeal had been granted, whether it was out or not.
This burst brought together Gopi Pala and Emil Todorow, two players who always seem to bat well together. Gopi produced some good leg-side hits to take Nomads past 100, while Todorow produced the shot we all wanted to see; the brutal forced blow through mid-off that is a cross between a cut and a drive. Gopi continued to find success with lofted shots but was unfortunate to send one straight to mid-wicket to end a useful stand of 29 which had put Nomads back in with some kind of a chance at 105 for 6 with plenty of overs to go. Gideon Reeve's first ball was a long-hop from spinner David Stiffell and he had the right idea in aiming to belt it away for 4 but unfortunately he appeared to find the bottom edge and was bowled.
This left Nomads founder-members Todorow, Crossland and Lefebve to attempt to force the score up to respectability and, no doubt, provide some Senior Moments. Crossland stuck around for a while but was bowled by Stiffell. Lefebve was last man as his injury would deprive him of his ability - such as it is - to take sharp singles. The returning Wingfield greeted him with an excellent bouncer which was gloved to safety but followed up with a long-hop on the batsman's favourite leg-side which went for 4. Todorow elbowed a ball from Meyer to the boundary but then fell to the same bowler leaving Nomads all out for 125. We had failed to use 10 of our 40 overs but, since the score was about the same as in last year's match, which Exiles won with 2 balls remaining, there was at least hope that it could be close.
Both Exiles' Patels had turned up to watch part of the match and we had hopes of poaching one of them to make up our 11 but sadly Amil had a broken thumb - we wish you a speedy recovery Amil - and Naren had to leave for family commitments
The familiar left-handed figure of Keith Roberts took guard and applied himself to the task of grinding down Nomads' openers Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow (so often Roberts' nemesis.) The Exiles man looked profoundly untroubled on this occasion but with the normally more aggressive Quentin Davies scoring even more slowly than Roberts, progress was cautious and after 10 overs the score was only 20. With an overall required rate of just above 3 an over, though, there was no need for the batsmen to rush. They saw off the openers but first change Gideon Reeve was into his stride straight away. There was little variable bounce to work with but accuracy soon did the trick as Reeve made the breakthrough in his second over, bowling Davies for 11.
On came Gopi Pala and he quickly produced some of his best bowling of the season. There was a bit of high bounce at his end and the Mystery Bowler exploited this and also bowled No. 3 Searle with a good one. Roberts was perhaps slightly unfortunate to be given LBW to Gopi despite getting in a reasonable stride. 30 for 3 and Nomads were beginning to buzz. A dangerous partnership between Sri Pathmanathan and James Watson was ended by a piece of typical Nomadic fielding brilliance - a bullet throw from Hassan Khan was well collected by Gideon Reeve who whipped off the bails to run out Watson who had been attempting a risky second run.
The required rate at this stage was fluctuating between 4 and 4.5 an over but we knew there were heavy scorers down the order and wickets were paramount. We soon had a vital one with Gopi yorking Pathmanathan to make it 58 for 5. Simon Gundry and Wil Scott dug in but soon began to score fairly freely and made their way up to 80 when Riaz Khan bowled Scott. 4 wickets remained and around 4 an over was needed. Gundry was beginning to look dangerous and we knew Andy Wingfield can disturb the scorers. We also had a suspicion that some of Exiles' new players were unlikely to be the worst batsmen in the world. So it proved as No. 8 Will Bentall, after picking his way gingerly through a tight 5 balls from Emil Todorow, took one step down the pitch and despatched the veteran seamer over long on for 6, dashing Todorow's hopes of yet another maiden and Nomads' hopes of victory.
Riaz Khan planted a short one into S. Gundry's midriff but, like the LBW incident, this proved to be counter-productive as the big all-rounder absolutely murdered the next ball clean out of the ground, narrowly missing a lucky motorist in Dundonald Road. The last rites were administered fairly perfunctorily to Nomads with these two batsmen sharing five sixes as Exiles swept to a 4-wicket victory with 7 overs to spare.
It was a great all-round performance from Simon Gundry without which we could have got a lot closer. Exiles probably had a little more depth in their batting, certainly in the lower order, but it was a good bowling display from Nomads with all 5 bowlers looking good. Fielding was fair from a side depleted by absence and injury; there were a few chances but they were mostly pretty tricky or came too late.
So honours are even between these great rivals over the two games and it would be a particularly cheap and sad individual who would claim an aggregate victory for the Nomads on faster run rate, especially if he added that it was by a margin of 4.98 to 3.81.
Man of the Match has to be Ben Fewson who produced the highest score by quite a margin and also some fine fielding - see below. The best individual piece of fielding was Hassan and Gideon's run out but Ben Fewson is Fielder of the Day for a performance which combined solidity - he stopped just about everything, mostly with one hand -and the type of flair and artistic interpretation which is rarely seen from Clapham Nomads players; well, on the field anyway.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 125 all out from 29.5 overs

M. Bradshaw b Meyer 4
B. Fewson c Wingfield b Gundry 37
P. Pattiyil b Gundry 15
H. Khan c Searle b Bentall 9
R. Khan b Gundry 0
G. Pala c Gundry b Stiffell 14
E. Todorow (cpt) b Meyer 8
G. Reeve b Stiffell 0
J. Crossland (wkt) b Stiffell 0
N. Lefebve not out 4

F.O.W. - 5, 69, 82, 82, 86, 105, 105, 115, 125

Bowling;

Wingfield 6-0-29-0
Meyer 6.5-2-18-2
Gundry 6-1-15-3
Bentall 8-1-30-2
Stiffell 3-0-17-2

ENERGY EXILES - 127 for 6 from 33.3 overs

K. Roberts lbw Pala 14
Q. Davies b Reeve 11
J. Searle b Pala 0
S. Pathmanathan b Pala 15
Watson run out 7
W. Scott(wkt) b R. Khan 9
S. Gundry not out 37
W. Bentall not out 20
Did not bat; A. Wingfield (cpt), J. Meyer, D. Stiffell


F.O.W. - 24, 29, 30, 54, 58, 80

Bowling;

H. Khan 6.3-0-18-0
E. Todorow 8-1-26-0
G. Reeve 6-2-15-1
G. Pala 8-1-31-3
R. Khan 5-1-32-1

Clapham Nomads lost by 4 wickets

Kingston Lefthanders v Clapham Nomads - 13/6/10

There was a welcome return for two Nomads stalwarts - Chris Kennedy and Terry Bruce-Mills - for this trip, and it was a fairly elderly side that took the field, with 6 men admitting to various ages over 47. With two of our seniors carrying leg injuries, there was a sense that this might be an opportunity for an improving Lefthanders side to record their second victory over Nomads in 15 attempts. Emil Todorow won his 5th toss out of 6 and chose to bat.

In the absence of Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas accompanied Ben Fewson out to the wicket to face a very useful opening attack comprising the wily Chris Turner, an accurate League bowler, and the pace and hostility of former Kingston cc player Declan McArdle. There was plenty of extra bounce in the pitch and McArdle found Fewson's edge twice in the first over. Our man responded with the shot of the day in the third over, thumping McArdle imperiously back over the bowler's head for 4. Vyas also did well to cope with some good bowling and a feisty atmosphere enlivened by the presence of several additional "umpires."

Turner had Fewson caught behind with a riser in the 4th over and then clean bowled Prasanth Pattiyil for 4. Three further overs elapsed and Turner had Vyas adjudged caught behind down the leg side to leave the bowler with figures of 3 for 2 and Nomads in dire difficulty at 22 for 3.

At No. 5, Riaz Khan was the last of the recognised top-order strokemakers and an awful lot seemed to depend on his survival, together with that of No. 4 Hassan Khan.

The pair played themselves in admirably on this awkward pitch, seeing off the openers and beginning to increase the tempo against change bowlers Wilkinson and Geoff "Brains" Ashburn. The arc between mid-wicket and long-on was milked for a regular diet of 2s and the occasional 4. Riaz Khan put the success of the team before the entertainment of his fans and carved out a valuable 30 before falling to Wilkinson with the score on 97, ensuring that the second innings would at least be competitive.

Chris Kennedy was unfortunate that the first ball he had faced for a while was a corker. Gopi prevented the hat-trick and then provided company for Hassan Khan who was accelerating past 50. Nick Crouch came on to bowl his incredibly slow, but dangerously accurate, floaters. Nomads are well aware of the danger of Crouch as, for some reason, he always used to dismiss John Chance. Sure enough, the crafty Lefthander achieved success in his second over, having Gopi caught for a useful 11 at fine leg from one of his deceptive, dipping full-tosses.

Hassan Khan was in top form but just needed someone to stay with him. Emil Todorow lost sight of a good-length ball from the returning McArdle and was bowled, but at last Khan found a foil in John Crossland, who kept out everything Lefthanders could throw at him with guile, footwork and sheer force of personality. Although he scored few runs, Crossland imposed himself on the game and at one stage even threatened to become the senior partner in calling urgently for a quick single off the last ball of a McArdle over to keep the strike.

H. Khan was finally dismissed for a crucial 91 with 8 balls remaining. Terry Bruce-Mills and Crossland failed to add to the score of 168 but at least they batted right up to tea, thus avoiding giving any extra overs to Lefthanders for their run chase.

We were unsure whether Lefthanders would go full-tilt for the runs or whether they would see it out for the draw. The score of 12 for 1 from the first 10 overs indicated the latter. The only wicket came from a rank leg-side long-hop from Todorow - the worst ball he bowled. Nick Crouch edged it and wicketkeeper John Crossland very nearly dropped it. This could possibly have been the worst passage of play in cricket history, but thankfully Crossland just clung on to the chance.

The left-handed Uys hit one cracking 4 to show we could take nothing for granted and when "Brains" Ashburn, after a steady start, began to play with panache and chutzpah through the leg-side, the run chase appeared to be back on.

Todorow dragged Nomads back into it by trapping Ashburn LBW for a fine 15. Terry Bruce-Mills had not bowled for over a year and, had he been rusty, we could have been in difficulty. Thankfully he floated down 6 overs of accurate slow-medium at 4 an over which was a severe dent to Lefthanders' hopes of victory. As ever, Gopi produced variation from the very first ball and looked at his best at times, having Uys caught by Lefebve at slip and then producing sharp turn at above Medium pace to bowl Barry. He was a little unlucky to be taken off after 4 overs but skipper Todorow asked Hassan Khan to return in an effort to take the 5 wickets we needed to snatch victory.
No. 4 Wilkinson and captain Chris Wells looked as dangerous as anyone and scored at 7 or 8 an over for a while, which was just about the asking rate with around 15 overs to go. Riaz Khan was perhaps not bowling quite at his best but it was he who accounted for both these batsmen. Emil Todorow snapped up a very smart catch off his toes at mid-wicket; we never doubted you for a moment, Emil...honestly. Wells was then tricked by a high R. Khan full-toss into toe-ending it straight back to the bowler.
The innings then petered out somewhat. We had 6 overs to take the final 3 wickets but McArdle, Ian and Connor are all competent players, though Hassan Khan bowled Ian in the final over to make it look rather more of a winning draw than it really was.
Man of the Match has to be Hassan Khan for his excellent 91, without which defeat would have been a real possibility. Emil Todorow and Nick Lefebve (despite injury) took nice catches and Chris Kennedy made an absolutely brilliant one-handed diving stop but I would have to award Fielder of the Day to Gopi, who must have covered miles running around the boundary rope. By the end of the game, even Kingston Lefthanders were calling him "Speedy."

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 168 for 8 from 35 overs

B. Fewson - 10
M. Vyas - 5
P. Pattiyil - 4
H. Khan - 91
R. Khan - 30
C. Kennedy - 0
G. Pala - 11
E. Todorow - 0
J. Crossland - 3 not out
T. Bruce-Mills - 0 not out

F.O.W. - 11,17,22,97,97,127,136,168

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 111 for 8 from 36 overs

H. Khan 11-2-31-1
E. Todorow 8-3-18-2
T. Bruce-Mills 6-0-24-0
G. Pala 4-0-12-2
R. Khan 7-1-16-3

Match drawn