Clapham Nomads v Wimbledon United - 21/5/17

Clapham Nomads lost to Wimbledon United at Cottenham Park last Sunday. It was reasonably close.  United were 79 for 0 after 10 overs so we did well to keep them to 207 for 8 off the full 35.  Nomads started cautiously against the usual accurate and disciplined bowling - a sprinkling of beamers notwithstanding. We were 66 for 2 at the halfway mark and needed 8 an over at that point.  I had to leave early to go to work but Emil told me that Zia was batting really well, bearing down on the total, when he was unfortunately run out. Nomads tailed off a little after that but still finished on a respectable 180 for 6 for a 27 run defeat.
It was Emil Todorow's 250th successive appearance for the club. He hasn't missed a Nomads match since September 2002. The verdict of most people is that this is a fantastic achievement. John's verdict; "Doesn't he have a life?"  Mind you, John hardly ever misses a match himself.
Tributes to Emil and to Hassan - who is now on about 5,150 runs for the club - will follow soon.

Wimbledon United 207 for 8 from 35 overs.

Nomads' bowling

Hassan  5-1-38-1
Emil  2-0-22-0
Zia  7-2-32-0
Abbas  7-1-43-3
KK  7-0-37-3
Riaz  7-0-37-1



Clapham Nomads 180 for 6 from 35 overs.

Mahesh  36
Nick  6
Farhan  7
Hassan  25
Darwin  37 not out
Riaz  9
Zia  43
KK  0 not out
Did not bat; Abbas, Emil (captain), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 15, 28, 78, 83, 99, 166


Nomads lost by 27 runs.

FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW WHEN I GET THE SCOREBOOK BACK

UPDATE......Nomads skipper Emil Todorow, playing his 250th successive game for the club, controversially inserted Wimbledon after winning the toss and our fielders stood apprehensively in the hot sun, watching Dons' prolific opening batsman Dave Hitchman taking guard. After plentiful rain in recent days, the pitch looked quite green and maybe gave hope that we could restrict Hitchman to 80 or so instead of his usual century.
This hope soon looked forlorn as United raced to 79 off 10 overs with Hitchman being outscored by his partner. Emil only bowled 2 overs as he had heavy summer flu (this was never going to prevent him, trouper that he is, from reaching his 250 game landmark.) Around this time, there was a disturbing incident as Javed, our match-winner in the corresponding fixture last year, doubled up with severe stomach pains. An ambulance was called and Javed was rushed to St George's hospital with suspected kidney stones. I hope you are feeling better, Javed.
Excellent bowling by Abbas and, particularly, Zia kept Dons to about 45 for the loss of 3 off the next 12 overs, including the vital wicket of Hitchman for 30.  The pace increased again after that but the 6 wickets that were shared equally by Abbas and KK (who was unlucky not to get more) prevented the away side from racing away and our eventual target of 208 off 35 did not seem totally impossible for an in-form Nomads line-up, albeit one that was missing Javed, one of our hardest-hitting players.
Javed's place was taken by Nick Lefebve who had to open as he needed to leave early for work. Not expecting to play, Lefebve was decked out in a sort of Primark Spring/Summer Collection outfit with a loose-fitting helmet and a borrowed box, but he managed a streaky 6 before dabbing one tamely to gully off the bowling of Peter Brown "The Southfields Express."
At the other end, Mahesh Vyas continued his great form and he played out a consolidating stand of 13 from 5 overs with debutant Farhan. Cripps had Farhan caught behind but this brought Hassan out to join Mahesh and this pair have been batting brilliantly together so far this summer. The fiery Greg Dean replaced Brown downhill and had our men in some trouble with some rapid deliveries.  We did pretty well to hold on, play a few shots and the score of 66 for 2 at the halfway drinks break looked OK but we now needed to score at around 8 an over.
Sadly, we lost Hassan not long after drinks and then Mahesh and Darwin, who normally have a great understanding, were involved in a run out incident and the opener departed for a fine 36.  Riaz played a nice, cameo 9 but his departure put us on 99 for 5 and up against it.
It is a luxury to have a player as fine as Zia coming in at 7 and he has been in great form.  Well supported by Darwin, Zia struck 6 boundaries and was on 43 with Nomads back in the hunt when we unfortunately lost him to another run out.  That just about ended our chance though we flicked another 14 to bring us to 180 and a respectable defeat by only 27 runs against a fine side.

Man of the Match was Zia. Fielder of the Day is tricky for me as I did not see much of our fielding but Mahesh took a catch and made at least one fine stop at slip so he gets the nod.

No games now until 2nd July.  To all those who observe Ramadan, best wishes for the month and for Eid as well.  Nick