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.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
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
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
Thursday, 5 August 2010
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
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
Thursday, 29 July 2010
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
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
Monday, 19 July 2010
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
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
Saturday, 10 July 2010
"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
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
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)