A much stronger-looking Nomads side turned out for this one, with Prasanth, Hassan, Zeeshan and Zia all making welcome returns. Most of us managed to avoid the absolute chaos caused by the London to Box Hill cycle ride but we were still short at 2.20 and, for the 3rd week in a row, had to bat first by agreement.
This proved no bad thing at all as Mahesh and Darwin, who are developing into a fine opening pair, put on 74 - our best opening stand of the season by some distance.
Mahesh was first to go, LBW to the stand-out bowler T. Leaning. By then, Darwin almost had his 50 and he duly completed the landmark before falling to Spahr. A fine knock. Prasanth and Hassan took us into three figures but the loss of Prasanth on 102 left the game hanging delicately in the balance.
Hassan was in fine form though, and a magnificent 63 not out dominated the second half of our innings. He was well-supported by all his partners with KK (15) and Zeeshan (13) contributing most. A sharp piece of work from mid-off to run out Patrick and late wickets from the Neely siblings were the best moments for the home side, but Nomads' pace never relented and a single from Hassan off the last ball of the 35 overs took us up to our first 200 for a while.
Long Ditton are more than useful though and contain plenty of the type of opponent we fear more than any other; the well-trained youngster.
I didn't attend this game and someone told me later that, at the halfway point of Long Ditton's innings, they were only on 50. I think that is a slight exaggeration looking at the figures, but certainly excellent bowling from Hassan, despite injury, kept a firm brake on the scoring rate. The legendary all-rounder capped a great performance to record figures of 7-2-10-1. Zia bowled at high pace at the other end and also went for less than the required rate. Long Ditton could not really make up the lost ground despite acceleration around drinks. Most Nomads bowlers were pretty economical; only Emil went for the 10 an over Ditton needed by that stage but he retaliated with the inevitable wicket.
It was not totally without tension but we held on well to record a 25-run victory.
John Crossland stated in the scorebook; "we had enough runs on the board but fielding was not good." I trust he is not including himself in this as, with 2 catches and a run out, the evergreen keeper is Fielder of the Day. Darwin took the other catch. Clear Man of the Match was Hassan for a commanding individual performance.
Clapham Nomads 200 for 8 from 35 overs
M. Vyas 13
D. Gunawardena 51
P. Pattiyil 7
H. Khan not out 63
Zia 5
KK Khusro 15
Patrick 4
Zeeshan 13
Abbas Khan 7
E. Todorow not out 3
Did not bat; J. Crossland
F.O.W. - 74, 80, 102, 107, 151, 168, 185, 194
Long Ditton 175 for 7 from 35 overs
Clapham Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 7-2-10-1
Zia 6-1-26-1
KK Khusro 5-0-23-2
Abbas Khan 7-0-45-0
Zeeshan 7-0-30-1
E. Todorow 3-0-30-1
Clapham Nomads won by 25 runs
Man of the Match - Hassan Khan
Fielder of the Day - John Crossland
Monday, 8 August 2016
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Palm Tree v Clapham Nomads - 24/7/16
Nomads lost again (for the 2nd successive week after being forced to bat first as some players had not yet arrived) but it was an interesting and enjoyable afternoon in the delightful surroundings of Highgate Woods watched by a crowd of at least 100.
Everyone in the side made some positive contribution. It was good to welcome 3 men making their debuts; talented leg-spinning all-rounders Max Mertens and Patrick, and Zain Nouman who produced some rapid pace bowling.
Sadly, it looks as if Palm Tree have poached Max to play for them but, fair enough, he does live in Highgate.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW......
Scores.(35 overs per side)
Clapham Nomads 99 all out in 30 overs (10 men)
M. Vyas 16
D. Gunawardena 11
Z. Nouman 0
KK. Khusro 12
M. Mertens 5
Patrick 31
Abbas Khan 6
N. Lefebve 7
E. Todorow (capt) 0
J. Crossland (wkt) not out 0
F.O.W. - 22, 22, 34, 45, 50, 57, 96, 98, 99
Palm Tree 102 for 5 from 21.5 overs
Nomads' bowling
Z. Nouman 4-0-22-0
KK Khusro 3-0-26-0
E. Todorow 3-0-12-1
Abbas Khan 7-1-20-3
Patrick 2-0-9-0
M. Mertens 2.5-1-13-1
Nomads lost by 5 wickets
For the 2nd week in a row, excellent fast bowling from Abbas was our bowling highlight and he was well and entertainingly supported by 3 "leg-spinners"; 2 real ones (Patrick and Max) and one who can bowl it and looks like a leg-spinner - specifically Mushtaq Ahmed (Emil.). Patrick's bowling, together with being the top scorer gives him Man of the Match. I asked John Crossland who the Fielder of the Day was out of Zain, Mahesh Vyas and John Crossland and his verdict was.....John Crossland (he did take 2 catches.)
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON....
Clapham Nomads, who are notorious for their dislike of long-haul travel, were struggling for players for this trip to North London but a Gumtree ad produced 2 new players in Zain Nouman and Patrick and a quick trawl by John Crossland of the 100-plus crowd brought in local lad Max Mertens who had been hoping for a quiet afternoon practicing in the nets with his friends. This gave us a full team, but one Nomad failed to negotiate the marathon trek, leaving us with 10.
Due to late arrivals, Nomads had to bat first and Mahesh Vyas and Darwin made a good start. A string of twos were taken from the opener Russell but his partner Howes proved tough to get away, only conceding 4 scoring shots in his 5 overs. Howes struck first, bowling Darwin leg stump. Debutant Zain shaped nicely at the crease but a jaffa of an away-swinger from Howes found his outside edge third ball. 22 for 2. Mahesh was playing really nicely, including on the off side, and it took a bowling change to remove him; Simon Maggs sneaking one under Vyas's bat and on to the very top of his off stump. Maggs is a crafty and interesting bowler who openly discusses his variations and also gives the umpire a running commentary on where the ball would be hitting, possibly with a view to softening up the official for an LBW decision. Maggs' nickname is "Shelfy" which was later explained as being short for "Top Shelf." Top Shelf Mags.....hmm, he must be interested in motoring. Anyway, he did get his LBW but it was pretty plumb.
An entertaining cameo 12 from KK was followed by a textbook boundary from Max but both perished fairly quickly; Max to another one that just clipped the top of the stumps.
Suddenly Nomads, having perhaps not had the rub of the green, were 50 for 5 and Abbas fell shortly after. 57 for 6 and a short afternoon beckoned.
Nick Lefebve joined Patrick and there was a double bowling change and the pair agreed they would try to take it up to 100. One of the more cynical Nomads also suggested that Palm Tree wanted to gift us the 40 or so runs to give their batsmen a target. The bowlers were by no means comedians though, probably roughly what you would expect from third-changers at this level. In this situation you must a) not throw it away and b) put away the loosest of the balls. Lefebve just about managed the first, while Patrick did both admirably and hit a fine 31. After around 11 overs of this, Nomads were up to 96 for 6 but one of these bowlers, Crego, found another gear and dismissed Patrick, Emil and Nick in very quick succession, leaving a less-than-impressed John Crossland stranded with the score one short of the 100.
This did not look too demanding an ask for the home side, but Palm Tree had only managed 127 against us in May and all of our 3 new players were bowlers so we retained some slight hope.......
....... which lasted about an over and a half as Zain bowled too short and Bill Wood helped himself. He also hit KK out of the ground twice and both balls were lost somewhere in Highgate Woods - though Bill hits it so hard they might have ended up in Queens Wood or even Hampstead Heath.
Zain's 3rd and 4th overs were much better and he looks a really useful paceman, but by then the home side were approaching 50 without loss. A fine catch by Zain on the boundary off the bowling of Emil Todorow prevented the dreaded 10-wicket defeat but it looked to be no more than a consolation until a devastating burst of pace bowling from Abbas produced 3 further wickets, a catch from Mahesh Vyas at very deep slip was the highlight. Max Mertens and Patrick then showed some interesting leg-spin bowling. Max produced some venomous top spin to feed another slip chance to Mahesh Vyas, which was snapped up panther-like as usual.
The Palms were almost there though and victory was soon confirmed - it had never been in much doubt from 22 for 2 in our innings, onwards.
An entertaining game though. It is just a pity we had not managed another 30 which could have produced a treat for the crowd. There were over 100 present; picnicking, enjoying the sun and keeping half an eye on the decent gentlemanly chaps in flannels taking part in England's great summer game. It is a pity we did not select Andrew West.
Nomads gained one of our very rare links with Pop/Celebrity culture when Patrick revealed that he had played on tour in the Cotswolds and had been collected from the station by chart-topping singer Lily Allen. I think Emil was jealous about this as he is big fan of Ms Allen and can often be heard humming her catchy hit single "Smile."
Everyone in the side made some positive contribution. It was good to welcome 3 men making their debuts; talented leg-spinning all-rounders Max Mertens and Patrick, and Zain Nouman who produced some rapid pace bowling.
Sadly, it looks as if Palm Tree have poached Max to play for them but, fair enough, he does live in Highgate.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW......
Scores.(35 overs per side)
Clapham Nomads 99 all out in 30 overs (10 men)
M. Vyas 16
D. Gunawardena 11
Z. Nouman 0
KK. Khusro 12
M. Mertens 5
Patrick 31
Abbas Khan 6
N. Lefebve 7
E. Todorow (capt) 0
J. Crossland (wkt) not out 0
F.O.W. - 22, 22, 34, 45, 50, 57, 96, 98, 99
Palm Tree 102 for 5 from 21.5 overs
Nomads' bowling
Z. Nouman 4-0-22-0
KK Khusro 3-0-26-0
E. Todorow 3-0-12-1
Abbas Khan 7-1-20-3
Patrick 2-0-9-0
M. Mertens 2.5-1-13-1
Nomads lost by 5 wickets
For the 2nd week in a row, excellent fast bowling from Abbas was our bowling highlight and he was well and entertainingly supported by 3 "leg-spinners"; 2 real ones (Patrick and Max) and one who can bowl it and looks like a leg-spinner - specifically Mushtaq Ahmed (Emil.). Patrick's bowling, together with being the top scorer gives him Man of the Match. I asked John Crossland who the Fielder of the Day was out of Zain, Mahesh Vyas and John Crossland and his verdict was.....John Crossland (he did take 2 catches.)
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON....
Clapham Nomads, who are notorious for their dislike of long-haul travel, were struggling for players for this trip to North London but a Gumtree ad produced 2 new players in Zain Nouman and Patrick and a quick trawl by John Crossland of the 100-plus crowd brought in local lad Max Mertens who had been hoping for a quiet afternoon practicing in the nets with his friends. This gave us a full team, but one Nomad failed to negotiate the marathon trek, leaving us with 10.
Due to late arrivals, Nomads had to bat first and Mahesh Vyas and Darwin made a good start. A string of twos were taken from the opener Russell but his partner Howes proved tough to get away, only conceding 4 scoring shots in his 5 overs. Howes struck first, bowling Darwin leg stump. Debutant Zain shaped nicely at the crease but a jaffa of an away-swinger from Howes found his outside edge third ball. 22 for 2. Mahesh was playing really nicely, including on the off side, and it took a bowling change to remove him; Simon Maggs sneaking one under Vyas's bat and on to the very top of his off stump. Maggs is a crafty and interesting bowler who openly discusses his variations and also gives the umpire a running commentary on where the ball would be hitting, possibly with a view to softening up the official for an LBW decision. Maggs' nickname is "Shelfy" which was later explained as being short for "Top Shelf." Top Shelf Mags.....hmm, he must be interested in motoring. Anyway, he did get his LBW but it was pretty plumb.
An entertaining cameo 12 from KK was followed by a textbook boundary from Max but both perished fairly quickly; Max to another one that just clipped the top of the stumps.
Suddenly Nomads, having perhaps not had the rub of the green, were 50 for 5 and Abbas fell shortly after. 57 for 6 and a short afternoon beckoned.
Nick Lefebve joined Patrick and there was a double bowling change and the pair agreed they would try to take it up to 100. One of the more cynical Nomads also suggested that Palm Tree wanted to gift us the 40 or so runs to give their batsmen a target. The bowlers were by no means comedians though, probably roughly what you would expect from third-changers at this level. In this situation you must a) not throw it away and b) put away the loosest of the balls. Lefebve just about managed the first, while Patrick did both admirably and hit a fine 31. After around 11 overs of this, Nomads were up to 96 for 6 but one of these bowlers, Crego, found another gear and dismissed Patrick, Emil and Nick in very quick succession, leaving a less-than-impressed John Crossland stranded with the score one short of the 100.
This did not look too demanding an ask for the home side, but Palm Tree had only managed 127 against us in May and all of our 3 new players were bowlers so we retained some slight hope.......
....... which lasted about an over and a half as Zain bowled too short and Bill Wood helped himself. He also hit KK out of the ground twice and both balls were lost somewhere in Highgate Woods - though Bill hits it so hard they might have ended up in Queens Wood or even Hampstead Heath.
Zain's 3rd and 4th overs were much better and he looks a really useful paceman, but by then the home side were approaching 50 without loss. A fine catch by Zain on the boundary off the bowling of Emil Todorow prevented the dreaded 10-wicket defeat but it looked to be no more than a consolation until a devastating burst of pace bowling from Abbas produced 3 further wickets, a catch from Mahesh Vyas at very deep slip was the highlight. Max Mertens and Patrick then showed some interesting leg-spin bowling. Max produced some venomous top spin to feed another slip chance to Mahesh Vyas, which was snapped up panther-like as usual.
The Palms were almost there though and victory was soon confirmed - it had never been in much doubt from 22 for 2 in our innings, onwards.
An entertaining game though. It is just a pity we had not managed another 30 which could have produced a treat for the crowd. There were over 100 present; picnicking, enjoying the sun and keeping half an eye on the decent gentlemanly chaps in flannels taking part in England's great summer game. It is a pity we did not select Andrew West.
Nomads gained one of our very rare links with Pop/Celebrity culture when Patrick revealed that he had played on tour in the Cotswolds and had been collected from the station by chart-topping singer Lily Allen. I think Emil was jealous about this as he is big fan of Ms Allen and can often be heard humming her catchy hit single "Smile."
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Northfields v Clapham Nomads - 17/7/16
Nomads lost a very pleasant conference game against Northfields (on the Brentford /Ealing border) on Sunday.
Nomads took 10 over to Northfields cc for this match. Was it the West London post code that put the 11th man off? It shouldn't have done. Emil drove from Clapham to Northfields in 48 minutes.
Surprisingly, there were a few Nomads' late-comers and so the Home side inserted us, but steady rain delayed the start until we had almost all arrived.
Northfields - probably uniquely - feature 3 players called D. Redhead and one of these (Derrick) opened along with Thompson, and this pair soon had Nomads in trouble at 2 for 1 in the 4th over, Redhead clipping Mahesh's leg stump.
Fine batting from Abdul and Darwin improved our fortunes. Several nice shots stopped inches from the boundary in the wet grass, though a 6 from Abdul showed the way to avoid that. Abdul survived an LBW appeal when a yorker hit him full on the foot. Sadly he has fractured his little toe and may be out for the season. At least the fact that it was the little toe on the front foot vindicates the Not Out decision but this is scant consolation. I hope you feel better soon, Abdul. Batting with a runner, Abdul was bowled for 18 with the score on 27.
Hassan strode out and produced, with Darwin, Nomads' best batting. Darwin produced the 2 most classical shots with a bullet straight drive and a sumptuous cover drive for 4. Hassan was more cautious but looked very solid and took singles at will. Darwin fell to David Redhead for a top-score 30 and was replaced by Zia who made a most entertaining 24, taking 14 off the first 3 balls of a David Redhead over before being bowled off the 5th ball. KK kept up the good work with Hassan and 117 for 4 was our high-point. A steady slump after that was enlivened by a hard-hitting 18 from Abbas with deceptive medium-pacer Connelly striking 3 late blows for the home side. There was a vintage Crossland leg glance for 3 off the last ball. We used up our full 35 anyway and finished on 142 for 8 which was not a disaster.
A nice tea was followed by enterprising batting from the Home openers. The field was drying and a string of boundaries made it look as if this would be quite a short afternoon. Brilliant and hostile fast bowling from Abbas then brought us right back into the game. He pegged the stumps back 4 times to reduce the home side to around 55 for 4. He just missed out on his hat-trick but the match looked well-poised.
Sadly Abbas couldn't get his five-fer and, despite tight bowling from Emil, a very sensible stand between Clapham-born opener Toby Collins and vice-captain Thompson, both of whom made 50, saw Northfields home. The only chance was a drop on the boundary when about 30 were needed, but this probably wasn't crucial as Northfields had some talented players, including 2 Redheads, still in the pavilion.
This was a really enjoyable game, Northfields - well organised by Nigel Russell - are an exemplary club and a nice bunch of guys who enjoy their cricket and have worked hard to produce an excellent cricketing set-up.
Clapham Nomads 142 for 8 from 35 overs
M. Vyas 1
Abdul Khan 18
D. Gunawardena 30
H. Khan 24
Zia 24
KK. Khusro 8
Abbas Khan not out 18
N. Lefebve 1
E. Todorow (capt) 0
J. Crossland (wkt) not out 3
F.O.W. - 2, 27, 61, 94, 117, 121, 127, 132
Northfields 114 for 4 from 28.4 overs (T.Collins and A. Thompson both made 50s)
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 4-0-19-0
Zia 7-1-39-0
Abbas Khan 7-1-36-4
E. Todorow 7-0-23-0
KK Khusro 3-0-19-0
Abdul Khan 0.4-0-6-0
Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Man of the Match was Abbas with a fierce spell of bowling which kept us in with a chance for a while. His first over was too short but a series of excellent stops from Zia at Backward Square Leg prevented too much damage and kept Abbas's confidence high, which resulted in 4 or 5 deadly overs from the young paceman. So Zia is Fielder of the Day.
One strange feature of this match was that, of the 12 wickets to fall, 11 were bowled. I can't really explain that. The pitch was good, only 1 or 2 catches were spilled and there were only a couple of leg before appeals rejected. Just coincidence I guess. The only other wicket was LBW and I was the victim. I would like to claim that being given LBW is superior to being bowled but I have been trapped in front in each of the last 3 games. That must tell me something (and it can't possibly be that Nomads' umpires are over-generous to the bowling side.)
Nomads took 10 over to Northfields cc for this match. Was it the West London post code that put the 11th man off? It shouldn't have done. Emil drove from Clapham to Northfields in 48 minutes.
Surprisingly, there were a few Nomads' late-comers and so the Home side inserted us, but steady rain delayed the start until we had almost all arrived.
Northfields - probably uniquely - feature 3 players called D. Redhead and one of these (Derrick) opened along with Thompson, and this pair soon had Nomads in trouble at 2 for 1 in the 4th over, Redhead clipping Mahesh's leg stump.
Fine batting from Abdul and Darwin improved our fortunes. Several nice shots stopped inches from the boundary in the wet grass, though a 6 from Abdul showed the way to avoid that. Abdul survived an LBW appeal when a yorker hit him full on the foot. Sadly he has fractured his little toe and may be out for the season. At least the fact that it was the little toe on the front foot vindicates the Not Out decision but this is scant consolation. I hope you feel better soon, Abdul. Batting with a runner, Abdul was bowled for 18 with the score on 27.
Hassan strode out and produced, with Darwin, Nomads' best batting. Darwin produced the 2 most classical shots with a bullet straight drive and a sumptuous cover drive for 4. Hassan was more cautious but looked very solid and took singles at will. Darwin fell to David Redhead for a top-score 30 and was replaced by Zia who made a most entertaining 24, taking 14 off the first 3 balls of a David Redhead over before being bowled off the 5th ball. KK kept up the good work with Hassan and 117 for 4 was our high-point. A steady slump after that was enlivened by a hard-hitting 18 from Abbas with deceptive medium-pacer Connelly striking 3 late blows for the home side. There was a vintage Crossland leg glance for 3 off the last ball. We used up our full 35 anyway and finished on 142 for 8 which was not a disaster.
A nice tea was followed by enterprising batting from the Home openers. The field was drying and a string of boundaries made it look as if this would be quite a short afternoon. Brilliant and hostile fast bowling from Abbas then brought us right back into the game. He pegged the stumps back 4 times to reduce the home side to around 55 for 4. He just missed out on his hat-trick but the match looked well-poised.
Sadly Abbas couldn't get his five-fer and, despite tight bowling from Emil, a very sensible stand between Clapham-born opener Toby Collins and vice-captain Thompson, both of whom made 50, saw Northfields home. The only chance was a drop on the boundary when about 30 were needed, but this probably wasn't crucial as Northfields had some talented players, including 2 Redheads, still in the pavilion.
This was a really enjoyable game, Northfields - well organised by Nigel Russell - are an exemplary club and a nice bunch of guys who enjoy their cricket and have worked hard to produce an excellent cricketing set-up.
Clapham Nomads 142 for 8 from 35 overs
M. Vyas 1
Abdul Khan 18
D. Gunawardena 30
H. Khan 24
Zia 24
KK. Khusro 8
Abbas Khan not out 18
N. Lefebve 1
E. Todorow (capt) 0
J. Crossland (wkt) not out 3
F.O.W. - 2, 27, 61, 94, 117, 121, 127, 132
Northfields 114 for 4 from 28.4 overs (T.Collins and A. Thompson both made 50s)
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 4-0-19-0
Zia 7-1-39-0
Abbas Khan 7-1-36-4
E. Todorow 7-0-23-0
KK Khusro 3-0-19-0
Abdul Khan 0.4-0-6-0
Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Man of the Match was Abbas with a fierce spell of bowling which kept us in with a chance for a while. His first over was too short but a series of excellent stops from Zia at Backward Square Leg prevented too much damage and kept Abbas's confidence high, which resulted in 4 or 5 deadly overs from the young paceman. So Zia is Fielder of the Day.
One strange feature of this match was that, of the 12 wickets to fall, 11 were bowled. I can't really explain that. The pitch was good, only 1 or 2 catches were spilled and there were only a couple of leg before appeals rejected. Just coincidence I guess. The only other wicket was LBW and I was the victim. I would like to claim that being given LBW is superior to being bowled but I have been trapped in front in each of the last 3 games. That must tell me something (and it can't possibly be that Nomads' umpires are over-generous to the bowling side.)
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
Old Leagonians v Clapham Nomads - 20/20 at Epsom cc updated
Nomads did well to take a 12-man squad down to Epsom cc for our 20-20 against the Old Leagonians on Sunday.
There were 2 new men; Faruk Patel and Paul Murphy and also a first appearance for Hameed who had come all the way to Joseph Hood the previous week only to be denied a game because of Burgh Heath cc's mud allergy.
Nomads won the toss and batted first in what soon turned out to be quite difficult conditions. The pitch was slow and had some very low bounce for bowlers from the Town End. The outfield was extremely slow after the recent mini-monsoon.
Darwin and Mahesh had first go and they chugged along at around 4 an over against some useful swing bowling from the Leagonians' youngsters. Darwin scored the faster of the 2 but Mahesh was an entertaining presence at the other end; doing an "Ali Shuffle" before every ball. Darwin calls Mahesh "Max" but "Mark" might have been more appropriate as Mahesh played several Bradshaw-style drives in front of square on the off side. It is always a good sign when this predominantly leg-side player hits it to the off.
The rate of around 4 an over was kept up and after about the 6th over, umpire/skipper Todorow began to have urgent conferences with the pair - aware that Nomads line-up was packed out with strokemakers, and presumably telling them to hit out.
Darwin was first out for 24 with the score on around 40 in the 9th or 10th over. Wickets then began to fall with regularity. Mahesh made about 23. Gul and KK made a few each. Riaz, our made hope of a big, rapid score was unfortunately out early. Hameed looked stylish but unfortunately skied the ball - he had lost his bat on the way to the game and had to use one of the pieces of driftwood in Nomads' kit bag. The pick of the middle order was Faruk who hit a breezy 20-ish including the only 6 of the innings. Paul Murphy hit a beautiful straight boundary back over the bowler's head as the rate climbed above 5. After 18 overs we were 94 for 6 and 110 looked a possibility.
The last 2 overs are best glossed over as only 1 run came from them. Nick faced the last over but, after failing to connect with the first 4 balls, panicked and went for a suicidal single, running out his partner. Sorry again, Paul. The last ball was a dot and so Nomads had achieved that extreme rarity; a Maiden 20th over in a T20. Nomads' scorer and analyst John Crossland was less than impressed. "We needed a bare minimum of 100", he growled. Could he be proven wrong? It has happened but only occasionally.
A quick turn-around and the experienced pair of Emil and Riaz kicked it off for Clapham. Riaz went for around 6 an over but Emil, hair floating in the breeze at the Racecourse End, bowled an excellent spell of 4 overs. His figures must have been good. Leagonians just about matched the asking rate but for the loss of 4 wickets early on. One Riaz over was kept back for the death and the skipper threw the ball to Hameed and Faruk. This proved a master-stroke of ruthlessness as this pair pretty much bowled the Epsom side out of the game (or so we thought). Hameed slanted it in at above medium and can't have conceded many. After 2 looseners, Faruk announced his intentions by scattering the stumps with his third ball. He went for about 4 an over but his 3 wickets ripped the heart out of OLCC's batting in a fine spell of Fast-Medium bowling.
KK kept up the good work and by the end of the 16th over, Leagonians needed 38 off 4 with only about 3 wickets left. 3 came from the 17th but a scorer's error then apparently left the batting side requiring 35 from just 2 overs. It looked all over but one of the OLCC youngsters took a shine to the bowling of the returning Riaz with 20 off the over including 2 sixes. The scoreboard error was then realised and suddenly the home team only needed an eminently gettable 15 off 2. Happily, a fine pressure catch from Riaz in the deep removed the star batsman. 10 to win off the last 6 balls but Todorow had mis-calculated and was not able to put on one of his main bowlers for the final over. Luckily he was able to turn to Darwin, a specialist Death Bowler who bowled a match-winning final over against Carshalton Athletic in the 20-20 last year. Darwin proved more than up to the task again with 2 wickets for no runs off 3 balls and Nomads emerged victorious by 9 runs.
This was more like an attritional full-length game than a 20-20 and it showed the value of our careful 1st-wicket partnership. Excellent bowling and fielding from Clapham. John Crossland only conceded a very few byes, Hameed and Darwin impressed in the field but Fielder of the Day was Riaz for his vital pressure catch. Man of the Match was Faruk for his excellent all-round performance, though Darwin also had a brilliant game.
Clapham Nomads 95 for 8 from 20 overs
M.Vyas 23
D. Gunawardena 22
Gul 4
Hameed 2
Faruk 18
R.Khan 0
KK Khusro 5
P. Murphy 5
N. Lefebve not out 1
E. Todorow(capt) not out 0
Did not bat; J. Crossland (wkt)
F.O.W. - 33, 46, 51, 82, 84, 88, 94, 95
Old Leagonians 86 all out from 19.3 overs
Nomads' bowling
R. Khan 4-0-29-1
E. Todorow 4-1-10-2
Hameed 4-0-14-0
Faruk 4-0-19-3
KK.Khusro 3-0-13-2
D. Gunawardena 0.3-0-0-2
Clapham Nomads won by 9 runs
After tea and with rain and bad light threatening, it was decided to play 12 overs a side. Emil shuffled the pack and Chris Kennedy came in for Nick Lefebve (I wasn't dropped - though after scoring 1 not out off 7 balls and running Paul out I deserved to be - I had to go to work.)
Nomads fielded and Spin Twins Paul Murphy and Emil Todorow opened the bowling. Murphy showed some crafty twirl and flight, but the batsmen were able to take ones and twos to the deep-set field. Emil is not technically a spinner but is wily enough to be one and also he actually looks like a spinner. We had transferred onto the correct Sunday pitch and OLCC opener Richard Teasdale led a fierce assault on Emil;s bowling. The 50 came up in the 5th over. When I left, the score was around 66 for 2 off 6 overs and Nomads looked on course for a hiding. I will let readers know what happened when after I have seen Emil and I will amend the report and include more scores when I get the scorebook back.
Thanks again to Richard for organising the day and we look forward to 20-20 finals day on Sunday 4th September.
UPDATE.....We did lose the second game which was 12 overs a side. Old Leagonians made 123 for (?) 2. Nomads made 61 for 7 and so lost by 62 runs. Further scores to follow.
Old Leagonians 123 for 2 from 12 overs
Nomads' bowling
P. Murphy 3-0-34-0
E. Todorow 2-0-29-0
Faruk 2-0-24-1
Kk. Khusro 3-0-19-1
Hameed 2-0-27-0
Clapham Nomads 61 for 7 from 12 overs
R. Khan 33
KK. Khusro 0
Gul 13
D. Gunawardena 0
Hameed 2
Faruk 1
P. Murphy 0
E. Todorow not out 1
J. Crossland not out 6
F. O. W. - 20, 40, 46, 49, 53, 53, 54
There were 2 new men; Faruk Patel and Paul Murphy and also a first appearance for Hameed who had come all the way to Joseph Hood the previous week only to be denied a game because of Burgh Heath cc's mud allergy.
Nomads won the toss and batted first in what soon turned out to be quite difficult conditions. The pitch was slow and had some very low bounce for bowlers from the Town End. The outfield was extremely slow after the recent mini-monsoon.
Darwin and Mahesh had first go and they chugged along at around 4 an over against some useful swing bowling from the Leagonians' youngsters. Darwin scored the faster of the 2 but Mahesh was an entertaining presence at the other end; doing an "Ali Shuffle" before every ball. Darwin calls Mahesh "Max" but "Mark" might have been more appropriate as Mahesh played several Bradshaw-style drives in front of square on the off side. It is always a good sign when this predominantly leg-side player hits it to the off.
The rate of around 4 an over was kept up and after about the 6th over, umpire/skipper Todorow began to have urgent conferences with the pair - aware that Nomads line-up was packed out with strokemakers, and presumably telling them to hit out.
Darwin was first out for 24 with the score on around 40 in the 9th or 10th over. Wickets then began to fall with regularity. Mahesh made about 23. Gul and KK made a few each. Riaz, our made hope of a big, rapid score was unfortunately out early. Hameed looked stylish but unfortunately skied the ball - he had lost his bat on the way to the game and had to use one of the pieces of driftwood in Nomads' kit bag. The pick of the middle order was Faruk who hit a breezy 20-ish including the only 6 of the innings. Paul Murphy hit a beautiful straight boundary back over the bowler's head as the rate climbed above 5. After 18 overs we were 94 for 6 and 110 looked a possibility.
The last 2 overs are best glossed over as only 1 run came from them. Nick faced the last over but, after failing to connect with the first 4 balls, panicked and went for a suicidal single, running out his partner. Sorry again, Paul. The last ball was a dot and so Nomads had achieved that extreme rarity; a Maiden 20th over in a T20. Nomads' scorer and analyst John Crossland was less than impressed. "We needed a bare minimum of 100", he growled. Could he be proven wrong? It has happened but only occasionally.
A quick turn-around and the experienced pair of Emil and Riaz kicked it off for Clapham. Riaz went for around 6 an over but Emil, hair floating in the breeze at the Racecourse End, bowled an excellent spell of 4 overs. His figures must have been good. Leagonians just about matched the asking rate but for the loss of 4 wickets early on. One Riaz over was kept back for the death and the skipper threw the ball to Hameed and Faruk. This proved a master-stroke of ruthlessness as this pair pretty much bowled the Epsom side out of the game (or so we thought). Hameed slanted it in at above medium and can't have conceded many. After 2 looseners, Faruk announced his intentions by scattering the stumps with his third ball. He went for about 4 an over but his 3 wickets ripped the heart out of OLCC's batting in a fine spell of Fast-Medium bowling.
KK kept up the good work and by the end of the 16th over, Leagonians needed 38 off 4 with only about 3 wickets left. 3 came from the 17th but a scorer's error then apparently left the batting side requiring 35 from just 2 overs. It looked all over but one of the OLCC youngsters took a shine to the bowling of the returning Riaz with 20 off the over including 2 sixes. The scoreboard error was then realised and suddenly the home team only needed an eminently gettable 15 off 2. Happily, a fine pressure catch from Riaz in the deep removed the star batsman. 10 to win off the last 6 balls but Todorow had mis-calculated and was not able to put on one of his main bowlers for the final over. Luckily he was able to turn to Darwin, a specialist Death Bowler who bowled a match-winning final over against Carshalton Athletic in the 20-20 last year. Darwin proved more than up to the task again with 2 wickets for no runs off 3 balls and Nomads emerged victorious by 9 runs.
This was more like an attritional full-length game than a 20-20 and it showed the value of our careful 1st-wicket partnership. Excellent bowling and fielding from Clapham. John Crossland only conceded a very few byes, Hameed and Darwin impressed in the field but Fielder of the Day was Riaz for his vital pressure catch. Man of the Match was Faruk for his excellent all-round performance, though Darwin also had a brilliant game.
Clapham Nomads 95 for 8 from 20 overs
M.Vyas 23
D. Gunawardena 22
Gul 4
Hameed 2
Faruk 18
R.Khan 0
KK Khusro 5
P. Murphy 5
N. Lefebve not out 1
E. Todorow(capt) not out 0
Did not bat; J. Crossland (wkt)
F.O.W. - 33, 46, 51, 82, 84, 88, 94, 95
Old Leagonians 86 all out from 19.3 overs
Nomads' bowling
R. Khan 4-0-29-1
E. Todorow 4-1-10-2
Hameed 4-0-14-0
Faruk 4-0-19-3
KK.Khusro 3-0-13-2
D. Gunawardena 0.3-0-0-2
Clapham Nomads won by 9 runs
After tea and with rain and bad light threatening, it was decided to play 12 overs a side. Emil shuffled the pack and Chris Kennedy came in for Nick Lefebve (I wasn't dropped - though after scoring 1 not out off 7 balls and running Paul out I deserved to be - I had to go to work.)
Nomads fielded and Spin Twins Paul Murphy and Emil Todorow opened the bowling. Murphy showed some crafty twirl and flight, but the batsmen were able to take ones and twos to the deep-set field. Emil is not technically a spinner but is wily enough to be one and also he actually looks like a spinner. We had transferred onto the correct Sunday pitch and OLCC opener Richard Teasdale led a fierce assault on Emil;s bowling. The 50 came up in the 5th over. When I left, the score was around 66 for 2 off 6 overs and Nomads looked on course for a hiding. I will let readers know what happened when after I have seen Emil and I will amend the report and include more scores when I get the scorebook back.
Thanks again to Richard for organising the day and we look forward to 20-20 finals day on Sunday 4th September.
UPDATE.....We did lose the second game which was 12 overs a side. Old Leagonians made 123 for (?) 2. Nomads made 61 for 7 and so lost by 62 runs. Further scores to follow.
Old Leagonians 123 for 2 from 12 overs
Nomads' bowling
P. Murphy 3-0-34-0
E. Todorow 2-0-29-0
Faruk 2-0-24-1
Kk. Khusro 3-0-19-1
Hameed 2-0-27-0
Clapham Nomads 61 for 7 from 12 overs
R. Khan 33
KK. Khusro 0
Gul 13
D. Gunawardena 0
Hameed 2
Faruk 1
P. Murphy 0
E. Todorow not out 1
J. Crossland not out 6
F. O. W. - 20, 40, 46, 49, 53, 53, 54
Wednesday, 15 June 2016
Clapham Nomads v Burgh Heath - 12/6/16
Last Sunday's home game against Burgh Heath unfortunately fell victim to the weather. Next up is the 20-20 tournament on Sunday 19th.
Monday, 30 May 2016
Barnes Occasionals v Clapham Nomads - 29/5/16
Late May Bank Holiday Sunday saw Nomads make the long trip to King George's Field, Ham, the riverside home of our old friends the Barnes Occasionals; a side some of us have been playing against now for 23 years.
Both teams have been struggling slightly for players this season so it was testament to the enduring popularity of this fixture that each side had 12 available, Either that or some of us are too old and sad to have anything else to do on a Bank Holiday weekend.
John Crossland was due for his annual turn as captain. He always used to skipper against Touring Theatres (our weakest opponents) before they folded in 2014, but he can't really be accused of cherry-picking by choosing this fixture as Occasionals are a talented and rather unpredictable side against whom we have a less than fantastic record.
Crossland won the toss and, seeking to maximise our chances of a second win before the end of May, inserted the Home side.
Roger Price and Peter Carey opened for Barnes and Abbas was handed the new ball. Price was out of the blocks immediately, hooking the young Nomads paceman out of the ground. Abbas himself had to retrieve the ball by climbing a high barbed wire fence and negotiating a field full of ponies. Abbas and Riaz tightened it up after this. Price (a talented wicket-keeper/batsman who, it was later revealed, once bowled to England test player Wilf Slack) was looking in ominous form. Usually, once he gets a start, he goes on to make a major and often match-winning score, so we were extremely grateful to bag both openers with the score in the early thirties.
I went for a stroll at this point and watched Richmond Baseball Club playing nearby (Random question.....Do Baseball players ever bat left-handed?). When I returned, a further 30 runs had been added in 10 overs for the loss of one more wicket - an attritional passage of play. There were also some murmurings of discontent that one bowler had been kept on for 10 overs - although admittedly it was an excellent spell from Riaz and you could understand John keeping him on as he is very accurate - a wicketkeeper's dream bowler.
After drinks the tempo increased somewhat. Barnes' two Aussies/Kiwis played nicely and a grey-haired chap, whose name I forget (?? Williams) but who has played against us several times down the years, all played some forceful shots and a total of 180 looked a possibility at one point. Fortunately, Emil Todorow intervened in characteristic style, a slow-ish full toss hitting the pad outside the crease and rolling agonisingly back onto the stumps before exhaustedly dislodging a bail. Someone muttered that "Shit gets wickets" but I must assume that this dismissal was cooked up in Emil's extremely conspiratorial brain.
Further wickets followed and a few of John's field position changes came off. Gul took a very smart catch at Deep Backward Square off Todorow's bowling to remove Barnes' classy left-hander. Nomads then didn't exactly cover themselves in glory by bowling a bouncer at Stan (aged 13 or 14). Riaz bowled the youngster via the edge of the bat in the following over.
Good fielding from Nomads, especially the catching from Gul, KK and Crossland, despite a comedy collision between sub-fielder Nick and Zia, both trying to catch the same skier (my fault, I didn't call, but at least the collision prevented me from dropping it....NL)
Nomads' over rate had not been brilliant and 35 overs had been bowled as the 2 and a half hours ran out with the score on 148 for 9.
Tea was enlivened by the appearance of Andrew West and reminiscences with Keith Seed about the halcyon days of the mid-1990s and feisty matches between the Occasionals and Open University (captained by Dave Hunter.)
The match situation looked well-balanced. Trackside bookies would probably have offered 4-5 both teams for the win and the draw a rank outsider at about 8 to 1, given Nomads' reliance on strokemakers. Hassan had left injured and Nick Lefebve took his place in the batting order. The pitch was producing some very low bounce but we had the men to see us home if things went well.
Paceman Daniel Hogg took an over to find his range and Nomads took advantage with 11 (7 in extras and a pull for 4 from the excellent pinch-hitter KK Khusro.) Warwick Proctor was steadier at the other end and had KK trapped plumb in front in the 4th over but we already had 29 on the board. In the following over, D. Hogg produced the ball of the day to clean bowl Gul. 30 for 2 and this was too close to call. Despite creaking knees, Barnes captain Ollie Hogg came on to bowl a 2-over spell and, though not at his best, inevitably produced at least 3 very awkward deliveries resulting in a close LBW shout and the wicket of Zeeshan who skied the ball to mid-on for Hogg's 705th wicket for the Occasionals. 44 for 3. Prasanth has been in excellent form and with one 4 already in the book, looked the man to steady Nomads' ship. Unfortunately, he didn't quite middle a half volley from Aaron Blair and chipped a catch up to the covers. 53 for 4 and Barnes moving slightly ahead on points.
Zia and Abdul kept up a fair pace with 2 resounding fours from Abdul off the bowling of Stan the highlight, before Blair jagged one back into Abdul's pads for an LBW that was possibly a little generous, especially by Nomads' standards. 83 for 5. 66 to win, ample time but the last of the 2 recognised specialist batsmen at the square. Happily, both players, Zia and Riaz, are in fine form and they continued this with a high-quality stand full of shots, the highlight was the 6 - the only maximum in Nomads' innings - struck by Riaz of the curmudgeonly bowling of Keith Seed, a notoriously difficult bowler to get after on a tricky pitch. At 128 for 5, Nomads were clear favourites for the first time but Zia was well-caught and, 6 runs later, an even better catch removed Riaz to tilt the balance back to the home side once more.
Fortunately, D. Hogg and Blair bowled some short leg-side stuff at No. 9 Nick Lefebve and the veteran was able to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Abbas then departed to make the score 143 for 8. Lefebve at the crease, Todorow and Crossland to come. 6 to win. 4.1 overs to go. You would have to say that there was a fair chance of any of the 4 results (including a tie) with a draw possibly the slight favourite. There is always potential for controversy and tragicomedy in any stand between Lefebve/Todorow/Crossland - you would think they would all have a telepathic understanding after over 30 years of acquaintance; but no. On this day though, Nick and Emil played it out calmly with a few singles before the ball flicked off Nick's pad for a likely 2 which would level the scores. "Come the **** on!!" the younger man bellowed at his partner, desperate for a tie, before both realised that the ball had crossed the boundary line and a hard-fought victory had been secured.
I have to say that there was a bit of bad feeling around, especially regarding some of the captaincy decisions, but I hope this won't put anyone off playing. We really enjoy having our current players in the side. Normally, we are very careful to make sure everyone gets a fair slice of the action and we appreciate people giving up their precious days off and paying to play. Please stick with it and let the good times continue.
John came out with a good quote while he was justifying his bowling changes (or lack of changes.) "I just couldn't afford to give away too many runs," he said. "It is not as it we have got Nick Cook batting for us." Hmmm, Nick Cook, the Leicestershire and England spinner from the 1980s. Actually, I'm sure Nick Cook could do a good job for us with the bat; he is probably still only about 60 years old. In fact, if you are reading this, Mr Cook, please get in touch. I think John might have meant Alastair Cook but you are never totally sure with John; he might well have meant Sam Cooke.
Man of the Match was Riaz for another fine knock and a tight, lengthy spell of bowling. Close second was top-scorer Zia. Fielder of the Day was Gul for his fine and crucial catch.
Barnes Occasionals - 148 for 9 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 4-0-19-0
R. Khan 12-2-29-3
Zia 8-1-41-2
E. Todorow 6-1-27-3
KK Khusro 3-1-11-1
Abdul Khan 2-0-14-0
Clapham Nomads - 150 for 8 from 26.5 overs
Gul b D.Hogg 4
KK Khusro lbw Proctor 14
P. Pattiyil c --------- b Blair 5
Zeeshan c -------- b O. Hogg 6
Zia c ---------- b Blair 39
Abdul Khan lbw Blair 15
R. Khan c -------- b D.Hogg 24
Abbas Khan b D.Hogg 4
N. Lefebve not out 13
E. Todorow not out 1
Did not bat; J. Crossland (cpt/wkt)
Fielded in 1st innings; H. Khan
Clapham Nomads won by 2 wickets
Both teams have been struggling slightly for players this season so it was testament to the enduring popularity of this fixture that each side had 12 available, Either that or some of us are too old and sad to have anything else to do on a Bank Holiday weekend.
John Crossland was due for his annual turn as captain. He always used to skipper against Touring Theatres (our weakest opponents) before they folded in 2014, but he can't really be accused of cherry-picking by choosing this fixture as Occasionals are a talented and rather unpredictable side against whom we have a less than fantastic record.
Crossland won the toss and, seeking to maximise our chances of a second win before the end of May, inserted the Home side.
Roger Price and Peter Carey opened for Barnes and Abbas was handed the new ball. Price was out of the blocks immediately, hooking the young Nomads paceman out of the ground. Abbas himself had to retrieve the ball by climbing a high barbed wire fence and negotiating a field full of ponies. Abbas and Riaz tightened it up after this. Price (a talented wicket-keeper/batsman who, it was later revealed, once bowled to England test player Wilf Slack) was looking in ominous form. Usually, once he gets a start, he goes on to make a major and often match-winning score, so we were extremely grateful to bag both openers with the score in the early thirties.
I went for a stroll at this point and watched Richmond Baseball Club playing nearby (Random question.....Do Baseball players ever bat left-handed?). When I returned, a further 30 runs had been added in 10 overs for the loss of one more wicket - an attritional passage of play. There were also some murmurings of discontent that one bowler had been kept on for 10 overs - although admittedly it was an excellent spell from Riaz and you could understand John keeping him on as he is very accurate - a wicketkeeper's dream bowler.
After drinks the tempo increased somewhat. Barnes' two Aussies/Kiwis played nicely and a grey-haired chap, whose name I forget (?? Williams) but who has played against us several times down the years, all played some forceful shots and a total of 180 looked a possibility at one point. Fortunately, Emil Todorow intervened in characteristic style, a slow-ish full toss hitting the pad outside the crease and rolling agonisingly back onto the stumps before exhaustedly dislodging a bail. Someone muttered that "Shit gets wickets" but I must assume that this dismissal was cooked up in Emil's extremely conspiratorial brain.
Further wickets followed and a few of John's field position changes came off. Gul took a very smart catch at Deep Backward Square off Todorow's bowling to remove Barnes' classy left-hander. Nomads then didn't exactly cover themselves in glory by bowling a bouncer at Stan (aged 13 or 14). Riaz bowled the youngster via the edge of the bat in the following over.
Good fielding from Nomads, especially the catching from Gul, KK and Crossland, despite a comedy collision between sub-fielder Nick and Zia, both trying to catch the same skier (my fault, I didn't call, but at least the collision prevented me from dropping it....NL)
Nomads' over rate had not been brilliant and 35 overs had been bowled as the 2 and a half hours ran out with the score on 148 for 9.
Tea was enlivened by the appearance of Andrew West and reminiscences with Keith Seed about the halcyon days of the mid-1990s and feisty matches between the Occasionals and Open University (captained by Dave Hunter.)
The match situation looked well-balanced. Trackside bookies would probably have offered 4-5 both teams for the win and the draw a rank outsider at about 8 to 1, given Nomads' reliance on strokemakers. Hassan had left injured and Nick Lefebve took his place in the batting order. The pitch was producing some very low bounce but we had the men to see us home if things went well.
Paceman Daniel Hogg took an over to find his range and Nomads took advantage with 11 (7 in extras and a pull for 4 from the excellent pinch-hitter KK Khusro.) Warwick Proctor was steadier at the other end and had KK trapped plumb in front in the 4th over but we already had 29 on the board. In the following over, D. Hogg produced the ball of the day to clean bowl Gul. 30 for 2 and this was too close to call. Despite creaking knees, Barnes captain Ollie Hogg came on to bowl a 2-over spell and, though not at his best, inevitably produced at least 3 very awkward deliveries resulting in a close LBW shout and the wicket of Zeeshan who skied the ball to mid-on for Hogg's 705th wicket for the Occasionals. 44 for 3. Prasanth has been in excellent form and with one 4 already in the book, looked the man to steady Nomads' ship. Unfortunately, he didn't quite middle a half volley from Aaron Blair and chipped a catch up to the covers. 53 for 4 and Barnes moving slightly ahead on points.
Zia and Abdul kept up a fair pace with 2 resounding fours from Abdul off the bowling of Stan the highlight, before Blair jagged one back into Abdul's pads for an LBW that was possibly a little generous, especially by Nomads' standards. 83 for 5. 66 to win, ample time but the last of the 2 recognised specialist batsmen at the square. Happily, both players, Zia and Riaz, are in fine form and they continued this with a high-quality stand full of shots, the highlight was the 6 - the only maximum in Nomads' innings - struck by Riaz of the curmudgeonly bowling of Keith Seed, a notoriously difficult bowler to get after on a tricky pitch. At 128 for 5, Nomads were clear favourites for the first time but Zia was well-caught and, 6 runs later, an even better catch removed Riaz to tilt the balance back to the home side once more.
Fortunately, D. Hogg and Blair bowled some short leg-side stuff at No. 9 Nick Lefebve and the veteran was able to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Abbas then departed to make the score 143 for 8. Lefebve at the crease, Todorow and Crossland to come. 6 to win. 4.1 overs to go. You would have to say that there was a fair chance of any of the 4 results (including a tie) with a draw possibly the slight favourite. There is always potential for controversy and tragicomedy in any stand between Lefebve/Todorow/Crossland - you would think they would all have a telepathic understanding after over 30 years of acquaintance; but no. On this day though, Nick and Emil played it out calmly with a few singles before the ball flicked off Nick's pad for a likely 2 which would level the scores. "Come the **** on!!" the younger man bellowed at his partner, desperate for a tie, before both realised that the ball had crossed the boundary line and a hard-fought victory had been secured.
I have to say that there was a bit of bad feeling around, especially regarding some of the captaincy decisions, but I hope this won't put anyone off playing. We really enjoy having our current players in the side. Normally, we are very careful to make sure everyone gets a fair slice of the action and we appreciate people giving up their precious days off and paying to play. Please stick with it and let the good times continue.
John came out with a good quote while he was justifying his bowling changes (or lack of changes.) "I just couldn't afford to give away too many runs," he said. "It is not as it we have got Nick Cook batting for us." Hmmm, Nick Cook, the Leicestershire and England spinner from the 1980s. Actually, I'm sure Nick Cook could do a good job for us with the bat; he is probably still only about 60 years old. In fact, if you are reading this, Mr Cook, please get in touch. I think John might have meant Alastair Cook but you are never totally sure with John; he might well have meant Sam Cooke.
Man of the Match was Riaz for another fine knock and a tight, lengthy spell of bowling. Close second was top-scorer Zia. Fielder of the Day was Gul for his fine and crucial catch.
Barnes Occasionals - 148 for 9 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 4-0-19-0
R. Khan 12-2-29-3
Zia 8-1-41-2
E. Todorow 6-1-27-3
KK Khusro 3-1-11-1
Abdul Khan 2-0-14-0
Clapham Nomads - 150 for 8 from 26.5 overs
Gul b D.Hogg 4
KK Khusro lbw Proctor 14
P. Pattiyil c --------- b Blair 5
Zeeshan c -------- b O. Hogg 6
Zia c ---------- b Blair 39
Abdul Khan lbw Blair 15
R. Khan c -------- b D.Hogg 24
Abbas Khan b D.Hogg 4
N. Lefebve not out 13
E. Todorow not out 1
Did not bat; J. Crossland (cpt/wkt)
Fielded in 1st innings; H. Khan
Clapham Nomads won by 2 wickets
Monday, 23 May 2016
Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 22/5/16
For the second successive week it was off to Cottenham Park, this time for the 27th meeting with our friends and hard-but-fair rivals the Energy Exiles.
Unfortunately, Hassan was injured after last week's exertions and Nick Lefebve came in as replacement. Abdul and Gul withdrew and organiser Todorow was in despair with a fast-shrinking line-up of 9. Happily, Riaz produced yet another discovery from his never-ending production line of talent - the excellent Khusro (known as KK) - and a 10-strong Nomads side prepared to face the music as we recalled last year's games against Energy.
There were a fair few of our long-standing Exiles favourites on view; Andy Wingfield, Phil Ling, Keith Roberts and, inevitably, Simon Gundry who rarely misses an Exiles/Nomads contest. Simon was sporting a retro West German football away strip from the early 70s with which John Crossland was much impressed. The back of this garment honoured "Der Bomber" a sobriquet given to legendary goal-poacher Gerd Muller but which could equally apply to the big Exiles' paceman.
Emil won the toss and put the Home side in. There was a fairly quick reward with a splendid diving catch by keeper John Crossland off the bowling of Zia. Keith Roberts was the other opener and he began to play his trademark forcing off-drives and flicks behind square to leg. He is a very interesting player to watch and clever at finding gaps and taking the single to rotate the strike. His partnerships with our own Mark Bradshaw for Exiles in the mid-2000s were an essential feature of Exiles play at that time. If anything, he seems to be hitting it slightly harder these days. If he has any weakness, he can on occasions become a little bogged down and I think perhaps we should have opened with our most accurate bowler, Riaz. As it was, Abbas and Zia bowled fine and hostile spells but Roberts was able to use the pace of the ball to good advantage. No. 3 batsman quickly impressed and Exiles looked comfortable moving it on at about 5 an over. It took a freak wicket to finally remove Roberts as he top-edged a high but dipping full toss gently into the gloves of Crossland.
Tea was taken at 20 overs with score around 95 for 2.
The second phase saw Energy plough serenely on. There was something of a reprieve for Clapham when Exiles' hardest hitter Gundry was caught by Darwin fairly early, but the batting order is deep. As our fielders moved back, singles were taken pretty much at will and there were a few big overs thrown in to demoralise us. Having said that, we stuck to the task pretty well in the field. Only one catchable chance went down and KK and Prasanth, in particular, got through loads of work in the deep.
200 was passed in the 34th over and suddenly there was all action. A suicidal single was attempted and the bowler Riaz threw the stumps down. 201 for 5 and we trooped off. I had assumed it was a 40-over game (I was knackered, half-deaf and also we had taken tea at 20 overs) so this sudden cessation was a delightful surprise. I told John Crossland I had expected 40 overs and he said; "Christ, if you want to be tortured there are places in the West End you can go if you have got the money." It is the sheer range of life experiences the Nomads players possess that makes playing for this club so worthwhile.
I had also not realised that Exiles' No. 3 was on 95 which accounted for the attempted single. Unfortunately he missed out on his ton but it was an excellent innings.
I wouldn't say we were over confident as we began our reply, especially when Andy Wingfield produced a beauty with his 4th ball to uproot Mahesh Vyas's leg stump. The debutant KK then "played himself in" against Akhtar by attempting to smack his first ball over long on for 6. He did not get that close and the second ball hit him on the knee roll for a decent LBW shout. KK continued to try to hit almost every ball out of the ground but without success. This did not look particularly promising. Suddenly, he connected off Akhtar and it sailed for 4. He repeated this with 2 resounding boundaries off Wingfield. Nomads had discovered a pinch-hitter. No. 3 Prasanth began to play nicely after a careful start and skipper Chris Plume turned to Gundry. Andy Wingfield had been bowling rapidly, with keeper Plume taking it above his head on occasions, but Gundry just increased the tempo with a rapid spell of bowling downhill. Prasanth did well to see his 4-over spell off and both batsmen continued to force the pace against Akhtar.
An absorbing knock from KK ended when a clever slower one from Akhtar pegged back his off stump with the score on 49.
Darwin joined Prasanth to continue the good work. Our high-point was 81 for 2 with a fair bit of batting to come. Prasanth had survived a hostile spell of fast bowling (and also a run out appeal - a 20-yard direct hit by Gundry - that was extremely, some might say controversially, close). When 3rd change Terence Moynihan bowled him a gentle long hop, he unfortunately mistimed the pull shot straight back into the bowler's hands to end a decent knock of 30.
2nd change Phil Ling was plying his trade up the hill and producing some really alarming in-swing (described by Umpire Todorow as "banana balls.") Riaz and Darwin were coping well until Ling produced some very late in-swing from outside off to hit the top of middle and leg and remove Darwin. Possibly the ball of the day.
Riaz and Zia probably represented our last real hope and they made an excellent fist of it. Both brilliant natural hitters, they suddenly took a liking to Ling's bowling and took 34 from 8 of his balls, including 26 off an over (not quite a Nomads record) and 4 sixes in an over (which I think is a record.) It took the return of Simon Gundry to finally break this exhilarating stand with Riaz caught above head height right on the Square Leg boundary.
Abbas and Nick didn't last long but they managed at least to ensure that Der Bomber's overs were used up before Emil and John came out to support Zia.
Skipper Plume had a slight dilemma. He obviously brought back Wingfield downhill but at the other end, instead of turning to a part-time bowler, he bravely threw the ball back to Phil Ling, who was 1 for 46 from 4, to bowl his final three. This gamble worked out well as Ling bowled shorter and quicker than before and neither Zia nor Emil Todorow could really get him away. The gathering gloom did not help Ling only conceded 2 scoring shots in his final 3 overs and Wingfield only conceded a single in his last 2. Nomads' innings rather petered out but our final total of 164 for 7 was our best innings of the season so far, and scored off arguably the strongest bowling line-up we have faced this year.
So respectability was achieved with some entertaining cricket in an enjoyable match. We did consider that, had Hassan been fit, we would probably have conceded 10 or 15 fewer and scored a few more, but that is clutching at straws. Energy often find another gear anyway when they need it.
Man of the Match was Zia for his 57 not out and his best bowling of the season so far. Fielder of the Day was John Crossland.
Energy Exiles - 201 for 5 from 35 overs (No. 3 bat - ??Craig? 95 not out.)
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 7-0-44-0
Zia 7-1-34-1
E. Todorow 7-0-36-0
R. Khan 7-0-26-0
KK Khusro 6-0-43-2
D. Gunawardena 1-0-11-1
Clapham Nomads - 164 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Vyas b Wingfield 0
KK Khusro b Akhtar 22
P. Pattiyil c and b Moynihan 30
D. Gunawardena b Ling 18
R.Khan c No. 3 bat b Gundry 19
Zia not out 57
Abbas Khan b Gundry 0
N. Lefebve lbw Gundry 0
E. Todorow(capt) not out 3
Did not bat - J. Crossland(wkt)
F. O.W. - 1, 49, 81, 83, 135, 147, 147
Energy Exiles won by 37 runs
Unfortunately, Hassan was injured after last week's exertions and Nick Lefebve came in as replacement. Abdul and Gul withdrew and organiser Todorow was in despair with a fast-shrinking line-up of 9. Happily, Riaz produced yet another discovery from his never-ending production line of talent - the excellent Khusro (known as KK) - and a 10-strong Nomads side prepared to face the music as we recalled last year's games against Energy.
There were a fair few of our long-standing Exiles favourites on view; Andy Wingfield, Phil Ling, Keith Roberts and, inevitably, Simon Gundry who rarely misses an Exiles/Nomads contest. Simon was sporting a retro West German football away strip from the early 70s with which John Crossland was much impressed. The back of this garment honoured "Der Bomber" a sobriquet given to legendary goal-poacher Gerd Muller but which could equally apply to the big Exiles' paceman.
Emil won the toss and put the Home side in. There was a fairly quick reward with a splendid diving catch by keeper John Crossland off the bowling of Zia. Keith Roberts was the other opener and he began to play his trademark forcing off-drives and flicks behind square to leg. He is a very interesting player to watch and clever at finding gaps and taking the single to rotate the strike. His partnerships with our own Mark Bradshaw for Exiles in the mid-2000s were an essential feature of Exiles play at that time. If anything, he seems to be hitting it slightly harder these days. If he has any weakness, he can on occasions become a little bogged down and I think perhaps we should have opened with our most accurate bowler, Riaz. As it was, Abbas and Zia bowled fine and hostile spells but Roberts was able to use the pace of the ball to good advantage. No. 3 batsman quickly impressed and Exiles looked comfortable moving it on at about 5 an over. It took a freak wicket to finally remove Roberts as he top-edged a high but dipping full toss gently into the gloves of Crossland.
Tea was taken at 20 overs with score around 95 for 2.
The second phase saw Energy plough serenely on. There was something of a reprieve for Clapham when Exiles' hardest hitter Gundry was caught by Darwin fairly early, but the batting order is deep. As our fielders moved back, singles were taken pretty much at will and there were a few big overs thrown in to demoralise us. Having said that, we stuck to the task pretty well in the field. Only one catchable chance went down and KK and Prasanth, in particular, got through loads of work in the deep.
200 was passed in the 34th over and suddenly there was all action. A suicidal single was attempted and the bowler Riaz threw the stumps down. 201 for 5 and we trooped off. I had assumed it was a 40-over game (I was knackered, half-deaf and also we had taken tea at 20 overs) so this sudden cessation was a delightful surprise. I told John Crossland I had expected 40 overs and he said; "Christ, if you want to be tortured there are places in the West End you can go if you have got the money." It is the sheer range of life experiences the Nomads players possess that makes playing for this club so worthwhile.
I had also not realised that Exiles' No. 3 was on 95 which accounted for the attempted single. Unfortunately he missed out on his ton but it was an excellent innings.
I wouldn't say we were over confident as we began our reply, especially when Andy Wingfield produced a beauty with his 4th ball to uproot Mahesh Vyas's leg stump. The debutant KK then "played himself in" against Akhtar by attempting to smack his first ball over long on for 6. He did not get that close and the second ball hit him on the knee roll for a decent LBW shout. KK continued to try to hit almost every ball out of the ground but without success. This did not look particularly promising. Suddenly, he connected off Akhtar and it sailed for 4. He repeated this with 2 resounding boundaries off Wingfield. Nomads had discovered a pinch-hitter. No. 3 Prasanth began to play nicely after a careful start and skipper Chris Plume turned to Gundry. Andy Wingfield had been bowling rapidly, with keeper Plume taking it above his head on occasions, but Gundry just increased the tempo with a rapid spell of bowling downhill. Prasanth did well to see his 4-over spell off and both batsmen continued to force the pace against Akhtar.
An absorbing knock from KK ended when a clever slower one from Akhtar pegged back his off stump with the score on 49.
Darwin joined Prasanth to continue the good work. Our high-point was 81 for 2 with a fair bit of batting to come. Prasanth had survived a hostile spell of fast bowling (and also a run out appeal - a 20-yard direct hit by Gundry - that was extremely, some might say controversially, close). When 3rd change Terence Moynihan bowled him a gentle long hop, he unfortunately mistimed the pull shot straight back into the bowler's hands to end a decent knock of 30.
2nd change Phil Ling was plying his trade up the hill and producing some really alarming in-swing (described by Umpire Todorow as "banana balls.") Riaz and Darwin were coping well until Ling produced some very late in-swing from outside off to hit the top of middle and leg and remove Darwin. Possibly the ball of the day.
Riaz and Zia probably represented our last real hope and they made an excellent fist of it. Both brilliant natural hitters, they suddenly took a liking to Ling's bowling and took 34 from 8 of his balls, including 26 off an over (not quite a Nomads record) and 4 sixes in an over (which I think is a record.) It took the return of Simon Gundry to finally break this exhilarating stand with Riaz caught above head height right on the Square Leg boundary.
Abbas and Nick didn't last long but they managed at least to ensure that Der Bomber's overs were used up before Emil and John came out to support Zia.
Skipper Plume had a slight dilemma. He obviously brought back Wingfield downhill but at the other end, instead of turning to a part-time bowler, he bravely threw the ball back to Phil Ling, who was 1 for 46 from 4, to bowl his final three. This gamble worked out well as Ling bowled shorter and quicker than before and neither Zia nor Emil Todorow could really get him away. The gathering gloom did not help Ling only conceded 2 scoring shots in his final 3 overs and Wingfield only conceded a single in his last 2. Nomads' innings rather petered out but our final total of 164 for 7 was our best innings of the season so far, and scored off arguably the strongest bowling line-up we have faced this year.
So respectability was achieved with some entertaining cricket in an enjoyable match. We did consider that, had Hassan been fit, we would probably have conceded 10 or 15 fewer and scored a few more, but that is clutching at straws. Energy often find another gear anyway when they need it.
Man of the Match was Zia for his 57 not out and his best bowling of the season so far. Fielder of the Day was John Crossland.
Energy Exiles - 201 for 5 from 35 overs (No. 3 bat - ??Craig? 95 not out.)
Nomads' bowling
Abbas Khan 7-0-44-0
Zia 7-1-34-1
E. Todorow 7-0-36-0
R. Khan 7-0-26-0
KK Khusro 6-0-43-2
D. Gunawardena 1-0-11-1
Clapham Nomads - 164 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Vyas b Wingfield 0
KK Khusro b Akhtar 22
P. Pattiyil c and b Moynihan 30
D. Gunawardena b Ling 18
R.Khan c No. 3 bat b Gundry 19
Zia not out 57
Abbas Khan b Gundry 0
N. Lefebve lbw Gundry 0
E. Todorow(capt) not out 3
Did not bat - J. Crossland(wkt)
F. O.W. - 1, 49, 81, 83, 135, 147, 147
Energy Exiles won by 37 runs
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