Even if Clapham Nomads are unable to win a particular match, we always like to make it interesting for the opposition and we certainly succeeded in doing the latter at Raynes Park last Sunday. There was a great deal of interest for the visitors as they stacked up the runs; just which batting records would they break and by how much? They ended up setting three new marks; their all-team highest team total - 283 for 4; their highest individual score - Steve Parkinson's 141 off only 107 balls; and their highest-ever 2nd wicket stand - Parkinson sharing 191 off just over 150 balls with Bernard Leuvennink, who scored even faster than his partner with 81 runs off 52 balls. The innings was also the highest total Clapham Nomads have ever conceded.
I have to say this was just brilliant batting, though of course the track was excellent and there was one short boundary. The greatest assistance, though, was from some truly terrible fielding from the Nomads.
It all started so differently with tight swing bowling from Hassan and a very rapid spell from Zeeshan restricting Exiles to only 36 off the first 9 and 2 very catchable chances had gone down. From this point however, the throttle was well and truly choked. Abbas had Tom brilliantly caught by Hassan in the deep but the introduction of Leuvennink was the cue for massive acceleration. 90 runs were taken between overs 9 and the 18-over drinks break.
I have to say that Nomads bowling remained reasonable throughout but there were some spectacular missed chances, many caused by the sun being in fielders' eyes. Other possible causes were the hubbub coming from the pavilion (where a large extended family picnic was taking place with food and organised activities such as bike races and running on to the outfield to see if you could get injured), also the fierce heat and being just generally pissed off.
I'm sure there must have been a few Nomads fielders that didn't make any mistakes but our only real bright spot in the field was a fantastic, energy-packed performance by the oldest man in the side, Chris Kennedy. He made a full-length diving stop, didn't miss anything easy and injured his finger attempting a flying catch which would have been Nomads' finest of all time but unfortunately didn't quite stick. The ball just kept coming to him as he protected the short boundary and he was very solid. He did put another one down but it was very firmly struck and he had 2 injured fingers by this point.
The whole ground had a slightly odd feel to it as there was a large 12-foot high hoarding just behind the short boundary running about a third of the way around the pitch. Extensive building work was taking place behind this. We speculated as to what was being built and the general consensus was that it would be a main stand accommodating 6,000 ticket-holders, complete with a Media Centre, luxury changing facilities, an Indoor Cricket Academy and a licensed restaurant. One Exile pointed out that, since Nomads are one of the main users of Raynes Park, this new stand could contain facilities for an LBW decision review system. I'll get onto Merton Council about it - we do pay over £100 a game after all.
300 looked a possibility at one point but good bowling from KK, and a slight improvement in the fielding with Abbas taking a neat catch, meant that Energy only just passed their previous record score of 280. Well done to them though. Magnificent batting.
This was a hell of a task for Nomads but we had a few targets; a) about 60, which would prevent this being our heaviest runs defeat of all time and becoming known as "Slaughter in the Sun 2"; b) pass the 100; c) get within 100 runs of Exiles' total and d) hit the ball out of the ground and onto the building site- which Energy had done about 6 times - on at least one occasion.
We cracked on at about 6 an over but for the loss of Mahesh and KK fairly early. Hassan joined new man Javed and they produced probably the best stand of the innings. Hassan has been in great from and has been averaging over 55 since Ramadan. The boundary rope began to be peppered and Exiles skipper Chris Plume did acknowledge later that he had just a slight concern at this point. Javed eventually fell but Abbas, at No. 5, took 4 boundaries off an over in a bright 20. Zia joined Hassan and these two batting at their very best would certainly have had the potential to at least make it tense. Sadly Zia, hampered by injury, didn't last too long. Hassan made a nice 43 which looked like it would be our top score until Zeeshan began to really get after the bowling. With Nick Lefebve blocking the other end (after surviving a strong LBW shout early on from swing bowler Phil Ling), Zeeshan assumed command with a series of heavy blows and managed to get the ball into the building site twice, once via an Exile's fingertips. He completed an excellent half-century which we were told was his first 50 in any form of cricket. Well done!
After Zeeshan fell for 55, Lefebve kept the board rolling with some agricultural leg-side blows, supported by Kennedy, who very sportingly walked after an edge that no-one else had heard, and Emil Todorow. In trying to get the margin of defeat below 100, Lefebve holed out tamely to mid-wicket off Leuvennink with 4 balls to go and exposed John Crossland, who had a possible thumb fracture, to 4 balls which Nomads' tough guy coped with admirably to at least prevent Nomads being all out. In fact, our total of 176 for 9 is our second highest against Exiles in the last 10 games.
So a memorable game, played competitively with just a few hints of tetchiness but not even at the Handbags at 10 paces level, more Jellybabies on the Pitch but good-humoured in the main. We always enjoy playing the Exiles and may now consider paying boot money to any ringers that could make us enjoy it even more. If any readers know any First Class players that would be interested in playing against the Exiles next year for ....er, the honour of turning out for the Nomads....please let me know.
Energy Exiles 283 for 4 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling;
H. Khan 7-0-53-0
Zeeshan 7-2-33-0
Abbas Khan 7-0-51-1
Zia 2-0-24-0
E. Todorow 4-0-39-0
Javed Iqbal 4-0-48-0
KK Khusro 4-0-31-3
Clapham Nomads 176 for 9 from 35 overs
M. Vyas 8
KK Khusro 14
Javed Iqbal 4
H. Khan 43
Abbas Khan 20
Zia 0
Zeeshan 55
N. Lefebve 23
C. Kennedy 0
E. Todorow(capt) not out 4
J. Crossland(wkt) not out 0
F.O.W. - 21, 22, 59, 81, 81, 115, 149, 157, 176
Clapham Nomads lost by 107 runs.
Full scores to follow. (Now included.)
Normally, I would give Man of The Match to Zeeshan for his 50 and he played really well. However, Chris Kennedy produced something really special today. He threw everything into his fielding, despite injury and he produced a great moment of sportsmanship in walking when no-one else realised he was out. He is a model Sportsman and a true Nomads legend. He is Man of the Match and Fielder of the Day.
Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Monday, 8 August 2016
Clapham Nomads v Barnes Occasionals - 7/8/16
Nomads entertained our oldest cricketing friends, the Barnes Occasionals, at a gloriously sunny Raynes Park Sports Ground on Sunday.
Inserted by Barnes skipper Ollie Hogg, Nomads' openers Mahesh and Darwin resumed their almost telepathic understanding at the crease. They seem to take it in turns to dominate and it was Mahesh's turn to force the pace this week as they faced up to the contrasting pace and styles of Hooker and Hogg. Vyas raced to 13 but Ollie Hogg always produces something, usually leaving the victim feeling bamboozled. On this occasion, a slow one caused Mahesh to move forward just a little too much and become unbalanced. The batsman could not regain his ground in time even though the keeper fumbled it, and off came the bails. 19 for 1.
Excellent batting from Darwin and Prasanth, containing a high proportion of boundaries, kept up the pace. Hooker bowled Darwin for a nice 25 in the 11th over with the 50 just on the board. Hassan continued his good work of last week until Prasanth fell for 23 to a one-handed catch described by John Crossland as "amazing." Not a word John is given to using - it must have been quite something. Looks like Prasanth is coming into form to face his favourite opponents, the Energy Exiles, next week.
I arrived with the score 100 for 3 and Nomads were in full flood. Zia and Hassan matching each other stride for stride until Zia struck 2 sixes off an over from Keith Seed, not the easiest bowler to get away. Inevitably, the Barnes Legend struck back in the following over to bowl Zia, just after Hassan had fallen for 45 (top-scorer for the second week in a row.)
Nomads were down to 158 for 5 and still needed quite a few to put ourselves in command. Patrick struck 3 nice boundaries while KK and Zeeshan were there and then Abbas smacked it around at the death to bring Nomads up to 197 at the close.
Occasionals were missing their star batsman Roger Price but there were one or two players we did not know too much about. You can never write off the Occasionals as we know from long experience.
Keith Seed opened the batting, which I cannot remember him doing for many years but, together with his left-handed partner, he played a nice hand; craftily dropping it into the gaps and showing a keen instinct for the quick single and strike rotation. Hassan was again tight, going of just above 2 an over. Zeeshan showed real pace and was denied what looked a certain caught behind when he followed through in front of the umpire who did not get a clear view of the incident.
Barnes were falling behind the rate but it took the arrival of Emil Todorow to break the partnership. A slow full toss managed to find its way past Seed's bat onto off stump. This may become a late inswinging yorker by September. Someone remarked that "Shit gets wickets," to which someone else added that Emil has taken more wickets than any other Nomad. Emil had a bit of an aura about him in this game though. He would receive the ball, shake his head, examine the seam (without, of course, any suggestion that he was going to pick it) shake his head again and lope up five strides and deliver the ball. Most batsmen know that they will receive either a full toss, a deadly delivery on the stumps, or a near wide. They don't know which it will be (how could they? Todorow doesn't know himself) but the suspense seems to destroy them. A hint.....if Emil's hair is floating horizontally the ball will be on middle and leg, but I have said too much already.
Abbas took over at the top end and kicked off with one of the fastest overs I have seen a Nomads produce for some time. Possibly since the days of Ajmal 7 years ago. An absolute flyer was followed by a shortish one which the left-handed batsman only had time to chip back to Abbas for wicket 2. Barnes had their moments but as Abbas continued his spell he began to swing it and the one that moved late to rattle middle stump was the ball of the day. Abbas has been bowling some great stuff in the last month and he puts his success down to drinking copious amounts of green tea. I am tempted to try this myself but I would probably take it with milk, 2 sugars and a couple of Danish pastries which might take away the benefit.
Several Barnes players got a start but few could consolidate. A couple of wickets for KK were followed by the introduction of the leg-spinner Patrick to the attack. He started with 2 full tosses which were hit for 8 by the last of the recognised hitters but, having tasted blood, the player came forward again to a better length ball, missed, and keeper John Crossland gleefully whipped the bails off - a rare stumping for the Nomads.
Ollie Hogg and Mike Webster were the last pair. Both capable players but the required rate was around 10 and an LBW soon confirmed our victory.
A fine victory for an improving Nomads side that is starting to look a well-balanced outfit. We will need to be against the Exiles next week.
As ever, I enjoyed reminiscing with Keith Seed about the halcyon days of Open University v Barnes Occasionals matches in the mid-90s. He reminded me of a match when OU dismissed Barnes for 90, possibly their lowest total against OU. In reply, we were 73 for 3 and Dave Hunter was smacking it around. Sensing that their was just a chance (approximately 99%) that the ball might pop up at Deep Mid Wicket at some stage, the wily Seed put his best fielder, Adam Hogg, and OU's Dublin-born star responded by pulling the ball straight into Adam's hands. It did not shock me to hear that OU then lost the game or that Dave Hunter (who I must mention is a brilliant bloke and I am proud to call a good friend) then set about berating OU's BOWLERS for losing us the game. Happy days, but that's enough rambling about the past. This Nomads side appears to have a bright future.
Man of the Match? I must raise a glass of herbal tea to Abbas. I forgot to mention he unfortunately put down a caught and bowled chance which would have given him a deserved five-fer. Fielder of the Day? KK and Zia made good stops. Sub fielder Nick Lefebve was busy and tidy but, for the third week in the row, John Crossland takes the prize for a stumping, a catch-that-might-have-been and only conceding one bye.
Clapham Nomads 197 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Vyas stumped, b Hogg 13
D. Gunawardena b Hooker 25
P.Pattiyil caught-------- b Gokul 23
H. Khan caught wicket b Binoy 45
Zia b Seed 38
Patrick not out 16
KK Khusro caught-------- b Gokul 4
Zeeshan b Gokul 2
Abbas Khan not out 16
Did not bat; E. Todorow, J. Crossland.
Substitute Fielder (whole of 2nd innings) - N. Lefebve
F. O. W. - 19, 50, 86, 158, 158, 169, 179
Barnes Occasionals 93 all out from 27.2 overs
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 5-1-11-0
Zeeshan 5-0-16-0
Abbas Khan 7-1-24-4
E. Todorow 6-1-17-2
KK Khusro 2.2-0-7-2
Patrick 2-0-14-1
Clapham Nomads won by 104 runs
Inserted by Barnes skipper Ollie Hogg, Nomads' openers Mahesh and Darwin resumed their almost telepathic understanding at the crease. They seem to take it in turns to dominate and it was Mahesh's turn to force the pace this week as they faced up to the contrasting pace and styles of Hooker and Hogg. Vyas raced to 13 but Ollie Hogg always produces something, usually leaving the victim feeling bamboozled. On this occasion, a slow one caused Mahesh to move forward just a little too much and become unbalanced. The batsman could not regain his ground in time even though the keeper fumbled it, and off came the bails. 19 for 1.
Excellent batting from Darwin and Prasanth, containing a high proportion of boundaries, kept up the pace. Hooker bowled Darwin for a nice 25 in the 11th over with the 50 just on the board. Hassan continued his good work of last week until Prasanth fell for 23 to a one-handed catch described by John Crossland as "amazing." Not a word John is given to using - it must have been quite something. Looks like Prasanth is coming into form to face his favourite opponents, the Energy Exiles, next week.
I arrived with the score 100 for 3 and Nomads were in full flood. Zia and Hassan matching each other stride for stride until Zia struck 2 sixes off an over from Keith Seed, not the easiest bowler to get away. Inevitably, the Barnes Legend struck back in the following over to bowl Zia, just after Hassan had fallen for 45 (top-scorer for the second week in a row.)
Nomads were down to 158 for 5 and still needed quite a few to put ourselves in command. Patrick struck 3 nice boundaries while KK and Zeeshan were there and then Abbas smacked it around at the death to bring Nomads up to 197 at the close.
Occasionals were missing their star batsman Roger Price but there were one or two players we did not know too much about. You can never write off the Occasionals as we know from long experience.
Keith Seed opened the batting, which I cannot remember him doing for many years but, together with his left-handed partner, he played a nice hand; craftily dropping it into the gaps and showing a keen instinct for the quick single and strike rotation. Hassan was again tight, going of just above 2 an over. Zeeshan showed real pace and was denied what looked a certain caught behind when he followed through in front of the umpire who did not get a clear view of the incident.
Barnes were falling behind the rate but it took the arrival of Emil Todorow to break the partnership. A slow full toss managed to find its way past Seed's bat onto off stump. This may become a late inswinging yorker by September. Someone remarked that "Shit gets wickets," to which someone else added that Emil has taken more wickets than any other Nomad. Emil had a bit of an aura about him in this game though. He would receive the ball, shake his head, examine the seam (without, of course, any suggestion that he was going to pick it) shake his head again and lope up five strides and deliver the ball. Most batsmen know that they will receive either a full toss, a deadly delivery on the stumps, or a near wide. They don't know which it will be (how could they? Todorow doesn't know himself) but the suspense seems to destroy them. A hint.....if Emil's hair is floating horizontally the ball will be on middle and leg, but I have said too much already.
Abbas took over at the top end and kicked off with one of the fastest overs I have seen a Nomads produce for some time. Possibly since the days of Ajmal 7 years ago. An absolute flyer was followed by a shortish one which the left-handed batsman only had time to chip back to Abbas for wicket 2. Barnes had their moments but as Abbas continued his spell he began to swing it and the one that moved late to rattle middle stump was the ball of the day. Abbas has been bowling some great stuff in the last month and he puts his success down to drinking copious amounts of green tea. I am tempted to try this myself but I would probably take it with milk, 2 sugars and a couple of Danish pastries which might take away the benefit.
Several Barnes players got a start but few could consolidate. A couple of wickets for KK were followed by the introduction of the leg-spinner Patrick to the attack. He started with 2 full tosses which were hit for 8 by the last of the recognised hitters but, having tasted blood, the player came forward again to a better length ball, missed, and keeper John Crossland gleefully whipped the bails off - a rare stumping for the Nomads.
Ollie Hogg and Mike Webster were the last pair. Both capable players but the required rate was around 10 and an LBW soon confirmed our victory.
A fine victory for an improving Nomads side that is starting to look a well-balanced outfit. We will need to be against the Exiles next week.
As ever, I enjoyed reminiscing with Keith Seed about the halcyon days of Open University v Barnes Occasionals matches in the mid-90s. He reminded me of a match when OU dismissed Barnes for 90, possibly their lowest total against OU. In reply, we were 73 for 3 and Dave Hunter was smacking it around. Sensing that their was just a chance (approximately 99%) that the ball might pop up at Deep Mid Wicket at some stage, the wily Seed put his best fielder, Adam Hogg, and OU's Dublin-born star responded by pulling the ball straight into Adam's hands. It did not shock me to hear that OU then lost the game or that Dave Hunter (who I must mention is a brilliant bloke and I am proud to call a good friend) then set about berating OU's BOWLERS for losing us the game. Happy days, but that's enough rambling about the past. This Nomads side appears to have a bright future.
Man of the Match? I must raise a glass of herbal tea to Abbas. I forgot to mention he unfortunately put down a caught and bowled chance which would have given him a deserved five-fer. Fielder of the Day? KK and Zia made good stops. Sub fielder Nick Lefebve was busy and tidy but, for the third week in the row, John Crossland takes the prize for a stumping, a catch-that-might-have-been and only conceding one bye.
Clapham Nomads 197 for 7 from 35 overs
M. Vyas stumped, b Hogg 13
D. Gunawardena b Hooker 25
P.Pattiyil caught-------- b Gokul 23
H. Khan caught wicket b Binoy 45
Zia b Seed 38
Patrick not out 16
KK Khusro caught-------- b Gokul 4
Zeeshan b Gokul 2
Abbas Khan not out 16
Did not bat; E. Todorow, J. Crossland.
Substitute Fielder (whole of 2nd innings) - N. Lefebve
F. O. W. - 19, 50, 86, 158, 158, 169, 179
Barnes Occasionals 93 all out from 27.2 overs
Nomads' bowling
H. Khan 5-1-11-0
Zeeshan 5-0-16-0
Abbas Khan 7-1-24-4
E. Todorow 6-1-17-2
KK Khusro 2.2-0-7-2
Patrick 2-0-14-1
Clapham Nomads won by 104 runs
Long Ditton v Clapham Nomads - 31/7/16
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
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
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.
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