Unfortunately Nomads' fixture against our oldest friend Barnes Occasionals fell through last Sunday as several of them were unable to play due to family commitments (in other words they were told the dreaded words; "Darling, you have to choose. It's me or Clapham Nomads!")
Well, surprisingly, few of them chose Clapham Nomads and it was back to the internet to find a replacement fixture which soon came in the shape of Chelsea and Westminster. I had a gut feeling that they might be rather a decent side and so it proved; they were a nice bunch of guys as well.
The legendary Emil Todorow made his re-appearance after a 3-game absence - hopefully this was the first of another 285-game unbroken run.
I arrived with the tea just before the interval and Chelsea were in the 220s - they closed on an imposing 232 for 9 from 35 overs. Most of our bowling figures were decent and 5 catches were taken and Sami and KK combined for a run out however, as that astute judge John Crossland pointed out in the scorebook; "Seven dropped catches didn't help."
Against Chelsea's impressive new ball pairing, Zahi and Naya, who both did a fair bit with the ball, Mahesh looked particularly determined and dug in with grit and used his feet to good effect. Unfortunately wickets fell at the other end. Last week's hero Darwin was bowled early on, Kalam played a few nice shots before falling and then Hasan, who has been in great from, holed out over the bowler's head. The West London side were now clear favourites and worse was to follow as Mahesh fell to a bizarre run out and Zia and Riaz were back in the pavilion for 4 between them. This must be the first time for ages, possibly ever, that star men Hasan and Zia failed to score a run between them. However, they have done incredible things for the Nomads and even Steve Smith fails occasionally (or does he?)
Nomads were 39 for 6 at this stage but KK and Sami combined very nicely to take us up to 72 before Sami was bowled. I left for work at this stage and, as always seems to happen, I missed the best as KK kicked on for a fine innings of 79, his best for the Nomads and he completely dominated stands of 20 and 43 with Zaman and Emil, taking us up to 135 for 9 and he added a further 9 after last man John had arrived at the crease. A great innings and a bit unlucky as, with a capable blocker at the other end and 22 balls to go, he must have been in with a chance of a ton.
Anyway, one of our few heavy defeats this season but not the worst day in the world.
Chelsea and Westminster - 232 for 9 from 35 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Sami 7-0-32-1
Zaman 7-0-42-1
Zia 2-0-23-0
Emil (not Jamil as the opposition called him in their scorebook) 5-0-32-1
KK 7-0-38-2
Riaz 3-0-21-1
Kalam 2-0-15-1
Hasan 2-0-16-1
Clapham Nomads 144 all out from 31.2 overs
Mahesh 19
Darwin 0
Kalam 11
Hasan 0
Riaz 4
Zia 0
KK 79
Sami 14
Zaman 4
Emil (capt) 2-
John 0 not out
F.O.W. - 2, 25, 25, 39, 39, 39, 72, 92, 135, 144
Clapham Nomads lost by 88 runs
Man of the Match - KK
Fielder of the Day - Kalam
Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Wednesday, 4 September 2019
Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 1/9/19
Nomads played Exiles last Sunday for an unprecedented 4th time this season. I think there is some stalking going on here. Here is John Crossland's report which he actually wrote for the Energy Exiles' website but it is so good that I am going to risk infringing copyright laws by putting it on here as well.
"On winning the toss, Clapham Nomads decided to bat first
which they don’t do very often, normally preferring to bowl. Mahesh Vyas and Abdul got the innings off to
a good start, putting on 62. Abdul made a quickfire 39 with 6 fours and 2
sixes, a lot of his runs coming off the bowling of Jamshed who did however get
him out LBW. Darwin, who has really been
struggling for runs this season, came in and he finally found some form hitting
exactly 50 in a partnership of 101 with Hasan, who was still captaining the
side while Emil Todorow is in Bulgaria. Hasan retired on 56. I think this might
be the first time a Nomads player has retired, at least in a proper game. The rest of the batsmen lost their wickets
going for quick runs towards the end of the innings but a total of 222 was
probably going to be enough on a slightly dodgy wicket.
Energy Exiles were handicapped in their bowling as Andrew
Wingfield had an injury and could only bowl at a reduced pace. Bernard Leuvennink
bowled reasonably well taking 3 for 42. Phil Ling, who opened the bowling, did
not bowl badly either although he did not take a wicket.
In reply the Exiles lost both openers cheaply and were soon
4 wickets down for not many. The impressive Bilal and Leuvennink repaired some
of the damage with a decent partnership for the 5th wicket. Zia came
into the attack and bowled really well dismissing the dangerous Bilal for 56
and also Leuvennink for 32. He finished with 4 for 7 from 5 overs. Abbas had earlier taken 3 for 43. Until Bilal
was out the Exiles were still in with a chance. They were eventually all out
for 111.
This season the Nomads and Exiles have played each other 4
times. The score is 2 each. If possible it would be good to have a 5th
and deciding game before the season ends."
John Crossland.
So the amazing possibility has been suggested. A 5th test decider. Just to let you know that The Oval costs about 25,000 to book for a match - so only just over a grand a player. But would it be big enough?
Clapham Nomads 222 from 35 overs
Mahesh 14
Abdul 39
Darwin 50
Hasan (capt) retired 56
Zia 13
KK 13
Hayan 2
Abbas 0
Zaman 5
John (wkt) not out 1
F.O.W. - 62, 69, 170, 183, 212, 212, 215, 222
Energy Exiles 111 from 23.1 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 7-0-34-3
Zaman 5-0-35-1
KK 5-0-29-0
Zia 5-2-7-4
Abdul 1.1-0-3-2
Nomads won by 111 runs
Man of the Match - Zia
Fielder of the Day - To be decided.
I just noticed. 222 beat 111. A triple Nelson. Someone is trying to tell us something.
Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 25/8/19
Nomads entertained our old friends Energy Exiles on a scorching day at Joseph Hood over the Bank Holiday. Although it is always good to see the Exiles, and they brought some familiar faces along, for the second time this season one of the greatest days in English cricket was being played out while we were being given the run around on one of Merton's bleakest grounds.
With Emil still away, Hasan skippered but unfortunately lost the toss. In 93 degree heat, Exiles unsurprisingly batted and we faced a tough afternoon of fielding, punctuated only by extra drinks breaks. In Keith Roberts and Bilal Musakhel, Exiles had a fine left-hand / right-hand partnership. Nomads' bowling was decent and we kept the rate below 4 an over until the 15th over when the pair began to kick on. Bilal made a fine 50 with Keith looking unshiftable as ever. Having said that, quite a few chances went down and Nomads fielding was not the best it has been - understandable given the extreme conditions.
Bilal fell to a smart stumping bt keeper Crossland off the bowling of Hasan in the 21st over but then a string of right-handers gave the left-handed Roberts good support as he upper the tempo. Roberts seemes to have got even better recently. In the heyday of Nomads-Exiles games 10 years ago, he could always be relied on for a steady 30 but he seems to score a 50 every time he plays against us now.
Keith was eventually out for 70 in the final over. It was good to see Amil Patel; I haven't seen him for a few years and he chipped in with some runs at the end as Exiles finished on 183 for 5. Captain Hasan was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 24 but everyone returned reasonable figures.
184 is a total Nomads have scored on quite a few occasions at Joseph Hood but we would need to be at our best against what was likely to be crafty bowling.
It was a vintage Exiles opening attack with Naren Patel opening his box of tricks from the Pavilion End and Phil Ling somehow getting a very dusty ball to swing sharply from the Back Gardens End. Our early batting has been patchy this year and we were soon 14 for 3 with Mahesh run out, Hayan falling to Naren and Phil swinging one in skilfully to bowl Sami. Abdul and Zia put on 29 for the 4th wicket before Abdul fell to a memorable Roberts family wicket. Keith's son, the useful medium pacer Alex, inducing a lofted shot from Abdul which was scooped by a diving Keith at Mid-Off.
It was clear a lot was going to depend on Zia and Hasan - where have I heard that before. I had to leave for work at this point and it took me about 15 minutes to limp round the ground and, as I left the car park, Zia and Hasan were still there so there was some hope.
Exiles legend Andy Wingfield turned up at half-time. He had been injured while playing the previous day and had made the surprising decision to watch the end of the Test Match rather than savouring the raw excitement of Joseph Hood cricket. He arrived once Ben Stokes had completed his heroics and he offered to umpire in Nomads' innings. I know Andy has long been an admirer of Nomads' very high standard of unbiased umpiring and it seemed he was learning fast when he turned down a vociferous appeal for caught behind early on. However he did give Zia LBW for 30 off the bowling of Naren but, to be fair, most of those present thought it was out.
Hasan was still there and batting excellently. Partners came and went until, with 39 needed, last man John Crossland joined him in the middle. Hasan was in full flight, and John is a capable defensive player on his day, so we still had a reasonable chance in the time remaining. They made 15 before Hasan (Stokes) was rather unluckily bowled by a ball deflecting off his body leaving John (Leach) stranded on 0 not out.
Still it was a reasonable game and it was good to see some old Exiles faces. If it had been 20 degress cooler it might have been an enjoyable day.
Energy Exiles 183 for 5 from 35 overs (K.Roberts 70, B. Musakhel 60)
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 7-2-33-1
Zaman 5-0-22-0
Sami 5-1-29-0
Zia 6-0-36-0
Hasan 6-1-24-3
Abdul 6-1-35-1
Clapham Nomads 160 for 8 (all out) from 28.4 overs
Mahesh run out 7
Hayan b N.Patel 6
Sami b P.Ling 0
Abdul c K.Roberts b A.Roberts 19
Zia lbw N. Patel 30
Hasan (capt) b Iqbal 73
Abbas c ---------- b Iqbal 4
Zaman b P. Ling 0
John (wkt) not out 0
Did not bat; Nick (had to leave for work)
F.O.W. - 14, 14, 14, 43, 126, 140, 145, 160
Nomads lost by 23 runs.
Man of the Match - Hasan
Fielder of the Day - John
With Emil still away, Hasan skippered but unfortunately lost the toss. In 93 degree heat, Exiles unsurprisingly batted and we faced a tough afternoon of fielding, punctuated only by extra drinks breaks. In Keith Roberts and Bilal Musakhel, Exiles had a fine left-hand / right-hand partnership. Nomads' bowling was decent and we kept the rate below 4 an over until the 15th over when the pair began to kick on. Bilal made a fine 50 with Keith looking unshiftable as ever. Having said that, quite a few chances went down and Nomads fielding was not the best it has been - understandable given the extreme conditions.
Bilal fell to a smart stumping bt keeper Crossland off the bowling of Hasan in the 21st over but then a string of right-handers gave the left-handed Roberts good support as he upper the tempo. Roberts seemes to have got even better recently. In the heyday of Nomads-Exiles games 10 years ago, he could always be relied on for a steady 30 but he seems to score a 50 every time he plays against us now.
Keith was eventually out for 70 in the final over. It was good to see Amil Patel; I haven't seen him for a few years and he chipped in with some runs at the end as Exiles finished on 183 for 5. Captain Hasan was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 24 but everyone returned reasonable figures.
184 is a total Nomads have scored on quite a few occasions at Joseph Hood but we would need to be at our best against what was likely to be crafty bowling.
It was a vintage Exiles opening attack with Naren Patel opening his box of tricks from the Pavilion End and Phil Ling somehow getting a very dusty ball to swing sharply from the Back Gardens End. Our early batting has been patchy this year and we were soon 14 for 3 with Mahesh run out, Hayan falling to Naren and Phil swinging one in skilfully to bowl Sami. Abdul and Zia put on 29 for the 4th wicket before Abdul fell to a memorable Roberts family wicket. Keith's son, the useful medium pacer Alex, inducing a lofted shot from Abdul which was scooped by a diving Keith at Mid-Off.
It was clear a lot was going to depend on Zia and Hasan - where have I heard that before. I had to leave for work at this point and it took me about 15 minutes to limp round the ground and, as I left the car park, Zia and Hasan were still there so there was some hope.
Exiles legend Andy Wingfield turned up at half-time. He had been injured while playing the previous day and had made the surprising decision to watch the end of the Test Match rather than savouring the raw excitement of Joseph Hood cricket. He arrived once Ben Stokes had completed his heroics and he offered to umpire in Nomads' innings. I know Andy has long been an admirer of Nomads' very high standard of unbiased umpiring and it seemed he was learning fast when he turned down a vociferous appeal for caught behind early on. However he did give Zia LBW for 30 off the bowling of Naren but, to be fair, most of those present thought it was out.
Hasan was still there and batting excellently. Partners came and went until, with 39 needed, last man John Crossland joined him in the middle. Hasan was in full flight, and John is a capable defensive player on his day, so we still had a reasonable chance in the time remaining. They made 15 before Hasan (Stokes) was rather unluckily bowled by a ball deflecting off his body leaving John (Leach) stranded on 0 not out.
Still it was a reasonable game and it was good to see some old Exiles faces. If it had been 20 degress cooler it might have been an enjoyable day.
Energy Exiles 183 for 5 from 35 overs (K.Roberts 70, B. Musakhel 60)
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 7-2-33-1
Zaman 5-0-22-0
Sami 5-1-29-0
Zia 6-0-36-0
Hasan 6-1-24-3
Abdul 6-1-35-1
Clapham Nomads 160 for 8 (all out) from 28.4 overs
Mahesh run out 7
Hayan b N.Patel 6
Sami b P.Ling 0
Abdul c K.Roberts b A.Roberts 19
Zia lbw N. Patel 30
Hasan (capt) b Iqbal 73
Abbas c ---------- b Iqbal 4
Zaman b P. Ling 0
John (wkt) not out 0
Did not bat; Nick (had to leave for work)
F.O.W. - 14, 14, 14, 43, 126, 140, 145, 160
Nomads lost by 23 runs.
Man of the Match - Hasan
Fielder of the Day - John
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Norwood v Clapham Nomads
Nomads made the short trip to South Norwood to play new opponents Norwood cc last Sunday.
A major shock is that Emil Todorow missed a Nomads match for the first time since September 2002 - that's about 285 successive appearances. I want to re-assure fans of the great man that he's absolutely fine and will be back in a Nomads shirt very soon.
In the meantime, Hasan did a great job as skipper in his first full match as captain of the side.
Hasan won the toss and elected to bat - a departure from Emil's usual policy. After Mahesh was run out on 9, Abdul and Darwin put on 31 for the second wicket, which was basically resolute batting peppered with some boundaries from Abdul including a six. The bowling from Norwood was more than useful.
After the loss of Darwin, KK was LBW to the dangerous Khyber in the same over, but with Zia joining Abdul, we made good progress and at 88 for 3 had made one of our best starts of the season. Abdul fell to a caught and bowled - Khyber again - for a fine half-century but there was then a slump to 108 for 6. Skipper Hasan turned things round with a responsible innings and shepherded the lower order up to a respectable 177 for 9 at the close. New man Qari making a useful 13 and Nomads' very own Steve Smith ** John Crossland was still there keeping Hasan company at the end.
** - Well he does look a bit like Smith (just draw a light brown moustache on a picture of the Australian star and you will see.) Also, the way Smith was out LBW at Lord's on Saturday was a bit reminscent of one of John's famous dismissals by Energy Exiles. Having said all that, John is pretty tough and I don't think he would be bothered by something like a blow on the neck.
For Nomads' reply, we were pleased to welcome back Sami, who shared the new ball with Abbas, and Sami chipped in with 3 wickets. KK bowled a very tight 6-over spell for only 17 and there were 2 late wickets for Abdul but the pick of the bowlers, as last week, was probably Riaz who got through some good work against a strong batting side and finished with 5.3-2-14-2.
Norwood passed our total for the loss of 8 wickets with 15 balls remaining but John told me that it was not quite as close as it looked as 2 of their best players had retired (not hurt.)
Still, another decent game. Energy Exiles are next up.
Clapham Nomads - 177 for 9 from 35 overs
Mahesh 2
Abdul 51
Darwin 0
KK 0
Zia 31
Hasan (capt) 43 not out
Riaz 3
Abbas 18
Sami 0
Qari 13
John (wkt) 2 not out
F.O.W. - 9, 40, 40, 88, 100, 108, 136, 137, 170
Norwood cc - 180 for 2 from 32.3 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 4-0-40-0
Sami 6-1-48-3
KK 6-0-17-0
Zia 4-0-24-0
Qari 4-1-20-1
Riaz 5.3-2-14-2
Abdul 3-1-4-2
Clapham Nomads lost by 2 wickets.
Man of the Match - Abdul
Fielder of the Day - 4 players took a catch each, including John, and John told me that there was an absolutely cast-iron, nailed-on edge which he pouched but it was not given out. He is always honest with that sort of thing so I will say that, morally, he took 2 catches and award him Fielder of the Day.
A major shock is that Emil Todorow missed a Nomads match for the first time since September 2002 - that's about 285 successive appearances. I want to re-assure fans of the great man that he's absolutely fine and will be back in a Nomads shirt very soon.
In the meantime, Hasan did a great job as skipper in his first full match as captain of the side.
Hasan won the toss and elected to bat - a departure from Emil's usual policy. After Mahesh was run out on 9, Abdul and Darwin put on 31 for the second wicket, which was basically resolute batting peppered with some boundaries from Abdul including a six. The bowling from Norwood was more than useful.
After the loss of Darwin, KK was LBW to the dangerous Khyber in the same over, but with Zia joining Abdul, we made good progress and at 88 for 3 had made one of our best starts of the season. Abdul fell to a caught and bowled - Khyber again - for a fine half-century but there was then a slump to 108 for 6. Skipper Hasan turned things round with a responsible innings and shepherded the lower order up to a respectable 177 for 9 at the close. New man Qari making a useful 13 and Nomads' very own Steve Smith ** John Crossland was still there keeping Hasan company at the end.
** - Well he does look a bit like Smith (just draw a light brown moustache on a picture of the Australian star and you will see.) Also, the way Smith was out LBW at Lord's on Saturday was a bit reminscent of one of John's famous dismissals by Energy Exiles. Having said all that, John is pretty tough and I don't think he would be bothered by something like a blow on the neck.
For Nomads' reply, we were pleased to welcome back Sami, who shared the new ball with Abbas, and Sami chipped in with 3 wickets. KK bowled a very tight 6-over spell for only 17 and there were 2 late wickets for Abdul but the pick of the bowlers, as last week, was probably Riaz who got through some good work against a strong batting side and finished with 5.3-2-14-2.
Norwood passed our total for the loss of 8 wickets with 15 balls remaining but John told me that it was not quite as close as it looked as 2 of their best players had retired (not hurt.)
Still, another decent game. Energy Exiles are next up.
Clapham Nomads - 177 for 9 from 35 overs
Mahesh 2
Abdul 51
Darwin 0
KK 0
Zia 31
Hasan (capt) 43 not out
Riaz 3
Abbas 18
Sami 0
Qari 13
John (wkt) 2 not out
F.O.W. - 9, 40, 40, 88, 100, 108, 136, 137, 170
Norwood cc - 180 for 2 from 32.3 overs
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 4-0-40-0
Sami 6-1-48-3
KK 6-0-17-0
Zia 4-0-24-0
Qari 4-1-20-1
Riaz 5.3-2-14-2
Abdul 3-1-4-2
Clapham Nomads lost by 2 wickets.
Man of the Match - Abdul
Fielder of the Day - 4 players took a catch each, including John, and John told me that there was an absolutely cast-iron, nailed-on edge which he pouched but it was not given out. He is always honest with that sort of thing so I will say that, morally, he took 2 catches and award him Fielder of the Day.
Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Clapham Nomads v Wimbledon United
Nomads played an absolutely classic match against local rivals Wimbledon United on Sunday.
For a change, the venue was Wandsworth Common; a ground with a resonant history for the Nomads as it was the scene of Emil Todorow's first competitive game and also featured one of Andrew West's most memorable moments. I think there was also a 50 partnership between Emil and John Crossland about 15 years ago - must have been a thing of beauty.
It is also the sort of ground that makes many cricketers who have played there involuntarily rub the sites of long-forgotten bruises on their heads and upper body and, in fact, when we arrived, a crowd of players was examining a very green strip with extreme scepticism. Thankfully, when I returned with the tea, the groundsman had put us on a strip on the Prison Side which is basically for kids but has lines for Adult matches as well. This played pretty well as you will see from the scores.
Nomads batted by arrangement (some of our batsmen were late) and we were soon in difficulty at 30 for 3 . The third man to fall was Mahesh to an LBW decision off the bowling of Greg Dean which looked a little unlucky (? a touch high - I wouldn't have given it, anyway) but this brought together the Old Firm of Hasan and Zia and they quickly showed this pitch was more than playable with an excellent stand of 61 for the 4th wicket before Zia fell to another LBW from Dean - a ball that kept a little low. There was always hope for the bowlers on this pitch with some irregular bounce both high and low but quick scoring was eminently possible, helped by a short boundary on the Tennis Side.
Zia's departure brought Imran who hit a nice boundary before making way for Riaz who was at his entertaining best; the highlight being a Flat Six that never got above head height. Hasan was making very good progress at the other end (racing from 30 to 50 aided by a couple of sixes) and, when Riaz was run out for 39, Hasan assumed command. He had fine support from Abbas in taking himself to an excellent 77 not out and Nomads to a more than satisfactory 206 for 6 from the full 35. As our batsmen left, Wimbledon United remained out in the middle in a sort of huddle and for a brief period I didn't think they were going to come off at all. I was unsure whether they were displeased by a rather adjacent run out appeal going against them late on (I doubt it, they had been given 2 LBWs, which is quite a result against the Nomads) or whether it was a form of motivational exercise. If it was the latter it certainly worked.
United began their reply fairly steadily with Curtis Phillip looking particularly obdurate; dare I say it, almost Boycottesque at times with a very stout defence. Opening bowlers Abbas and KK kept the rate somewhat below what was required and the screw was really turned when Riaz and Emil came on around the 10th or 12th over. There was a bowled for Riaz and a catch (smartly taken by Abdul) and another bowled for Emil. 46 for 0 had become 54 for 3. United's skipper Gary Saxby came in and quickly looked dangerous, playing it straight but with aggressive intent. There was a massive moment when Saxby toe-ended a full-pitch from Emil and skied it to Short Mid-Wicket where it was put down. For a while after drinks, the required rate was oscillating around the 8 mark but the batsmen were achieving this in most overs with the occasional tighter over bringing the rate up to almost 9. Saxby was dropped again off Todorow - a much harder chance. Nomads still seemed in charge but I recalled a game 4 years ago where United scored over 100 from the last 12 overs to beat us and something similar was always on the cards. Phillip finally got the measure off Todorow in the veteran's final over from which he milked 12 or 14.
The stand reached exactly 100 before Riaz produced a potentially match-winning burst with 3 wickets in an over (the first of them a fantastic catch from Abdul right on the fence to dismiss Saxby) but Curtis Phillip was playing with increasing assurance and took the 8 or 9 needed from most overs with ease. Another wicket fell at 184 and at the end of this over the target was 31 off 3 - more than 10 an over for the first time. The new man was Rohan who to be honest looked the cleanest hitter of the lot. Amid scenes of unbearable tension, and talk of a One-Day Final-style Extra Over - ideally to be bowled by Emil - United faced the final 6 balls needing 16. Nomads slight favourites but 6, 4, Dot, 4 from Rohan blew us away and the 1 to win was achieved with yet another boundary off the penultimate ball.
A classic match and a brilliant 93 not out for Curtis Phillip, just 3 short of his best score for the Wimbledon side. There was just a nagging feeling though that they had it under control throughout and engineered a final over victory just to annoy us.
Nomads' bowling and fielding were pretty good - it was just a rampant batting display from the Dons.
Zia had to leave and was unable to bowl but let's take nothing away from the visitors - it was a brilliant win for them.
Clapham Nomads - 206 for 6 from 35 overs;
Mahesh 5
Abdul 12
Darwin 0
Hasan 77 not out
Zia 23
Imran 5
Riaz 39
Abbas 16 not out
Did not bat: KK, Emil (Capt), John (Wkt) - Sub-fielder - Rayan.
F.O.W. - 21, 21, 30, 91, 112, 159
Wimbledon United - 210 for 7 from 34.5 overs (C.Phillip 93 not out)
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 7-1-40-0
KK 7-0-35-0
Riaz 7-0-18-4
Emil 6-0-37-2
Imran 3-0-17-0
Hasan 3-0-26-0
Abdul 1.5-0-28-1
Clapham Nomads lost by 3 wickets.
Man of the Match - Hasan is very unlucky not to get this after an excellent 77 not out, but Riaz produced some very entertaining batting, was unluckily run out and had by far our best bowling figures with 4-for 18.
Fielder of the Day - Abdul
For a change, the venue was Wandsworth Common; a ground with a resonant history for the Nomads as it was the scene of Emil Todorow's first competitive game and also featured one of Andrew West's most memorable moments. I think there was also a 50 partnership between Emil and John Crossland about 15 years ago - must have been a thing of beauty.
It is also the sort of ground that makes many cricketers who have played there involuntarily rub the sites of long-forgotten bruises on their heads and upper body and, in fact, when we arrived, a crowd of players was examining a very green strip with extreme scepticism. Thankfully, when I returned with the tea, the groundsman had put us on a strip on the Prison Side which is basically for kids but has lines for Adult matches as well. This played pretty well as you will see from the scores.
Nomads batted by arrangement (some of our batsmen were late) and we were soon in difficulty at 30 for 3 . The third man to fall was Mahesh to an LBW decision off the bowling of Greg Dean which looked a little unlucky (? a touch high - I wouldn't have given it, anyway) but this brought together the Old Firm of Hasan and Zia and they quickly showed this pitch was more than playable with an excellent stand of 61 for the 4th wicket before Zia fell to another LBW from Dean - a ball that kept a little low. There was always hope for the bowlers on this pitch with some irregular bounce both high and low but quick scoring was eminently possible, helped by a short boundary on the Tennis Side.
Zia's departure brought Imran who hit a nice boundary before making way for Riaz who was at his entertaining best; the highlight being a Flat Six that never got above head height. Hasan was making very good progress at the other end (racing from 30 to 50 aided by a couple of sixes) and, when Riaz was run out for 39, Hasan assumed command. He had fine support from Abbas in taking himself to an excellent 77 not out and Nomads to a more than satisfactory 206 for 6 from the full 35. As our batsmen left, Wimbledon United remained out in the middle in a sort of huddle and for a brief period I didn't think they were going to come off at all. I was unsure whether they were displeased by a rather adjacent run out appeal going against them late on (I doubt it, they had been given 2 LBWs, which is quite a result against the Nomads) or whether it was a form of motivational exercise. If it was the latter it certainly worked.
United began their reply fairly steadily with Curtis Phillip looking particularly obdurate; dare I say it, almost Boycottesque at times with a very stout defence. Opening bowlers Abbas and KK kept the rate somewhat below what was required and the screw was really turned when Riaz and Emil came on around the 10th or 12th over. There was a bowled for Riaz and a catch (smartly taken by Abdul) and another bowled for Emil. 46 for 0 had become 54 for 3. United's skipper Gary Saxby came in and quickly looked dangerous, playing it straight but with aggressive intent. There was a massive moment when Saxby toe-ended a full-pitch from Emil and skied it to Short Mid-Wicket where it was put down. For a while after drinks, the required rate was oscillating around the 8 mark but the batsmen were achieving this in most overs with the occasional tighter over bringing the rate up to almost 9. Saxby was dropped again off Todorow - a much harder chance. Nomads still seemed in charge but I recalled a game 4 years ago where United scored over 100 from the last 12 overs to beat us and something similar was always on the cards. Phillip finally got the measure off Todorow in the veteran's final over from which he milked 12 or 14.
The stand reached exactly 100 before Riaz produced a potentially match-winning burst with 3 wickets in an over (the first of them a fantastic catch from Abdul right on the fence to dismiss Saxby) but Curtis Phillip was playing with increasing assurance and took the 8 or 9 needed from most overs with ease. Another wicket fell at 184 and at the end of this over the target was 31 off 3 - more than 10 an over for the first time. The new man was Rohan who to be honest looked the cleanest hitter of the lot. Amid scenes of unbearable tension, and talk of a One-Day Final-style Extra Over - ideally to be bowled by Emil - United faced the final 6 balls needing 16. Nomads slight favourites but 6, 4, Dot, 4 from Rohan blew us away and the 1 to win was achieved with yet another boundary off the penultimate ball.
A classic match and a brilliant 93 not out for Curtis Phillip, just 3 short of his best score for the Wimbledon side. There was just a nagging feeling though that they had it under control throughout and engineered a final over victory just to annoy us.
Nomads' bowling and fielding were pretty good - it was just a rampant batting display from the Dons.
Zia had to leave and was unable to bowl but let's take nothing away from the visitors - it was a brilliant win for them.
Clapham Nomads - 206 for 6 from 35 overs;
Mahesh 5
Abdul 12
Darwin 0
Hasan 77 not out
Zia 23
Imran 5
Riaz 39
Abbas 16 not out
Did not bat: KK, Emil (Capt), John (Wkt) - Sub-fielder - Rayan.
F.O.W. - 21, 21, 30, 91, 112, 159
Wimbledon United - 210 for 7 from 34.5 overs (C.Phillip 93 not out)
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 7-1-40-0
KK 7-0-35-0
Riaz 7-0-18-4
Emil 6-0-37-2
Imran 3-0-17-0
Hasan 3-0-26-0
Abdul 1.5-0-28-1
Clapham Nomads lost by 3 wickets.
Man of the Match - Hasan is very unlucky not to get this after an excellent 77 not out, but Riaz produced some very entertaining batting, was unluckily run out and had by far our best bowling figures with 4-for 18.
Fielder of the Day - Abdul
Monday, 5 August 2019
SW United v Clapham Nomads - 4/8/19
Nomads beat SW United in a low-scoring game at London Gymkhana's ground in Tolworth yesterday.
It was a great perfomance in the field with all 7 bowlers taking wickets; 2 each for Abbas, KK and Zia with Emil being the most economical with 1 for 9 from 5 overs. 5 catches were taken as we dismissed the home side for 112 in 30.1 overs.
Emil and John were very impressed with SW United's bowling and, looking at the figures, I see that their main 4 bowlers had only 28 scoring shots taken off them in 27 overs, so they were seriously hard to get off the square. The early order were gritty but we were in trouble on 23 for 4. It took a brilliant 58 not out from Zia, the only man to reach to double figures, to turn it around for Nomads and we eventually reached the target for the loss of 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare.
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON...
SW United - 112 all out from 30.1 overs.
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 5-1-12-2
KK 6-1-13-2
Zia 7-0-22-2
Emil 5-1-9-1
Imran 2-0-20-1
Riaz 3.1-0-20-1
Abdul 2-0-14-1
Clapham Nomads - 115 for 6 from 33.2 overs
Mahesh 6
Abdul 7
Darwin 4
Imran 0
Hasan 9
Zia 58 not out
Riaz 4
KK 8 not out
Did not bat; Abbas, Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 8, 19, 21, 23, 55, 69
Nomads won by 4 wickets.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fieler of the Day - to be decided.
It was a great perfomance in the field with all 7 bowlers taking wickets; 2 each for Abbas, KK and Zia with Emil being the most economical with 1 for 9 from 5 overs. 5 catches were taken as we dismissed the home side for 112 in 30.1 overs.
Emil and John were very impressed with SW United's bowling and, looking at the figures, I see that their main 4 bowlers had only 28 scoring shots taken off them in 27 overs, so they were seriously hard to get off the square. The early order were gritty but we were in trouble on 23 for 4. It took a brilliant 58 not out from Zia, the only man to reach to double figures, to turn it around for Nomads and we eventually reached the target for the loss of 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare.
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON...
SW United - 112 all out from 30.1 overs.
Nomads' bowling;
Abbas 5-1-12-2
KK 6-1-13-2
Zia 7-0-22-2
Emil 5-1-9-1
Imran 2-0-20-1
Riaz 3.1-0-20-1
Abdul 2-0-14-1
Clapham Nomads - 115 for 6 from 33.2 overs
Mahesh 6
Abdul 7
Darwin 4
Imran 0
Hasan 9
Zia 58 not out
Riaz 4
KK 8 not out
Did not bat; Abbas, Emil (capt), John (wkt)
F.O.W. - 8, 19, 21, 23, 55, 69
Nomads won by 4 wickets.
Man of the Match - Zia
Fieler of the Day - to be decided.
Friday, 2 August 2019
Clapham Nomads v Gentlemen of Hampstead - 28/7/19
Brief summary - more to follow soon.
Nomads started well on a very slow pitch with 40 for the 1st wicket from Mahesh and Abdul. Wickets then fell steadily with the middle order missing out (by their usual high standards) for a change. People were whispering that 150 would be a good score and it took excellent late hitting from Abbas (45) and KK (20) to take us well past this and we closed on 165 for 9
The Gents replied steadily at first in the face of some decent Nomads bowling and catching. With 15 overs to go they needed about 100 and were 3 down but had some well-set batsmen in, especially the excellent left-handed Cleeve. Despite the awkward pitch, Hampstead gradually took charge near the end and it looked like being a last over finish but a flurry of boundaries took them over the line with 11 balls to spare in the end. Much more detail to follow soon.....
Clapham Nomads - 165 for 9 from 35 overs
Mahesh 22
Abdul 31
Riaz 0
Hasan 11
Darwin 7
Zia 6
Imran 4
Abbas 45
KK 20
Emil (capt) not out 1
John not out 4
F.O.W. - 40, 50, 63, 77, 79, 85, 87, 125, 160
Gentlemen of Hampstead - 166 for 4 from 32.5 overs (T.Cleeve 74 not out)
Nomads' bowling figures;
Abbas 7-1-18-1
KK 7-0-26-1
Zia 6.5-0-33-1
Riaz 7-0-27-1
Emil 3-0-22-0
Imran 1-0-15-0
Hasan 1-0-14-0
Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Man of the Match - Abbas (a great all-round performance)
Fielder of the Day - Abdul
Nomads started well on a very slow pitch with 40 for the 1st wicket from Mahesh and Abdul. Wickets then fell steadily with the middle order missing out (by their usual high standards) for a change. People were whispering that 150 would be a good score and it took excellent late hitting from Abbas (45) and KK (20) to take us well past this and we closed on 165 for 9
The Gents replied steadily at first in the face of some decent Nomads bowling and catching. With 15 overs to go they needed about 100 and were 3 down but had some well-set batsmen in, especially the excellent left-handed Cleeve. Despite the awkward pitch, Hampstead gradually took charge near the end and it looked like being a last over finish but a flurry of boundaries took them over the line with 11 balls to spare in the end. Much more detail to follow soon.....
Clapham Nomads - 165 for 9 from 35 overs
Mahesh 22
Abdul 31
Riaz 0
Hasan 11
Darwin 7
Zia 6
Imran 4
Abbas 45
KK 20
Emil (capt) not out 1
John not out 4
F.O.W. - 40, 50, 63, 77, 79, 85, 87, 125, 160
Gentlemen of Hampstead - 166 for 4 from 32.5 overs (T.Cleeve 74 not out)
Nomads' bowling figures;
Abbas 7-1-18-1
KK 7-0-26-1
Zia 6.5-0-33-1
Riaz 7-0-27-1
Emil 3-0-22-0
Imran 1-0-15-0
Hasan 1-0-14-0
Nomads lost by 6 wickets
Man of the Match - Abbas (a great all-round performance)
Fielder of the Day - Abdul
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