claphamnomads

Annual meeting - 11/12/11

2011-12-15T04:10:00.000-08:00

Nomads had our annual meeting last Sunday. As usual, it was at the Chatkara restaurant opposite Clapham South station. Incidentally, if you live in Clapham or Balham, you should go there; their food is really nice. Are their curries getting hotter or am I getting older?
We had a good chat and then club captain Emil Todorow turned up near the end, fresh from his latest chess tournament, to add some gravitas to proceedings.
Awards were as follows;
Fielder of the Year - Abdul Khan
Bowler of the Year - Hassan Khan
Batsman of the Year - Mark Bradshaw
Player of the Year 2011 - (they were just too good to be separated) - A share between Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan.

Players of the Season etc - Nominations

2011-10-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

Two of the awards seems to be one-horse races. In the batting Mark Bradshaw has the highest total of runs and the best average, while Hassan Khan took the most wickets and has the best bowling average.

Player of the Season looks to be a close one between these 2 players.

For Best Fielder I would suggest as nominees Abdul (brilliant throwing, 5 catches), Hassan (the most catches, all-round solid fielding), John (another evergreen, ever-present season behind the stumps) and Darwin (the outstanding fielder in the first half of the season with 6 catches.) If anyone can think of anyone else, let me know.

We'll meet up and vote on this at the Annual Meeting, probably in late November or early December at the Chatkara Restaurant opposite Clapham South Tube Station.

Averages for 2011

2011-10-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

CLAPHAM NOMADS AVERAGES FOR 2011 SEASON

BATTING (Qualification - 2 innings)

Mark Bradshaw - Innings 12 Not out 4 Runs 410 H.S. 63* Average 51.25

Hassan Khan - Innings 13 Not out 4 Runs 362 H.S. 76* Average 40.22

Sumith Prasanna - Innings 5 Not out 3 Runs 78 H.S. 35* Average 39.00

Zia - Innings 5 Not out 1 Runs 131 H.S. 74* Average 32.75

Jim Joyce - Innings 7 Not out 1 Runs 189 H.S. 109* Average 31.50

Rashid Ahmed - Innings 4 Not out 0 Runs 97 H.S. 33 Average 24.25

Abdul Khan - Innings 7 Not out 2 Runs 110 H.S. 43 Average 22.00

Prasanth Pattiyil - Innings 12 Not out 0 Runs 223 H.S. 50 Average 18.58

Darwin - Innings 7 Not out 2 Runs 68 H.S. 43* Average 13.60

Nick Lefebve - Innings 10 Not out 3 Runs 84 H.S. 24* Average 12.00

Mahesh Vyas - Innings 15 Not out 0 Runs 176 H.S. 39 Average 11.73

Riaz Khan - Innings 6 Not out 2 Runs 42 H.S. 14 Average 10.50

Andrew West - Innings 3 Not out 1 Runs 12 H.S. 8* Average 6.00

Chris Kennedy - Innings 4 Not out 0 Runs 21 H.S. 10 Average 5.25

Emil Todorow - Innings 9 Not out 4 Runs 26 H.S. 9 Average 5.20

John Crossland - Innings 4 Not out 2 Runs 3 H.S. 2 Average 1.50

Chris Kee - Innings 2 Not out 0 Runs 2 H.S. 2 Average 1.00

BOWLING (Qualification - 6 wickets)

Hassan Khan - Overs 83 Maidens 17 Runs 223 Wkts 18 B.B. 3-11 Average 12.39
Rashid Ahmed - Overs 22.5 Maidens 0 Runs 119 Wkts 6 B.B. 2-11 Average 19.83
Emil Todorow - Overs 98.2 Maidens 10 Runs 347 Wkts 16 B.B. 2-14 Average 21.69
Prasanth Pattiyil - Overs 19 Maidens 0 Runs 141 Wkts 6 B.B 4-32 Average 23.50
Zia - Overs 32 Maidens 3 Runs 168 Wkts 7 B.B. 4-40 Average 24.00
Abdul Khan - Overs 46 Maidens 1 Runs 193 Wkts 8 B.B. 4-11 Average 24.13
Riaz Khan - Overs 32 Maidens 7 Runs 109 Wkts 4 B.B. 3-6 Average 27.25
Darwin - Overs 23 Maidens 1 Runs 176 Wkts 6 B.B. 3-51 Average 29.33
Andrew West - Overs 53 Maidens 3 Runs 312 Wkts 9 B.B. 3-20 Average 34.67

CATCHES (Top 5)

Hassan Khan - 8
John Crossland - 7 (all as wicketkeeper)
Darwin - 6
Abdul Khan - 5
Jim Joyce - 3

STUMPINGS

John Crossland - 1

Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 25/9/11

2011-09-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

Nomads just lost out yet again to those run-chase specialists the Energy Exiles in an exciting and pretty good-tempered match. Nomads scored 163 for 7 from 30 overs with some entertaining pinch-hitting from Mahesh and Bilal early on, followed by something of a slump to 129 for 6, though Mahesh did complete a useful 28 and top-scorer Abdul and Khalid added 48 for the 4th wicket. Some quick, late runs from Hassan helped us up to a respectable-sounding total of 163 for 7 at the interval. Perennial thorn in the side Simon Gundry starred with 3 for 20 at good pace; we even gave him an LBW decision. He also recorded his 100th wicket for the Exiles - congratulations to the big man.
The only moment of real controversy was a very confident caught behind shout against Khalid Harris (who was playing his first Nomads game for 3 years.) The appeal was turned down and Khalid wandered out of his crease, only for his bails to be whipped off. Only diplomacy kept him at the crease but it was a brief stay of execution as he was bowled the next ball.
Exiles fielded their 5 most regular bowlers against us and all bowled well. If there was a bowler we could perhaps have scored more off it was Gwyn Thomas. Thomas is slower than the other 4 but is still a canny performer who has taken nearly 200 wickets for Exiles. Batsmen can sometimes get after him but they have to read him first, and I heard a couple of our guys refer to him as "The Spinner", which shows they hadn't really worked him out. To me, Thomas is more of a slow-medium bowler who was drifting it away from the batsman in this game.
Anyway, with our strongest bowling line-up in ages, and Exiles missing one or two batsmen, we were by no means disheartened at tea.
Justin Lamprecht led Exiles' counter attack with some big shots and, crucially, Exiles kept their momentum up better than we did in the middle 10 overs. John Parker-Jones anchored the innings and John Tither looked classy for his 30-odd runs but Matt Winkle top-scored with 42 and some excellent running between the wickets, particularly when Barry Whiteman was at the crease. Whiteman had scored 80 plus in his previous game but confidential sources had revealed he might be vulnerable to something quick-ish and straight. Sure enough, Tahir did the job with a stinging caught and bowled.
58 were needed from the last 10 but some leg-side hitting from Mike Phillips put Exiles back in command. Nomads' hopes revived when Abdul set up the run out of Phillips on 149 and Khalid took a great catch to dismiss S. Gundry on the same score. 10 were needed off 2 overs in autumnal gloom but Andy Wingfield took advantage of the last of the light and finished it in the penultimate over.
So Exiles win the series 2-1. We are pleased for them...of course we are. Any consolations? Well it seems we are all friends again. Also, there were emotional scenes as we celebrated Andrew West's 100 wickets for the Nomads. Finally, Nomads may be ahead on run rate over the three games. I'll definitely check on that at some point.
Man of the Match is tricky but I would go for Tahir who took 2 wickets in the most economical spell by any bowler from either side and also managed 12 quick runs and a fine catch. Fielder of the Day was Khalid with his 2 catches including the excellent late one that accounted for Mr Gundry and gave us fleeting hope. Quote of the Day came from Exiles' skipper Martin Thomas at the conclusion of an early Andy Wingfield over in which stand-in opener Bilal had taken wild swings at every ball and connected , after a fashion, with one. "He's not exactly Bradshaw", the skipper observed.
So Andrew West and Simon Gundry both celebrated 100 wickets for their teams. I really think a joint lap of honour around Nursery Road would have been in order, but instead John Crossland and West shared champagne and reminiscences until late in the night and apparently became quite merry. I wish I'd been there.

Clapham Nomads - 163 for 7 from 35 overs

M. Vyas b Patel 28
Bilal c and b M.Thomas 11
P. Pattiyil c Wingfield b G. Thomas 8
A. Khan b Gundry 32
K. Harris b Wingfield 20
Tahir b Gundry 12
N. Lefebve lbw Gundry 9
H. Khan not out 25
E. Todorow (capt.) - not out 2
did not bat; J. Crossland (wkt), A. West

Bowling

A. Wingfield 7-2-42-1
M. Thomas 7-0-25-1
N. Patel 7-1-25-1
G. Thomas 7-1-28-1
S. Gundry 6-1-20-3
J. Lamprecht 1-0-15-0

F. O.W. - 22, 56, 60, 108, 126, 129, 160

Energy Exiles 164 for 6 from 34 overs

Nomads bowling;

H. Khan 7-1-32-1
E. Todorow 7-0-41-1
Tahir 6-1-16-2
A. Khan 7-1-33-1
A. West 4-0-17-0
K. Harris 1-0-12-0
Bilal 2-0-8-0

Energy Exiles won by 4 wickets

Clapham Nomads v Surbiton Imperials - 11/9/11

2011-09-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

A Council error meant that our pitch was double-booked. Thankfully the Supervisor found another vacant pitch and, even though the groundsman had us listed to play, we trooped off down the road, minus an apology or thanks from the team playing on our pitch and minus an hour and a quarter of playing time.

Surbiton had elected to bat and, after waiting 2 hours for some action, one of their openers was unfortunately out 3rd ball, chipping a Hassan Khan lifter up to Jim Joyce.

As usual, Hassan and Emil Todorow made a formidable new ball pairing. Another wicket fell quickly and cautious progress took the score to only 9 after 6 overs. Some nice shots then began to flow, especially whenever Todorow dropped it short, and the 12-over mark saw a score of 39 for 4. Nomads' ground-fielding had been impressive with yet another run out from Abdul Khan the feature. The lethal Abdul had 4 shies at the stumps from distances of between 15 and 25 yards; 3 direct hits (the batsmen just got home) and the 4th one straight into the gloves of keeper John Crossland who completed the run out.

Abdul also bowled a good spell of swing bowling at fair pace and Terry Bruce-Mills yet again found his knack of making batsmen hit him in the air - 2 fine catches in the deep from Hassan and Abdul were his reward.

Beyond about the 10-over mark, Imperials kept up a healthy scoring rate and developed a habit of targeting bowlers late in their spells; the final overs from Emil and Terry both went for over 10, as did Abdul's penultimate over.

Some of the most interesting bowling came from Rashid Ahmed with his rapid leg-spinners scything into the left-handers. Crossland was at his best behind the stumps to prevent a string of byes as the turn was just too much for some of the batsmen. There was another run out, quite a comical one as, with both batsmen at one end, Emil missed the stumps and the wicketkeeper. Luckily the ball went straight to Hassan who was backing up and threw the stumps down from 10 yards with the batsman just out of his ground. Well, it was funny at the time.

Nomads had hopes for a while of dismissing Imperials for under 110, as 80 for 7 became 95 for 8, but powerful late hitting from Siddique and former Nomads player Khalid Harris took the score to respectability. Yet another final over (Rashid's) was carted to take the score from 122 off 28 up to 136 off 29. A good final over from Abdul, in which Siddique was dropped twice yielded just 3 runs and the innings closed on 139 for 9.

We would probably have settled for a target of 140 at the start as Surbiton have some good attacking players, but when we looked up after tea the sky had turned uniform dark grey and the ground was bathed in a beautiful half-light.

Imperials' opening bowlers, Suraj and Siddique, would be a tricky proposition even with normal visibility and, though initial progress was slow, it didn't seem to matter much as dense rainclouds covered an area stretching from the edge of the pitch to somewhere over Hampshire, and completing the game seemed a long-shot. The opening spells were negotiated safely and runs gradually came against the change bowlers. As 20 turned to 30, we noticed that the wind had changed direction and torrential rain was falling away to the North, hopefully on the team that had taken our pitch.

Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas were starting to look assured. Vyas even played a cracking off-side shot which is normally a signal that his eye is in. Unfortunately, Mahesh chipped a catch up to Siddique shortly afterwards but the 1st wicket stand had realised a valuable 41 runs.

Prasanth Pattiyil played a nice leg-side shot off Khalid but, looking for a repeat, he clipped the ball firmly to Siddique's left. Surbiton's star man took an excellent diving catch.

50 for 2 off around 14 and skipper Todorow was urging acceleration. He had just the man for the job in No. 4 Jim Joyce, returning to the side after missing several matches due to weddings and a Jack Russell chewing his phone. Jim managed a quick 10 and this was matched by Mark Bradshaw before Jim was bowled by Hitesh; 70 for 3.

Rashid Ahmed came out in drizzle, which soon turned torrential. The match hung in the balance as we took shelter; Nomads needing 70 off the last 10 overs, but the downpour was such that the only people who seemed capable of winning this game were Duckworth and Lewis. Kit was being stashed in car boots but Surbiton's skipper was particularly keen to complete the game and was rewarded when the rain stopped after half an hour.

Play resumed on a lovely evening - lovely unless you were batting, bowling or fielding as the ground and soon the ball were saturated. Mark Bradshaw had some problems with the grip on his bat and only 2 runs came from the first over after the break.

Once Mark had resolved his grip problem, he joined Rashid in having a valiant crack at the target; though the saturated outfield and the poor light were making it a tough ask. Rashid is very powerful and slightly unorthodox and this seemed to wrest back the initiative for Nomads. Imperials had two aces up their sleeves in Siddique and Suraj and Siddique did remove Rashid for 16 which came at better than a run a ball. Crucially though, Nomads scored 7 and 8 from Siddique's final 2 overs. Mark Bradshaw was beginning to play quite brilliantly and marshalled our chase as the required rate crept down. 41 were needed off 40 balls just after the arrival of No. 6 Hassan Khan, but this was down to 27 off 30 balls. Bradshaw, in particular, showed an impressive range of attacking shots all around the wicket and, with 3 overs to go, 14 were needed. The light was becoming a serious issue as Mark faced the awkward Khalid, who had only allowed 6 scoring shots in his 4 overs until then, but Mark just blew any doubts away with 2 absolutely cracking off-drives off successive balls, the first of which brought up a fine half-century, leaving Nomads with 6 to score from 16 balls. The umpire jokingly offered our lads the light at this stage. In the following over, somehow locating the ball somewhere in the gloom, Bradshaw wrapped it up with a 2 and a 4 to secure our second successive victory over these tricky opponents and transform a day which had began horribly.
Man of the Match is clearly Mark Bradshaw. A measure of how well he played was that in his match-clinching 5th wicket stand of 47 with Hassan Khan, Mark scored approximately 26 compared to Hassan's 18. Few players at this level can out-score Hassan by such a margin, particularly using orthodox cricket shots. Mark told me later that he was feeling off-colour having been kept awake by a neighbour playing Status Quo all night. For a Prog Rock fan to have to listen to a band who have about as much variation as Andrew West's bowling must have been distressing; all I can say is that I hope he plays this type of innings "again, again, again, again.." Fielder of the Day was Abdul again. The man is magic. The trouble is he prevents us team-mates of a similar age group from using our age as an excuse for our dodgy fielding.
Quote of the Day is from one of the team that took our pitch; "But this is a vital League Match. You just play village cricket." Hmmm.... Clapham...a village. I think a career in Estate Agency beckons him.

Surbiton Imperials 139 for 9 from 30 overs

H. Khan 6-1-10-2
E. Todorow 6-0-27-1
A. Khan 6-0-31-1
T. Bruce-Mills 6-0-36-2
R. Ahmed 6-0-31-1

Clapham Nomads 143 for 4 from 28.2 overs

M. Bradshaw 63 not out
M. Vyas 16
P. Pattiyil 3
J. Joyce 10
R. Ahmed 16
H. Khan 18 not out

F.O.W. - 41. 50. 70. 96

Clapham Nomads won by 6 wickets

Andrew West joins an elite club

2011-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Don't panic, members of the Garrick, the Groucho and Boodles; the club I refer to is the tiny band of Nomads who have taken 100 wickets for the team. These congratulations are a little belated as he achieved this feat - joining only Emil Todorow and Hassan Khan - with his second wicket in the game against Touring Theatres on 14th August.
There will be a tribute to this legendary figure on this site in due course and a presentation should be made. Any ideas?

Clapham Nomads v Old Leagonians - 4/9/11

2011-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

It was another new venue for Nomads; the John Ruskin Sports Ground, a secluded semi-rural location at the end of a winding track in the Croydon stockbroker belt of Shirley. The pitch played well and there were good changing rooms and a pair of football-style dugouts.
The end of Ramadan brought 4 genuine all-rounders back to the side but unfortunately not until almost 3 pm, by which time the visitors had had to reverse their original decision to bat, and allow the Nomads to take guard in order to get the game in motion.
The steady rain cleared as Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil strode out. This was Old Leagonians' first game of the season but opening bowlers England and Turner were anything but rusty; England keeping a pretty consistent line and length while the left-armer Turner produced occasional sharp lift and movement. An early bouncer caught Pattiyil's handle but the chance was put down behind the stumps. Scoring was sedate early on in the soggy conditions but Prasanth clipped Turner for a couple of 4s down to Fine Leg in the 6th over to boost the rate. Bradshaw began to take singles almost at will, clipping anything on leg down to Fine and cutting short balls either side of Point, while pushing over-pitched deliveries up to Long Off.
Another chance went down but Leagonians ground-fielding was impressive with a series of diving and sliding stops.
"Hannibal" Frewin and the Australian "Mace" Smythe took over with the latter bowler having trouble keeping his footing on the damp run-up. Prasanth skied a return catch in Frewin's second over but a stand of 44 was an excellent foundation with plenty of batting to come.
No. 3 Chris Kee pulled across to Smythe and chipped a catch to the in-field but this brought Hassan Khan out to join Mark Bradshaw. Hassan was fortunate to survive early on, twice giving difficult chances which went down. The all-rounder admitted he was stiff and tired, having scored an obscenely large amount of runs in a League match the previous day. Once Hassan was into his stride with a series a steers to Deep Point, our premier pair settled down for one of their marathon stands. The drenched outfield made rapid scoring difficult but no fewer than 38 singles were taken in a remorseless stand of 90 as they saw off bowlers Mullard and the useful Rob Lowndes (recorded by John as Rob Lounge.)
Shortly after someone in the Home Dugout had congratulated Hassan on his 50, the batsman fell - for 48 - caught and bowled by Turner, a deserved reward for the most dangerous bowler.
A breezy cameo 23 from Rashid Ahmed began with a second-ball 6 and ended with two 4s as the outfield dried, before he was bowled by Smythe.
Mark Bradshaw needed 5 off the final ball for his 50 but this is a landmark he has achieved many times (well over 50 times in fact) and he was content to push for a single to take Nomads up to 174 at the close.
It was good to have Hassan back to restore some edge to our attack but the opposition set out to take him on. The first ball was struck straight to Short Mid-Wicket who not only dropped the chance but then, with a near-suicidal single being scrambled, "speared" a shaky throw wide of the bowler's feet. Encouraged by this into thinking that Nomads might just be a slightly dodgy fielding side (hard to believe, I know) Leagonians' openers attempted another very sharp single...to Abdul Khan. Not altogether wise. 1 for 1.
This rather set the pattern with Leagonians adopting an attacking approach even when the ball was on the stumps which, in Hassan's overs, it generally was. Hassan took 3 for 15 and narrowly missed out on a hat-trick. There were 5 economical overs from Emil Todorow and 4 from Andrew West, and only a minor injury to West - a groin strain caused by the ball hitting his foot. More acute injury was to our eardrums from West's continuous commentary on life in general, and cricket and the weather in particular.
Wickets kept tumbling as Abdul Khan produced a fine spell of outswing bowling with a touch of Reverse Swing to take 4 for 11. The highlight was a spectacular one-handed diving caught and bowled.
Rashid Ahmed bowled an interesting spell of 65 mph wrist spin, setting his sights with a short-pitched googly, scattering the stumps with the flipper and then, after a flurry of leg-side hitting from Leagonians' Man of the Match Chris Turner, rounding off the victory with a rapid Leg Break to take out off stump.
This win takes us to 7 victories and 5 defeats with 2 games to play, so we are guaranteed, at worst, a 50% record and mid-table respectability.
Old Leagonians used this match to honour the memory of one of their players who passed away in his early 40s a couple of years ago. We were honoured to stage the game and apologise that only 7 of our team were there to observe the minute's silence that preceded play.
Since lateness had quite an influence on the match, Man of the Match can only be one of the players who was on time, so Mark Bradshaw gets the vote as he held the innings together with a valuable 46 not out, full of his favourite shots. Abdul was Fielder of the Day.
There is video footage of the match on Old Leagonians website at http://www.oldleagonianscc.co.uk/2011season.htm . This features Abdul's run out and caught and bowled and, most thrillingly, footage of Andrew West bowling and chasing the ball. Any offers of television or film work must go via his agent John Crossland.

Clapham Nomads 174 for 4 from 30 overs

M. Bradshaw 46 not out
P. Pattiyil 24
C. Kee 0
H. Khan 48
R. Ahmed 23
A. Khan 3 not out

F.O.W. - 44, 46, 136, 170

Old Leagonians 84 from 23.5 overs

H. Khan 5-0-15-3
E. Todorow 5-1-17-0
A. West 4-1-12-0
A. Khan 5-0-11-4
R. Ahmed 2.5-0-11-2
N. Lefebve 2-0-14-0

Clapham Nomads won by 90 runs

Southern Railway & Kenley v Clapham Nomads - 21/8/11

2011-08-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Clapham Nomads excelled themselves by all arriving promptly for a 1:30 start after a long journey - with the exception of the Fixtures Secretary, that is, who disgraced himself by turning up 25 minutes late. It seems that as our results have deteriorated, at least our punctuality has improved.
With Hassan Khan still unavailable, Nomads took 10 down to Kenley's delightful ground at Little Roke Road. It seemed a stronger line-up than the previous week, particularly in the bowling department.
After a fairly cautious opening 5 overs, Kenley's young opening pair began to accelerate and assume command. The pitch was perfectly flat, if a touch slow, and the ball soon began to race across a very quick outfield to the short-ish boundaries. The 2 batsmen were the Smiths, and Heaven Knows we were soon Miserable as 50 came up in the 10th over and 100 in the 15th. Tommy Smith dealt out some harsh treatment to Andrew West with a string of classy boundaries, mainly through the unprotected long-on area. West was removed from the attack - prompting the by now customary Retirement Speech. Prasanth took over at the Croydon End and produced some lively pace but the batsmen continued to look untroubled. At the Pavilion End, skipper Emil Todorow looked the pick of the bowlers and was the only one to really keep a lid on the scoring rate, never going for more than about 4 an over.
If any bowler really looked like making the breakthrough, it was Terry Bruce-Mills who did force a few unconvincing aerial shots from these excellent openers, but nothing went close enough to a fielder and the juggernaut rolled on.
Darwin finally prised out James Smith for a fine supporting 40, with the score well over 100, but there was little let up as No. 3 Craig Adie soon established himself. Tommy Smith raced on to a brilliant 100, he had really looked in no trouble whatsoever and he retired on 113 to give the other batsman a chance to sample the Nomads buffet.
This was a Time Game and, as 200 was passed, the canny Mark Bradshaw said that he would declare on about 225 if he was the Home captain. Sure enough, soon after a very well-deserved wicket for Emil Todorow, the declaration came with the score on 233 for 2. An early tea was taken and Nomads were left with extra time (90 minutes plus 20 overs in all) to make of this target what they could, with survival for the draw being whispered as an option by the faint-hearted.
I must say that Nomads didn't bowl that badly. We were reasonably accurate but, on a batsman's track, we posed little threat. The fielding was, in the main, OK and catching was not an issue as Kenley's batsmen adopted the cunning plan of not hitting the ball in the air anywhere near a fielder. Emil Todorow bowled his heart out. I went to pat him on the shoulder after he took his wicket and a mini-tsunami rolled down his back. It was the wettest I have ever seen a man get on a sunny day.
We tried to wind John Crossland up at tea by asking Emil to tell him to open the batting, but Emil was too intent on rehydrating with a fifth cup of tea to play along. The usual openers Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas took guard and the opening over turned out to be one of the most remarkable in Nomads' history. Four high leg-side No Balls were smacked to the boundary by our boys, along with 4 other runs to make a score of 24 for 0 after 1 over. The most we have ever scored in an opening over. We were up with the rate at this point.
This was as good as it got for us. Sanity was restored by the clever spinner John Mitchell and by the excellent seamer Dylan Jones. Jones bowled 5 overs for no runs with accuracy and late swing. Mark Bradshaw did manage to drive him but kept picking out the cover fielders.
The opening stand had realised 33 off only 44 balls when Mitchell broke through, having Mahesh Vyas caught at Square Leg off his first bad ball, a slow full toss. An old cricketing truism was dusted down as the Home Side opined that; "Shit gets Wickets."
No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil played some nice shots including a fine straight drive off Mitchell but the off-spinner was beginning to turn the odd one away and found the outside edge of Pattiyil's bat for a caught behind. 42 for 2.
Darwin came out to join Bradshaw and we hoped for a repeat of their brilliant match-winning stand against Streatham and Marlborough (a not dissimilar team and pitch to Kenley.) Sadly Darwin mis-timed a pull and was caught with the score on 53. Mark Bradshaw continued to play the best knock of any Nomad but when he was caught, again off Mitchell, for 26, the draw became the only target and suddenly a tricky one with approximately 25 overs to survive. No. 6 Nick Lefebve specialised in this type of stone-walling in his Open University days (to the disgust of his team-mates, The Hunter Family) and after surviving an early mis-timed sweep he set his stall out to play not a single shot. Chris Kennedy batted really nicely at the other end to keep some kind of momentum going. Gradually, the fielders crowded Lefebve closer and closer. He did last 7 overs but a bowling change brought on Kenley captain John Hewitt who did for the veteran blocker with a little extra bounce, Man of the Match Tommy Smith taking a smart low catch at Silly Point.
Hewitt ended a good knock from Kennedy a couple of overs later and from then on it was downhill fast. Charlie Nash bowled Emil Todorow. Terry Bruce-Mills survived an absolute snorter from Hewitt before falling to Nash. Andrew West entertained his legion of fans with one of his inimitable back-handed leg-side pulls which stopped millimetres from the rope. He then engineered a fantastic leave, which bamboozled the keeper and gained 4 byes for our paltry total. Sadly a straight one from Hewitt did for West and No. 9 John Crossland was left stranded on 0 not out - possibly a waste of a good defensive player. He should probably have gone in higher, at No. 7. Having said that though, we fell about 15 overs short of surviving for the draw.
Well, it was a day out at a nice ground. The opposition were OK. It was a bit strange out in the middle, being surrounded by impenetrable teenage banter - it felt a bit like being an extra in The Inbetweeners, or possibly Lee Nelson's Well Good Show, but anyway their cricket was "Quaaalllitteee!!!" Tommy Smith's hundred was brilliant.
Man of the Match is tricky. Emil Todorow put everything into his bowling and was the best bowler, but he got it last week and has only taken 2 for 55 across the 2 games which doesn't really justify back-to-back awards. I would go for Mark Bradshaw who provided easily the best Nomads batting, he would have scored more than 26 if not for a very well-placed field. Fielder of the Day - John Crossland who only conceded 1 bye. Crossland's opinion; "How could I concede byes against bowling like that" (implying it was a little one-dimensional.)
Quote of the Day; - As we were leaving, one of the Kenley batsmen said to John Crossland; "Thanks for the practice, lads," which John was a bit indignant about. Having thought about it though, that is not a bad thing. We were never likely to win this game but we did provide Kenley batsmen with some pretty accurate, if unthreatening bowling to practice their shots against. We lasted 32 overs so they had time to give anyone a bowl who wanted it. We were mostly punctual, all sporting and mostly uncomplaining and, finally, we produced a high-class performance in the bar with almost 20 pints being sunk. We're not such a bad little club really.

Southern Railway and Kenley - 233 for 2 Declared from 33 overs

Todorow 12-2-44-1
West 8-1-60-0
Pattiyil 4-0-37-0
Bruce-Mills 5-0-43-0
Darwin 4-0-40-1

Clapham Nomads - 81 from 31.2 overs

Bradshaw 26
Vyas 18
Pattiyil 9
Darwin 0
Kennedy 10
Lefebve 1
Todorow 0
Bruce-Mills 0
Crossland 0 not out
West 2

F.O.W. - 33, 42, 53, 60, 69, 70, 74, 75, 81

Clapham Nomads lost by 152 runs

Clapham Nomads v Touring Theatres - 14/8/11

2011-08-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Due to holidays, Ramadan, apathy and pregnancy, Nomads were only able to select 8 for this latest renewal at Barn Elms against our longest-standing opponents. In contrast, the Theatres, who appear to be resurgent, brought 13 and were able to lend us noted Sports and Thriller writer Chic Fowles and former Nomads legend Chris Kennedy, who made the short hop across South London earlier this summer, joining Theatres for an undisclosed fee.
SW13 (and 14, 15 and most others) was in lockdown but it wasn't the Barnes Riots, merely the Olympic Cycle Race rehearsal. This was no obstacle to the mustard-keen Theatres who were limbering up in the nets a good hour before the start. Even Nomads didn't do too badly despite the chaotic traffic, though Andrew West had to walk from Putney which was roughly the same route taken by the cyclists. Rumours that he overtook Sir Chris Hoy remain unsubstantiated.
Asked to field first, Nomads were distinctly light on bowling options so it was hoped that our new ball pairing of West and Emil Todorow would make significant inroads. When Emil bowled Ben Martin in the 3rd over the fixture appeared to be following its traditional course.
At the other end was Ben Tranchell who has always been a more than useful player - he once scored 96 against us - but who has lacked support in recent seasons. This time it was different; finding an able partner in No. 3 Shafiq, Tranchell took 3 fours in an Andrew West over to prompt a double bowling change.
Skipper John Crossland had to juggle his change bowlers; Chris Kennedy went for 19 off his first 2 overs but Prasanth Pattiyil, probably the quickest of the available bowlers, was tighter with only 10 taken off his first 3.
The batsmen looked assured as 50 was passed in the 10th over and the 50 partnership in the 12th. Apart from one close-looking LBW shout and a half-chance in the deep, there seemed no reason why they couldn't bat right through the innings on a placid, slow-ish pitch with only the occasional irregular bounce.
Nick Lefebve was third change and the left-armer kept a reasonable off-side line but the batsmen were able to push singles at will to a deeply-set, some might say negative, field.
The 100 and the century stand both came up in the 18th over before Lefebve finally made the breakthrough in the following over, slanting one in to hit the stumps of Tranchell (55) and greeting the grounding of the bails with a strange, superfluous, full-throated roar of Howzat.
105 for 2 with 11 overs left meant that Theatres would have to bat spectacularly badly not to be in a commanding position by the close. This was unlikely with the excellent Shafiq still there. Chris Kennedy returned to dismiss No. 4 Naseef. Shafiq was dropped by Lefebve - a firm caught and bowled chance - with the score on 119 and he celebrated with a 4 off the same bowler and a big 6 off Kennedy before falling to the latter bowler for a potentially match-winning 67.
The opening bowlers returned but No. 5 Edwards shepherded the lower order, including the redoubtable Roger Daltrey-lookalike John Witham, into plundering 25 useful runs from the last 6 overs; mostly off Andrew West, who had the consolation of 2 late wickets. Emil Todorow remained impressively tight to finish with 1 for 11 as the innings closed on 159.
Nomads really only had 3 recognised front-line top order batsmen and, realistically, to have much chance we would need Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas and Prasanth Pattiyil to chalk up around 90 between them.
The early run out of Vyas was the worst possible start (we are starting to suffer too many of these run outs.) No. 3 Chris Kee looked solid enough on his debut for the club but was the first victim of an accurate spell from spinner Cal Robertson. Kee was bowled by the seasoned blond twirler, a fate shared the following over by Chris Kennedy. Mark Bradshaw was joined by Prasanth Pattiyil and there was still hope at this point as this pair have played many fine and productive partnerships. However, when Bradshaw was dismissed for 9 by a brilliant slip catch from the ubiquitous Cal Robertson, the dye seemed cast.
Prasanth was bowled behind his legs an over or two later and this brought Emil Todorow out to join Nick Lefebve. This pair's running can sometimes be entertaining, especially to the fielding side, but a calf injury to Lefebve caused the batsmen to agree that they would only take absolutely nailed-on singles (2s to many other players.) A partnership of 16 followed but Nomads were falling fatally behind the rate with not a lot of batting to come.
Todorow was eventually bowled via his legs. Chic Fowles attempted a risky single but was unchivalrously sent back by his limping partner and was run out.
Andrew West joined Lefebve and it was time for the purist to look away as the pair made a stand which Emil Todorow would describe as having; "Such command, such elegance." Basically it was two fat blokes cross-batting some cafeteria bowling through the leg-side. West did play the Shot of the Day though, his unique grip meaning that one of his leg-side flicks was a perfect replica of a left-hander's reverse sweep as played by, say, Adam Gilchrist. Unfortunately the non-striker was so stunned by the shot that he failed to notice that the top spin which West had cunningly put on the ball had taken it out of the fielder's reach and the single, which was a fraction of what West deserved for this shot from the Golden Age, was declined.
Inevitably there was an injury to West who was stuck in the splits position for a minute after executing another leg glance. There was a surprising lack of volunteers to help ease him out of this position.
The lofty heights of 61 had been reached when West finally chipped it to a fielder and he was followed 2 balls later by John Crossland to confirm Theatres' 3rd and easiest victory over us. Still, I'm sure John was delighted that we avoided the 100 run defeat.
In truth this was a poor Nomads performance but remember how depleted we were. It was probably the strongest line-up Theatres have ever fielded against us but they all played with enthusiasm and skill and were excellent value for their victory.
Nick Lefebve received a nomination for Man of the Match (thanks for that) but although he did OK, 16 not out and 1 for 33 is not really enough. I would have to award it to the ever-economical Emil Todorow who returned the only really eye-catching figures with his 6-0-11-1. Todorow also fielded well and Mark Bradshaw and John Crossland (only 1 bye) caught the eye in the field, but Fielder of the Day must be the evergreen Chris Kennedy who made a couple of remarkable stops.

Touring Theatres - 159 for 6 from 30 overs

Todorow 6-0-11-1
West 6-0-37-2
Kennedy 6-0-36-2
Pattiyil 6-0-40-0
Lefebve 6-0-33-1

Clapham Nomads - 61 from 25.5 overs

Bradshaw 9
Vyas 1
Kee 2
Kennedy 0
Pattiyil 4
Lefebve 16 not out
Todorow 0
Fowles 0
West 4
Crossland 0

F.O.W. - 7, 17, 17, 22, 29, 45, 45, 61, 61

Nomads lost by 98 runs

Clapham Nomads v Dulwich - 31/7/11

2011-08-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

There was a decidedly unusual feel to 1.45 pm on Sunday. The whole Nomads team (admittedly only 10 men) were primed and ready to start play on a flawless-looking Joseph Hood Rec pitch on a beautiful sunny day, and stood around exchanging polite pleasantries as we prepared to commence our innings, having been thoughtfully put in to bat by Dulwich skipper John Lawrence on the warmest Sunday so far this year. Would we be able to adapt to these highly unusual and unNomadic circumstances?
The calm serenity was soon blown away by Dulwich opener Joe Hale who spiked a sharp in-cutter through to the keeper, a good 15 mph faster than we had been expecting. Game on and normal service resumed.
Nomads' No. 1 Mark Bradshaw dug in again and faced up to the challenge posed by the young paceman. At the other end, Mahesh Vyas collected 7 off the first over from Plummer, for whom there was just a touch of uneven bounce. It was a gritty start from our pair and 15 seemed a fair haul from the first 5 overs. The second ball of the 6th over saw Plummer clip Vyas's bails. Worse was to follow the next over with Hale producing the ball of the day to shatter Prasanth Pattiyil's stumps via the edge of his pad. A rare low score for Prasanth and Nomads in a hole at 16 for 2.
No 4 Hassan Khan has, by his own very high standards, not been on top form with the bat lately and, with Hale whipping up a storm, a challenging passage of play ensued. The young paceman bowled his 7 overs right through in an excellent spell of 1 for 9 with only 5 scoring shots. He had several decent-ish LBW shouts as well, which the umpire declined without making eye contact as the bowler's pace, action and height bore a remarkable resemblance to Energy Exiles' quickie Simon Gundry. Like all Dulwich's youngsters, though, Hale had a very sporting attitude. If there was one small weakness in his bowling, it was that he did stray down leg side on occasions and the 7 or 8 byes that resulted helped Nomads up to a fair score of around 65 for 2 at the 18-over drinks break.
The pick of the change bowlers was the clever Kiwi spinner Ebert who got through his work at 3.5 an over at a time when Nomads were trying to accelerate, and claimed the important wicket of Bradshaw (a well-crafted 29) with a stinging caught and bowled in his final over.
No 5 Chris Kennedy showed a good positive attitude and used his feet well to the spinners, but when he was bowled by Spencer, Nomads were in a little difficulty again at 90 for 4.
Fortunately, Hassan was approaching his best form and began to come forward really well to Spencer and Nair with boundaries in most overs. No 6 Nick Lefebve showed a more positive intent than last week, possibly because he was using Dave Hunter's old bat which, like its former owner, does not tolerate blockers. He even produced a Bradshawesque square cut but all his other 17 runs were leg-side before he was caught by Hale at deep mid-wicket. The pair had put on 56 with Hassan racing to his 50 and then onwards. The real acceleration came with the arrival of No. 7 Abdul Khan. The two Khans taking an impressive 23 off the last 21 balls to leave Nomads on 169 for 5 at the close of the innings on 35 overs.
This seemed a decent score (we only managed one run more off 40 overs the week before.) Dulwich are always well-drilled and technically correct but sometime lack a few really big hitters. Games between these sides tend be very close though and, on a good track and with a rather veteran, 10-man fielding unit, it was likely to be interesting.
Hassan Khan struck right away in the first over with a caught and bowled and, although one batsman managed to find the short off-side boundary on several occasions off Emil Todorow, he tried it once too often and chipped up to Abdul Khan at deep-ish point - Abdul doesn't miss those.
Before this game, Nomads had only taken 5 wickets in the previous 68 overs and there was some animated tactical discussion in the interval concerning our bowling order. Perhaps in response to this, Abdul Khan and Andrew West came on earlier than usual at around the 8-10 over mark. This bore some fruit, particularly in West's case. He did go for a boundary in each of his first 2 overs but, as it became clear that he wasn't going to be as expensive as he has been recently (when bowling later in the innings,) his confidence grew and he bowled a fine and accurate spell. As ever with West, it was injuries that were the abiding memory - 2 this week instead of the usual 1 - The more memorable was when he fell on the ball (poor ball) in stopping a single and lay prone in apparent agony for a minute before calmly standing up, grunting, and sending down some more impeccable line and length deliveries. Abdul was also impressive, bowling 7 overs for just 25 runs despite having an injured shoulder. The upshot of this was that Dulwich were well behind the required rate at Drinks but, with only 3 down and 2 well-played-in batsmen at the crease, the chase promised to go to the wire.
Nomads had only 4 recognised Front Line bowlers but 3rd change Prasanth Pattiyil was brought on fairly early as part of the Todorow Masterplan. After a very expensive first over he recovered well and claimed a wicket with a ball that kept low. This brought Ebert, probably Dulwich's most powerful hitter, to the crease. His partner was a most impressive 14-year-old who batsman went on to make 50. This stand dragged Dulwich right back into the game; the highlight was some very sharp running between the wickets. For a period it was almost "tip and run" as any ball not hit straight back to the bowler resulted in a single and often a 2. Nomads had only 3 players under 47 and only 1 under 35, whereas Dulwich had only 1 player over 35. For a while this generation gap threatened to prove decisive as the required rate dropped towards 6.5 with wickets in hand and our rather defensive field being run ragged. I did hear a mutter of "geriatrics" at one point from the spectators and I would like to say this galvanised us, but unfortunately we were too knackered to be galvanised.
Some confusion arose as Todorow tried to juggle his bowling options. At one point, Prasanth had just bowled at the Morden End and the skipper gazed at the Wimbledon End and scratched his head, wondering who he could bring on next. "Aaahh!," his eyes lit up as inspiration arrived; "Prasanth, can you take this over?" I know Prasanth is good but 2 overs in a row?.... Eventually the skipper turned to 4th-change Nick Lefebve who managed to get through 2 overs at 7 an over which was no more than the required rate.
Prasanth returned after a short break and claimed the vital wicket of Ebert. The asking rate was now over 8 but Dulwich stayed in the hunt with excellent running and the odd blow to the short boundary. 34 were needed with 4 overs to go but Nomads had enjoyed the luxury of bringing Hassan back to bowl at the death. The 4th last over was probably the crucial one with Prasanth only going for 5.
In the penultimate over Prasanth took a smart caught and bowled from a firmly struck drive. The very next ball he moved sharply out to his left and threw down the stumps with a direct hit from 15 yards to dismiss Dulwich's young top-scorer. A further wicket, bowled, on the last ball of the over was merely the encore of a brilliant, 6-ball, One Man Show.
19 were needed off the final over and few players at this or indeed at a higher level would fancy scoring that off Hassan Khan. In the event, Dulwich fell just 10 runs short in a thrilling match that was closer and more exciting than I have made it sound in this report.
Man of the Match was Hassan whose 76 contained enough prolonged rapid scoring to take the game just beyond Dulwich's reach. Mark Bradshaw's resilient 29 against some challenging New Ball bowling was very important too. These 2 were probably the most consistent fielders as well but Fielder of the Day must be Prasanth for his caught and bowled and direct hit in successive balls. Honourable mention must also go to Andrew West, the most economical bowler. I would like to claim this was a victory for "Experience" over Youth but the 4 star players I have just mentioned are Nomads' youngest - plus of course Andrew West who remains forever young at heart.
QUOTE OF THE DAY; "We like playing you but your field placings are always so defensive" - Ebert, Dulwich cc

Clapham Nomads 169 for 5 from 35 overs

Bradshaw 29
Vyas 8
Pattiyil 1
H. Khan 76 not out
Kennedy 5
Lefebve 18
A. Khan 13 not out

F.O.W. - 15, 16, 85, 90, 146

Dulwich 159 for 9 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-0-27-2
Todorow 7-0-30-2
A. Khan 7-0-25-0
West 7-0-22-0
Pattiyil 5-0-32-4
Lefebve 2-0-14-0

Nomads won by 10 runs

Wimbledon Corinthians v Clapham Nomads - 24/7/11

2011-07-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wimbledon Corinthians served up revenge with a comfortable victory over Nomads at a sultry Raynes Park.
On a pitch that I (and the scorebook) thought was good - though others disagreed, Nomads got off to a pretty good start and reached 56 for 1 against some probing bowling. This was due to a good stand of 47 from the very consistent Prasanth Pattiiyil and Rashid Ahmed after Mahesh Vyas had been run out early on. The wicket of Rashid precipitated an alarming collapse to 82 for 5, featuring a brilliant direct hit to claim the vital wicket of Hassan Khan for 1. The 5th wicket was somewhat unlucky, the ball deflecting off Prasanth's hip to clip the leg bail. A 6th wicket stand of 58 between Abdul Khan (43) and Nick Lefebve dragged us back into the game. The clever Steve O'Neill Ramsadeo imposed a stranglehold during the early part of this stand with his excellent variations, conceding only 5 runs from his first 4 overs but Abdul, who hadn't played for a month, was most impressive once he got his eye in and hit two 6s and six 4s in a vital and rapid knock.
Our middle order appeared stronger than it had for a while with Riaz Khan in at No 8 with the score on 140 for 6 and plenty of time remaining. One of his trademark speedy 20s or 30s would have been just what was needed and he did look in the mood, but unfortunately a brilliant diving catch at Mid Off sent him on his way for 3.
Lefebve had taken almost 20 overs to play himself in but made a late flurry of runs in a patchy but entertainingly argumentative stand of 27 with skipper Emil Todorow to take us up to a slightly below par 170 for 7 off the full 40.
One feature of this innings was that it took well over 3 hours, thanks to the ritual of banter, sledging, ball-passing (and dropping) and field changes that occurred after most deliveries. To be fair though, at least one Nomads' batsman attempted to outdo Corinthians for timewasting and - at one point - pretended to fall asleep on the ground.
Nomads would have to bowl and field well to defend this target against a strong batting line-up.
Todorow snapped up an early caught and bowled with the score on 5 but the second wicket pair played calmly and unhurriedly for a stand of around 140 and never really looked like losing a wicket. Hassan and Emil were awkward to score off as usual and the total was only about 40 for 1 after 15 overs but, once 50 was passed with no chances nor any sign of snakes in the pitch, the writing appeared on the wall. The pick of the change bowlers was Rashid, who put a lot into his bowling and gave a throaty grunt as he delivered each ball. God forbid that Emil or Andrew ever do this; it would be alarming. The match was all but lost when Rashid claimed the second wicket with a fine caught and bowled and then followed up with another in the next over. During this period there was the strange spectacle of an impassioned rant by one of the batsmen about the state of the pitch - the score was 150 for 2 at the time. I honestly think that if he ever played at Lord's he would complain about the slope.
The only thing that could have saved Nomads was the light - the sun was slipping down below the A3 as 8:30 was passed. Corinthians needed 7 off the last 3 overs but, aware of the fading light, they wrapped it up in 3 balls, concluding with a 6 off Todorow.
Man of the Match was Rashid who never lost his enthusiasm and bowled with passion and pace to claim two richly-deserved late wickets. He also batted well, while the ball was new and the pitch still a little tricky. Abdul's innings was vital and entertaining as well. Emil voted for Rashid for Fielder of the Day but fans of Mahesh Vyas, who made a series of good stops at various points between slip and Third Man, won the vote.
QUOTE OF THE DAY - "A caught and bowled from Todorow. A rare sight indeed." - John Crossland, Clapham Nomads cc
Clapham Nomads - 170 for 7 from 40 overs

M. Vyas, run out 5
P. Pattiyil, bowled 28
R. Ahmed, bowled 25
H. Khan, run out 1
Darwin, bowled 5
N. Lefebve, not out 24
A. Khan, bowled 43
R. Khan, caught 3
E. Todorow, not out 3
Did not bat; J. Crossland, A. West

F. O. W. - 9, 56, 57, 78, 82, 140, 143

Wimbledon Corinthians - 172 for 3 from 37.3 overs

H. Khan - 8-0-30-0
E. Todorow - 6.3-0-24-1
R. Ahmed - 8-0-33-2
A. West - 4-0-26-0
R. Khan - 6-0-30-0
A. Khan - 5-0-24-0

Nomads lost by 7 wickets

Streatham & Marlborough v Clapham Nomads - 17/7/11

2011-07-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Nomads got their stop-start season back on track in a damp Dulwich with a splendid victory against talented opponents.
This match didn't seem likely to be completed at any point in the previous few days, and certainly not when we saw the dark grey sky and lightning flashes hovering around over Dulwich Village.
We made a token effort to start a 30-over game (strangely, the Home side wanted 40 overs,) and tight bowling from Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow restricted Streatham to around 10 for 0 when heavy rain forced us off after 5 overs. A 20-minute break under the trees was followed by a Groundhog Day repetition of the above and we found ourselves under the trees again with the score on 20 for 0 after 10 overs. The openers were complete opposites in every respect; age, height, approach - the younger guy attempted to pull every Todorow ball over square leg for 6 (Emil finished with figures of 6 runs off 6 overs which gives an idea how successful this ploy was.) The other fellow - at least 45 years older than his partner - nudged and nurdled for quick singles and this proved quite profitable as the mismatched pair had a surprisingly good understanding. The attacking player did hit one stunning 4 back over Hassan's head - a rare sight - which kept the field back.
Terry Bruce-Mills was first change and bowled tight slow-medium to help restrict the score to around 45 at the 18-over mark. With only 12 overs to go, there were murmurs of discontent from the remainder of the Streatham batting line-up, which were answered angrily by the older opener. Perhaps this affected his concentration because he was bowled shortly afterwards by Andrew West; the only ball in the match that kept a bit low.
This wicket looked counter-productive for a while as new man Kannan helped launch a charge. For 6 or 7 overs, Streatham were completely on top with Andrew West and pacy newcomer Rashid Ahmed taking particular punishment. A heap of runs came behind square off Rashid - possibly a field placing issue here.
Nomads' ground-fielding was good throughout, with Terry Bruce-Mills particularly impressive, but several catches went down as the Home side appeared to be heading for something like 180-190.
Finally, a chance was snapped up, a high quality diving catch from Hassan, and Streatham moved down a gear or two in the closing overs with Nomads a tad relieved only to have conceded 150 by the close.
This did appear on paper to be one of the more threadbare Nomads batting line-ups and one sensed that a lot would rest on the admittedly broad shoulders of Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan.
An early wicket was just what was not required but Mahesh Vyas holed out to short mid-wicket in the 3rd over to bring Rashid out to join Mark Bradshaw in the middle. The newcomer, yet another Riaz Khan discovery, had not played with a requlation cricket ball or on a grass strip before. It was perhaps fortunate that this was such a good track but Rashid showed an excellent eye and some near-textbook shots. A good second wicket stand took shape with excellent running and strike rotation; a sprinkling of 1s and 2s in every over and five 4s for Rashid in a pretty rapid 33 before he fell to the impressive 14-year-old quickie Pentycross - an easy name to remember should he progress to greater things.
62 for 2 and Hassan Khan joined Bradshaw in what looked a crucial phase of the game. Streatham had brought on 2nd changer Kannan, a very tricky customer to score 5 an over off, with great variation of pace, trajectory and movement. When Kannan claimed the wicket of Hassan with only 79 on the board the wound appeared mortal.
No. 5 Darwin had showed promise with the bat but had never really gone beyond the mid-20s for Nomads. Below him in the order there was no-one you could rely on to score at 5 an over for too long. Scorer John Crossland began to despair; "We've had it. We can't win this. We've got no Zia or Riaz." An early 6 from Darwin was an eye-opener but Crossland soon began to repeat his mantra, much to the amusement of the crowd of home fans.
Mark Bradshaw had been keeping Nomads' run rate healthy with 2s all around the wicket. Suddenly he launched a beautiful straight drive back over the bowler's head; although it dropped a couple of millimetres short of the rope, it was a sign that he was in The Zone. The partnership gelled and it was noticeable how often a boundary was taken from one of the first two balls of an over to ease the pressure. The 100 came up in fine time, as did the 50 partnership at 129. The required rate remained steady at just over 5. A truly exciting contest was building up but scorer Crossland noticed that Streatham's scorebook was slipping behind his own; first by 1, then by 2 and, with 2 overs to go, by 4. A quick discussion resulted in the home side insisting that we go with their, lower, score. I'm not too sure about the rights and wrongs of that (....well I am actually, but the way our guys were batting, who cared?)
12 more runs was agreed as the target with 12 balls to go, and then 3 were needed off the final over, to be delivered by Kannan, the pick of the bowlers. Two dot balls clenched buttocks but Darwin pushed 2 off the third ball to level the scores. Darwin hit the 4th ball uppishly. A fielder swooped for the chance as the batsmen crossed. Just for a second there was confusion but then it became clear that the ball had been grounded, the total had been passed, and Nomads had recorded one of our most exciting victories.
Man of the Match is Mark Bradshaw for marshalling our reply. His 56 not out was probably his finest and quickest innings of the season. His versatility was shown in that he only hit one of his trademark off-side 4s. Other areas produced a rich yield. Plenty of other fine performances with a Nomads-best 43 not out from Darwin and a miserly 6-1-6-0 from Emil, despite him being the target of repeated attempts to slog him over the leg side into Lewisham.
Fielder of the Day would have been Terry for his groundwork but he did put down a couple of chances. I will award it to Andrew West, who not only failed to swear at the skipper as he was moved regularly around the field, but also produced an extraordinary, balletic, Richter Scale-busting diving stop right on the line and, remarkably, didn't injure himself in the process. Unfortunately he didn't jump up and return the ball all in the same movement. Had he done so, he would have been instantly awarded Player of the Season, along with a Hospital bed.
Thanks to the Home Side for staging the contest and all credit to their players who did a splendid job getting the covers on and off. It was a pleasure to play on a covered pitch.

Streatham & Marlborough - 150 for 2 from 30 overs

H. Khan 6-1-15-0
E. Todorow 6-1-6-0
T. Bruce-Mills 4-0-15-0
A. West 6-0-46-1
R. Ahmed 6-0-44-1
Darwin 2-0-13-0

Clapham Nomads - 151 for 3 from 29.4 overs

M. Bradshaw - 56 not out
M. Vyas - 2
R. Ahmed - 33
H. Khan - 7
Darwin - 43 not out
Did not bat; N.Lefebve, E. Todorow, J. Crossland, T. Bruce-Mills, A. West

F.O.W. - 15, 62, 79

Clapham Nomads won by 7 wickets

Touring Theatre XI v Clapham Nomads - 10/7/11

2011-07-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sadly this game was called off because of the torrential rain on the preceding Thursday and Friday. Merton Council were unable to prepare a pitch and, obviously unable to stretch to weekend overtime for their groundsmen in these harsh times, had to call off the game.
This left Nomads kicking their heels on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. At least one of our team went to see Surrey v Kent at The Oval where there was a sighting of Nomads' record run-scorer John Chance holding court to an appreciative audience in the Peter May Stand, to liven up proceedings. (Former Kingston Lefthanders Flight Bowler Nick Crouch was there as well. It was a Hall of Fame.)

Clapham Nomads v Caribbean Mix - 3/7/11

2011-07-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Basically, we got a spanking. The story of the game was that after an early wicket, we were pretty much put to the sword. It was hard work in the field, especially against a left-hand/right-hand 2nd wicket pair that put on over 100, but we still showed plenty of enthusiasm and the bowling was ok, although the opposition batsmen took rather a liking to the deliveries of Zia, from whom the ball came on to them at a nice pace, and Andrew West. Once they had reached around 160 for 3 with 12 overs to go, there was little chance of a Nomads victory and it was damage limitation time. With 5 overs remaining, they were on about 235 and there looked a good chance a record would be broken - our highest ever Runs Conceded tally of 274 in the famous Slaughter in the Sun game back in 2003. Thankfully this was averted, with some good bowling by Darwin at the Death, but Caribbean finished on 261 for 5.

Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas coped very well against a quick opening pair of O.J., who the opposition announced was "Fresh from Jamaica" and Kenrick. We were even up with the rate at one point. A double bowling change brought on the more experienced Jono and the excellent Wayne, who had a terrific variation of pace off 4 steps. Wayne finally broke up a good opening stand of around 45 and then ran through us with a spell of 6 for 14 off 7 overs including only 4 scoring shots.

Nomads' batsmen did show some character and forced our way up to 131 for 7 at the close, the highlight of the 2nd half of our innings was a stubborn stand of 46 between Sumith Prasanna, who played some fine shots in his 35 not out, and Emil Todorow.

John did point out at the end that he felt the game was no contest and asked Caribbean's organiser Jim Ferguson if they could field a weaker team next year. "That was our weaker team," Jim replied.

Anyway, there were still plenty of good things about the match - here are 20 of them;

A fine innings from Sumith Prasanna, who seems a much improved batsman since returning to the side at the end of last year.

A good opening stand between Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas, against probably the quickest pair of opening bowlers they will face this summer.

Great catches from Hassan Khan at either end of our torrid afternoon in the field. His kneeling catch off the last ball was really well-judged.

Darwin did a pretty good job as the 5th bowler and should bowl plenty more overs this summer, hopefully in slightly easier circumstances.

The pitch played well. Merton Council's wickets seem to have improved a lot this summer. The opposition rated it a "good cricket wicket" and they play about 50 games a year so you have to respect their judgement.

Another diving "dragback" right on the line from Mark Bradshaw, his second in successive games. This is becoming his fielding trademark.

For the first time in ages, some of Nomads' fielders burnt off more calories in the field than they consumed in the pub or take-away afterwards.

It doesn't look as if Andrew West will retire from cricket after all, despite his repeated threats to do so during this game.

I offered to buy Emil a drink if John said the words "no contest" 100 times during the evening. Fortunately, he stopped at around 47 so I saved my money.

Caribbean Mix are in 4 cup competitions, play just about every other day, own a bus, serve the interval drinks from a full-size office Water Cooler and are definitely acquiring a semi-professional aura; and to think that Nomads actually helped to set them up (either we can take pride in that or reflect that we have created a monster.)

The opposition provided a great tea of barbecue chicken, rice and salad. A definite step up from the traditional egg sandwiches and Battenburg cake.

We witnessed a brilliant spell of bowling from Wayne.

If you take Wayne's figures out, Nomads scored 118 for 1.

As always, we enjoyed Caribbean's banter and verbals. There was only one cry of "Sex Appeal" from Jim Ferguson. The captain issued an instruction to get "Up Close and Personal," which I can only hope was a request for a bouncer, or for a fielder to go Silly Mid On or Off.

After the game we drank in the garden of a nearby pub that had a Rotweiler and a full-size Wild Boar on the roof. Showing his usual disregard for his own personal safety, Andrew West reached up and stroked the pig's nose. The creature enjoyed it. In fact, I have seldom witnessed such a profound connection between Man and Beast.

Although Emil was almost incandescent with anger at some of Andrew's antics on the field, he managed to keep a lid on it and avoided an embarrassing scene.

The game was played in a good spirit between the 2 teams, although there are some "Strong Personalities" on both sides. Caribbean Mix have some great characters and some really fine players, so it is always a pleasure to play them, whatever the result.

Hassan and Emil bowled well as usual.

Apparently it could have been worse. It was said that if we hadn't dismissed their skipper early on, the total would probably have been over 300.

We had a game of cricket which is what we are in the team for. You can't have a thrilling finish every week and it would pretty pointless to win every week at this level.

Fielder of the Day was Hassan for 2 smart catches. Man of the Match is tougher; Hassan bowled and fielded well, Mark batted and fielded well and Sumith's innings was a bright spot but I will give it to Emil Todorow who showed some good batting resistance at the end, was the second best bowler and made an early breakthrough, and also skippered well. It must have been tough.

Caribbean Mix - 261 for 5 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-1-33-0
Todorow 7-0-34-2
Zia 7-0-64-0
West 7-0-52-2
Darwin 7-1-51-3

Clapham Nomads - 132 for 7 from 35 overs.

Bradshaw 14
Vyas 12
George (on loan from opposition) 3
H. Khan 6
Prasanna 35 not out
Zia 8
Lefebve 1
Todorow 7
Darwin 6 not out

F.O.W. - 44, 54, 59, 62, 74, 77, 123

Nomads lost by 130 runs

Barnes Occasionals v Clapham Nomads - 26/6/11

2011-07-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

The long journey to Riverside Drive, Ham, was enlivened by the skilful driving of Mr Emil Todorow as he weaved his way though the 1,000s of cyclists, mostly clad in pink T-shirts, who were clogging up the narrow lanes near the ground. We were told by John Crossland when we arrived that he had been on this Charity Bike Ride himself. I'm not sure if he was in pink but, if he was, I'm sure it was a good look. Of course; athlete that he is, he had finished the course several hours previously and arrived at the ground with Andrew West - by boat.
This is now Occasionals' regular ground and, credit either to them or to Richmond Council's Contractors, the pitch played well and there was a nice tea hut. It was a big improvement on last year (that's starting from a low base, though.)
Nomads were inserted by a Barnes side missing 2 of their top batsmen; Adam Hogg and Roger Price. Ollie Hogg and the young Ireland opened the bowling and 3 wickets fell quite rapidly; Mahesh Vyas adjudged LBW, Jim Joyce ending up at the same end as Prasanth Pattiyil for a bizarre run out and then, ominously, Hogg clipping the top of Hassan Khan's bails to leave Nomads in a quandary at 34 for 3. No. 5 Sumith Prasanna led a counter-attack with a hard-hitting knock including 2 sixes before Prasanth fell for a decent 29, continuing his consistent run of form.
Nick Lefebve came out at 67 for 4 but Sumith fell almost straight away. Occasionals had replaced Hogg with a bowler making his debut. He bowled at considerable pace and found what few snakes there were in the pitch, making the ball rear up regularly. Nomads were in some trouble but Barnes perhaps missed a trick by setting a remarkable 8-1 off-side field to Lefebve, who plays exclusively on the leg side. The bowler did bowl to his field but the batsman was able to watch the ball sail past his off stump as the bowler tired. The partnership was given much-needed impetus by No. 7 Zia who struck a splendid 40 with resounding blows straight and over long-on. He played some very nice late cuts as well. Sadly the stand ended 2 short of the half-century mark with Zia chipping a catch back to the bowler - perhaps looking for a single which wasn't really needed as plenty of time remained.
Lefebve didn't last too long after this and nor did Darwin but this was of enormous benefit to spectators as it brought together, on 124 for 8, the legendary partnership of Emil Todorow and John Crossland who don't bat together too often these days but who have a most unconventional way of expressing their respect and admiration for each other as cricketers and men. Basically, they pretty much re-defined the art of running beween the wickets, as such tired old chestnuts as "Yes", "No" and "Wait" were replaced by "Come on, run for Christ's sake!", "What are you doing? Get back!" and "It's my call. Do as I say!" All those present agreed that it would be fun if they opened together, perhaps against a weak bowling side. Even if our innings closed on 30 for 0, and we lost by 9 wickets, the entertainment they would provide would make the £6 match fee extremely good value. In fairness, they did put on 16 valuable runs, mostly against an exceptionally slow loop bowler, with contrasting styles; John charging fully 8 yards out of his crease and flicking to leg, and Emil rooted to the spot and aiming massive hoiks though square leg - and either nodding in satisfaction or shaking his locks in frustration at the result.
Unbelievably, that was almost improved on as last man Andrew West joined Todorow in the middle. Three times West set off for a quick single, only to be ordered back. Our No. 11, who turns about as quickly as the Titanic, just made it back, panting, each time. He did crack 2 resounding fours as well, using his special grip with the hands the wrong way round. Mind you, seeing that his strike rate of 8 runs from 3 balls was the fastest of our innings, who's to say his grip is not correct? - and everyone else's hands are the wrong way round.
Actually, West can bat a bit. On his debut in 1994 he made 26 on a terrible pitch against some quick bowling. Recovering from an early blow to his unprotected testicles, he carted Stratford's indignant quicks all over Wandsworth Park. We thought we had unearthed a batting gem. We were half-right. He certainly is a gem but 26 remains his highest score for the club.
Barnes's reply was always going to be rather like Newsnight Review following an episode of Keystone Cops and excellent, tight, bowling from Hassan Khan ensured an air of tranquility. The early order all looked as though they could play a bit and Darwin had to swoop low and fast to take a quite brilliant catch off Todorow's bowling. This was a time match and Todorow could concentrate on his 4 main bowlers. He took himself off perhaps an over too early when it was noticed that Ireland seemed to back away from a ball from Hassan, who was bowling as quick as he has this season. Zia came on in an effort to capitalise on this perceived weakness but Ireland proved an excellent player with the top score of Barnes's reply. He even hit Andrew West for three successive 4s, though the Big Man recovered to bowl a decent, accurate spell. He was taken off after 6 overs but begged for another over. This was declined by Emil, perhaps wisely as we saw later.
With 20 overs to go, the asking rate was only just above 5 an over, but regular wickets kept Nomads reasonably safe from defeat. Zia bowled quickly and was hard to score off, but bowled perhaps too full a length to really run through the opposition. Jim Mundy and Mark Lichfield came together at 6 down with around 7 overs to go and, both very seasoned players, saw Occasionals through to the last over with little difficulty. By this stage, Andrew West was lying prone at long-off, claiming to be suffering from heat exhaustion. It was agreed that, should the ball touch him, 5 penalty runs would be recorded. This seems a rather paltry haul when you consider that a mere batting helmet, which covers rather less ground than West, also incurs a 5-run penalty.
With 4 balls to go, Hassan bowled Lichfield and then followed up with another wicket the next ball to provide just a flicker. This was quickly extinguished by No. 10 Keith Seed, a very experienced defensive player who negotiated the final 2 deliveries with ease to earn Barnes a draw.
This was an unexpectedly enjoyable match, played in great spirit, with plenty of entertainment and talking points. It has been suggested that similar antics could see Nomads featured on YouTube.
Fielder of the Day was definitely Darwin for the Catch of the Season so far, although John Crossland overcame fatigue to take a smart stumping off Jim Joyce's bowling. Since this game was as much Edinburgh Fringe as Lord's, I am tempted to give Man of the Match to Todorow, West or Crossland. Hassan also bowled very well but, in a game where the ball was on top, Zia gets the nod for producing by far the best innings.

Clapham Nomads 153 all out

Vyas 8
Pattiyil 29
Joyce 0
H. Khan 8
Prasanna 22
Lefebve 8
Zia 40
Darwin 0
Todorow 9
Crossland 2
West 8 not out

F.O.W. - 12, 12, 32, 67, 71, 119, 124, 124, 140, 153

Barnes Occasionals 104 for 8 from 35 overs

H. Khan 10-5-16-3
Todorow 6-0-18-2
Zia 11-2-26-1
West 6-0-29-1
Joyce 1-0-6-1
Darwin 1-0-4-0

Match Drawn

Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 19/6/11

2011-06-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

To mark the 10th anniversary of Nomads/Exiles fixtures we had another good game of cricket and what seemed at the time like one of the more controversial of the 17 contests between the 2 clubs.
Looking back after a week, though; apart from a little bit of toy-rattling, a few controversial decisions (surprise, surprise!) and a touch of rather stale sledging (more Nerys Hughes than Merv Hughes), there was nothing too drastic and, compared to a Kingston Lefthanders v Morden fixture, it was a positive love-in.
All Nomads reached the ground by 2 pm for the first time in ages but, due to the start being re-arranged for 1:15 (which was not in fact viable as the booking was from 1:30) we were still late. Anyway, a 35-over match was agreed to due to the Sunday evening tube strike.
Nomads' skipper Emil Todorow controversially inserted the Exiles but, as if to make amends, recovered from a wayward first over to impose a stranglehold early on, together with Hassan Khan, his trusty new ball partner. After 8 overs the score was only 10 and the home side were postively rattling through their work in the hope that Exiles would not notice their scoring rate was only 1.25 . Both Exiles openers, Keith Roberts and Quentin Davies, were put down early on but we hoped the lack of an early wicket might prove less significant in a 35-over contest than in the usual 40-a-side affair. Around the 10-over mark Davies grabbed the reins with 2 firm 4s but the introduction of the quicker Zia caused the threatening-looking opener to mistime and Mark Bradshaw moved smartly to take a good catch at mid-wicket.
No. 3 John Tither increased the rate only slightly at first against some accurate bowling. Despite some high bounce for the quicks at the Morden Road End, I thought it was a good pitch (several batsmen disagreed with this though - but at least there were none of the usual Merton Council pea-rollers.)
After 16 overs the score was only around 40 and Nomads cynically moved the drinks break from the usual 17 or 18 over mark to 19 overs in the hope that Roberts and Tither would continue to play cautiously up to the break. This ploy failed as Tither opened up in the 17th over taking at least 10 off Zia and he didn't look back from there, playing the latest in a series of fine knocks against us before finally being caught for 65 off only 48 balls including nine 4s and a 6. I met John Tither a few days later and he said he never really felt like he got in on that pitch. Well, Christ, I wouldn't like to bowl to him when he does get in. His stand with Keith Roberts realised 83 and put Exiles firmly in the driving seat. Nomads had only 4 recognised front-line bowlers but Darwin and Prasanth did a pretty good job in bowling the spare 7 between them. Darwin accounted for Wil Scott quickly but this proved counter-productive as it just brought our perennial nemesis, Simon Gundry, to the crease earlier than we would have liked. The big man's fans in the Exiles camp, and grudging admirers in the Nomads camp, were treated to the usual display of power-hitting as two towering sixes were the highlight of his 19-ball 25 not out.
As usual, Keith Roberts supplied obdurate and annoyingly-left-handed support for most of the Exiles innings. If you had to pick someone at this level to stay in to save your life, you could do a lot worse than pick Roberts. Even Emil couldn't prise him out this time and it took a brilliant 30-yard direct hit from Zia to finally send him on his way. Quickish runs from Amil Patel and Andy Wingfield helped the score up to a formidable 179 at the close.
Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas opened Nomads' reply and faced the usual pairing of Andy Wingfield and Naren Patel. This time though, it appeared that all eyes were on the men in white coats after the previous game's "revealing insight/sun and alcohol-induced rant" by John Crossland about Nomads' umpiring. Wingfield made a quick breakthough as Vyas unluckily deflected the ball onto his own stumps. Prasanth Pattiyil joined Bradshaw and the two made circumspect progress and, once again, saw off the opening pair for the loss of just one wicket. There were 2 massive shouts for LBW against Prasanth. One looked pretty close; the other - hitting the batsman on the toe a yard-and-a-half outside the crease at the bouncy end - was not so close. Nomads innings followed a rather similar pattern to Exiles' as we were in the 40s after 16 overs. The difference was that we were not quite able to accelerate at this stage as rapidly as John Tither had done. Having said that, Mark and Prasanth played well and moved past the 50 partnership (do this pair ever not make a 50 partnership?) Mark continued his fine run and accumulated another good score against his former club which cannot be easy as they know his game inside out.
Although the required rate was nudging 9 an over, Nomads had 4 genuine big-hitters to come so we weren't quite out of the contest. Prasanth finally fell for 31 and thus ushered in Batsman of the Year so far, Jim Joyce. Sadly he could only really connect with one of his big shots and fell quickly. No. 5 Nick Lefebve had captain's orders to either get the scoreboard moving or get Hassan in, and he soon achieved one of these objectives - the latter.
Our No. 6 has not been quite at his brilliant best in some previous games against these opponents but he made amends here with some excellent batting. Even S. Gundry got some tap. Bradshaw joined in another 50 stand - this one much more rapid - and at one point the asking rate dipped towards 8. What seemed likely to thwart us, though, was that Gundry and Wingfield both had overs in hand. Martin Thomas also bowled an excellent spell with the exception of one very expensive over. When I left with 5 overs to go, Nomads needed around 50. I'm told that 36 were needed off 4 and then 20 off the final over which featured a controversial run out call. Nomads came up 13 short but this margin possibly flattered us slightly. At no stage in our innings did Nomads really look in charge and, as a betting man, I would not have set odds of shorter than 5-2 at any stage of our knock. Mind you, Zia was caught on the boundary and I'm told the shot would otherwise have gone for 6. Exiles had the edge this time though, with Tither's batting and the extra depth and variety in their bowling being crucial. Not that it was a bad performance from the Nomads and anyone sad enough to tally up aggregate scores would notice that the 13-run defeat left us ahead over the 2 matches. Personally, I would have to deplore this kind of pettiness but also point out that the actual aggregate margin for 2011 is 61 runs.
Mark Bradshaw finished on 48 not out but a consolation for missing out on his 50 is that he now averages 53 for Nomads in games against the Exiles. Bradshaw was ahead on points for Fielder of the Day for taking yet another catch against the Exiles (a good one) and an excellent scrambling stop right on the boundary, but Zia's direct hit was enough for a share. I'm not sure about Man of the Match until I see the scorebook.
Man of the Match update; Hassan Khan - by far the most economical bowler and 37 runs in good time which put us back in with an outside chance at one stage.

ENERGY EXILES - 179 for 5 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-4-13-1
Todorow 7-2-31-0
R. Khan 7-2-24-0
Zia 7-1-38-2
Darwin 5-0-39-1
P. Pattiyil 2-0-16-0
CLAPHAM NOMADS - 166 for 6 from 35 overs.

Bradshaw 48 not out
Vyas 1
Pattiyil 31
Joyce 6
Lefebve 1
H. Khan 37
Zia 9
R. Khan 8 not out

F.O.W. - 5, 61, 67, 69, 131, 157

Nomads lost by 13 runs

Southern Railway & Kenley v Clapham Nomads - 12/6/11

2011-06-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

We had been looking forward to this Conference Fixture as Little Roke Road, Kenley, is one of the nicest grounds in the South London/Croydon area. Sadly, persistent rain meant that the sensible option to cancel was taken by the home skipper at about 11:15. At least we were saved a wasted journey and gazing out at steady drizzle, or sliding around on a muddy track for a few overs; or -even worse - another 9-hour drinking session.

Bec Old Boys v Clapham Nomads - 5/6/11

2011-06-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

A high-class encounter seemed on the cards as unbeaten Nomads made the arduous journey down to South Cheam to take on the Bec Old Boys (or Be Cold Boys as some internet search engines have it - appropriately given the weather.)
Bec are a fine side and chased down our total of 191 in only 30 overs last year. They contain a sprinkling of Saturday League players who were reminded by Wicketkeeper Chez Browne at the start; "remember lads, yesterday was business; today is pleasure." The Old Boys looked distinctly unconvinced by this as they wiped the drizzle from the hair.
In the absence of regular opener Mark Bradshaw, Prasanth Pattiyil joined Mahesh Vyas at the wicket to face an all-spin opening attack of Brian Gittens and Peter Seaden. Bowling right-arm round the wicket off-spin, Gittens was the more awkward of the two with regular off-spin and a good Arm Ball. His early LBW shout against Vyas was probably missing off, but not by a lot. Both opening bowlers did have a tendency to overpitch and it was from full tosses that Nomads' openers scored a fair proportion of their runs. Our lads cracked along at 6 an over; the highlight was a fine pushed cut through Cover Point from Pattiyil which was a carbon copy of the shot often played by Mark Bradshaw. Vyas also seized well on anything loose and the only blemishes on an excellent opening stand were a couple of mix-ups running between the wickets. At one point, Umpire Todorow amusingly abandoned his role as umpire for a moment in mid-over and called the pair together for a mid-pitch conference. You didn't get that with Dickie Bird.
Gittens made the breakthough in the 7th over with Vyas playing across to a straight one that kept a little low. 37 for 1 was a good start and when Jim Joyce smote his second ball out of the screws over Square Leg's head for 4, it looked radiantly healthy.
Joyce had found his timing immediately but unfortunately whacked a Seaden delivery straight to Deep Mid-Wicket in the next over and fell for 4.
Hassan Khan joined Pattiyil and the pair upped the scoring rate against Gittens from 3.5 an over off his first 4, to almost 9 an over from his last 3. Seaden was replaced by Nav Jaswal as the score raced through the 50s and 60s. Jaswal bowled with good pace last year and, though he didn't reach this same speed this time, he accounted for Prasanth Pattiyil. A slightly unlucky wicket as the batsman's stump was just clipped behind his legs from a ball that kept low, depriving Prasanth of the second successive 50 that seemed likely.
Sumith Prasanna maintained the momentum with a quick-fire 14 including 3 boundaries. Hassan Khan was looking solid but the brakes were put on our scoring rate by the introduction after 14 overs of Bec's 2 League bowlers; Khaled Muhammed and Mason. In the last over before drinks the wily First Team bowler Muhammed, a leg-spinner with plenty of variation and a dangerous quicker ball, bowled Sumith and, 2 balls later, bowled last week's batting hero Zia.
Suddenly we were 104 for 5 from 17 overs and No 7 Nick Lefebve was ordered to play the anchor role by skipper Todorow and Tactical Advisor John Crossland. Lefebve was only too willing to do this against some probing slow bowling but his defensive mindset seemed to rub off on his partner Hassan, who is normally full of shots at this stage of an innings. The plan was to see off the dangerous-looking Muhammed - which was achieved, and milk some runs from Mason - which was not so easy as the bowler produced an excellent spell of slow-medium bowling with regular yorkers. The partnership realised 8 off 38 balls and only the steady drizzle prevented spectators from enjoying an afternoon nap. Bec's fielders maintained an impressive level of enthusiasm though, with one chap appealing several times before the ball had even reached the batsman.
Mason finally accounted for Hassan with possibly the ball of the day; a sharp off-cutter which cramped the batsman and made him edge an attempted cut onto his own stumps. Mason followed up by bowling Abdul first ball. Riaz provided some much-needed entertainment with 3 improvised fours off Muhammed who was beginning to struggle bowling with a wet ball. Batting was also becoming tricky in the conditions. Riaz fell to Mason's last ball. Emil Todorow joined Lefebve and such batting basics as nimble footwork and eyesight were near to impossible as the bespectacled pair peered out in search of the ball. Lefebve was having to wipe his glasses every couple of balls by now and, when offered the chance to go off for rain, he showed his smartest footwork off the day by tuning on his heel instantly and striding off.
An early tea was taken but the rain just got steadier and the game was called off around 5 o'clock. We joined Old Boys for some excellent hospitality in their upstairs bar, including complimentary Cava for our lads to celebrate maintaining our unbeaten record.
I can only guess at what the result would have been. If I had to set a Betting Spread for our final total it would be 138-140 and I have a hunch Bec's batsmen might just have had the experience to chase this successfully with conditions not favouring our quicker bowlers, but who knows...
Man of the Match is Prasanth Pattiyil who produced the highest score and possibly the most impressive batting of the day. For the second match in a row he was a little unlucky to be out.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 129 for 8 from 28.3 overs

M. Vyas b Gittens 14
P. Pattiyil b Jaswal 33
J. Joyce c ? b Seaden 4
H. Khan b Mason 32
S. Prasanna b Muhammed 14
Zia b Muhammed 0
N. Lefebve not out 6
A. Khan b Mason 0
R. Khan c Jaswal b Mason 14
E. Todorow not out 0
Did not bat; J. Crossland

F.O.W. - 37, 42, 80, 104, 104, 112, 112, 128

Match abandoned as a draw

The Umpiring Controversy - 29/5/11

2011-06-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

After Sunday's match, John Crossland provided some pub entertainment by disclosing Club Policy...er, I mean alleging that "Nomads just don't give LBWs." Now, a conversation between Nomads and Exiles about umpiring dismissals may be likened by cynics to 2 fish chatting about mountaineering, but that is not the whole picture. A quick perusal of scorebooks and websites reveals that a sprinkling of LBW decisions have been awarded by both sides in recent years. Here are 3 of the better-known examples from the "whitewash" season of 2009.

1) 28/5/09 at CSSC Chiswick (Exiles 141 for 8 beat Nomads 140 for 8 by 2 wickets)
Hassan Khan LBW b Utley 0.

A quite remarkable decision by Umpire Reeve after the Nomads all-rounder had not just got in a decent stride, but had actually embarked on a lengthy hike reminiscent of Wainwright. Impartial(ish) witnesses claimed Khan was closer to Reeve than he was to his own stumps. Hassan averaged 42.33 with the bat in 2009 and even half that number of runs would probably have seen Nomads home in a close match.

RATINGS;
Quality of Decision - 1 out of 10
Influence on Match - 8 out of 10
Entertainment Value - Grim, but a talking point; 5 out of 10

2) - 28/5/09 at CSSC Chiswick (Match scores as above.)
Nick Lefebve LBW b Knight 8

Lefebve had already swept the big medium pacer twice and, in looking for a repeat, crouched in front of his stumps only to be thudded by an in-swinger. Umpire Jim "Sex Appeal" Ferguson, hard but fair as ever, ruled correctly. Lefebve is sadly no Hassan but a couple of leg-side slogs would have pushed Nomads up towards 150.

RATINGS;
Quality of Decision - 9 out of 10
Influence on Match - 5 out of 10
Entertainment value - a regulation dismissal; 3 out of 10

3) - 13/9/09 at Dundonald Road (Exiles 129 beat Nomads 116 by 13 runs)
John Crossland LBW b M. Thomas 0

A very tight game in which Exiles clinched the humiliating 3-0 whitewash over Nomads.
Clapham needed 19 to win off 7.3 overs when last man John Crossland came in. Nomads had a fair chance as, at the non-striker's end, stood Emil Todorow who was on fire (or "well-set" in his own modest words) on either 15 or 17 (total subject to a scoring dispute.) Nomads had managed 5 of these when, sadly, Crossland stood right in front and padded away a good length ball from his naggingly accurate former team-mate, Martin Thomas. Umpire Fewson's finger went up like the cork from a champagne bottle. It was alleged that Crossland told the umpire later; "I thought you might have let me off that one, Ben."

RATINGS;
Quality of Decision - 10 out of 10
Influence on Match - 7 out of 10
Entertainment Value - Certainly had its amusing side; 9 out of 10

1)

Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 29/5/11

2011-06-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Late May Bank Holiday Sunday means just one thing in South London club cricket; another clash between fierce but friendly rivals Clapham Nomads and Energy Exiles - an Old Firm Derby in all but name yet without the sectarian chanting (well, not much of it anyway.)
Regular reading of Exiles' excellent website (I don't have much of a life) revealed the disturbing stat that a certain Mr Daniel Killaly (Australian judging by his name and strike-rate) had scored 245 runs in 3 games off a mere 130 balls. Adding him to Exiles' already formidable middle-order hitters Gundry and Wingfield represented a major headache for Nomads - one that only eased when we eventually came to a tactical decision; just get Emil Todorow to bowl at them.
In the event, a leaked e-mail a few days before the game announced that Killaly had had to return to the Antipodes for the rest of the summer. Wishing him a safe flight, unencumbered by volcanic ash or any other delay, we breathed a tiny sigh of relief.
Further relief was sighed on Sunday when we arrived at the Del Ballard Rec in Wimbledon and found that Nomads' recent nemesis, Simon Gundry, was also missing from the line-up.
Not that we were complacent as, with the toss won, openers Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas strode out to face one of the most reliably awkward new ball pairings at this level; Andy Wingfield and Naren Patel. Wingfield had first go against his former team-mate. "You can get him, Andy," someone called. "What, again?" another chirped. Wingfield seemed to have added some extra variations since last year and bowled at his usual lively pace and managed to move the ball both ways off the pitch and sharply inwards through the air. Bradshaw has started the season very solidly and, to be honest, rarely looks like getting out. Naren Patel's first ball dropped uncharacteristically short outside off-stump and Bradshaw played his signature cut for 4. To me, umpiring at Square Leg, Patel appeared to have added half a yard of pace since we last faced him and he soon had Vyas caught smartly at slip.
Out came Prasanth Pattiyil who has had many fine partnerships with Bradshaw and the pair got their heads down impressively. There was a double bowling change on 10 overs with the score on 34 for 1 - pretty acceptable against Exiles' attack. Off-spinner John Tither showed good control and turn but at the other end, Pattiyil took an immediate liking to the bowling of Gwyn Thomas with 3 successive 4s in his first over, including 2 straight beauties. The partnership strode past 50 with Bradshaw treating Tither with a good deal of respect, using his pads judiciously on occasions. Nomads were batting themselves into a strong position and there was an early recall for Naren Patel. The experienced seamer made the breakthrough, producing something clever from his Pandora's Box that found the leading edge of Bradshaw's bat and looped up to the slips. Still, that's 36, 38 and 39 for Mark in his last 3 innings, very consistent batting and a boost to his already impressive average for Nomads in games against his old club.
Patel almost followed up in the same over by rapping Hassan Khan's pads for an lbw shout that was really rather close. His luck turned the next over when he clipped the outside of Pattiyil's off-stump. A glance at the crease footmarks from the sleep-deprived umpire hinted that this just might have been a fractional no-ball but, by then, the batsman was nearing the pavilion. A quick count of the scorebook gave Prasanth's total as 50. Well done. A nice guy and a classy batsman on his day.
97 for 3 and this innings was starting to follow a horribly familiar pattern of middle order collapses against Energy. No. 5 was new man Zia, another find from the Riaz Khan Production Line of Talent. You always sit up and take note when Riaz brings a new player as he has unearthed more Star Quality than Simon Cowell (Rafi, Asad etc). Riaz did warn though, that Zia had not played for some years. This was soon evident as he took several almighty heaves at Gwyn Thomas without coming close to connecting, clearly struggling to read the pace of the pitch. Exiles' third-change bowler was off-spinner Keith Roberts, who famously bowled John Chance in his last spell against Nomads. Roberts quickly showed he hasn't lost his knack of dismissing quality players, bowling Hassan Khan for 8 and dropping Nomads in a hole at 101 for 4.
No. 6 Chris Kennedy hasn't batted for some time but he got his eye in by blocking a few balls soundly and then Zia finally got off the mark when Roberts gifted him a full toss which was roundly walloped to the leg-side fence. That relaxed Zia no end and the next ball went for 6. There was a cracking on-drive from Kennedy before he fell with score on 130. This was much more healthy, with overs and some batting to come. Abdul Khan supported Zia with a quick 15. Riaz didn't last too long but by then it was all about Zia who was evidently a class act and cracked some beautiful straight hits. It took the paternal influence of No. 9 Emil Todorow to really allow the youngster to blossom. Zia just accelerated more and more and capped it all by taking 22 off a Roberts over and hitting the tricky Tither for 6 off the third-last ball of the innings. His stand of 35 with the skipper came off only 17 balls and took Nomads up to 211 (the same as last week) at the close.
In the words of John Crossland, "Zia's innings made the total formidable," but Mark and Prasanth played vital knocks as well. At any rate, it was in excess of anything Exiles have scored against us (I think). Their batting line-up did appear a bit stronger then their bowling but, without Gundry and Killaly, we took the field after the break with some degree of confidence (unusual against these opponents.)
Sri Pathmanathan led the Exiles reply. A dangerous player when set, he has scored a 50 and at least one other good score against Nomads but on this occasion played too many aerial shots and was pouched for 8. Jasper Searle (2 from 21 balls) and Wil Scott (1 from 16) really struggled against the bowling of Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow, bowlers who are becoming so miserly this season that they consider every run taken off them to be a personal affront. The score after 10 overs was little more than 15 and this was leaving Exiles, shorn of some of their biggest guns, with a heck of a lot to do. No. 4 Quentin Davies can get the scoreboard rolling and he was joined by John Tither, who certainly can once he gets going. Tither, a former Northumberland League player, is well capable of a major score at better than a run a ball and he soon began to play some classy drives wide of long-off. He only played one real aerial shot that I can recall and this was prevented from going for 4 by Emil Todorow's lip.
Nomads had four recognised front-line bowlers but, with a good stand developing between Davies and Tither which eventually realised 51, it appeared we could be depending on Zia to bowl well. The debutant didn't disappoint; wayward at times (he received a final warning after his second beamer) he bowled with enough pace and accuracy to work his way through Exiles' middle order with 4 clean bowleds. The last of the recognised batsmen, Keith Roberts and Andy Wingfield came together with 7 down but with a required rate of above 10 an over. There was little danger left when a few comments were traded over a big caught behind shout at this stage, but the umpire didn't hear any snick and that is good enough for me. (Some of Nomads' umpires would hardly win a Mr Popularity contest, in any case - more of which later.)
I left with 80 needed off 3 and Keeper John Crossland quickly caught Naren Patel to wrap up a fine victory. New man Zia obviously played a massive part in this but don't forget that we were missing our top batsman of the season so far; Jim Joyce (current batting average 84.50) and, of course, we were also missing the bowling of Andrew West.
Man of the Match was clearly Zia, but honourable mentions for Prasanth Pattiyil and Mark "Mr Consistent" Bradshaw and, of course, those 2 Tightwads who open our bowling. I would award Fielder of the Day to Abdul Khan, whose deadly arm produced a direct hit which made Exiles think twice about taking quick singles (so often a big part of their game.)

CLAPHAM NOMADS 211 for 7 from 40 overs

M. Bradshaw, c Davies (?) b Patel 39
M. Vyas, c Davies (?) b Patel 1
P. Pattiyil, b Patel 50
H. Khan, b Roberts 8
Zia, not out 74
C. Kennedy, c Tither (?) b G.Thomas 6
A. Khan, b Roberts 15
R. Khan, b Wingfield 3
E. Todorow, not out 3
Did not bat; N. Lefebve, J. Crossland

F.O.W. - 12, 85, 97, 101, 130, 165, 176

Exiles' bowling;

A. Wingfield 8-1-37-1
N. Patel 8-2-26-3
J. Tither 8-1-26-0
G. Thomas 8-1-44-1
K. Roberts 8-0-75-2

ENERGY EXILES 137 all out from 37.5 overs

S. Pathmanathan, c H.Khan b Todorow 8
J. Searle, c R. Khan b H. Khan 2
W. Scott, c Crossland b H. Khan 1
Q. Davies, b Zia 22
J. Tither, b Zia 41
A. Patel, b Zia 4
S. Johnston, b Zia 3
K. Roberts, run out 16
A. Wingfield, b H.Khan 18
G. Thomas, not out 0
N. Patel, c Crossland b Todorow 2

F.O.W. - 10, 15, 15, 66, 80, 95, 108, 131, 135, 137

Nomads' bowling;

H. Khan 7-1-11-3
E. Todorow 7.5 1-21-2
A. Khan 8-0-32-0
R. Khan 8-0-27-0
Zia 7-0-40-4

CLAPHAM NOMADS WON BY 74 RUNS

Dulwich v Clapham Nomads - 22/5/11

2011-05-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

I'll keep it quite brief - a relief to everyone - as it is 6 days now since the match and I don't have the scorebook at the moment. (Ill fill in the gaps later.)
A well-paced opening stand of 74 between Mark Bradshaw (38) and Mahesh Vyas (39) set up an impressive Nomads total. Cautious at first on a green strip against some accurate bowling, they accelerated at around the 10-over mark and built a strong platform for our aggressive middle order.
Another excellent knock from Jim Joyce, if anything scoring even more freely than last week. It was almost a surprise when he was out for 55. His 3rd wicket stand of 87 in excellent time with Hassan Khan (34) was the highlight of Nomads' innings and was probably the deciding factor as no Dulwich player was able to keep up that rate of scoring for an extended period. Some good hits from Sumith Prasanna and Riaz Khan took us up to 211 for 6 from 40 overs. Not a bad haul against a decent bowling attack. The pitch played pretty well throughout. For me the pick of the Dulwich bowlers was the 15-year-old spinner Edwards who was accurate and maintained this even when he got a bit of tap towards the end of his spell. Dulwich have a production line of these promising youngsters and it would be nice to think that some of them will go on to play for Dulwich Firsts or even Surrey.
Once again, our bowling appeared to lack a bit of depth but the target of 212 was well in excess of anything Dulwich have achieved against us so we had high hopes. We had planned to show no emotion whatsoever at the fall of the first wicket (to wind up John Crossland, who had berated his neighbour at slip, Mahesh, the previous week for failing to hail a greet a catch vociferously) but in the end we forgot ourselves in the excitement of securing an early breakthough. After this setback, Dulwich played themselves back into contention with an excellent stand of 70 between Persaud and Leather. This pair played a series of fine shots, particularly Leather who was hard to pin down. Persaud was dropped in the 20s and for a brief period this looked as if it might be costly. Leather made 50 in good time and, while Dulwich never quite managed to really beat down the required rate, these 2 began to look dangerous. The vital wicket of Leather was secured by Abdul and, though Persaud also went on to 50, the big shots dried up and the required rate began to approach 8.
Although not quite at his best with the ball, Emil Todorow shuffled his bowling options cleverly and rather frequently - it was almost worth the 8:40 finish to watch a master tactician in action. Hassan and Riaz bowled excellent economical spells and Abdul and Sumith also kept the pressure on. Wickets tumbled as the asking rate rose. Just as victory seemed beyond Dulwich with around 35 needed off 2 overs, Ford arrived at the crease and casually lifted a Jim Joyce delivery clean out of the ground. He followed this up with a text-book 4 and it was something of a relief when Joyce yorked his partner shortly after to wrap up a 20-run victory. Dulwich supremo John Lawrence confirmed afterwards that it was only Ford's second game for the club and, had a bit more been known about him, he would have batted higher. This just might have made the outcome rather different.
Man of the Match was Jim Joyce again for another fine and entertaining knock. He was also the skipper's pick for Fielder of the Day. Plenty of other good performances; Mark Bradshaw continued his sound batting form and fielded well with one spectacular diving flick-back right on the rope. Hassan Khan and Abdul Khan both did plenty for the team and Riaz Khan was possibly the pick of the bowlers. Finally, John Crossland was not about to start conceding byes just because he had done a 40-mile charity bike ride that morning.

Clapham Nomads 211 for 6 from 40 overs

Bradshaw 38
Vyas 39
Joyce 55
H. Khan 34
Darwin 0
Prasanna 5 not out
A. Khan 4
R. Khan 8 not out

F.O.W. - 74, 104, 191, 192, 195, 203

Dulwich - 190 for 5 from 40 overs

R. Khan - 8-2-22-1
Todorow - 8-1-51-0
A. Khan - 8-1-41-1
Prasanna - 5-0-21-1
Joyce - 2-0-19-1
Darwin - 1-0-4-0
H. Khan - 8-1-29-0

Nomads won by 21 runs

Clapham Nomads v Wimbledon Corinthians - 15/5/11

2011-05-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Our second opponents of the season were old rivals Wimbledon (formerly Morden) Corinthians, with whom we stand 1 win apiece from 2 games, but a team who absolutely hammered us by 9 wickets in our last encounter 5 years ago. In arranging this fixture, though, Corinthians' supremo Jim Patel had promised that most of their South Africans had left since 2006.
When we arrived at our temporary Riverside home, Barn Elms, it was clear that Corinthians had lost none of their noted professionalism and will to win as the whole team was immersed in a very high octane net session. Meanwhile, Nomads studied the various pitches on offer. Unfortunately the only untouched strip was kids' length and so we had to opt for a track that showed signs of use.
Skipper Todorow won the toss but, against his will, had to bat first due to several late arrivals.
Corinthians' opening bowlers started brightly and pretty accurately. There were immediate signs of irregular low bounce and a cloud of despondency settled over Nomads as we realised that, with our middle order stuck in a car near Putney, grim survival was our immediate aim and not an easy one.
Mahesh Vyas was bowled by a yorker early on and Mark Bradshaw and No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil set about clinging on and salvaging what scraps were available. Determination took them through to the 8th over when Pattiyil was unlucky to play on off the inside edge to a ball that kept low. By now Nomads had a full team but, at 15 for 2, the mood had hardly lifted and there were whispers that we would do well to reach 60. This did not appear a situation tailor-made for No. 4 Jim Joyce, a cavalier and flamboyant shotmaker, but Joyce applied himself well, saving most of his big shots for anything short and towards the leg. He played 2 cracking pulls through mid-wicket off 1st changer Steve O'Neill, a crafty veteran of the South London amateur scene, and this gave the scoreboard some much-needed impetus. At the other end, Mark Bradshaw was playing a vital hand, grafting away and taking very few chances. It began to become clear that few balls that were actually on the stumps were bouncing all that irregularly and we started to hope that we could at least get close to batting out the full 35 overs. Drinks were taken at 56 for 2 off 18.
Joyce found another gear after the break, playing shot after shot with a good clean middle, scoring mainly between straight and mid-wicket. He raced to 50 and took 3 boundaries off the first over from Corinthians' left-arm spinner, who was the only bowler to look like prising out our man; a catch going down in the deep and a leg-before shout adjudged to have just possibly bounced three times. Mark Bradshaw continued to provide valuable support and never looked like being out. Joyce reached 97 and scorer John Crossland urged spectators not to tell him he was close to a century. The crowd then gave the game away by rapturously applauding a boundary and yelling "100" before realising that Bradshaw had played the shot. The landmark was soon achieved in any case - Jim's first for the Nomads. He did once score 232 and the rumour goes that this was in a 20-20 match.
Mark was out shortly before the end to wrap up an epic partnership of 145 which is not the highest in Nomads' history but, given the treacherous wicket, the decent bowling and the parlous position at which it commenced, may be one of the finest. Nomads closed shortly after on 163 for 3 from the full 35 and we sensed that we may need every one of those runs against a strong-looking Corinthians batting side.
Nomads bowling line-up appeared depleted and it was imperative to strike early. A quick breakthrough came when Hassan Khan got one to keep low, awkwardly for the very tall batsman. Another wicket fell quickly but Nomads then had a poor 20 minutes in the field, dropping 2 regulation catches and making a string of errors on the ground. The South African Brendan was the beneficiary of several of these mistakes and he began to look as if he might capitalise with some clean, straight groundshots. It took a piece of brilliance from second-change bowler Darwin to finally dismiss him, with an excellent caught and bowled an inch or two from the turf. By this time Emil Todorow had taken his customary two wickets in two balls. The second of which he appeared to achieve by force of personality as the batsman, no mug judging by his stance and his bowling earlier on, just backed away to an ordinary good-length ball on the stumps. To be fair to the batsman it was quite a windy day and he may have been distracted by Emil's hair fluttering in the breeze. Once again there was no hat-trick but it is surely just a matter of time and the celebrations and free drinks are eagerly anticipated.
There was no room for complacency as Corinthians' No. 6 began to crack the ball around very stylishly from the word go. Had he lasted a few more overs it could have been fatal to our cause but fortunately a good pressure catch from Jim Joyce in the deep sent him on his way.
Abdul Khan bowled a good 7-over spell at below the required run-rate. Sumith Prasanna also prevented Wimbledon from accelerating too drastically. 50 were needed with 9 overs to go, and around 32 from 5. Wickets were falling steadily but we were running out of regular bowlers and it seemed Corinthians batted all the way down to No. 11 O'Neill. Bravely, Prasanth Pattiyil, who has not been a regular bowler for the past year or so, showed no hint of nerves and sent down some good accurate medium pace and finished an exciting game off with 2 quick wickets. Nomads winning by a margin of 14 runs.
This was an excellent victory, set up by some outstanding batting. An under-strength bowling line-up performed well to defend our total and it was good practice in finishing off a game in a tight situation. Hopefully this bodes well for our 29th May match against Energy Exiles, a fixture that usually produces a close finish.
Jim Joyce is certainly the only Nomads player to play football for a team that has won the FA Cup (Clapham Rovers), so it was fitting that he wins the Man of the Match award on Cup Final weekend, a mere 131 years after Rovers provided the finest sporting moment in Clapham's history (well, until Andrew West took 5 wickets against Phoenix that is.) Fielder of the day is Darwin again, that's 4 catches in 2 games for Nomads' safest pair of hands. Speaking of safe hands, John Crossland kept well again on another tricky pitch and flung himself full-length on at least one occasion to save a run or two, a feat that was matched this week by his neighbour at First Slip, Mahesh Vyas. The gymnastic prowess shown by these two reminds me a little bit of Lyudmilla Tourischeva (and they may even be old enough to know what I am talking about.)

Clapham Nomads 163 for 3 from 35 overs;

M. Bradshaw 36
M. Vyas 0
P. Pattiyil 3
J. Joyce 109 not out
S. Prasanna 2 not out

Did not bat; H. Khan, Darwin, A.Khan, N. Lefebve, E. Todorow, J.Crossland

F.O.W. - 4, 15, 160

Wimbledon Corinthians 149 all out from approximately 33 overs

(Bowling Figues will follow when I have managed to copy the opposition's score book.)

Nomads won by 14 runs

Clapham Nomads v Barnes Occasionals - 8/5/11

2011-05-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

There was a familiar feeling to the start of the new season as Nomads took on long-standing opponents Barnes Occasionals at New Malden's Beverley Park; a regular venue for us in the early 2000s which has the distinction of being John Crossland's least favourite ground.

Occasionals were a mixture of standing dishes; Keith Seed, the Hogg brothers, Roger Price, Luke Bedford, along with some worryingly athletic-looking products of their youth policy. Seed acknowledged that it was one of their stronger line-ups and he also remarked, presciently, that 130 could be a decent score on this pitch.

Nomads were reduced to 10 men by the non-appearance of Terry Bruce-Mills. The bad news was that we only fielded 4 regular front-line bowlers. The good news was that one of them was Andrew West.

After 2 months of drought broken just the previous night by very heavy rain, and with little piles of grass seed lying around expectantly, the track was of concern. Occasionals' battery of spinners and awkward slow-medium line-and-length bowlers couldn't wait for their turn and Nomads were inserted by Barnes skipper Roger Price.

Openers Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas made an understandably cautious start, looking for quick singles while they assessed the pitch. In truth, it was nowhere near as bad as it could have been, though painfully slow and with some high, irregular bounce for Ollie Hogg. Hogg also supplied Vyas with two high full-tosses on leg and middle and the resultant 8 runs eased the pressure a little. Bradshaw looked sound and was beginning to find the gaps in the off-side field, being denied a boundary on at least one occasion by the long grass. The other opening bowler, Soper, was the more threatening of the two, sloping it in awkwardly and, with the score on 22, finding the edge of Bradshaw's bat with some sideways movement. Keeper Price held on to a good, low catch.

Jim Joyce announced his arrival with one of the shots of the day, a swashbuckling straight drive, but in attempting a follow-up he lofted the ball to long-on where Luke Bedford held on to a pressure catch.

Nomads' batting line-up appeared to lack a touch of depth and a lot depended on No.4 Hassan Khan. He dug in with determination but Barnes began to turn the heat up with Hogg finding the edge of M. Vyas' bat twice in an over. Leg-spinner Luke Bedford was introduced. A very big spinner of the ball, he initially over-pitched and was a touch predictable but once he had produced his googly in his third over, alarm bells rang and Vyas was bowled behind his legs with some acute turn - a leg-spinner's dream dismissal.

Nomads' innings hung in the balance at 40 for 3 but new man Darwin resumed the fine form he had shown at the end of last season with a solid 14, keeping H.Khan company in a vital stand of 39 during which the all-rounder began to accelerate. Khan found yet another gear in scoring all 22 runs of a 4-over partnership with Nick Lefebve. Khan despatched the bowling at will between mid-wicket and mid-on; a giant 6 off Bedford was the stand-out blow. Lefebve waited patiently for something nice on leg-stump but, when it came, he hit an Akram long-hop straight to backward square where Hogg O. rolled back the years with a fine diving catch. 101 for 5.

Hassan continued to play excellently right to the end and found some support from all the remaining batsmen; a quick 6 from Riaz Khan, a gritty, prizefighting 2 from Emil Todorow (undeterred by the 2 black eyes he had received in the nets last week,) and an entertaining stand of 10 with John Crossland full of manic running and an extraordinary attempted pull by Crossland which would have cleared the adjacent golf driving range and probably the A3 as well. The ball actually dropped at Crossland's feet but the fielders seemed slightly intimidated by the raw power of John's swing and yet another quick single was taken by the two postmen to leave Nomads on 131 for 7 off the full 35.

I made Occasionals clear favourites at the break, given the apparent strength of their line-up and their record against us, especially as we only had 4 front-line bowlers. A rate of under 4 seemed quite gettable on the slow and only slightly erratic pitch. Hassan struck a vital early blow in bowling Adam Hogg who has scored a century and at least three 50s in games against Nomads and Open University. The ball kept a bit low on Hogg and it must be acknowledged that the pitch did deteriorate somewhat during the 2nd innings. Hassan followed up with another quick wicket and appeared close to his best. There was sharp running during one stand early in Barnes' reply but few big shots and the score was only 20 after 9 overs. The other opening bowler, Emil Todorow, was bowling his inimitable mixture of yorkers and balls that reared up sharply off a good length - some may have blamed the pitch but all Todorow's many fans will be aware that he could get irregular bounce on glass. It was a fine spell from the veteran maestro and sure enough his reward came with 2 match-turning wickets in 2 balls. One of them looped up into the inner off-side and Jim Joyce and Hassan Khan converged on it. Joyce did well to hold onto the chance, particularly as John roared "Hassan's" just as it dropped into Joyce's hands.

Todorow narrowly missed a hat-trick when he produced another rearing, chest-high delivery and, sensing an opponent on the ropes, he moved in for the kill by introducing Andrew West into the attack. It was a pitch tailor-made for West who bowled a nice full length and let the ball do the work. Price, possibly Occasionals' star batsman, clipped West off his legs and Darwin held on to a good, sharp-ish catch.

The skipper sensed that he could finish off the job with his 4 main bowlers and he replaced himself with Riaz Khan, who was bang on the money with his new, experimental grip. Runs almost dried up but a steady stream of wickets continued. West was particularly impressive with his bowling-machine length which forced one batsman back almost onto his stumps for a plumb LBW. Two caught behinds from Crossland, who performed very well despite his well-publicised loathing of this ground, wrapped up the innings and a solid win for Nomads; only our third against this opposition.

Barnes Occasionals' collective air of suave urbanity only barely conceals a streak of solid steel and they are sure to come back at us very hard in the return match next month. This game will be played at Ham Street where we lost to Southall Eagles last year. If anything, that pitch tends to be more irregular in bounce than Beverley Park though rather quicker. Let's see what happens.

Man of the Match has to be Hassan Khan for his tight spell and for being the top batsman by some distance. All our bowlers earn an honourable mention. For Fielder of the Day I will go for Darwin who held probably the best catch to dismiss arguably Barnes' best batsman. A crucial moment.

CLAPHAM NOMADS 131 for 7 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw c Price b Soper 7
M. Vyas b Bedford 23
J, Joyce c Bedford b O.Hogg 5
Hassan Khan 62 not out
Darwin c and b Seed 14
N. Lefebve c O.Hogg b Akram 0
R. Khan lbw Soper 6
E. Todorow c ? b Seed 2
J. Crossland not out 1

Did not bat - A. West

F.O.W. - 21, 31, 40, 79, 101, 108, 121

Barnes Occasionals 54 from 20 overs

H. Khan 5-1-9-2
E. Todorow 7-1-14-2
A. West 5-1-20-3
R. Khan 3-1-6-3

Nomads won by 77 runs

Player of the Year etc - 2010

2010-12-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

There was little surprise that HASSAN KHAN was unanimously voted Player of the Year for 2010.
Hassan was also voted Batsman of the Year
Bowler of the Year was a share between Hassan and Gopi
Fielder of the Year was a share between Hassan and John Crossland

Averages for 2010 Season

2010-10-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

BATTING (qualification - 2 completed innings.)

Hassan Khan - Innings 15, Not out 0, Runs 692, HS 91, Average 46.13

Mark Bradshaw - Innings 13, Not out 2, Runs 397, HS 81*, Average 36.09

Jim Joyce - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs 64, HS 51, Average 32.00

Sumith Prasanna -Innings 4, Not out 0, Runs 117, HS 64, Average 29.25

Nick Lefebve - Innings 9, Not out 4, Runs 132, HS 42*, Average 26.40

Ben Fewson - Innings 6, Not out 0, Runs 145, HS 64, Average 24.17

Amin - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs 44, HS 43, Average 22.00

Darwin - Innings 3, Not out 1, Runs 40, HS 23*, Average 20.00

Riaz Khan - Innings 9, Not out 1, Runs 156, HS 42, Average 19.50

Bilal - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs 32, HS 19, Average 16.00

Mahesh Vyas - Innings 10, Not out 0, Runs 158, HS 60, Average 15.80

Prasanth Pattiyil - Innings 13, Not out 0. Runs 186, HS 35, Average 14.31

Gopi Pala - Innings 14, Not out 3, Runs 149, HS 41*, Average 13.55

Abdul Khan - Innings 6, Not out 0. Runs 72, HS 26, Average 12.00

Gideon Reeve - Innings 7, Not out 5, Runs 23. HS 16*, Average 11.50

Peter Moth - Innings 3, Not out 0, Runs 34, HS 14, Average 11.33

Emil Todorow - Innings 12, Not out 4, Runs 45, HS 15*, Average 5.63

John Crossland - Innings 7, Not out 3, Runs 10, HS 6*, Average 2.50

Sohail - Innings 2, Not out 0, Runs, 4, HS 4, Average 2.00

BOWLING (Qualification 10 overs or 4 wickets)

Tahir - Overs 14, Maidens 4, Runs 28, Wkts 4 BB 2-7, Average 7.00

Hassan Khan - Overs 91.2, Maidens 13, Runs 258, Wkts 25, BB 5-14, Average 10.32

Abdul Khan - Overs 9, Maidens 0, Runs 51, Wkts 4, BB 2-18, Average 12.75

Riaz Khan - Overs 34, Maidens 4, Runs 161, Wkts 11, BB 3-12, Average 14.64

Gopi Pala - Overs 95.1, Maidens 6, Runs 446, Wkts 27, BB 7-29, Average 16.52

Emil Todorow - Overs 107, Maidens 13, Runs 382, Wkts 20, BB 4-5, Average 19.10

Prasanth Pattiyil - Overs 16, maidens 1, Runs 98, Wkts 5, BB 4-31, Average 19.60

Gideon Reeve - Overs 38, Maidens 4, Runs 209, Wkts 10, BB 3-59, Average 20.90

Terry Bruce-Mills- Overs 22.1, Maidens 2, Runs 75, Wkts 2, BB 1-0, Average 37.50

CATCHES (Qualification 2 catches)

9 - Hassan Khan
7- John Crossland (all as wicketkeeper)
3 - Abdul Khan, Gideon Reeve, Gopi Pala
2- Amin, Ben Fewson (both as wicketkeeper), Mark Bradshaw, Riaz Khan, Prasanth Pattiyil

STUMPINGS

2 - John Crossland

PARTNERSHIP RECORDS FOR 2010

1st wicket - 93 - Mark Bradshaw & Mahesh Vyas - 22/8/10 v Touring Theatres
2nd wicket - 64 - Ben Fewson & Prasanth Pattiyil - 20/6/10 v Energy Exiles
3rd wicket - 133 - Mark Bradshaw & Hassan Khan - 12/9/10 v Surbiton Imperials
4th wicket - 75 - Hassan Khan & Jim Joyce - 30/5/10 v Touring Theatres
5th wicket - 48 - Prasanth Pattiyil & Nick Lefebve - 29/8/10 v Bec Old Boys
6th wicket - 62 - Hassan Khan & Abdul Khan - 4/7/10 v Caribbean Mix
7th wicket - 46 - Hassan Khan & Riaz Khan - 4/7/10 v Caribbean Mix
8th wicket - 45 - Riaz Khan & Emil Todorow - 23/5/10 v Energy Exiles
9th wicket - 33* - Gopi Pala & Emil Todorow - 4/7/10 v Caribbean Mix
10th wicket - 3 - Nick Lefebve & John Crossland - 25/7/10 v Chalfont St Peter

OVERALL RESULTS RECORD - 2010

Played - 16
Won - 8
Drawn - 1
Lost - 6
Other - 1 (This was the game against Kempton in May where rain prevented any further play halfway through the second innings. At the time, I claimed a victory under the Duckworth Lewis Formula but perhaps this was a bit petty. Maybe we should decide at the Annual Meeting whether this game should count as a win on D/L, a win on faster scoring rate, or a No Result.)

Update - 10/12/2010;

We didn't get round to discussing this at the meeting so I will just put it down as a win.

AMENDED OVERALL RESULTS RECORD - 2010

Played - 16
Won - 9
Drawn - 1
Lost - 6

Goodbye Gopi

2010-09-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

As there is no match on Sunday 19th, it seems that, very sadly, Gopi has played his last match for the club. He made his debut for the Nomads in the very eventful game against Morden on 12th July 2009, taking 3 vital wickets. The incidents and aggravation in that game did not put him off and he has only missed one game since then.
Even in his first match, he was calling out encouragement to the other players and he has kept this enthusiasm going all the way. He really has been a great pleasure to play with and has been one of the most popular players Clapham Nomads have had. Even opposition players have enjoyed playing with him as we saw by the massive cheer that Southall Eagles gave him when he came out to bat against them this season.
He took 25 wickets last season at an incredible average of 5.88. He had so many tricks up his sleeve and batsmen just fell for them time after time. He got several wickets with bouncers which were always enjoyable but my favourite was the slower ball which a Kingston Lefthanders batsman made 3 attempts to hit before the ball rolled onto the stumps.
It was always going to be difficult to follow that but, by bowling more orthodox Medium Pace this season, he has still had great success and is the highest wicket taker of the season with 27 (Hassan is next with 25.) His hat-trick against Chalfont St. Peter was a moment of pure joy and don't forget he took 7 for 29 that day - even the opposition wrote his name as "The Mighty Gopi" in their scorebook.
Perhaps his best point as a bowler is that he is such a consistent wicket-taker. He has bowled in all his Nomads appearances and on only one occasion has he failed to take a wicket.
He has shown this season that he is a good middle order batsman and has earned the right to be called an all-rounder. His 41 not out against West One in August was a particularly entertaining innings and I'm sure he would have made 50 if we had not run out of overs. His pace in the field meant that everyone in the club nicknamed him "Speedy."
We all enjoyed playing with you, Gopi, and hope you get to play some cricket in India. Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

Gopi's career statistics for Clapham Nomads;

25 appearances.
Man of the Match 4 times
Fielder of the Day 3 times
9 catches
BATTING - Innings 17; Not out 3 times; Runs scored 182; High score 41 not out; Average 13.00
BOWLING- Overs 135.5; Maidens 12; Runs conceded 593; Best bowling 7-29; Wickets 52; Bowling Average 11.40
Strike rate - A wicket every 15.67 balls
Economy rate - 4.37 per over
Top of the bowling Averages in 2009 with 5.88
Highest wicket-taker in 2010 with 27
CLUB RECORDS; Only man to take 2 hat-tricks in Nomads history.
Fastest player to take 50 wickets for the club

Clapham Nomads v Surbiton Imperials - 12/9/10

2010-09-16T03:45:00.000-07:00

The 4-week Raynes Park Festival concluded with a visit from Surbiton Imperials, a team that hammered us in our one previous meeting but really should become regular opponents, given that they play several of the teams that we play; Energy Exiles, Barnes Occasionals etc.

A 12-man Nomads squad lent Mahesh Vyas to the 9-man opposition and Nomads looked powerful on paper, with enough bowling strength to have a shot at subduing a Surbiton side that have won two-thirds of their matches this season. Andrew West finally made his first appearance of the season in a Nomads shirt. A white one.

Openers Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth Pattiyil have been in good form lately - Bradshaw especially - and it was soon clear that this form would be needed against the lively medium-fast left-arm swing bowler Siddique who was shaping it it into the bat threateningly and finding a little irregular bounce. Several balls kept a touch low and another one spat like a llama and found the splice of Prasanth's bat, just looping to safety. A good contest ensued with several decent LBW shouts from Siddique but the usual off-side blows and sharp singles from our pair. The other left-arm opener, Dan, posed little threat until he switched to round the wicket in the 8th over and angled one in to Pattiyil's pads in front. A possible inside edge saved our man who looked in the mood to take advantage with a cracking straight drive for 4 off Siddique in the next over. Unfortunately the bowler exacted quick revenge for this with a somewhat debatable caught behind decision 2 balls later. 24 for 1.

No. 3 Bilal had decided that his first ball really ought to go for 6. He failed by a yard, but continued in this vein, showing a desire to "clear his left leg." A few more lusty blows followed before he edged one straight up vertically as high as I have seen a cricket ball hit and the keeper held onto a real glove-stinger.

Hassan Khan strode out and Dan was inexplicably taken off. He had 2 overs to go and had just bowled the Ball of the Day. I doubt he could have removed Bradshaw, who was looking rock-solid by now, but he might just have had a shot at prising out H. Khan early which, on current form, is a bowler's only real chance against the increasingly Bradmanesque postal worker.

This pair put on 80 last week and, having played out Siddique's remaining over conservatively, and played first-changer Tom with ease, looked in with a chance of at least matching this.

Drinks were taken at around 80 for 2 off 18 overs but didn't disrupt our batsmen's rhythm. What followed was an exhibition by two fine players on top form. The second change bowler was Geoff, who once bowled an 18-ball over against Energy Exiles that yielded 31 runs. There was nothing like that on Sunday but there was plenty of sound play and class shots; likewise against spinners Eric and Kit who could have been awkward had the pitch played up but, as so often at Raynes Park, the track looked tough but was really just a big softie. Leg-spinner Kit caused Bradshaw some problems with his googly but once Mark began to pick it - the bowler cocks his head to one side for the googly (sorry to give away your secrets on the internet, Kit) - he reverted to the leg break, which sat up nicely outside off stump, with predictable results.

There was so much good batting that I will just give the highlights as a murderous stright drive from H. Khan and a textbook off / cover drive from Bradshaw right out of the screws. Imperials began to call anxiously for regular score updates. After one over Crossland called out 112 and then six balls later (and distracted by incessant questioning and badinage from Andrew West) he called out 160 in error. The fielders were so demoralised that they didn't really question him.

The batsmen reached 49 together and Khan was first to the half-century, his 6th of the season. The following over, Bradshaw notched his third successive 50 which was also his 50th half-century in competitive cricket; a brilliant achievement from a fine and consistent player, and a feat which, at current rates, would take me another 980 years to match.

A stand of 133 was finally broken when Geoff bowled Hassan for 78. Nomads had some capable hitters straining at the leash; 2 quick boundaries from Sumith Prasanna were followed by a cameo 11 not out from Tahir as fingers were kept firmly on the jugular right up to the final ball with Nomads closing on an imposing 220 for 4 off the full 35.

Tea was enlivened by a pleasant pasta-based milky dessert supplied by Hassan to celebrate Eid. Emil Todorow was certainly licking his lips in anticipation of juggling his strongest bowling line-up of the season, starring the unique talents of Nomads' 3rd highest all-time wicket-taker, Andrew West.

For a horrible moment early in Surbiton's innings it looked as if we would be deprived of our star medium pacer as West stopped a firm pull with his shin bone. He hopped several times before falling to earth with an impressive thud. Fortunately, Sunday Cricket's Most Injury-Prone Player soon staggered to his feet, skipped in a circle, swore vigorously and resumed fielding as if nothing had happened.

Our very own Mahesh Vyas was opening for Imperials together with Siddique in an awkward left-hand / right-hand pairing. Todorow fed Vyas one of his favourite leg-side full tosses before sensibly concentrating on an off-side line. Ominously though, Vyas began to play nicely on the off side. He always seems to bat well against the Nomads. Left-handed Siddique looked classy and pushed for regular ones and twos. The batsmen had a good understanding for men who had never met before and some quick singles were taken. Hassan Khan bowled accurately but Siddique took a liking to his slower ball with two 4s through long-off which kept Imperials in touch with the scoring rate.
A double bowling change after 10 overs brought on Tahir, our quickest bowler, and Gopi, in sadly possibly his last game for the Nomads. Mahesh Vyas rather ran out of steam against Tahir and, after narrowly avoiding being out LBW and bowled in successive balls, did a little dance to the big paceman on the third ball and was bowled for 13.
Gopi, our top wicket taker of the season so far, took a while to get into his rhythm and bowled a bit short at first but Tahir soon claimed his second wicket with a sharp, low caught and bowled. No. 4 Steve Parratt looked awkward at first but soon began to spank it around quite effectively. Drinks were taken after 18 overs and at 75 for 2, Surbiton needed above 8.5 an over. Their fine record this season indicated that they might just have the men to achieve this.
Gopi was a different bowler after the break and soon rattled the stumps twice. Siddique had been taking a few quick singles to Lefebve at mid-off but, attempting another, his partner failed to back up and Lefebve lobbed a throw over the jogging non-striker's head into John Crossland's gloves. The keeper whipped off the bails with glee.
From this point, 90-ish for 5, Tahir kept the lid firmly on the scoring rate and the target climbed above 10 an over.
With victory almost in the bag, skipper Todorow revealed his master plan. Andrew West would star from the bottom end, with a succession of support acts - who had 2 overs each left - from the top end. West trotted up but Imperials immediately took a massive liking to him. Several big hits took Siddique past his 50 but West got the Surbiton star halfway through his spell with a crafty dipper which lured the batsman forward. Crossland grabbed the ball and had the stumps down in one feline movement. Their celebratory hug demonstrated the great affection these 2 men feel for each other.
Imperials' wicketkeeper/captain Johnny proved an even cleaner hitter and basically put West to the sword with a series of brutal blows - a 6 halfway up the poplar trees was the pick. A couple of his batting partners joined in the carnage. It is so difficult to hear anthing on Pitch 3 that I didn't catch the score until there were 3 overs left and it was a distinct relief to find 55 were still needed. Johnny had one more hoik at a West half-volley and the ball soared over the bowler's head. Long-on Lefebve made good ground to get under it but merely succeeded in not only dropping the chance but "tipping it over the bar" for 6. I didn't dare look at West; Bilal said he was crying but I don't believe that for a second; Bilal is a comedian and also, as 10cc pointed out, "Big Boys don't Cry."
Imperials closed on 186 for 8 and West on 1 for 68 off 6 which really should have been 2 for 62. To be fair, West didn't really bowl that badly at all. To me, he shouldn't really bowl at the death as he can be a little predictable. He has done a fine job for Nomads many times as 1st changer or opener.
This was rather a good victory against a side with many fine players. I can see that they would be a formidable proposition with a full-strength team. We may well find out next season.
Classy stroke play from Hassan Khan took our total away from Surbiton's reach but Man of the Match goes to Mark Bradshaw whose chanceless 81 not out underpinned the innings and was set up by negotiating a testing opening spell from Siddique. He also fielded well. Elsewhere in the field Lefebve provided a good moment - and a shocking one, Crossland was sharp, West was entertaining but the skipper's vote for Fielder of the Day went to Bilal.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 220 for 4 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 81 not out
P. Pattiyil 12
Bilal 13
H. Khan 78
S. Prasanna 8
Tahir 13 not out

F.O.W. - 24, 38, 171, 183

SURBITON IMPERIALS - 186 for 8

H. Khan 7-1-22-1
E. Todorow 7-0-37-1
Tahir 7-0-21-2
G. Pala 7-0-33-2
A. West 6-0-68-1
Bilal 1-0-5-0

Clapham Nomads won by 34 runs

Clapham Nomads v Dulwich - 5/9/10

2010-09-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

A report by Mark Bradshaw.

This match took place on the middle pitch at Raynes Park and it was pretty dry and bare and looked likely to disintegrate as the match continued. Dulwich won the toss and elected to field. Sumith Prasanna and Mark Bradshaw opened the batting against a tall, young left-armer from one end and an older chap bowling tidy medium-pace off-cutters from the bottom end. Sumith played some fine shots including a huge six over mid-wicket before he chipped a catch to mid-off for 32 as the opening stand put on 49.
Debutant Bilal off-drove his first ball for four and made a breezy 19 before he was bowled by a flighted, turning ball from canny Dulwich spinner Ebert. There followed the biggest stand of the innings between Bradshaw (53) and Hassan Khan (63). Darwin and Emil Todorow chipped in with some late runs and we finished on 195 for 6 from our 35 overs, which we felt was probably enough as the pitch was showing signs of wear.
During the Nomads innings, Andrew West turned up (in his purple top), but unlike previous weeks, both sides had enough players so his playing services were not required. However, he amused himself by feeding the birds.
Hassan took 3 wickets in his opening spell as Dulwich declined to 30 for 3. Todorow bowled a tidy spell and was unlucky not to take a wicket. The Dulwich 4th wicket partnership hit back and needed 7 per over from the last 15 overs. The Nomads were starting to look a little ragged in the field but we were rescued by Terry Bruce-Mills who took a vital catch at cover off Gopi's bowling to dismiss the Dulwich top-scorer for a well-made 50. Terry then bowled an outstanding spell of accurate medium pace, restricting the Dulwich batsmen who could not get him away for boundaries. Bilal had a bowl and took a wicket with his medium pace, as did Sumith as Dulwich closed on 166 for 6.
Man of the Match was Hassan Khan, who was also Fielder of the Day with 3 catches.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 195 for 6 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 53 not out
S. Prasanna 32
Bilal 19
H. Khan 63
P. Pattiyil 1
Darwin 7
G. Pala 0
E. Todorow 3

Did not bat; G. Reeve, T. Bruce-Mills, J. Crossland

F.O.W. - 49, 75, 155, 161, 179, 182

DULWICH - 166 for 6 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-3-12-3
E. Todorow 7-1-25-0
G. Reeve 3-0-30-0
G. Pala 7-1-26-1
T. Bruce-Mills 7-0-28-0
Bilal 3-0-26-1
S. Prasanna 1-0-12-1

Clapham Nomads won by 29 runs

Clapham Nomads v Bec Old Boys - 29/8/10

2010-08-31T05:27:00.000-07:00

This was not a match we have had high hopes of winning since Bec's brilliant batting display in the Away game in June, so it was a shock when their skipper phoned at 12.15 to say they only had 8 men but would turn up anyway, and even more so when he told Emil Todorow at the ground that it would be better if Nomads batted first, in order to make a game of it.
Nomads did bat first by agreement (the only piece of match-fixing that occurred to my knowledge) but it soon looked like being a very short game after all as 2 wickets fell for 9 runs to shocking shooters from Bec medium pacer R. Anthony. Mahesh Vyas departed for 1 and then Mark Milnes, who had played a nice off-side shot for 3, fell to a pea-roller which shaved leg stump.
No. 4 Hassan Khan dug out a further shooter, but the pitch then seemed to improve somewhat and Khan began to turn the tables with some fine straight drives. Opener Sumith Prasanna also upped the tempo with a baseball-style straight hit for 4 and a big hit through mid-wicket. Bec's other bowler, the youngster Adam Freeman, floated the ball in nicely on the stiff breeze but didn't quite present the same threat as his partner. Nomads cruised into the 40s at around 4 an over. Nomads had agreed to lend Old Boys a fielder and this came back to bite us as Hassan, who was approaching his best form, cracked a firm cut straight to cover point where it was well held by Mark Milnes. When Sumith chipped Freeman up to gully 1 run later things began to look grim again.
Nick Lefebve joined Prasanth Pattiyil in the 12th over on 45 for 4 under a massive grey cloud and the pair had 2 immediate tasks; to see off R. Anthony's final over and to play through to the inevitable rain storm. A few runs were milked from 14-year-old leg spinner Sean Mason before a pleasant autumnal day turned sub-Arctic with gale force winds bearing horizontal rain and bits of twig from the thorn bushes surrounding pitch 3. An early tea was taken which lasted about an hour.
When play resumed it was almost impossible to stand upright on the soaked, skiddy pitch, but thankfully this affected the bowlers as much as the batsmen. Our pair survived and began to play with something approaching confidence. Lefebve connected with a few more leg-side blows off Mason, while Prasanth negotiated paceman Nav Jaswel and skipper Ches Brown with increasing authority and began to play some fine straight and leg-side strokes. At 93, Nomads had, at the very least, guaranteed a contest but Prasanth was caught for a useful 26 with the partnership just 2 short of the half-century.
Acceleration was needed and No. 7 Gopi had shown he is capable of this with his fine 41 against West One 2 weeks ago, but unfortunately he flicked Mason up to Backward Point and departed early. No. 8 Tahir was playing his first game for the club and had told Todorow that he was more of a bowler than a batsman. He was arguably our last real hope of quick, substantial runs and he didn't disappoint, carting the bowling quite classily to all parts of the ground - a large six over mid-wicket being the highlight - and dominating (an understatement) a stand of 38 with Nick Lefebve - Lefebve contributed 1. During this stand, with about 10 overs to go, Andrew West turned up and Todorow lent him to the opposition, but adding the proviso that he would be allowed to field and bat but not bowl - quite a crafty deal when you think about it, though there are those who would say that the Man in Purple is becoming more of a specialist batsman these days anyway.
The wily Ches Browne accounted for Tahir for 36 and followed up by getting one to spit and kick at Emil Todorow and find the glove of Nomads' Mr Reliable.
133 for 8 and John Crossland joined Lefebve with 4 and a half overs to go. After a couple of balls Crossland, wearing a deep frown, called his partner for an urgent mid-pitch conference. It looked serious. "Whatever you do," growled the wicketkeeper, "don't throw it away." The veteran pair did ok by sticking to a rigid plan - charging down the pitch and flicking the ball to the leg side for scampered singles. It wouldn't have won the X Factor but it did realise 13 runs. The highlight was a gorgeous straight drive from Crossland back over the bowler's head which only the recent monsoon rains prevented from reaching the boundary it deserved. Nomads closed on 146 for 8, which looked half-decent on this pitch. Lefebve was left on a useful / turgid 24 not out off 23 overs.
After a quick turnaround, The familiar pairing of Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow prepared to apply the pressure. Bec's openers. Nav Jaswel and Ches Browne looked fairly accomplished, with some good off-side shots played. We were unsure quite how depleted they were, though we suspected they would have few specialist batsmen below Andrew West at 7. This pair cracked along at a reasonable rate and it was quite a relief when Todorow was slightly fortunate to find the stumps via the inside edge of Jaswel's bat to break the stand on 27. No. 3 tried to slog Todorow out of the ground straight away and paid the customary penalty - bowled. There was a further wicket apiece for these bowlers, the more memorable was an LBW for Todorow which the skipper secured with a quite bizarre high-pitched, elongated appeal which sounded a bit like a large farm animal in distress (but in a dignified way, of course.) It frightened me and I have known Todorow for years, it must have terrified the umpire.
Gopi was first-change and, once he switched to bowling round the wicket, bowled an accurate spell, using the breeze well and claiming a wicket, bowled. Tahir was the pick of the bowlers, though, showing accuracy and reasonable pace in a fine spell of 2 for 7 from his 7 overs. Wickets were falling steadily but this spell put Bec so far behind the run rate that any hopes of victory were extinguished.
Of course, Bec's real batting star was Andrew West who made an eventful 4, getting off the mark by playing a firm on drive with his thumb, then spanking 2 through mid-wicket and rounding off with a thunderous, acrobatic dive to reach his ground on a risky single. Tahir eventually produced one of his best deliveries to bowl West.
Everything else was an anti-climax, though the last-wicket stand produced about 20 with G. Mason playing well for 19 but by then the required rate was up around 14 an over. Terry Bruce-Mills eventually administered the last rites and victory was secured, albeit over a team that was severely depleted, particularly in their batting.
Anyway, we are grateful to the opposition for showing up for a match they could easily have cancelled. Man of the Match is Tahir for a brilliant all-round performance. Our best fielder was Mark Milnes, but he did his best work fielding for the opposition. There wasn't that much fielding for us to do in Bec's innings but I would say Fielder of the Day was John Crossland, his second successive match without conceding a bye, this time on a difficult track.

Clapham Nomads 146 for 8 from 35 overs

M. Vyas 1
S. Prasanna 13
M. Milnes 3
H. Khan 25
P. Pattiyil 26
N. Lefebve 24 not out
G. Pala 0
Tahir 36
E. Todorow 0
J. Crossland 6 not out

F.O.W. - 2, 9, 44, 45, 93, 95, 133, 133

Bec Old Boys 71 all out from 29.1 overs

H. Khan 7-1-15-1
E. Todorow 7-0-21-3
Tahir 7-3-7-2
G. Pala 7-0-26-1
T. Bruce-Mills 1.1-1-0-1

Clapham Nomads won by 75 runs

Clapham Nomads v Touring Theatre XI - 22/8/10

2010-08-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

Our old friends the Touring Theatres turned up at Raynes Park with only 8 players. Fortunately, Nomads had 12 and so we lent the away side Terry Bruce-Mills (who has played a few games for Theatres recently anyway) and, most generously of all, the elusive medium pace bowling genius Andrew West.
West was wearing his famous tight-fitting purple top but, to the disappointment of many, got changed into a white cricket shirt.
A 35-over per innings, 10-a-side match was agreed on. Emil Todorow won yet another toss and Nomads batted first on a dry, patchy wicket, typical of Merton Council this year. Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas made good early progress in decent time against new ball pairing Wilson and Fieldhouse. The introduction of Bruce-Mills slowed things down a little as he extracted some bounce from the pitch. Terry made the first breakthrough, hitting the top of Vyas' off-stump as Mahesh played across the line for a well-made 38. The opening stand realised 93, Nomads' best 1st wicket partnership of the season so far.
Prasanth top-edged his first ball straight to Deep Square Leg, but a difficult chance was put down and Prasanth settled down to play solidly before he was LBW for 35 to the medium pace of Danny (who bowled very tidily to take 3 for 40.)
Hassan fell cheaply and Sumith Prasanna came in for his first match in nearly two years. The big Sri Lankan hit his third ball, from John Warnaby, for 6. The Nomads were all a little surprised that Theatres had not yet called upon the bowling skills of Andrew West, who had fielded stoutly at Mid-Wicket, stopping one very hard shot with his foot much to umpire Todorow's amusement. Before the game, Andrew had told Hassan Khan that he would get him out and this looked a possibility as his first ball reared alarmingly from just short of a length. It looked as though he would make things very difficult for the Nomads' batsmen. However, this was about as good as it got as Bradshaw and Sumith took 14 from his first over. Sumith hit 3 big sixes off Andrew's bowling as the Nomads legend was retired from the attack having bowled 3 overs for 45 runs.
In the meantime, Mark Bradshaw had fallen to Danny for 64. Sumith Prasanna raced on and I noticed that he uses a "BDM NS Sidhu" bat. I am sure that the former India opener would have approved of his mighty hitting and especially his calculated assault on the opposition's most dangerous bowler, Andrew West.
Sumith was finally bowled by Dirk Fieldhouse for 64. Darwin made a brisk unbeaten 23 and Mark Milnes opened his batting account for the team with 4 not out as Nomads finished on 259 for 5. A special mention should be made of the fielding of Milton for the Touring Theatres - he fielded absolutely magnificantly, stopping everything that came his way, throwing well and taking the very important catch to dismiss Hassan.
In reply, Theatres lost both their openers - Wilson and the usually obdurate Roger Daltrey lookalike John Whitham - in the first 2 overs. There followed a steady fall of wickets as Hassan took 5 for 14, moving the ball both ways and throwing in the occasional leg-spinner. At 27 for 7 only a heroic partnership could restore some pride to the Thespians and up stepped 2 unlikely heroes in the form of the 72-year-old Anthony "Chick" Fowles - who has written several well-received Sports books and a Crime novel, Chinamen, based around South London club cricket, and has recovered from very serious knee surgery - and our very own Andrew West, who has not written any best-selling books to my knowledge but has certainly had a lot written about him. The pair performed admirably with Fowles, the fitter of the 2, defending stoutly and deploying a one-handed sweep to excellent effect. Many present feared that Andrew West was having an off day and would be dismissed for 0, but the Nomads legend dispelled these fears by whacking his first delivery through mid-wicket for a couple of runs. He followed up with a boundary to cow corner and showed some good defence too. Mark Milnes eventually prised out Andrew with a well-directed yorker. Gopi took the final 2 wickets, rounding it off with a clever low full toss which was difficult to pick up from the A3 end as Nomads sealed a comfortable win against these very pleasant opponents.
After the game, Andrew sought solace in looking at the scorebook and reciting some of his previous glories to those present. I am sure he will be back with a vengeance in the next game.
Several candidates for Man of the Match; Mark Bradshaw with a fine 64, Hassan Khan with his season's best figures of 5 for 14 but Sumith Prasanna takes it with a very entertaining 64. His 50 came up in just 22 balls, only 2 more than the club record. It was good to have him back. Fielder of the Day was Darwin, who had the most to do and did it well. MB / NL

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 259 for 5 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 64
M. Vyas 38
P. Pattiyil 35
H. Khan 4
S. Prasanna 64
Darwin 23 not out
M. Milnes 4 not out

F.O.W. - 93, 139, 146, 207, 239

TOURING THEATRE XI - 56 all out from 21 overs

J. Whitham 0
Wilson 0
D. Fieldhouse 1
Stephenson 8
T. Bruce-Mills 1
D. Counihan 4
A. Fowles 15
C. Robertson 2
A. West 7
J. Warnaby 4

F.O.W. - 0, 0, 8, 9, 11, 12, 27, 47, 56

Clapham Nomads won by 203 runs

Emil Todorow 150 Not Out

2010-08-18T13:22:00.001-07:00

Not words that I ever thought I would write in a cricket report but they refer not to an innings, but to the magnificent feat achieved by the Nomads' skipper in playing 150 successive games for the club, not missing a match since September 2002 - and even then he was in Bulgaria and didn't know there was a game on. The Blogspot is therefore honoured to present "Todorow - A Tribute."
Emil Todorow was born in Bulgaria but he soon realised that cricketing opportunities were likely to be limited there and left the country for the Home of Cricket - Clapham.
He was initially baffled by cricket and confined his games-playing to chess, which he plays to a very high level - he is believed to have been in the top 1,000 players in the country. I can assure you that he is just as lethal with a bishop in his hand as he is with a ball.
He first tried cricket in 1985. Being a sociable person, he wanted to go for a drink with John Crossland, Nick Lefebve and Joe Chance but was disturbed to hear that they were going to play that tedious, incomprehensible game he had seen on TV, briefly, before switching off. Clapham Common used to have 3 excellent artificial pitches and the 4 friends pitched stumps. Todorow asked Lefebve what was the point of the game and the youngster replied "Try to hit it in the road. Not that road....Lavender Hill" (about 1/2 a mile away.) Todorow nodded in understanding and, taking a diagonal guard, attempted the feat. He had such a mighty slog that, had he connected, I think he would have managed it.
They ended up playing every week for the next few summers, along with Simon Sparssis, Chris Holland, Bob Aspin, Peter Morris and Gerry Blackwood; most of whom went on to play for Open University or for the Nomads. Chance and, unbelievably, Lefebve were quite quick in those days and Emil often found himself bruised but he was willing to fight fire with fire. "For every bouncer I receive," he told Chance, "you will receive 3." His action was not the free-flowing thing of beauty you see today; in fact it was a chuck, but he started to get more accurate and also became a fan of the game, being particularly devoted to Richard Hadlee.
He first played a competitive match in 1987 when local character Paul Riche assembled a scratch eleven including Lefebve, Todorow, several Open University players, a women's hockey international and a guy who was sunbathing nearby. The opposition was a fairly strong team called Wandsworth Gods. Todorow batted number 3 and soon struck a mighty off-side blow which fell just short of the rope. "Where's that bloke from?" one of the Riche XI asked. "Bulgaria, eh? I bet they've got some dodgy pitches out there. Goats nibbling the outfield." Thankfully Todorow didn't hear him and he thoroughly enjoyed the match, taking a wicket and not being called for no-ball, which increased his confidence as a bowler.
In 1990, Todorow and Crossland heard that the Open University CC were looking for players and, remembering the nice, quiet guys from the Gods match, they turned up at Lillie Road nets in Fulham, only to be greeted by the sound of several hang-dog cricketers being ruthlessly bossed about by a man with a harsh Dublin accent. Crossland nearly turned and fled remembering the man, Dave Hunter, as his former football captain from Balham Celtic.
Todorow began to play regularly for the OU and, though it is fair to say that Dave Hunter never really rated Todorow as a bowler, and certainly not as a batsman, the two men had a grudging respect for each other as forceful characters. I often sat in the pub listening to them arguing, each taking points of view they didn't really hold, just to wind the other one up. Emil began to bowl regularly; his first bowl was in a game in August 1990 on a day when the all-time record high temperature was set. Two rotund men, Peter Price and Alan Cotter (known to Emil as "The Pack Pair") were toiling away and getting carted and I noticed Todorow pacing up and down restlessly. He confirmed that, had he not been brought on to bowl, he would have quit cricket. Hunter must have sensed this and a quick wicket for our hero was the result.
Deep down, D. Hunter was a great guy and appreciated the competitiveness Todorow brought to the side, but that didn't stop him - a football captain to his bones - from berating the Bulgarian's bowling. "Emil, for Christ's sake, bowl on the off-stump to this one and leg-stump to his partner," the Irish skipper yelled. "It's a secret," Emil replied, "and I wish I had your level of control." I also recall Emil straying down leg side one over and being hit for 4 successive fours though an acre of unguarded space behind square. When Emil protested after the first ball, Hunter replied "You don't deserve a Fine Leg."
We had some good times in the OU and there was usually something going on, such as when, on tour in Stroud, some local yobs took a dislike to Todorow in a curry house and threatened to make him "eat dog." He informed them that, if he encountered them again, they would need to be accompanied by the army. The trouble was, the team was either losing, or recording a losing draw (50 for 8 in reply to 200) almost every week and inevitably there were murmurings of discontent. (4-hour-long, weekly murmurings.) In 1994 Todorow, along with Nick Lefebve, John Crossland, Joe Chance and John Chance, formed the Clapham Nomads.
At this stage, Open University would probably have collapsed without these 5 and so they carried on playing for both clubs. Todorow must have played in well over 30 matches in 1994 and the constant bowling that he got through seemed to be the making of him as a bowler. His action smoothed out, he became more accurate and he introduced such variations as the BY Special (Balkan Yorker,) the Remarkable Delivery, which kicks up to neck height at slow medium pace off a good length and the Accidental Leg Spinner. He can also bowl a deadly deliberate Leg Spinner, but rarely uses it outside the nets. He still cherished dreams of being a fast bowler at this stage; "this summer....you will see some pace," he repeated every April.
Todorow continued playing 2 games a weekend regularly as OU and Nomads carried on a strange on-off romance for several years, finally coming to an acrimonious divorce in a game against the Energy Exiles at Tolworth in September 1998. I still have a letter from the OU regretting any upset the split caused us. Todorow laughed at that one.
Nomads had gradually ceased to be a "Friends and Friends of Friends" side and starting building a decent team, even joining the All London League in 2000. Around this time, there was an article in Wisden Cricket Monthly by cricket journalist Peter Roebuck saying that cricket is not a game played in the darkness, in rain, sleet, snow, or in Bulgaria. Todorow, by now a cricket die-hard, took offence at this and wrote to the journalist but didn't receive a reply. We were also thinking of submitting a piece to "The Cricketer" when Todorow captained Nomads to the top of the League after 3 games. Sadly, Nomads lost all their remaining League matches and sank to last place, and the moment passed. There have been at least 2 mentions of Todorow in a cricketing context, however, in the National Press. Occasionally he can be rather put out if people imply there is something strange about a Balkan-born man being so devoted to cricket, but surely there is merit in the fact that he has achieved a decent standard without, obviously, playing the game as a child. Occasionally he is taken for a South African by people confused by his interest in the game. Once he was watching a Test Match on TV in a pub in Clapham Junction and England were being peppered by bouncers from Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. "Yeessss, " some West Indians cried, turning to Todorow. "Your lot are going to mash 'em up next." "What do you mean?" replied Todorow, placing his pipe on the table, "my lot." The West Indians looked at each other and tutted indignantly, "Your lot....South Africa, man!"
Nomads left the League in a hurry and Todorow was the prime mover behind this. The League was plagued by sledging, bad sportsmanship, over-competitiveness and dodgy umpiring - and that was just the Nomads, you should have seen the other teams - though there was some good cricket played. Todorow was becoming a cricket purist and felt that Sunday games should, above all, be played in a good spirit. As regards the professional game, he is staunchly in favour of traditional forms of cricket, and traditional clothing, and decries 20-20 and "The Pyjama Game," as he terms it. He is passionately opposed to Sky's monopoly on Test match coverage, advocating that it should be available free to people of limited means. and that widespread Terrestrial TV coverage is the only way cricket will retain a sufficiently broad fan-base to continue as England's National Sport.
For most of the past 25 years, he appeared particularly obsessed with Graeme Hick. Any mention of Hick, or Worcestershire, or Zimbabwe or even just Africa, would lead to an impassioned diatribe; either that Hick should be rushed into the England side (ignoring the residential qualification,) or later that he should be brought back into the side, or that he should always bat at 3 for England and the team should be built around him. We began to wonder how any man could love another man so much, but I have come to realise that it was largely one of his famous wind-ups. He has always been willing to talk cricket at great length with anyone and his late night discussions with John Crossland and Joe Chance were legendary. (All Night Bull, Crossland dubbed them.)
After Nomads left the League, we began to acquire some seriously good players, such as Rafi, Hassan and Kabir. It was around this time that Todorow took over the bulk of the captaincy, which had previously been shared around the 5 founder members. It has always been a strength of Emil's captaincy that even players who have more talent than him still respect him as a skipper, and this has, with occasional spectacular exceptions, prevented the team from descending into cliqueyness and acrimony.
For the past 8 or 9 years, Nomads have been winning more than they lose. Todorow has plugged away with his bowling, usually getting his 20 wickets a season. He has perhaps underused himself as a batsman, although he has opened many times as this used to be a bit of a problem position in the days before Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson. He can play some really fine shots on occasions and claims to relish pace. I recall him being rapped on the hand once by a South African bowler at Kenley, who was bowling at 80 mph. Todorow shook his paw carefully, glared at the big Saffer, and absolutely crucified the next ball with a text book cut that must have crossed the Point boundary in under a second. I went to the indoor nets last winter with Emil and Mark. Emil was playing some fine shots against a bowling machine set to well over 80 mph. "Up..." he cried, "More." We turned it up to 93 and he was hit on the hand. He played the next ball with no problem though and looked disappointed to be told that machine couldn't bowl any faster.
He really showed what he could do in a game against Battersea Spinners in 2000. Chasing 105 to win, Todorow went in at No. 3 at 5 for 1 against some good bowling. Joined by his favourite batting partner, the left-handed Gaurang Vyas on 29 for 2, Todorow played brilliantly with shots all around the wicket and the pair saw Nomads home with Emil stranded on 36 not out. I am convinced he would have made 50 that day had we not passed the Spinners' total. His best bowling came in a game against Crete Sports, a really strong Guyanese-run side, when he took 6 for 37. He is unfortunate that this performance is remembered not for his running through a fine batting line-up, but for the absolutely massive six hit off him by a bald, 60-year-old Barbadian.
This is starting to sound like an Oscar winner's acceptance speech but I must mention he has done lots of good work off the field too, doing the team selection for the past 4 seasons and handling the banning of a certain well-known Nomads player with skilful diplomacy. Thanking him for his considerable contribution in a well-worded letter, he went on to advise the player that unfortunately there would be no opportunity for this contribution to be continued. He has also put in many thousands of miles of driving for the team (or acting as a C-Cab, as Todorow would put it.) Using his original car, The Bullmobile, and a series of other quality, value-for-money vehicles, he has been willing to transport Nomads' rancid and malodorous kit bag and sometimes equally rancid and malodorous players. He has put up with some terrible back seat driving and routefinding, being sent the wrong way up countless one way streets and culs-de-sac and once nearly ending up in the Thames. I should mention, though, the time he protested indignantly "We are lost. I can see the sea." (We were on the Swindon by-pass at the time.)
To sum up, Emil Todorow has become probably the most legendary figure in South London cricket and I can summarise the club's appreciation in 4 simple words - BETTER THAN DEL BALLARD.

Career Summary;

Appearances for Clapham Nomads - To be added
Total Competitive matches - approximately 400
Total runs scored for Clapham Nomads - 1,013 at an average of 7.08
Highest score - 36 not out v Battersea Spinners on 16/9/00 - also scored 36 for Open University v Nutley Hall in August 1990.
Total wickets taken for Clapham Nomads - 298 at an average of 17.97
Best Bowling - 6 for 37 v Crete Sports in May 1997. He did take 6 for 34 in an Open University match v Whitton Wanderers in 1994 but this was a 12-a-side match and Todorow took the 11th wicket.
Most wickets for Clapham Nomads in a season - 32 in 2003

Records.

Most appearances for Clapham Nomads.
Most appearances for the club as captain.
Most successive appearances for the club - 151 as at 25/8/10
Most wickets for the club
9th in list of all-time run-scorers.

West One v Clapham Nomads - 15/8/10

2010-08-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

It was a much-changed Nomads side that made the journey to Ruxley Lane, Ewell, for the revival of this fixture against a side we used to play a few years back. Several regulars dropped out due to Ramadan and Andrew West failed to appear, due to Arsenal.
Batting and especially bowling had a makeshift look and Emil Todorow inserted West One on a damp wicket. With only three front-line bowlers, Todorow had to consider his options carefully and he decided to play his trump cards first in a bid to cut through the top order and protect his lesser bowlers. Gopi took the new ball for the first time for Nomads and soon had success with the total on 6, scattering the stumps with a ball that kept low. Emil Todorow locked on to the target and also found some irregular bounce and the score trickled along quite gently at around 3 an over until a double-bowling change after 12 overs. Terry Bruce-Mills took over from Gopi and his accurate, floated slow medium had West One's Australian / South African pair looking to force the score. Not so easy on this pitch and the chances soon began to come. 2 catches were put down off Terry 's bowling by out-fielders and at least one sharp caught behind shout went begging. Nomads kept a lid on things nicely, although the batsmen were fairly conservative in their running between the wickets. The Australian No. 3 began to play some powerful leg-side shots off Prasanth but Darwin intervened with a good catch at cover off Bruce-Mills's bowling before too much damage was done.
Drinks were taken at 20 overs with the score only about 70 for 2 and the partnership consolidated further after the break. On about 100 for 2 off 25, although Nomads' bowling figures looked good, you would have to say that West One's early order had done a fine job and given the team ample opportunity to accelerate against Nomads' part-time bowlers.
Prasanth Pattiyil, Darwin and Nick Lefebve have only bowled 20 competitive overs between them this season and they didn't really bowl all that badly, but the pressure was right off for West One who could play their shots at will. Lefebve started ok with 1 for 15 off his first 3 overs of Round-Arm slows, and made the breakthrough by dismissing the South African opener for 68 courtesy of a good catch by Gopi at short mid-on; but the replacement batsman, Attwood-Smith looked "a class above" and, with a series of gorgeous straight and off drives, dismissed the veteran left-armer imperiously from the attack. There was also a wicket for Darwin but the scoring rate of around 8 an over in this period probably took the total beyond the reach of this Nomads line-up. The pick of the part-time bowlers was debutant Mark Milnes who, despite not having bowled for 12 years, showed good accuracy in bowling 2 men in the final over, when the slog was on. Emil Todorow also came back for 2 overs at the death and looked almost unplayable in this second spell. West One closed on 210 for 6 off 40 which no sane man could say was a disaster with the bowling line-up we had.
West One's tea is legendary. A few years ago, they played at a ground in West Wimbledon that also had good quality tennis courts and they trooped in at the interval during a June fixture to find the Williams sisters munching their sandwiches. There can surely be no finer endorsement and I like to think that the sisters, Serena certainly, came back for seconds and also sampled the excellent cake selection. I know I did.
There was plenty to chew over for Todorow and the early Nomads batting-order. The target of 211 was unlikely to be straightforward, given the slowness of the pitch and the amount of Southern Hemisphere accents we could hear.
Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas opened and it was clear they had a job on their hands against the rapid Attwood-Smith, a South African Grade Cricketer, and the swing of Chet Bain, an archetypal London club cricketer; busy, competitive and shaping the ball away from the bat. Our lads kept out plenty of good stuff and managed to keep the run rate just shy of 3 an over with deft placement and excellent running between the wickets. Mahesh was a little bogged down by Bain who bowled a good off-side line and he was the first man to fall at 36, trying to pull from outside off and skying the ball. The good start was continued by Prasanth in support of Bradshaw, who looked in fine touch with plenty of time to play the ball, and began to up the tempo with his trademark off-side shots.
Webber, bowling a little too short, and the innocuous-looking Burton were brought into the attack and it was Burton who did the damage. Prasanth snatched at his first ball, a long hop, and was caught off the top edge in the deep. Burton soon accounted for Mark Milnes and Nomads found themselves 71 for 3 with 140 to win off about 18 overs and missing most of our middle-order hitters. No. 5 Nick Lefebve had instructions to stay there and stop the rot while Mark Bradshaw approached a deserved half-century; sadly, on 37, Bradshaw scooped a Burton delivery up to wide mid-off to give West One's big third-changer his 3rd wicket.
Enter Darwin, whose batting has evolved since last season and showed plenty of promise with a crackerjack off-drive which a brave fielder did well to stop. Inevitably, our No. 6 fell to Burton for 10, shortly after he had edged the same bowler onto the stumps without dislodging a bail.
Nick Lefebve had meanwhile fallen, again to Burton, for 13 but not before inadvertently causing a nasty injury to West One's keeper, Adam Fahey. Lefebve skied a pull which looked like just clearing the keeper but the glovesman stretched and dived and looked to have held on to a good catch, unfortunately he dropped it when hitting the ground and, in the process, appeared to dislocate a shoulder. He was in agony and it resulted in, perhaps surprisingly, the first appearance at a Nomads fixture of the London Ambulance Service. We wish Adam, a lovely bloke, a speedy recovery and hope he can make West One's forthcoming tour of Romania.
Nomads batting could have tailed off as the required rate rose but instead we were treated a brilliantly entertaining display of hitting from No. 7 Gopi who hit a series of shots through and over mid-wicket, a couple of them dropping inches from the rope. Emil Todorow was run out but the Mystery Bowler, who is becoming a batting star, just got better and better, taking 14 off the final over. It was a shame that we ran out of overs as he would surely have made his first 50 for the club. Nomads fell well short of the target with 156 but, with a depleted side, this was not a bad effort. Even John acknowledged this.
West One had a fine array of talent and were worthy victors but their bowling star was Burton, who it is fair to say is not a bowler who would give many batsmen sleepless nights. He took 5 for 27 and, as John Crossland so aptly put it; "Nomads went for a Burton."
A pleasant day was rounded off at dusk as 3 Nomads (average alcohol intake; 2 pints) claimed to have seen a UFO, an orange diamond shape, take off from the nearby woods, ascend gently vertically, hover and then shoot off in overdrive and suddenly disappear. Of course, it is not the only time Nomads have encountered alien life forms - we have selected quite a few over the years. We did wonder if this had any connection with the non-appearance of Andrew West; did West know they were going to come looking for him to take him home? The strange thing is, I looked on the website "UK UFO Sightings" and there were several reports of a similar object being seen above Ewell on 15th August 2009, exactly one year previously. How scary is that? Maybe it is a birthday. Maybe it is Andrew West's birthday.
Man of the Match is quite difficult. Mark Bradshaw's innings was vital and Gopi's was very enjoyable but I am going for a controversial choice, Terry Bruce-Mills. With a severely depleted bowling line-up, Nomads' top bowlers really had to get wickets. Terry bowled well for his 1 for 23 but there were at least 3, possibly 4, drops off his bowling. There was also a ball that hung in the sky above mid-on which could be called a chance. It is not Bruce-Mills' fault that these chances were not taken and he could quite conceivably have had a five-fer, which could have made the game quite different. Fielder of the Day is also hard; Darwin, Bradshaw, Bruce-Mills and Lefebve all put in pretty much error-free rounds but I will award it to Gopi, who took arguably the best catch and was as busy and fast as usual.

WEST ONE - 210 for 6 from 40 overs

G. Pala 8-0-39-1
E. Todorow 8-0-18-0
T. Bruce-Mills 8-1-23-1
P. Pattiyil 6-0-43-0
Darwin 4-0-33-1
N. Lefebve 5-0-41-1
M. Milnes 1-0-7-2

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 156 for 8 from 40 overs

M. Bradshaw 37
M. Vyas 13
P. Pattiyil 8
M. Milnes 0
N. Lefebve 13
Darwin 10
G. Pala 41 not out
E. Todorow 1
T. Bruce-Mills 2
J. Crossland 0 not out

F.O.W. - 36, 64, 71, 89, 105, 126, 134, 142

Clapham Nomads lost by 54 runs

Clapham Nomads v Kingston Lefthanders - 1/8/10

2010-08-05T03:48:00.000-07:00

It was back to our favourite home venue, Joseph Hood Rec, for another visit from long-standing rivals Kingston Lefthanders. Once again, half the Nomads team was late but the Lefthanders didn't mind as they were able to continue their long, liquid lunch while they waited.
A 35-over game eventually got underway and Mark Bradshaw was soon out of the blocks with a trademark cut for 4 off the bowling of the excellent Paul Thatcher. This was to be the only boundary off Thatcher who was "Not for Turning" into quick runs and improved steadily throughout our innings.
Experienced leg-spinner Dave Connett shared the new ball and controversy soon reared its head. Distracted by banter while the bowler was running in, Mahesh Vyas took 3 strides down the pitch and blocked the ball with his pads. A preposterous LBW appeal was answered by umpire Todorow giving the "Dead Ball" signal. A bit of backchat escalated into a tirade of obscenities from a fielder to Todorow which our umpire did well to ignore. There does seem to have been a bit of bad blood between the two sides lately, possibly dating back to the Dead Crow match in 2008 and our supposed use of Australian ringers, one of whom hails from Lincolnshire. I suppose we have hardly been blameless over the years; especially Mr C and the player referred to in one of Kingston's reports as "Shorts Knob."
Thankfully, this was as bad as it got and, as the alcohol was absorbed, a reasonably pleasant game continued. Bradshaw and Vyas made good, steady progress against some decent bowling but Vyas unfortunately missed a short, leg-side Connett delivery which appeared tailor-made for him and the leg bail was clipped - 27 for 1.
Bradshaw was looking in good touch and heading for a 50 at least, so it was unfortunate when he was hit on the pad in front of leg and middle in the 9th over. This was the last over in the first spell for Thatcher, comfortably the best bowler, and Mark looked set to cash in on his hard work, but at least the LBW decision prevented a mass throwing-out of toys from prams by the fielders, as happened in the reverse fixture in June.
Prasanth Pattiyil and Hassan Khan settled in against the second-string bowling pair of Matt "Brains" Ashburn and Nick Crouch, Sunday Cricket's slowest, most tempting, but occasionally deadly bowler. Ashburn is usually a reasonable bowler but had radar problems this time and Pattiyil, Khan and Extras all took a toll on him. Both batsmen played Crouch the textbook way, if there is one, by sauntering down the pitch and clipping him behind square on the leg-side. One of the best fielders was placed in the key Deep Backward Square position and saved a stack of runs. We almost had a chance to cash in when he abandoned his post to urinate behind a tree at the start of one over, but the bowler noticed just in time.
Nomads raced to 100 as each of Crouch's first 18 balls went for runs. His 19th ball, however, produced one of his notorious dippers and the ball sneaked under Prasanth's bat and rolled exhaustedly onto the stumps, just about removing a bail. This is just the way he always used to get John Chance out, but Prasanth is a gentleman so there was no pad throwing or finger pointing, nor any suppressed laughter from the Nomads.
Abdul Khan made the most of the rest of Crouch's spell with a series of boundaries before falling to Ashburn. Riaz Khan then joined Hassan and the serious acceleration could begin.
At drinks, Kingston's captain revealed he felt aggrieved at skipper Todorow's insistence on an Overs Game despite Lefthanders being very short of bowlers. We hadn't realised quite how depleted they were and so Todorow sportingly agreed that the 2 opening bowlers could bowl 9 overs each, rather than the normal 7. This had quite a bearing as the returning Thatcher soon bowled Riaz for 12.
Nick Lefebve joined Hassan Khan but unfortunately jinxed his partner by exhorting him to go on and get a ton. Thatcher promptly bowled Khan for 86 to impose savage cuts on our scoring rate. Gopi walked out at 179 for 6 but Thatcher quickly had him glove a catch to the keeper. The bowler, with his 2 extra overs still to bowl, looked like running right through us for a score under 200. At this point the captain, Tugboat, seemed to make an error; he seemed determined to claim Emil Todorow's wicket for himself and came on at Thatcher's expense. Neither batsman had much trouble with him and he gifted Lefebve a couple of juicy leg-side treats. The veteran pair put on 31 in good time until the returning Thatcher bowled Lefebve with an Exocet missile in the final over to complete a high-class five-fer.
Nomads closed on 210 which is considerably more than Lefthanders have ever scored against us, even with stronger batting line-ups than Sunday. Defence was not an option on this occasion though, so who knew.
The usually obdurate Crouch opened but seemed slightly demoralised and swung aross the line to Hassan Khan. Tut tut. 0 for 1. The green-shirted Nicholas thumped a lusty 4 off Todorow and was badly dropped in attempting to repeat the feat. This merely galvanised the Slavic-Speaking Legend and he bowled the Man in Green next ball with ease.
Our two opening bowlers, who are getting better and better as the season goes by, matched each other with a further 2 wickets apiece to reduce Lefthanders to 12 for 6 and give our visitors a shot at breaking a long-standing record; the 31 all out recorded by Stratford in 1994 in the teeth of a fast-bowling gale from Joe Chance - the lowest total Nomads have ever conceded.
Gideon Reeve and Gopi Pala took over after 6 overs and kept up the good work. At 18 for 7, 24 for 8 and even 29 for 9 the record was still on. Reeve produced some of his best bowling of the season, clipping the bails with a quick-ish beauty for the 8th wicket. Paul Thatcher and Dave Connett came together and proved the best batsmen as well as the best bowlers in taking the score up to 59 in a breezy stand before Connett smacked the ball straight back at Gopi who accepted the chance very nicely to wrap up a comfortable 5th victory of the season, which now equals our 5 defeats.
With an outstanding one-handed catch, 3 wickets for 7 and 86 runs, Hassan Khan is Man of the Match by the width of Kingston Marketplace, but I'm sure he must have batted better on occasions for half the score he made in this game. The most consistent fielders were probably Gideon Reeve and Prasanth Pattiyil and, since Prasanth kept his cool for a juggling catch, I will award him Fielder of the Day.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 210 FOR 8 off 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 14
M. Vyas 12
P. Pattiyil 23
H. Khan 86
A. Khan 15
R. Khan 12
N. Lefebve 17
G. Pala 0
E. Todorow 14 not out
G. Reeve 0 not out
J. Crossland did not bat

F.O.W. - 27, 29, 101, 126, 164, 179, 179, 201

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 59 all out off 13.3 overs

H. Khan 3-0-7-3
E. Todorow 3-0-10-3
G. Reeve 4-0-22-2
G. Pala 3.3-0-11-2

Clapham Nomads won by 151 runs

Clapham Nomads v Chalfont St Peter - 25/7/10

2010-07-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

It was one of the most chaotic pre-match build-ups anyone could recall which, for Clapham Nomads, is saying something. Most players were late, one car almost ended up in the Thames, there was a major controversy about parking; in the end it was a relief to take the field, even though the pitch was surrounded by hushed players, gazing at it rather in the manner of Junior Doctors witnessing some horrific skin condition for the first time.
The late start necessitated a 30-over game. Chalfont's skipper eagerly inserted Nomads and Mark Bradshaw was joined on the parched, bumpy-looking strip by a new opening partner in Gideon Reeve. Disaster struck in the first over with the pacy Dorman finding the edge of Bradshaw's bat; 1 for 1. Reeve followed in the next over when Watson cut in a ball that also kept a little low, but by that time the score had raced to 12 courtesy of a classy cut from Prasanth Pattiyil and six wides from Dorman.
Hassan Khan came out and soon showed the pitch was playable with a series of boundaries, at least one in each over, with Watson being the chief victim. 14-year-old spinner Dunn replaced Dorman and initially impressed, but he wilted rather in the face of an onslaught from Hassan, a glorious cover drive being the highlight. The score raced past 50 in the 11th over and it looked rosy for Nomads with our battery of bowlers who specialize in bowling on dodgy pitches - though at this stage the track was looking half-decent.
That theory took a knock, as did Nomads' chances, in the next over with the arrival of the tall left-arm quickie Noot. His first two balls got up sharply on off-stump and Hassan did well to keep them down. The third ball pitched similarly, Hassan shaped to cut but the ball bounced no more than nine inches and took out the off stump.
Prasanth took centre stage but No. 5 Sohail soon departed. A new bowler, Murphy, seemed temptingly driveable but took 3 important wickets in a 4-over burst. Prasanth fell for a most valuable 26 to a fine running catch deep in the covers and Abdul Khan and Riaz Khan were also caught in the deep. Abdul had played particularly well in keeping out some threatening bowling from Noot and some variable bounce. Riaz inevitably managed one of his trademark straight fours before departing for 8.
Nick Lefebve and Gopi Pala came together at a rather worrying 109 for 7 and, with the fastest and the slowest Nomad in partnership, there was definite Run Out potential. The pair played well though; Lefebve mostly blocking while Gopi produced one of his best Nomads innings with some hearty leg-side blows, a 4 and a big 6 over mid-wicket in one over from the wilting spinner Dunn being the highlight.
Gopi was finally caught for 29 off the returning Dorman with 13 balls remaining and Emil Todorow soon followed, bowled by a complete pea-roller which didn't bounce at all. It was down to Lefebve and John Crossland to unleash some fury at the death. Lefebve did unleash a massive swipe, but not particularly near the ball, and he was trapped in front LBW to end the innings in the final over on 145 - which we would certainly have settled for after 2 overs, or probably even at the start of the game.
Chalfont were a very pleasant bunch of young guys and we sensed that their batting was likely to have some class, but also that they would be more used to the lush greens of South Buckinghamshire than the Council-prepared deserts of North Richmond. It was hard to guess how things were going to pan out. There was a low-key start with Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow sending down their usual tight, probing, stuff but Chalfont coping comfortably. Todorow produced several of the B.Y. Specials (Balkan Yorkers) which were a feature of the earlier part of his career and claimed many a head-scratching victim. The closest we came to a wicket was another excellent direct hit from the golden arm of Abdul Khan - it would have been a fourth umpire referral and I think it would have been just out.
For the seventh over, H. Khan was replaced by Gopi who gradually eased himself into a truly devastating spell of medium-pace bowling. In his second over, John Crossland leapt like a salmon to prevent 4 byes and keep the pressure on and then, the following ball, the evergreen keeper pounced like a vulture to glove a sharp chance and end a threatening opening stand of 31. Todorow kept the pressure on at the other end and then the Hyderabad Hurricane just blew St Peter apart - and left Nomads at the gates of heaven; No. 3 I. Cottam was comprehensively bowled, Ben scooped the next ball, a rare long-hop, up to Gideon Reeve at Short Cover Point and, with No. 5 McHale encircled by Nomads who were hungry for the hat-trick like a pack of ravenous hounds, the youngster clipped it straight to Short Square leg where Riaz Khan took an excellent pressure catch to spark off scenes of joy.
Gopi completed his five-fer with another bowled in the next over and, at that stage, looked like he might claim all ten. Riaz Khan bowled the potentially dangerous Noot in his first over to end the chances of a ten-wicket haul but Gopi took a wicket in each of his last two overs to finish with figures of 7 for 29 which is the best Nomads analysis for 7 or 8 years. This left the score at 66 for 8 and, with the opener O. Cottam still at the crease, Dorman on his way out and Gopi having finished his overs, there was at least some chance that St Peter could score the required 80 from the last 14 overs. The Khans did a professional job though; a wicket apiece for Abdul and Riaz - and a sporting LBW decision from the umpire for the 10th wicket - ended the visitors' innings on 82 with O. Cottam carrying his bat for 40 Not Out. A day that had started badly ended brilliantly with a much-needed victory over a side that had a lot of talent.
To award Gopi Man of the Match is not a difficult decision. What a spell of bowling. Some captains would have claimed credit for Tactical Intervention in making the early bowling change but Todorow sportingly admitted that Hassan asked to be taken off as he was tired. Fielding wasn't too bad and catching was excellent for the 2nd week in a row. Fielder of the Day must be Riaz Khan for clinching Gopi's hat-trick with a sharp catch.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 145 from 29.2 overs

M. Bradshaw 0
G. Reeve 0
P. Pattiyil 26
H. Khan 36
Sohail 0
A. Khan 11
R. Khan 8
N. Lefebve 8
G. Pala 29
E. Todorow 0
J. Crossland 1 not out

F.O.W. - 1, 12, 53, 67, 75, 102, 109, 141, 142, 145

CHALFONT St PETER 82 from 20 overs

O. Cottam not out 40
Ben c Crossland b G. Pala 16
I. Cottam b G. Pala 7
Ben c G. Reeve b G. Pala 0
C. McHale c R.Khan 0
Pomarenke b G. Pala 0
Noot b R. Khan b G. Pala 0
Jake c M Bradshaw b G. Pala 0
Dorman b G. Pala 6
Dunn b A. Khan 8
Tom lbw R. Khan 0

Nomads' bowling;

H. Khan 3-1-8-0
E. Todorow 6-0-24-0
G. Pala 6-1-29-7
R. Khan 4-0-17-2
A. Khan 1-0-6-1

F.O.W. - 31, 40, 40, 40, 47, 54, 66, 66, 77, 82

Clapham Nomads won by 63 runs

Clapham Nomads v Southall Eagles - 18/7/10

2010-07-19T07:06:00.001-07:00

After last week's debacle we just wanted a game of cricket, so it was a heart-stopping moment when the opposition rang at 1 o'clock. Thankfully they were just calling to say they were all at the ground (one hour early) and were waiting for us. It was easy to tell that it was the first time they had played Clapham Nomads.
Anyway despite the ground, King George's Playing Field in Ham, being pretty inaccessible, we all got there in reasonable time. There was an unexpected treat on the journey as Emil Todorow drove us past the posh cricket pitch at the other end of Ham Street and there, looking every inch the senior professional, with the sun bringing out the highlights in his hair, was Morden legend Del Ballard. Unfortunately he didn't see us but it would have been marvellous if he had called out to Emil; "And I'm a better driver than you as well," as we bounced off up the road.
I'm not sure which was more intimidating; the organised-looking opposition, all dressed in matching India one-day international shirts, or the worn, green and ragged-looking pitch. Skipper Todorow inevitably won the toss, put the Eagles in and pushed the boundary flags out as far as possible.
Eagles seemed very wary of the pitch at first, and excellent bowling from Todorow and Hassan Khan had them mostly defending, though their skipper did stroke away a couple of off-side fours. Todorow, playing his 147th consecutive Nomads match, made the breakthrough in the sixth over, forcing the batsman back onto his stumps with deceptive flight and thudding the ball into the off stick half way up. An accusatory glance at the pitch from the batsman was an anomaly; he should have been looking accusingly at Todorow for out-thinking him. In truth the pitch didn't play too badly; there was some high bounce at the Tennis Courts End and low bounce at the Allotments End but it played a whole lot better than it looked. (Mind you, it had to.)
Hassan Khan was producing good pace and movement off the pitch but it was a great diving catch from Prasanth that secured Hassan's first wicket. Nomads began to fight their way ahead. Hassan bowled the young No. 4 around his legs and then Todorow hit the No. 3 in the beard with a surprise lifter. I'm not sure the pitch can be blamed for this; I've seen the Bulgarian maestro do it on all types of surface. I think he could do it if he bowled on blancmange. The batsman was impressed; "How did you do that mate? You should give us lessons," he called out to the bowler. Emil just smiled enigmatically and produced a real lesson - a ball that pitched well outside leg stump but turned sharply to clip the stunned batsman's bails. For that one golden moment Todorow was Warne, with the only difference being that Todorow manages to spin the ball without actually rotating his wrist or fingers.
Hassan claimed another wicket and after 14 overs the score was 46 for 5. When Gopi knocked back the stumps in his second over there seemed a chance that it might all be over rather quickly. Gideon Reeve was unlucky when two edges off his bowling flew over the slips for 4 but 20 runs were taken off the 2 overs before drinks . In hindsight this was the turning point but with Eagles on 76 for 6 from 18, the orange tasted sweet.
The seventh-wicket partnership pressed on, sedately at first, but from about Over 23 onwards they really upped the tempo, with particularly good running between the wickets and regular boundaries straight and square. Nomads ground-fielding was ok but we were getting just a little fractious as the partnership dragged on and on. The eventual breakthrough came from a great reflex catch from Gideon Reeve after a ball from Riaz Khan was absolutely mullered straight at him. Abdul Khan out-thought the batsman in a skilful over full of variety, finally claiming his man caught and bowled with a slower 6th ball. A comical run out from Hassan Khan, set up by some bizarre overthrowing and running, was the 9th wicket, but Eagles kept scoring off almost every ball right up the end. It was still a surprise, though that they had notched 174. The excellent 7th wicket stand had realised 90.
Mark Bradshaw and Mahesh Vyas donned helmets and strode out to face the music. The openers were quite pacy and lively and the pitch managed to give the impression that it was about to do something seriously nasty, without ever quite carrying through the threat. Both our men looked in good touch. Bradshaw connected with several good off-side shots but they either found the fielders or failed to reach the (rather too long) boundary. Vyas played several off-side shots - including an exquisite late cut - which is always a sign that he is on song. Bradshaw finally found the boundary with a lovely cut past point but played uppishly to the next ball from Rachit, a lifter, which unfortunately flew straight to a man in a rather unorthodox position, a kind of Short Backward Point / Deep Gully. 21 for 1 off 8 overs and a reasonable start with hitters to come and the change bowlers an unknown quantity. Unfortunately, Rachit bowled Prasanth in his next over. Enter Hassan Khan, with a fair bit of work to do, but the star batsman of this season so far skied the left-arm first changer, Avi, when on 3 and gully took a fine running catch to massively dent Nomads' chances.
The second change bowler, Sonu, generated some velocity off a 5-pace run up. Mahesh Vyas took advantage with a couple of boundaries before the bowler's radar had really locked on. But it was clear that cheap runs were not going to be in plentiful supply for the foreseeable future. Sonu had quick revenge on Vyas, sticking out an arm for a reflex catch - almost as good as Gideon's - off his own bowling. 38 for 4. Riaz Khan managed one of his emphatic straight 4s off Sonu but the increasingly impressive bowler soon pegged back Riaz's stumps by way of reply. Abdul Khan and Gopi both hit nice 4s before being caught off the bowling of Avi, but then Sonu took centre stage. Nick Lefebve, Emil Todorow and John Crossland can all defend but Sonu was through them all like a dose of Senna; bowled, bowled, bowled in a spell of accurate medium-fast bowling with a hint of movement to complete a most impressive five-fer and seal a resounding victory for the away side.
I guess you'd call it a thrashing but it wasn't completely unenjoyable. Apart from the horrible music from a 70s Progressive Rock tribute band playing an open air concert somewhere across the river, and the smoke from burning vegetables on the allotments, it was quite an idyllic venue. If only the pitch was given a bit more (or, in fact, any) attention and it was 5 miles nearer Central London, we could consider using it again. Not otherwise, though. The cricket wasn't quite such a horror story as the scorecard suggests. The bowling was fairly good, very good from Emil and Hassan. The fielding was a big improvement on the last match and the catching was excellent. All I can say about the batting was that the openers played pretty well. The opposition were a nice bunch and had plenty of talent but were not the type of team that would always thrash us. I hope we get another crack at them next season. They seemed to quite enjoy playing us and they gave Gopi the biggest round of applause I have heard a fielding side give to an incoming batsman.
Man of the Match was, I suppose, Hassan who took the most wickets and was, just, the most economical bowler. He also ran a man out. He only made 3 runs but, as John pertinently put it; he can't save us every week. Fielder of the Day is tougher; Gideon took the best catch. Gopi also took a good catch and as usual did loads of work but I will award it to Prasanth for a great diving catch and plenty of stops on the ground.

Southall Eagles 174 for 9 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-0-21-3
E. Todorow 7-1-23-2
G. Pala 6-1-31-1
G. Reeve 6-0-32-0
A. Khan 5-0-27-1
R. Khan 4-0-38-1

Clapham Nomads 57 all out from 20 overs

M. Bradshaw 12
M. Vyas 14
P. Pattiyil 0
H. Khan 3
A. Khan 4
R. Khan 4
N. Lefebve 1
G. Pala 6
G. Reeve 1 not out
E. Todorow 0
J. Crossland 0

F.O.W. - 21, 23, 28, 38, 46, 49, 49, 56, 57, 57

Clapham Nomads lost by 117 runs

"Woodside Green" v Clapham Nomads - 10/7/10

2010-07-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sincere apologies to everyone who made the long and fruitless journey to Warlingham for this match.
This sort of thing just doesn't normally happen with the Nomads. It's been at least 9 years since there has been a wasted journey for any reason other than weather, but I know that doesn't make it any less annoying for you guys.
Normally I'm very careful to ensure that the opposition are lined up and ready for a match but occasionally, such as today, I have been a bit over-confident and have just taken it on trust that an opposition who have been extremely reliable in the past will continue to be so.
I don't really know what has happened with Woodside Green. Their website is almost no use at all. We did ask around at a few local grounds and it seems they may have a Sunday match against different opposition, so I can only speculate that their Fixtures Secretary must have either forgotten to write down the fixture - and it definitely was arranged because it is rare for Nomads to play a Saturday game so it is something I would remember - or else he was not able to get a pitch for the game and omitted to tell us.
Anyway, very sorry again and if it ever does happen again, and I sincerely hope it won't, it will not be because of a lack of effort on our part. NL

Caribbean Mix v Clapham Nomads - 4/7/10

2010-07-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

It was a much-changed Nomads line-up that took the field for the 10th match between these close rivals. Abdul Khan made a very welcome return, as did Sohail who has played one or two games previously. Most intriguingly there was a debut for Moin, the brother of Rafi, possibly Nomads' finest all-rounder of all time.
Just like last year, Caribbean were unable to secure a pitch and it fell to Nomads to book Joseph Hood Recreation Ground in Raynes Park and, as it turned out, it played excellently.
Emil Todorow lost his first toss in ages and this may have had an unsettling effect on Nomads as Caribbean Mix's opener was dropped in the first over; this set an unfortunate pattern as a minimum of six - and possibly as many as ten - chances were put down.
Nomads remained competitive for a while and with Caribbean on about 100 for 3 after 20 overs we were still in the game. This was probably the highpoint for Nomads, however, and Mix rather raced away in the second half of the innings which featured a series of ground-fielding errors and a lively exchange of tactical views between skipper Todorow and John Crossland. The pick of the change bowlers was Abdul Khan who took two wickets and showed good control for a man who has bowled very few competitive overs in the last year. This strong batting line-up was not overly concerned though, and raced away to a final total of 247 for 7 off their 35 overs.
The opposition redeemed themselves for failing to get a pitch by producing probably the Tea of the Season so far - halal chicken and rice with potato salad - and then Nomads set about their stiff task. There was a bright start from Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson with 22 off the first 3 overs before Fewson was bowled for 9. Bradshaw fell for 11 a couple of overs later. Mahesh Vyas also chipped in with 11. Sohail didn't last too long but there were high hopes for Moin. Rafi scored a most destructive century in the first game between the two sides but sadly his brother could not emulate the great man and his demise left Nomads heading for ignominious defeat on about 80 for 5.
Hassan was still there and continued the excellent form he has shown this season. Abdul Khan joined him and produced one of his most careful and sensible innings in support before falling for 25. Riaz Khan inevitably hit an early six, to match the one he thumped over Emil Todorow's head for Caribbean in the corresponding fixture last year, but the opening bowler returned to claim two Khans in one over; Riaz for 20 and Hassan for a fine 75.
The game seemed just about up for Nomads but Gopi produced some very entertaining batting, including a towering six over mid-wicket, and his regular sidekick Emil Todorow stuck around in support though a massive run out appeal was rather controversially turned down. The run rate had been just too steep and Nomads' 35 overs closed at 210 for 8. A decent and enjoyable game; Caribbean Mix's seventh win over Nomads in 10 games but certainly not one of the wider margins. The match was played in good spirit but there was nothing to match Jim Ferguson's exhortations to show "Sex Appeal" from last year. The closest anyone came was the remarkably accurate barking dog impression produced by a Mix fielder whenever a Nomads wicket fell.
Man of the Match was Hassan Khan whose 75 was by far the largest innings, though Abdul Khan's bowling and batting made him a close runner-up. I asked Emil Todorow who he thought was Fielder of the Day. "None of them," he replied with a thick frown. Ben Fewson has subsquently been selected as his fielding was less error-strewn than most.

Caribbean Mix 247 for 7 from 35 overs

H. Khan 7-0-41-1
E. Todorow 7-0-46-1
G. Pala 6-0-33-1
R. Khan 7-0-46-1
M. Chand 3-0-26-0
A. Khan 3-0-18-2
Sohail 2-0-22-0

Clapham Nomads 210 for 8 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw 11
B. Fewson 9
M. Vyas 11
H. Khan 75
Sohail 4
M. Chand 0
A. Khan 26
R. Khan 19
G. Pala 26 not out
E. Todorow 2 not out
Did not bat; J. Crossland

F.O.W. - 22, 23, 39, 69, 69, 131, 177, 177

Clapham Nomads lost by 37 runs

Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 20/6/10

2010-06-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

The traditional "Longest Day" fixture against local rivals the Energy Exiles is fast becoming one of the highlights of the season. On Thursday there was some doubt whether the match could go ahead but eventually Exiles filled their final few places - and filled them with quality. The venue was the Del Ballard Recreation Ground in Dundonald Road, Wimbledon. I am starting to love this place; ok you get the occasional dead crow lying around and the pitches are too close together, meaning that you risk being decapitated by shots from Sri Lankan League players; but the wickets always seem to play well, it is easy to get to, it has the Ballard connection and, also, Kingston Lefthanders hate it - which means it must have some merit (only joking KL, if you are reading.)
Nomads were down to 10 men due, sadly, to a bereavement.
Skipper Emil Todorow won yet another toss and chose to bat. With his calm but authoritarian Capello-like air, Todorow is even starting to dominate coins and his call of "Heads" was an order rather than a guess.
Mark Bradshaw faced up to his old colleagues and there was a lively start from left-arm quickie and Exiles skipper Andy Wingfield who found the edge of Bradshaw's bat with movement off the pitch - four runs was the result. At the other end a new face to the Nomads, Jeremy Meyer, soon impressed. Ben Fewson was straight off the mark but Meyer bagged the vital wicket of Bradshaw, bowled in the second over with the help of a thick inside edge and a rather large slice of luck.
It was imperative to steady things straight away and No. 3 Prasanth Pattiyil did just that. It was useful to have an experienced opener coming in at this point and Prasanth provided excellent support to Fewson who began to accelerate cautiously. Prasanth scored mostly in ones and twos but played one particularly fine shot past point, making the ball spin away from the clutches of the diving fielder. The recovery was well under way when Fewson really took the attack to Exiles with two resounding boundaries off second change Will Bentall. Wicketkeeper Wil Scott speculated that Fewson had yet to find the middle of the bat. Well if he had timed these shots any better they would have cleared the boundary - the borough boundary.
The partnership cruised past the 50 mark. Simon Gundry as first change had opened with good speed but hadn't really found his accuracy until he appealed for a rather adjacent LBW shout against Prasanth. The rebuttal of this appeal seemed to galvanise the big paceman and he bowled as fiery a spell as I have seen him produce. With the help of a diving catch from Wingfield, he quickly dismissed Fewson for a useful 37 to make the score 69 for 2 and then he ripped out the stumps of Pattiyil and No. 5 Riaz Khan in successive balls. This spell completely changed the character of Nomads' innings and, on reflection, it would probably have been better if the LBW appeal had been granted, whether it was out or not.
This burst brought together Gopi Pala and Emil Todorow, two players who always seem to bat well together. Gopi produced some good leg-side hits to take Nomads past 100, while Todorow produced the shot we all wanted to see; the brutal forced blow through mid-off that is a cross between a cut and a drive. Gopi continued to find success with lofted shots but was unfortunate to send one straight to mid-wicket to end a useful stand of 29 which had put Nomads back in with some kind of a chance at 105 for 6 with plenty of overs to go. Gideon Reeve's first ball was a long-hop from spinner David Stiffell and he had the right idea in aiming to belt it away for 4 but unfortunately he appeared to find the bottom edge and was bowled.
This left Nomads founder-members Todorow, Crossland and Lefebve to attempt to force the score up to respectability and, no doubt, provide some Senior Moments. Crossland stuck around for a while but was bowled by Stiffell. Lefebve was last man as his injury would deprive him of his ability - such as it is - to take sharp singles. The returning Wingfield greeted him with an excellent bouncer which was gloved to safety but followed up with a long-hop on the batsman's favourite leg-side which went for 4. Todorow elbowed a ball from Meyer to the boundary but then fell to the same bowler leaving Nomads all out for 125. We had failed to use 10 of our 40 overs but, since the score was about the same as in last year's match, which Exiles won with 2 balls remaining, there was at least hope that it could be close.
Both Exiles' Patels had turned up to watch part of the match and we had hopes of poaching one of them to make up our 11 but sadly Amil had a broken thumb - we wish you a speedy recovery Amil - and Naren had to leave for family commitments
The familiar left-handed figure of Keith Roberts took guard and applied himself to the task of grinding down Nomads' openers Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow (so often Roberts' nemesis.) The Exiles man looked profoundly untroubled on this occasion but with the normally more aggressive Quentin Davies scoring even more slowly than Roberts, progress was cautious and after 10 overs the score was only 20. With an overall required rate of just above 3 an over, though, there was no need for the batsmen to rush. They saw off the openers but first change Gideon Reeve was into his stride straight away. There was little variable bounce to work with but accuracy soon did the trick as Reeve made the breakthrough in his second over, bowling Davies for 11.
On came Gopi Pala and he quickly produced some of his best bowling of the season. There was a bit of high bounce at his end and the Mystery Bowler exploited this and also bowled No. 3 Searle with a good one. Roberts was perhaps slightly unfortunate to be given LBW to Gopi despite getting in a reasonable stride. 30 for 3 and Nomads were beginning to buzz. A dangerous partnership between Sri Pathmanathan and James Watson was ended by a piece of typical Nomadic fielding brilliance - a bullet throw from Hassan Khan was well collected by Gideon Reeve who whipped off the bails to run out Watson who had been attempting a risky second run.
The required rate at this stage was fluctuating between 4 and 4.5 an over but we knew there were heavy scorers down the order and wickets were paramount. We soon had a vital one with Gopi yorking Pathmanathan to make it 58 for 5. Simon Gundry and Wil Scott dug in but soon began to score fairly freely and made their way up to 80 when Riaz Khan bowled Scott. 4 wickets remained and around 4 an over was needed. Gundry was beginning to look dangerous and we knew Andy Wingfield can disturb the scorers. We also had a suspicion that some of Exiles' new players were unlikely to be the worst batsmen in the world. So it proved as No. 8 Will Bentall, after picking his way gingerly through a tight 5 balls from Emil Todorow, took one step down the pitch and despatched the veteran seamer over long on for 6, dashing Todorow's hopes of yet another maiden and Nomads' hopes of victory.
Riaz Khan planted a short one into S. Gundry's midriff but, like the LBW incident, this proved to be counter-productive as the big all-rounder absolutely murdered the next ball clean out of the ground, narrowly missing a lucky motorist in Dundonald Road. The last rites were administered fairly perfunctorily to Nomads with these two batsmen sharing five sixes as Exiles swept to a 4-wicket victory with 7 overs to spare.
It was a great all-round performance from Simon Gundry without which we could have got a lot closer. Exiles probably had a little more depth in their batting, certainly in the lower order, but it was a good bowling display from Nomads with all 5 bowlers looking good. Fielding was fair from a side depleted by absence and injury; there were a few chances but they were mostly pretty tricky or came too late.
So honours are even between these great rivals over the two games and it would be a particularly cheap and sad individual who would claim an aggregate victory for the Nomads on faster run rate, especially if he added that it was by a margin of 4.98 to 3.81.
Man of the Match has to be Ben Fewson who produced the highest score by quite a margin and also some fine fielding - see below. The best individual piece of fielding was Hassan and Gideon's run out but Ben Fewson is Fielder of the Day for a performance which combined solidity - he stopped just about everything, mostly with one hand -and the type of flair and artistic interpretation which is rarely seen from Clapham Nomads players; well, on the field anyway.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 125 all out from 29.5 overs

M. Bradshaw b Meyer 4
B. Fewson c Wingfield b Gundry 37
P. Pattiyil b Gundry 15
H. Khan c Searle b Bentall 9
R. Khan b Gundry 0
G. Pala c Gundry b Stiffell 14
E. Todorow (cpt) b Meyer 8
G. Reeve b Stiffell 0
J. Crossland (wkt) b Stiffell 0
N. Lefebve not out 4

F.O.W. - 5, 69, 82, 82, 86, 105, 105, 115, 125

Bowling;

Wingfield 6-0-29-0
Meyer 6.5-2-18-2
Gundry 6-1-15-3
Bentall 8-1-30-2
Stiffell 3-0-17-2

ENERGY EXILES - 127 for 6 from 33.3 overs

K. Roberts lbw Pala 14
Q. Davies b Reeve 11
J. Searle b Pala 0
S. Pathmanathan b Pala 15
Watson run out 7
W. Scott(wkt) b R. Khan 9
S. Gundry not out 37
W. Bentall not out 20
Did not bat; A. Wingfield (cpt), J. Meyer, D. Stiffell

F.O.W. - 24, 29, 30, 54, 58, 80

Bowling;

H. Khan 6.3-0-18-0
E. Todorow 8-1-26-0
G. Reeve 6-2-15-1
G. Pala 8-1-31-3
R. Khan 5-1-32-1

Clapham Nomads lost by 4 wickets

Kingston Lefthanders v Clapham Nomads - 13/6/10

2010-06-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

There was a welcome return for two Nomads stalwarts - Chris Kennedy and Terry Bruce-Mills - for this trip, and it was a fairly elderly side that took the field, with 6 men admitting to various ages over 47. With two of our seniors carrying leg injuries, there was a sense that this might be an opportunity for an improving Lefthanders side to record their second victory over Nomads in 15 attempts. Emil Todorow won his 5th toss out of 6 and chose to bat.

In the absence of Mark Bradshaw, Mahesh Vyas accompanied Ben Fewson out to the wicket to face a very useful opening attack comprising the wily Chris Turner, an accurate League bowler, and the pace and hostility of former Kingston cc player Declan McArdle. There was plenty of extra bounce in the pitch and McArdle found Fewson's edge twice in the first over. Our man responded with the shot of the day in the third over, thumping McArdle imperiously back over the bowler's head for 4. Vyas also did well to cope with some good bowling and a feisty atmosphere enlivened by the presence of several additional "umpires."

Turner had Fewson caught behind with a riser in the 4th over and then clean bowled Prasanth Pattiyil for 4. Three further overs elapsed and Turner had Vyas adjudged caught behind down the leg side to leave the bowler with figures of 3 for 2 and Nomads in dire difficulty at 22 for 3.

At No. 5, Riaz Khan was the last of the recognised top-order strokemakers and an awful lot seemed to depend on his survival, together with that of No. 4 Hassan Khan.

The pair played themselves in admirably on this awkward pitch, seeing off the openers and beginning to increase the tempo against change bowlers Wilkinson and Geoff "Brains" Ashburn. The arc between mid-wicket and long-on was milked for a regular diet of 2s and the occasional 4. Riaz Khan put the success of the team before the entertainment of his fans and carved out a valuable 30 before falling to Wilkinson with the score on 97, ensuring that the second innings would at least be competitive.

Chris Kennedy was unfortunate that the first ball he had faced for a while was a corker. Gopi prevented the hat-trick and then provided company for Hassan Khan who was accelerating past 50. Nick Crouch came on to bowl his incredibly slow, but dangerously accurate, floaters. Nomads are well aware of the danger of Crouch as, for some reason, he always used to dismiss John Chance. Sure enough, the crafty Lefthander achieved success in his second over, having Gopi caught for a useful 11 at fine leg from one of his deceptive, dipping full-tosses.

Hassan Khan was in top form but just needed someone to stay with him. Emil Todorow lost sight of a good-length ball from the returning McArdle and was bowled, but at last Khan found a foil in John Crossland, who kept out everything Lefthanders could throw at him with guile, footwork and sheer force of personality. Although he scored few runs, Crossland imposed himself on the game and at one stage even threatened to become the senior partner in calling urgently for a quick single off the last ball of a McArdle over to keep the strike.

H. Khan was finally dismissed for a crucial 91 with 8 balls remaining. Terry Bruce-Mills and Crossland failed to add to the score of 168 but at least they batted right up to tea, thus avoiding giving any extra overs to Lefthanders for their run chase.

We were unsure whether Lefthanders would go full-tilt for the runs or whether they would see it out for the draw. The score of 12 for 1 from the first 10 overs indicated the latter. The only wicket came from a rank leg-side long-hop from Todorow - the worst ball he bowled. Nick Crouch edged it and wicketkeeper John Crossland very nearly dropped it. This could possibly have been the worst passage of play in cricket history, but thankfully Crossland just clung on to the chance.

The left-handed Uys hit one cracking 4 to show we could take nothing for granted and when "Brains" Ashburn, after a steady start, began to play with panache and chutzpah through the leg-side, the run chase appeared to be back on.

Todorow dragged Nomads back into it by trapping Ashburn LBW for a fine 15. Terry Bruce-Mills had not bowled for over a year and, had he been rusty, we could have been in difficulty. Thankfully he floated down 6 overs of accurate slow-medium at 4 an over which was a severe dent to Lefthanders' hopes of victory. As ever, Gopi produced variation from the very first ball and looked at his best at times, having Uys caught by Lefebve at slip and then producing sharp turn at above Medium pace to bowl Barry. He was a little unlucky to be taken off after 4 overs but skipper Todorow asked Hassan Khan to return in an effort to take the 5 wickets we needed to snatch victory.
No. 4 Wilkinson and captain Chris Wells looked as dangerous as anyone and scored at 7 or 8 an over for a while, which was just about the asking rate with around 15 overs to go. Riaz Khan was perhaps not bowling quite at his best but it was he who accounted for both these batsmen. Emil Todorow snapped up a very smart catch off his toes at mid-wicket; we never doubted you for a moment, Emil...honestly. Wells was then tricked by a high R. Khan full-toss into toe-ending it straight back to the bowler.
The innings then petered out somewhat. We had 6 overs to take the final 3 wickets but McArdle, Ian and Connor are all competent players, though Hassan Khan bowled Ian in the final over to make it look rather more of a winning draw than it really was.
Man of the Match has to be Hassan Khan for his excellent 91, without which defeat would have been a real possibility. Emil Todorow and Nick Lefebve (despite injury) took nice catches and Chris Kennedy made an absolutely brilliant one-handed diving stop but I would have to award Fielder of the Day to Gopi, who must have covered miles running around the boundary rope. By the end of the game, even Kingston Lefthanders were calling him "Speedy."

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 168 for 8 from 35 overs

B. Fewson - 10
M. Vyas - 5
P. Pattiyil - 4
H. Khan - 91
R. Khan - 30
C. Kennedy - 0
G. Pala - 11
E. Todorow - 0
J. Crossland - 3 not out
T. Bruce-Mills - 0 not out

F.O.W. - 11,17,22,97,97,127,136,168

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 111 for 8 from 36 overs

H. Khan 11-2-31-1
E. Todorow 8-3-18-2
T. Bruce-Mills 6-0-24-0
G. Pala 4-0-12-2
R. Khan 7-1-16-3

Match drawn

Bec Old Boys v Clapham Nomads - 6/6/10

2010-06-08T05:08:00.000-07:00

It was a new venue and new opponents for the Nomads as we made our way to the Sutton Grammar School Ground in South Cheam, the excellent if slightly inaccessible home of the Bec Old Boys.
The Home side were, rather like Dulwich or Morden, a mixture of Saturday League players and Sunday men and were a bit similar to the Nomads in being a good blend of youth and experience, different nationalities and abilities. The sides shared another similarity as well, Bec being a former club of Nomads' record run-scorer John Chance.
It is hard to believe that the Nomads could possibly improve on the smart and professional appearance for which they are noted but, thanks to the fine Maroon caps acquired for the team by Mark Bradshaw, they did.
Bec skipper Khaled Mohammed, who once scored a half-century for Nomads against Morden, lost the toss to Emil Todorow and the Master of Coinmanship elected to bat in a 35 over contest.
Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson opened and faced a stiff test against Dipak, who slanted it in threateningly with good bounce, and the late movement of the pacy Nav. Neither of our openers looked in much trouble and Bradshaw found plenty of success against Nav with the firm leg glances which are becoming his trademark. Both batsman were as strong between cover and gully as ever but the good bowling and the outfield, slow after the overnight rain, kept a lid on the scoring rate.
Fewson was put down - a sharp chance - at mid-off but fell in the same area, also off the bowling of Dipak, a couple of overs later. The batsman was frustrated as, having done some hard work against the new ball, he could well have been on for a score on a very fair track.
Jim Joyce soon warmed up with some powerful strokes including an excellent clip to mid-wicket for 4 while Mark Bradshaw was untroubled except for one edge off a Nav lifter which was put down by the wicketkeeper Chez Brown. Nav bowled Joyce for 13 with a beauty but Bradshaw was beginning to dominate, especially against Nav's replacement who bowled several short-ish balls outside off stump - meat and drink to our opening batsman.
Hassan Khan came out No. 4 and continued his fine form of recent weeks. Old Boys' second change was Peter Seaden, who with his dapper, balding, moustachioed appearance and cunningly flighted slow medium bowling bore some resemblance to John's father, the late and much-revered Ron Crossland a.k.a The Guru. Nomads continued to be fairly untroubled, though Seaden had an excellent shout for LBW against Khan just before drinks.
Hassan fell for a useful 28 just after the interval and it was clear that Mark Bradshaw was holding things together, even more so when Mahesh Vyas departed early, leg before, with 4 down for not much more than a hundred. Prasanth came out to steady the ship and coped well with some tricky medium pace bowling from skipper Mohammed. Bradshaw passed another valuable 50 but his departure shortly afterwards left Bec on top with Nomads on 119 for 5 and the bowlers looking dangerous.
No. 7 Nick Lefebve had a slice of luck second ball when, surprised by the pace of Bec's first-change bowler, he snicked a four through the vacant first slip area (the fielder had moved to second slip in the previous over.) Prasanth was just starting to settle and play his shots when given LBW off the bowling of K. Mohammed for 5; still a useful contribution from Prasanth - he was out there for a while and helped to arrest the Nomads' slide.
Gopi joined Lefebve and, with five or six overs to go, the plan was clear. Lefebve startled the crowd with an emphatic hoik - more agricultural than Norfolk - over mid wicket for 4. Gopi helped to keep the rate up before falling to a skied catch just behind the bowler with the score on about 150 for 7. Gideon Reeve took guard and the new pair went up a gear. Lefebve troubling Air Traffic Control as much as the scorers with a series of lofted shots; Reeve finding the boundary with more orthodox blows. In the final over, Lefebve called for a suicidal single and, attempting to sprint and dive at the same time, "did a hamstring" - a pleasingly sporty-sounding injury for one of Nomads' less athletic players. Emil Todorow had to come out as a runner; a suitable climax to an innings described by Ben Fewson as "Very Nomads." The innings closed on 192 which sounded impressive, though the pitch was nice for batting and Nomads' bowling was slightly below full strength.
The old firm of economists Khan & Todorow began, and showed their usual reluctance to offer any freebies to the batsman. A wicket fell after about 6 overs and, when 10 overs were passed with score on only 29 for 1, Bec required almost 7 an over and Nomads appeared to be in control.
Sadly, a high-class second-wicket partnership starring Dipak wrested the initiative away from us. The scoring rate was steadily forced up, despite some good bowling from Gopi as Bec scored at more than 8 an over during this period. The stand was finally broken with the score well past 100. Most of the middle order batsmen began with a boundary or two but couldn't really get in. This had no adverse effect on the run rate though, and the home side closed in remorselessly on the total. Nomads dropped at least 5 catches which didn't help. A flurry of wickets from good, full deliveries from Gideon Reeve came too late to have much influence on the outcome and Old Boys reached their target with about 4 overs left. The No. 10 (who was only batting in that position due to arriving late) sealed the victory with a big six off the bowling of Hassan Khan. The victory was rather more comfortable than the margin of two wickets suggests.
A very enjoyable game but it showed that Nomads do have a problem with bowling at good batsmen on a sound surface - mind you, who doesn't? Let's hope it is the first of many games against this very pleasant opposition.
Man of the Match must be Mark Bradshaw, who held the top order together with a fine half-century against some very decent bowling. Nick Lefebve's 42 was his third-highest score in 17 Nomads' seasons but the purists may have been watching from behind the sofa. Fielder of the Day was Hassan Khan who took 3 catches.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 191 for 7 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw - 51
B. Fewson - 11
J. Joyce - 13
H. Khan - 28
M. Vyas - 0
P. Pattiyil - 5
N. Lefebve - 42 not out
G. Pala - 3
G. Reeve - 16 not out

F.O.W. - 29,47,105,108,119,141,155

BEC OLD BOYS - 194 for 8 from 30.2 overs

H. Khan 6.2-0-22-2
E. Todorow 7-0-21-1
G. Pala 7-0-58-1
G. Reeve 7-0-59-3
P. Pattiyil 3-0-24-1

Bec Old Boys won by 2 wickets

Touring Theatres v Clapham Nomads - 30/5/10

2010-05-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

The curse of Dundonald Road re-asserted itself as we arrived to find that the home team's stumps were locked in a garage for which the owner had no key. Several solutions were tried including looking for a sports shop, trying to borrow stumps from the League teams on Pitch 2 who had lost their umpire (the curse of DR) and fashioning six stumps out of broom handles. One of the Theatres Team has been a Stage Manager and can make a prop out of just about anything; he had already produced two rather beautiful sticks by the time John arrived back with the Nomads' stumps and play began at 3.45.
Nomads were missing 3 openers in Mark Bradshaw, Ben Fewson and Peter Moth and so skipper John Crossland turned to the "experience" of Mahesh Vyas and Nick Lefebve. During the delay of well over an hour the padded-up pair paced the boundary, if not liked caged tigers, then certainly like mildly frustrated house-cats.
A reduced game of 30 overs a side was agreed on. The young Owen opened for Theatres but began too short and Vyas carted him away for two 4s in the first over. Lefebve faced Cal Robertson who was bowling for the first time since breaking his finger in the corresponding fixture last year and, in a rather comical first over, attempted to sweep the spinner three times but received only a bruise on the stomach and two close LBW shouts for his trouble.
Vyas began to play nicely and, strong on the leg side as ever, he dominated the strike for the next few overs. Lefebve finally got off the mark when Vyas was in the 20s. There was no great threat from the bowlers, though Robertson was quite accurate and Owen bowled the odd short one on off-stump which didn't suit these batsmen at all.
Veteran off-spinner, and star of The Bill and Ali G IndaHouse, John Warnaby was first change. He can tweak it but tends to overpitch and both openers managed to flick him away to leg regularly to take the partnership past 50. Vyas began to look assured as he raced into the 40s but then Warnaby made the breakthough as the Character Actor lured Lefebve forward once too often and the ball was spooned up to short square leg to end a decent stand of 71 in 13 overs, of which over 60 were scored on the leg side.
Prasanth was No.3 and provided stylish support to Vyas who soon reached his half-century. The opener took 13 off an over from the quickish Ian but then fell to the same bowler for a fine 60. Prasanth was caught for 17 in the same over and, with the score on 113 for 3 and only 11 overs remaining, a contest was on the cards. Hassan Khan reduced the likelihood of this by despatching the first two balls of Ian's next over straight back into the road in the manner of Gary Sobers, or even Rhys Adams - it was almost an anti-climax when only 19 came off the over. Jim Joyce "played himself in" by producing the shot of the day off his very first ball - a very classy straight drive out of the textbook of Sachin Tendulkar, or even Emil Todorow.
It was pure entertainment for everyone except the weary fielders as these two got going. A few spectators even lingered to watch the fun. 29 balls of mayhem, with not a single defensive shot played, produced 75 runs before Hassan Khan was LBW, perhaps slightly unluckily, to a short skidder from the splendidly-named Olivier Pigeon. This produced no respite for the Theatres, merely an encore as Riaz Khan, who appears to have been working out in both gym and nets and is in unstoppable form, took over from his namesake and just increased the tempo. Jim Joyce sprinted to possibly the fastest 50 in Nomads' history (off approximately 20 balls) with a murderous assault on Dirk Fieldhouse - 27 in on over including successive sixes to bring up the landmark before falling leg before to a yorker from the returning Owen.
Gopi provided good support to Riaz with two boundaries but Mr. Khan took centre stage, powering shot after shot straight and over mid-wicket. 20 came off Warnaby's last over, 18 off Owen's. Theatres were finally put out of their misery with the score on 264 for 5. A scoring error meant they bowled either 29 or 31 overs - nobody knows which - and Riaz was left stranded 9 runs short of a half-century which would probably have come up in fewer balls than Joyce's.
It was agreed that Theatres would face 30 overs with 265 to win at a rate of 8.83 per over.
After tea a stiff breeze had picked up to enliven a quite stunning afternoon and this caused both Emil Todorow's hair and his bowling to float and drift in a way that appeared to confuse the batsmen. Dangerman Ben Tranchell, who once scored 96 against us, chipped the first ball straight up to Jim Joyce at Cover Point and Todorow also bowled the No. 3 in the same over. Assad, fastish and straight, bowled numbers 4 and 5 in the second over to leave Theatres on 2 for 4 after 12 balls. Various tactical suggestions were made to captain John Crossland at this point, including that he bowl all 11 men for one over each or that he polish off Theatres quickly so that we would have time for a beer match. To be fair to Crossland, he took this mickey-taking in good part and, with a ruthless gleam in his eye, merely handed the ball back to Todorow.
Cal Robertson and Dirk Fieldhouse began to defend well in a manner that could have made the game interesting had the original plan to play a Time Game been possible. They survived 6 and a half overs before Todorow produced his quicker bouncing leg-cutter to find Robertson's thin outside edge. The hirsute Medium Pacer claimed another scalp in this over and had 6 balls to achieve his first five-fer in 14 years. Sadly, fans of the Bulgarian-born legend and fans of free beer were to be disappointed but Emil finished with the remarkable analysis of 6-2-5-4.
Assad claimed another wicket in his last over and Gideon Reeve and Gopi took over with Theatres on around 15 for 7. Reeve deployed his uncanny knack of finding variable bounce, producing a lifter and the only shooter of the match in successive balls in his second over. Reeve accounted for the No. 9 with some sharp lift to generate a caught and bowled. This brought John Warnaby to the crease and the talented thespian played some nice shots while keeping the excellent and impassable Dirk Fieldhouse company. The ball went in the air frequently and Nomads slip cordon had some fun at Riaz Khan's expense by blaming the Nomads Legend for every lost catching opportunity. Reeve eventually bowled the No. 10 to bring his sister, Kate Warnaby, to the crease. "Come in Riaz, she's not exactly Kevin Pietersen," shouted Crossland to the amusement of all. If only Kate had slog-swept her first ball for 6, the moment would have been complete, but she did see off the over with no alarms.
Gopi had used his full range of variations and had gone close a few times but finally found success in bowling Fieldhouse, last man out for an obdurate 10 off 90 balls, an excellent innings in the context of the game and ample repayment for having lost the stumps.
So Theatres were out for 38 in the scorebook, though if you add up the analyses and add on the smattering of byes and leg byes, it must have been around 43.
Obviously it was an easy win but what was satisfying was that we played some very entertaining cricket and everyone in the team either scored double figures or took a wicket or, in the case of John Crossland, took a catch and captained ruthlessly. This was not sufficient for the skipper though; he looked around at the pitch and at the scorebook at close of play and, shaking his head, muttered; "You know the only thing I enjoyed about that match - Assad's bowling."
I hope Theatres will continue to play us next season. they are great company and we don't just look on it as a chance to boost our averages.....honestly.
Man of the Match is a tough choice. Emil Todorow produced his best analysis of the Millennium, Mahesh Vyas top-scored with one of his highest scores for Nomads, Hassan and Riaz both batted brilliantly but I will vote for Jim Joyce, whose 51 was classy and may have been the fastest 50 in the club's history. Fielder of the Day is tough for the opposite reason; there was hardly any fielding to do. Jim would have got this as well for taking the best catch and one excellent throw but as he had to leave early I will give it to John Crossland. He did concede a couple of late byes but he didn't let the burdens of captaincy distract him from his main job of flinging himself around vigorously.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 264 for 5 from 30 overs

M. Vyas - 60
N. Lefebve - 21
P. Pattiyil - 17
H. Khan - 46
J. Joyce - 51
R. Khan - 41 not out
G. Pala - 9 not out

F.O.W. - 71, 109, 113, 118, 221

TOURING THEATRE XI - 38 all out from 24 overs

Todorow - 6-2-5-4
Assad - 6-3-8-3
G. Reeve - 6-2-13-2
G. Pala - 6-1-13-1

Clapham Nomads won by 226 runs

Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 23/5/10

2010-05-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

There was a lively build-up to this fixture as Nomads, desperate for their first win over the Exiles in 4 years, spread rumours via e-mail and text that John Chance had been drafted back into the line-up, along with several Australian ringers and the Open University legend Dave Hunter as captain. Sadly (or otherwise) none of this was true and it was a familiar Nomads XI that gathered at Chiswick on a baking-hot afternoon.
Emil Todorow won a vital toss and chose to bat. There was a story going round that, after winning the toss, Emil had insisted we play 40 overs a side rather than 35. This also proved untrue and rather far-fetched - the ruthless Todorow would surely have insisted on 50.
Last year's top batsmen Ben Fewson and Mark Bradshaw took strike. Bradshaw was looking to continue his excellent record against his former club and struck a vital early blow in thumping Andy Wingfield's first ball for 4 through square leg. Fewson faced the bulk of Naren Patel's bowling, mostly back of a length around off stump. Fewson can play this type of bowling all week but a skilfully-set field made scoring difficult. Sound batting on a decent surface made for an unexpected air of serenity in the early overs, broken only when a Patel delivery hit a feather, reared up at Mark Bradshaw and deflected narrowly over the top of the stumps. Normally this type of incident could be written off as a fluke, but N. Patel is quite crafty enough to have aimed for the feather.
Bradshaw continued to play Wingfield well, particularly on the leg-side, and eventually there was a plaintive cry of "bowl it on the off stump, Andy" (not an instruction you often hear when Bradshaw is batting.) The bowler obliged with a beauty which straightened and found the outside edge. Keeper Wil Scott snapped up the catch and the former Exiles man departed for 11, still averaging over 40 for Nomads against the Exiles and having contributed to a useful opening stand of 32.
Peter Moth stepped out at No. 3 and his arrival coincided with the first bowling change. On came paceman Simon Gundry, looking fired-up, but Moth coped admirably with the mixture of raw pace, slower balls and yorkers served up by the big speedster and cracked 3 nice boundaries. Fewson also cranked it up a gear as Exiles captain Martin Thomas joined the attack. Moth saw off Gundry but was then slightly unfortunate to flick Thomas straight out of the springs to square leg and had to leave for 14, with the partnership one short of the 50 it deserved.
Hassan Khan was put down at mid-off (a sharp chance) early on but maintained the momentum against the deceptive swing bowler Phil Ling, and Nomads sped from 38 after 10 overs to 103 for 2 at the 20-over drinks break. Ben Fewson had been treating the appreciative audience to a virtuoso display of crisp hitting and had advanced from 24 to 60 scoring nothing but boundaries. Sadly, with another ton in his sights, last season's Player of the Year fell to a smart catch by Keith Roberts off the deceptive flight of off-spinner John Parker-Jones. Abdul Khan avenged this by hitting Parker-Jones out of the attack with three 4s in an over but was then comprehensively bowled by Simon Gundry, who had been brought back for a crack at Nomads' big-hitting middle order. Amin, in perhaps his final innings for the club, survived Gundry but then mishit a David Thomas delivery up into the covers, depriving us of the farewell 6 we craved. Hassan Khan also departed in the same over, caught at the 5th or 6th attempt in an extraordinary piece of juggling from 1st slip Quentin Davies, who never actually looked like dropping the ball.
At 162 for 6 Nomads were approaching the type of total that Exiles have rarely achieved against us, but on a benign track there was a bit more work to do. Riaz Khan dispelled any fears that his expansive batting style would present an easy target for Gundry's yorkers by smacking some big shots, especially over mid-wicket. A promising partnership with Gopi ended sadly when the Mystery Bowler just failed to make it back to his crease on a disputed run. Emil Todorow sauntered out, looking every inch the Senior Professional in his baggy red cap, and went eyeball to eyeball with Naren Patel, his counterpart in age and cunning. Todorow survived and then went on to produce the champagne moment of the season so far; with elbow high and feet in line, he positively caressed a quick one from S. Gundry to the mid-off boundary. A murmur of admiration spread amongst the watching Nomads who were struck by our skipper's uncanny resemblance to David Gower in his prime, in all respects except his age, hairstyle and right-handedness. Riaz Khan was not to be outdone and proved once again that he is almost impossible to bowl at once he reaches double figures. Again and again he bypassed the weary and sun-baked fielders with a brutal display of power hitting which sadly ended on 42 with 5 balls remaining, within touching distance of his second Nomads half-century. Gideon Reeve played out the final over and Nomads ended on the more than satisfactory 222 for 8, our highest total against Exiles since the era of Benny and Rafi, and a score that Exiles have never achieved against us. Given the recent history of these fixtures though, there was certainly no room for complacency.
Nomads took the field with temperatures thankfully cooling towards about 75 degrees. John Crossland was missing his first game for over 2 years, due to a charity cycle ride, but the ever-keen wicketkeeper turned up at 3 o'clock and kept our morale high by pacing the boundary rope while we were fielding, encouraging us and making the occasional astute tactical suggestion. Fortunately we had a very capable replacement behind the stumps in the shape of former Yorkshire Under-17s wicketkeeper Ben Fewson, a man who shares Crossland's willingness to hurl himself full-length for the cause, as well as his connections to the county of Geoffrey Boycott.
The old firm of Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow opened the bowling and, with good pace and accuracy, Khan soon frustrated the dangerous Quentin Davies into skying a chance which Fewson collected comfortably. No. 2 Sri Pathmanathan and No. 3 John Parker-Jones had made a match-winning partnership in the corresponding fixture last year. Sri hits the ball in the air quite a lot and does give hope to the fielders, but has the uncanny ability to just clear their heads. He was dropped off H. Khan but soon began to give the innings some much-needed momentum. Emil Todorow always bowls well against the Exiles however and a well-disguised lifter found Pathmanathan's top edge; the ball appeared to have cleared Amin at slip but Mister Six turned nimbly and pouched a vital wicket. Parker-Jones was looking untroubled but on 9 he flicked first-changer Gideon Reeve hard and low to Mark Bradshaw at square leg, a fine catch from Mark, given the added pressure of the stick he would have got from his former team-mates had he dropped it.
Reeve took another wicket straight away to have Exiles reeling at 46 for 4. Keith Roberts rarely misses out completely against Nomads but he had little time on this occasion to play himself in. He received a bonus, though, when his usual nemesis Emil Todorow mysteriously took himself off. Roberts played nicely, especially between point and gully and his correctness and left-handedness made it awkward for Nomads. Amin and Reeve kept a lid on things though and the required rate rose steadily until drinks were taken at 80 for 4; 143 to win off 20 overs. With Roberts and Wil Scott looking settled and some big-hitters to come this was by no means impossible but a direct hit to savour from Amin disposed of Scott on 90. Nomads' final bowling pairing was Riaz Khan and Gopi and Riaz struck early, bowling Roberts for a useful 25.
Exiles' biggest hitters, Simon Gundry and Andy Wingfield, were now at the middle. 8 an over was required and, if any Exiles pair could achieve that, it would be these two. Wingfield told me later that they had every intention of going for it but Riaz bowled so accurately that he proved almost impossible to get away. Gopi did go for a few more runs but his endless string of variations means that few batsmen can really get into a scoring groove against him. Standing almost behind the wicketkeeper, I realised that he does get remarkable sideways movement through the air at times.
Both of Exiles all-rounders struck a few lusty blows but Riaz bowled Gundry and then Fewson claimed Wingfield off Gopi's bowling to just about secure victory. It was nostalgia time as former Battersea Spinners team-mates, and former members of the legendary Renato Philip's Cricket Circus, Martin Thomas and Riaz Khan faced each other, Riaz triumphing by bowling his friend for 2. Phil Ling showed he is one to watch in future with a couple of big shots but Hassan returned to trap him LBW and leave Exiles all out for 130.
This was not perhaps the most eventful Exiles/Nomads match but from our point of view it was the most satisfying; a great all-round performance and a fine victory against a pretty-much full-strength Exiles line-up. The only thing that could slightly sour the taste of victory is that we have only 4 weeks to savour it. Exiles are sure to come back very hard for revenge in the return fixture at Dundonald Road on 20th June. I was inclining towards Ben Fewson for Man of the Match as his devastating play in the second half of his innings really set up our total, but the consensus in the pub was that Riaz Khan should get it; 42 runs of pure punishment and an analysis of 7-2-12-3, made even better by Exiles' confirmation that they were trying to accelerate against him, but just couldn't. Mark Bradshaw, Gideon Reeve, Abdul Khan and Ben Fewson all fielded well but Amin shades it for Fielder of the Day. A vital catch and a direct hit were a great way to say goodbye - but we've said goodbye to him before, haven't we?

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 222 for 8 from 40 overs

M. Bradshaw -c Scott b Wingfield- 11
B. Fewson(wkt) - c Roberts b Parker-Jones - 64
P. Moth - c Gundry b M. Thomas - 14
H. Khan - c Davies b D. Thomas - 39
A. Khan - b Gundry - 16
Amin - c Wingfield b D. Thomas - 1
R. Khan - b Patel - 42
G. Pala - Run Out - 5
E. Todorow(capt) - Not Out - 15
G. Reeve - Not Out - 0
N. Lefebve - Did not bat

F.O.W. 32, 81, 108, 138, 141, 162, 174, 220

ENERGY EXILES - 130 All Out from 34.3 overs

Q. Davies - c Fewson b H. Khan - 6
S. Pathmanathan - c Amin b Todorow - 20
J. Parker-Jones - c Bradshaw b Reeve - 9
K, Roberts - b R. Khan - 25
D. Thomas - c A. Khan b Reeve - 0
W. Scott (wkt) - Run Out - 13
S. Gundry - b R. Khan - 14
A. Wingfield - c Fewson b G. Pala - 12
M. Thomas (capt) - b R. Khan - 2
P. Ling - lbw H. Khan - 7
N. Patel - Not Out 1

Nomads bowling;

H. Khan 5.3-0-14-2
E. Todorow 5-1-18-1
Amin 5-0-13-0
G. Reeve 5-0-31-2
R. Khan 7-2-12-3
G. Pala 7-0-38-1

Clapham Nomads won by 92 runs

Victory for the Nomads

2010-05-20T05:14:00.000-07:00

The rain-affected game against Kempton last Sunday didn't feel like a victory, even after John's splendid catch off Gopi's bowling to take the 4th wicket. The balance of the match felt quite even and we guessed Kempton had plenty of batting to come. However, you cannot have a draw in a limited-overs game; only a win, a tie or an abandoned match where either side has not had more than a stated percentage of its allotted overs (usually between 25% and 40%.) This was not the case in Sunday's match as Kempton faced 47.6% of their overs before the heavens opened.
Until the mid 1990s, most matches were decided on faster run rate - which would produce a Nomads win by 5.14 per over to 4.32.
More recently, Messrs Duckworth and Lewis have cast their barely comprehensible mathematical cloud over one-day cricket and, after wrestling with their website for several hours, I have reached the following conclusion about the Kempton game;
Nomads won by 4 runs.
Not that we are desperate for a victory of course, or that I have a sad life. NL

Welcome back Mr Six

2010-05-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

It turned out that the attractions of playing for Nomads at Fishponds Road were too strong and Amin didn't leave the country after all. We hope he will be around for a while yet.

Clapham Nomads v Kempton - 16/5/10

2010-05-18T05:34:00.000-07:00

Clapham Nomads took on new opposition, Kempton, at the last-resort ground of Fishponds Road Rec in Tooting. There was a delayed start as some of the away players had the misfortune to get stuck in traffic behind Chelsea's FA Cup-winning parade through Wandsworth.

Kempton are a very strong league club and, as they have only one Sunday side, we were up against several Surrey County League first-teamers including an Overseas Player. We had to play on a used pitch as our allocated track was much too close to the cemetery boundary.

Openers Mark Bradshaw and Peter Moth faced the music from the Overseas Player, an Aussie called Henderson who obtained movement both ways at a lively Fast-Medium, and from the distinctly rapid Parks who deployed away swing and some short stuff. It was tough going, particularly when Parks began to find a spot from which the ball barely bounced; thankfully not on the stumps. Both batsmen coped admirably, with Bradshaw playing possibly the shot of the season so far - a textbook square cut for four. Moth looked very solid and hit Parks imperiously back over the paceman's head before succumbing in the 7th over to the first low bounce from Henderson's end. This was Peter's second unlucky dismissal in successive weeks but he played a useful part in blunting some of the new ball attack's edge. This bowling was high quality and there was a sense that they could have run through a Nomads batting line-up containing its share of flamboyant stroke-makers.
Abdul Khan made a welcome return from injury at No.3 but soon flicked Parks up to point. Hassan Khan joined Bradshaw and took Nomads safely through to a double bowling change after 10 overs with the score around 30 for 2. Henderson was replaced by the young spinner Danny Loveridge who gave notice of dangerous intent by turning his 5th ball in very sharply from the off side. He followed this in his next over with possibly the Sunday cricket "Ball of the Century" which jagged alarmingly in from well wide outside off and flicked Mark Bradshaw's shoulder on its way down the leg side. Extraordinary stuff. Fortunately the spinner bowled 1 or 2 looser balls in every over and Hassan Khan was particularly harsh on these with firm straight hitting and excellent use of his feet. The other change bowler was quickish but not that accurate and both batsmen took a heavy toll on him. The fifty partnership was passed with our lads in charge but the tide was stemmed by a brilliant diving catch by Square leg Gavin Miller to dismiss Khan. the fielders acknowledged the importance of this wicket with a football-style celebration.
Out stepped the Comeback Kid Amin who saw off a few tricky deliveries before the familiar twinkle returned to his eye and we realised only one thing was on his mind. Several of his clean hits dropped just short of the rope but he finally got his and our heart's desire to take him from 37 to 43. He fell shortly afterwards; his job done.
Meanwhile, another spinner - the aptly named Trevor Warne - replaced Loveridge. He had been genuinely mistaken for Andrew West when we saw him approach the ground and he soon showed that he shared some of the Nomads legend's accuracy and could also turn the ball. In his 4th over, with Nomads starting to dominate at 133 for 3, Warne struck twice, having Mark Bradshaw leg before for a crucial 47, one of his best Nomads innings, and Riaz Khan, also LBW, 2 balls later.
The innings petered out somewhat after Amin's dismissal but Gopi, Gideon and Emil all chipped in with runs in fading light as rain threatened and Nomads finished on 180 for 8 from the full 35 which seemed more than reasonable against a classy attack on a less than classy pitch.
Heavy rain delayed the reply but bright sunshine then seemed to promise that the game could be completed. Hassan looked in fine form and soon had 2 wickets to his name; a smart catch by Amin under a skier at mid-on and quick revenge by comprehensively bowling Gavin Miller, the youngster who had caught him. Despite these early losses, Kempton were still at the races and No. 3 Natarajan began picking off Emil Todorow for some resounding leg-side boundaries. The skipper did bowl better than last week though, and was perhaps unlucky with a couple of good lbw shouts. A third wicket for H. Khan, from a shocking shooter, was followed by an increase in tempo from Natarajan and a double bowling change after 14 overs with the score on 59 for 3. Gideon Reeve took over from Todorow and set about trying to find the dodgy patch on the pitch. Gopi's second over produced what proved to be the climactic moment of the match as the Mystery Bowler produced a sharp leg-cutter to find the outside edge and keeper John Crossland swooped like a gazelle at full stretch to pouch the chance. As if in appreciation from any Gods that were watching, the heavens then opened and a spectacular thunderstorm brought proceedings to a close with Kempton on 72 for 4. I will discuss the result in the next post when I have looked at Duckworth and Lewis's website. Man of the Match is Hassan Khan again for a barnstorming 39 and 3 quick wickets against a good batting side, though Mark Bradshaw's 47 was a fine innings and puts him a close second. Fielder of the Day can only be John "The Cat" Crossland for his weather-altering moment of brilliance.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 180 for 8 from 35 overs

M. Bradshaw - 47
P. Moth - 7
A. Khan - 0
H. Khan - 39
Amin - 43
R. Khan - 0
G. Pala - 5
G. Reeve - 6 not out
E. Todorow - 3

F.O.W. - 16,20,88,137,137,162,170,180

KEMPTON 72 for 4 from 16.4 overs

H. Khan - 7-0-22-3
E. Todorow - 7-1-36-0
G. Pala - 1.4-0-6-1
G. Reeve - 1-0-7-0

Result - Clapham Nomads won by 4 runs (Duckworth-Lewis Method.)

Goodbye Mr Six

2010-05-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Sadly we heard on Sunday that Amin, one of last season's stars, has left the country suddenly due to family and business commitments and is unlikely to turn out for the Nomads again.
We first met him in May last year when he came along with his friend Ajmal to watch a match and ended up playing against us for Touring Theatres. Inevitably, he hit a six, a mighty one off a Nick Lefebve floater.
He then played for us for the rest of the season and quickly became a very popular member of the side. His deadpan demeanour belied a mischievous sense of humour; no more so then when, ordered by captain Todorow to play defensively, he grinned, pointed at the sky and growled "six" - one of his few words of English.
Although he had a reputation as a slogger, he played several fine and important innings of around the 35 to 40 mark and had an uncanny ability only to slog when the ball was missing the stumps - often by millimetres. These knocks brightened up the second half of many a Nomads innings. He was also an accurate Medium Pacer who slanted it into the righthander at quite an awkward angle. He scored 220 runs at an average of 22 and took 18 wickets at just over 14. His loss will leave a hole.
Goodbye, Mr Six, we wish you well and hope that you always clear life's boundary rope.
Another loss is Ajmal, who took a record 33 wickets last year. He has gone to play for Dulwich, though it is not impossible that he will play a few games for us, and maybe against us for his new club on September 5th.

Clapham Nomads v Phoenix Epsom Liberal - 9/5/10

2010-05-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

The 2010 season finally got started on a chilly day at Raynes Park against Phoenix Epsom Liberal, a strong side but one that we had managed to beat with good performances in the past 2 seasons.
Phoenix out-Nomaded the Nomads by turning up 45 minutes late and were asked to bat against a Clapham side reduced to ten men by the last-minute emigration of Amin - more of which later.
Mark Bradshaw took guard and was joined at the crease by Peter Moth; a welcome return for a player who last featured in the opening match of the 2009 season.
Bradshaw flicked a nice 4 to leg in the first over but the former Rutland Schools player then settled into obdurate mode, doing well to keep out some lively bowling on an awkward track. Moth was equally solid and played some rather nice straight drives at times. D'Razio found some movement and low bounce from the Bypass End while Gooding, the quicker of the two, was generally a tricky proposition. D'Razio had a good early Leg Before shout against Bradshaw turned down which produced a series of rather amusing protests from Phoenix's second slip. This included sledging, cap throwing and slightly scary staring. In the fielder's defence though, he had drunk quite a lot of whisky - to keep out the cold - and was in a good position to judge the LBW shout, though not as good a position as the umpire.
There was a bowling change after 10 overs with the score on 27 and Carl soon broke the deadlock, having Moth unluckily bowled for 13 with a skidder that bounced at least twice. Bradshaw followed three overs later, also unluckily, bottom-edging a delivery from new bowler Ray onto his bails.
Ben Fewson was now at the crease and the man who it has been revealed was voted Mr Hull 2003 and 2004 in a nightclub in the Yorkshire port city underlined this pedigree with some attractive shots. Hassan Khan began shakily, dropped on the boundary on 3, but a dance down the pitch to smack 4 turned the tempo and Khan began to dominate the bowling, exacting a particularly harsh toll from spinner Ray Ffrench. Fewson departed to a thin edge with the total on 63 but Prasanth provided Hassan with equally valuable support and a fine partnership of 7o put Nomads right back in the game. Ffrench finally took his revenge by bowling Khan for an excellent 70. 133 for 4 from 29 of the 35 overs seemed a reasonable position but a devastating final over from Carl disposed of Nomads' middle order; Prasanth was adjudged LBW for a well-crafted 14, Gopi and Todorow fell on the 4th and 5th balls and the bowler was denied his hat-trick when the keeper put down a sharp chance on the leg-side.
Mahesh Vyas and Nick Lefebve poked around a bit with 9 runs in 5 overs and the 12-year-old Medium Pacer Sofiane showed wisdom beyond his years by floating it up on off-stump to the veteran batsmen, both lovers of the leg side. The returning D'Razio wrapped up the innings in the final over and, with 143 needed to win, it seemed that Epsom Liberal held the balance of power.
Nomads appeared rather short of bowling options, with only Gopi, Hassan Khan and Emil Todorow having been regular bowlers last year. Khan and Todorow opened and, despite good pace and clever use of the slower ball from Khan, P.E.L. were untroubled. One of their openers was particularly accomplished and raced to 50 with the score in the early 70s. Gopi was first change and showed his usual good variety but the star opener managed to hit last season's Best Bowling Average winner for several shots over square leg. Prasanth replaced Todorow and soon showed that we were not so short of bowling options after all with a fine spell of Slow Medium bowling with a hint of turn. He removed the more defensive opener and followed up with 3 further wickets, the highlight being a smart stumping by glovesman John Crossland - sharp as a needle.
At 90 for 4, there was just a sniff of a chance for Nomads but Liberal had plenty of seasoned campaigners still to bat. In the event only one of them was needed, a fine catch on the boundary by Peter Moth only delayed the inevitable and with Nightshift work commitments reducing Nomads to 9 men, the away side reached their target with 6.5 overs to spare - the opener finishing on 85 Not Out.
All in all, it wasn't a bad performance from Nomads - the top 5 batsmen all played well (the total could have been 30 higher but for some high-class fielding and captaincy from Phoenix) and the bowling was better than the stats indicate. It was an enjoyable enough match, though slightly muted by disappointment at the loss of Amin and by the freezing conditions.
Man of the Match is Hassan Khan for his high-quality 70 and for being by far the most economical bowler. Prasanth Pattiyil is a close second with 4 wickets and good batting. Every John Crossland stumping is a moment to savour and this smart piece of work earns him Fielder of the Day.

CLAPHAM NOMADS 142 All Out from 34.2 overs

M. Bradshaw - 12
P. Moth - 13
B. Fewson - 14
H. Khan - 70
P. Pattiyil - 14
M. Vyas - 4
G. Pala - 0
E. Todorow - 0
N. Lefebve - 2 Not out
J. Crossland - 0

F.O.W. - 27, 29, 63, 133, 133, 133, 133, 142, 142

PHOENIX EPSOM LIBERAL 143 for 5 from 28.1 overs

H. Khan 7-2-14-0
E. Todorow 7-0-46-1
G. Pala - 7-1-47-0
P. Pattiyil 7-1-31-4
B. Fewson 0.1-0-1-0

Nomads lost by 5 wickets

Barnes Occasionals v Clapham Nomads - 2/5/10

2010-05-03T05:21:00.000-07:00

We were put out of our misery at 11 o'clock by a call from the Occasionals' organiser. He had visited the Rocks Lane pitch and found it unplayable. Within 10 yards of the wicket - along with the usual goose droppings - were several large puddles, a pond and a set of rugby posts. At least it saved us from what would probably have been the coldest match in Nomads history.

First 2 Fixtures of 2010 season

2010-04-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

The first 2 matches of the 2010 season will be;

Sunday 2nd May v Barnes Occasionals at Rocks Lane, SW13 at 2 pm
Sunday 9th May v Phoenix Epsom Liberal at Raynes Park Sports Ground, Taunton Avenue SW20 - 2 pm start

2009 Season - A report by John Crossland

2010-02-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

The season ended rather disappointingly with another defeat by Energy Exiles; our third loss to that team in 2009. We normally only play any side twice in a year . In fact this may be the first time we've played a team three times in one season.
On the whole though, the season was a fairly good one; winning thirteen, drawing one and losing six. We had seven batting partnerships in the 90s and one century stand. A lot of this was down to Mark Bradshaw but it was Ben Fewson who really stole the show. After the 2008 season I thought Ben might not play for us again but he did return and had a very productive time with the bat scoring three centuries and making nearly 600 runs. He finished top of the batting averages with 49.42 and was also voted Player of the Year.
Hassan Khan and Prasanth Pattiyil also batted well and Niall McConnell in his four innings looked like a very useful batsman indeed. Whether he'll be around next season I just don't know. Prasanth's availability for next season is also uncertain at the moment. His friend Gopi turned out to be a real gem. His bowling looks innocuous enough but he surprised quite a few batsmen and finished top of our bowling averages with 25 wickets at only 5.88. He always has a smile on his face and really enjoys his cricket, but like Prasanth and one or two others he may not be with us this season. We'll have to wait and see.
Ajmal and Amin both had relatively good seasons as all-rounders. Ajmal set a new club record with 33 wickets. He also took ten catches into the bargain and played in every game, as did John Crossland, for the second successive season, and Emil Todorow.

MR CONSISTENT - by John Crossland.

Like myself, Emil Todorow rarely misses a game and I mean rarely! I asked Nick Lefebve to check on Emil's appearances and the info he sent me was amazing.
Emil has played in 138 successive matches for the Nomads. He has been ever-present for the last seven seasons. I knew his appearance record was very good but not that good! It's incredible really. The last game he missed was at the end of the 2002 season (v Albamorphics.) His 100th successive appearance was in September 2007 v Old Leagonians.

P.S. The last match in which Emil was absent, mentioned above, was captained by John Chance. He was another player who seldom missed a game.

2010 Season

2010-02-22T16:45:00.000-08:00

The first fixture of the 2010 season will be on Sunday 2nd May v Barnes Occasionals at Barn Elms Ground in Barnes. 2 pm start

Fielding Stats

2009-09-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

NOMADS FIELDING - 2009 season

Catches;

John Crossland - 14 (all as wicketkeeper)
Ajmal - 10
Hassan Khan - 8
Rob Jenkins - 7
Ben Fewson - 7
Gopi Pala - 5
Abdul Khan - 3
Jim Joyce - 3
Gideon Reeve - 2
Prasanth Pattiyil - 2
Emil Todorow - 2

nine players took one catch each; Peter, Enam, Nissar Khan, Chris Kennedy, Amin, Nick Lefebve, Niall McConnell, Darwin and Mahesh Vyas

Stumpings;

John Crossland - 1

Bowling Averages - 2009

2009-09-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

NOMADS BOWLING AVERAGES - 2009 (Qualification 5 wickets)

Gopi Pala - 25 wickets @ 5.88
Andrew West - 8 wickets @ 6.75
Hassan Khan - 20 wickets @ 10.25
Gideon Reeve - 16 wickets @ 11.44
Riaz Khan - 9 wickets @ 12.22
Amin - 18 wickets @ 14.33
Ajmal - 33 wickets @ 17.15
Rob Jenkins - 7 wickets @ 18.00
Emil Todorow - 19 wickets @ 26.53

Batting Averages - 2009

2009-09-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

NOMADS BATTING AVERAGES 2009 (Qualification - 2 innings)

Ben Fewson - 593 runs @ 49.42
Hassan Khan - 381 runs @ 42.33
Niall McConnell - 160 runs @ 42.00
Mark Bradshaw - 349 runs @ 38.78
Ismat - 34 runs @ 34.00
Prasanth Pattiyil- 388 runs @ 25.87
Chris Kennedy - 25 runs @ 25.00
Amin - 222 runs @ 22.20
Rob Jenkins - 66 runs @ 22.00
Mahesh Vyas - 141 runs @ 20.14
Ajmal - 302 runs @ 20.13
Jim Joyce - 175 runs @ 17.50
Jim Ferguson - 45 runs @ 15.00
Abdul Khan - 72 runs @ 12.00
Gideon Reeve - 24 runs @ 12.00
Gopi Pala - 33 runs @ 11.00
Nick Lefebve - 56 runs @ 9.33
Emil Todorow - 46 runs @ 9.20
Riaz Khan - 39 runs @ 7.80
Nissar Khan - 20 runs @ 6.67
John Crossland - 4 runs @ 1.33
Darwin - 1 run @ 0.50

Energy Exiles v Clapham Nomads - 13/9/09

2009-09-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

There was plenty of demand for one more match to round off this fine season and I was pleased when the Fixture Bureau informed me that our old pals the Energy Exiles were also looking for a fixture. The close links between the clubs ensured an interesting climax to the campaign but our 2 previous defeats against Exiles raised the nagging fear of a humiliating 3-0 whitewash.
The Exiles won the toss and Keith Roberts and John Tither opened - as always with this team, a left-hand / right-hand combination. An initial flurry of boundaries was followed by several successive maidens as opening bowlers Hassan Khan and Ajmal bowled with good pace and accuracy. Tither had made a match-winning 50 against us back in June and was just beginning to look threatening again when Hassan produced one of his best; a good length Jaffa with a hint of swing to bowl this dangerous player. Roberts played his usual cautious hand early on and, joined by Wil Scott, nudged the score up remorselessly with stout defence and a sprinkling of flicks and shots. Ajmal was unlucky on several occasions, finding the inside edge but remaining wicketless.
With the score around 30 for 1 off 12 overs there was a double bowling change. Emil Todorow was on the money straight away and produced several of the balls only he can bowl which are known as "The Remarkable Delivery," kicking up to neck height at slow-medium off a good length. He soon accounted for Wil Scott. At the other end, Gideon Reeve struggled to find last week's accuracy against the left-handed pair of Roberts and No. 4 Sam Scott who took several boundaries, mostly behind square. A brilliant direct hit from Hassan Khan was the highlight of this period but Keith Roberts just made his ground and, after 20 overs, the match was very nicely poised with Exiles on 68 for 2
As ever in the 2nd half of an Exiles innings, Roberts now began to increase the tempo but, when on 30, he uncharacteristically swung across the line to Todorow. Many have tried this but few have survived and the stumps rattled to give the skipper a vital 2nd wicket. Even better followed when No.5 David Stiffell had a heave at Todorow which went straight up to wide mid-on where Ajmal was waiting. The veteran Bulgarian-born seamer had his reward at last for weeks of luckless toil.
Gideon Reeve found his radar in the second half of the spell and after 24 overs, Amin and Gopi took their turn. What a luxury to have bowlers of this calibre coming on 3rd and 4th change. Amin's nagging left-arm accuracy was a good balance for Gopi's endless variety. Gopi had Exiles' captain Amil Patel caught using a variation he hadn't tried before - a low full toss. Some dangerous hitters remained but arguably the most dangerous of these fell to the best piece of outfielding seen from a Nomads player this season. A bullet throw by Ajmal, standing fully two-thirds of the way back to the boundary, struck the stumps first bounce and ran out Simon Gundry by several yards. Another big shot-maker, Andy Wingfield, came up against Gopi at his best and an over featuring several sharp turners culminated in the Exiles all-rounder holing out to Ajmal - who else - at wide mid-on.
No.9 Martin Thomas has been in sparkling form lately and cracked a couple of hefty blows off Amin, but our left-armer took his revenge by depriving the former Nomads player of partners. Two wickets in two balls - one a ? club record 4th catch for Ajmal - ended proceedings on 129 which was lower than seemed likely at any stage of the innings.
Over tea, Nomads could almost taste the possibility of finally breaking the hex Exiles have put on us. Ben Fewson and Mahesh Vyas took guard but disaster struck in the third over when Andy Wingfield first had Fewson caught behind for 4 and then bowled Prasanth round his legs the next ball. Hassan Khan was No. 4 and was due a big innings against Exiles. Mahesh Vyas managed to power Naren Patel for two successive 4s but never looked entirely comfortable against these awkward bowlers and Patel soon had him caught behind for 8. 16 for 3 and there was a sense that much depended on Hassan and Amin. Amin lived up to his nickname "Six" by hitting just that off Naren Patel and then following up with two 4s in Patel's next over to remove the crafty opener from the attack. A rapid partnership began to develop with Hassan playing a series of fine straight hits. Andy Wingfield retired with a pulled hamstring and paceman Simon Gundry took over at the Wimbledon End. Gundry is quicker than most at this level and bowls few bad balls. The watching Nomads felt, with Hassan and Amin pushing the score up past 50 and with little of Wingfield and Patel to come, that if we could restrict Gundry to one wicket or fewer, we might have a real chance. It took the big speed merchant 12 balls to really lock his missiles on to their target but when he did, Hassan's stumps were shattered.
78 for 4 left the match very evenly balanced. No. 6 Nick Lefebve's instructions were to see off Gundry at all costs and try to poach some scraps from the others. He coped adequately with the paceman for a while but Martin Thomas struck a mortal blow at the other end in having Amin excellently caught with a diving flourish by Wil Scott. Ajmal attempted a couple of big hits but perished on the second of them. Gideon Reeve gloved a very rapid Gundry Special to the keeper. Lefebve was on 1 after 7 overs and when he finally received a leg-stump delivery from Gwyn Thomas, he swept it straight to square leg where Sam Scott snapped up the chance at the second attempt. 5 wickets had fallen for 4 runs and we looked set to fall to our first heavy defeat of the season and, as Old Leagonians would put it, "have our pants pulled down."
Emil Todorow joined Gopi at the crease and soon began to smack the ball straight with brutal force. What initially seemed a cameo quickly turned into a captain's innings and all the bowlers felt his power as Nomads cruised past 100. Gopi provided support with some nice leg-side shots. At 111 for 8 we needed 19 to win off 6.3 overs and two well-set batsmen appeared to be steering us to a famous victory. The returning Naren Patel's final over felt important and so it proved as he pegged back Gopi's leg stump. Out came John Crossland and, with Martin Thomas having only one over left, Gwyn Thomas would have to be accompanied by a part-time bowler for at least 2 overs if Nomads' veteran last-wicket pair managed to see out the innings. Surely still a sniff of a chance then, but sadly M. Thomas maintained his unerring line and rapped John Crossland's pad plumb in front. The umpire had little choice but to confirm Exiles' 4th successive victory over the Nomads.
So we were whitewashed, the first time we have lost to the same team 3 times in one season, but at least it was only 13 runs. How are we ever going to beat the Exiles? We might have to get the chequebook out and pay boot money to Australians. Man of the Match has to be Emil Todorow who produced his best batting of the season, along with a good bowling spell, to make it respectable. Ben Fewson is off to Sofia this week as his League side LESSA Christchurch are taking on the Bulgarian National Team, but can it be a true Bulgarian National Team without Todorow playing? Fielder of the Day is Ajmal. 4 catches and a direct-hit - one of the easier choices for the award this season.
The blog will be back in a week or two with a seasonal summary, the averages and maybe a captain's report.

ENERGY EXILES - 129 all out from 31.5 overs

H. Khan, 6-4-11-1
Ajmal, 6-2-13-0
Todorow, 6-0-23-3
Reeve, 6-0-39-0
Gopi Pala, 4-1-6-2
Amin, 3.5-0-22-3

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 116 all out from 29.1 overs

Fewson, 4
M. Vyas, 8
Prasanth Pattiyil, 0
H. Khan, 23
Amin, 31
Lefebve, 1
Ajmal, 0
Reeve, 0
Gopi Pala, 11
Todorow, 22 not out
Crossland, 0

F.O.W. - 6, 6, 16, 78, 80, 80, 80, 82, 111, 116

Nomads v Old Leagonians - 6/9/09 - Report

2009-09-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday's match against Old Leagonians was overshadowed by the very recent death from cancer, at the age of 43, of one of Old Leagonians' long-standing players who had played against us in our only previous encounter 2 years ago.
Both sides observed a very moving minute's silence before the start, and there was a somewhat subdued atmosphere as the game began. One man who wasn't subdued was Hassan Khan who found the edge with his first ball, but the chance went down.
At the other end, Ajmal needed 2 wickets to beat Emil Todorow's club record of 32 wickets in a season and, despite starting a little waywardly, he soon had one of them. There was a wicket apiece for the opening pair who were both rested on the 10-over mark with the score on 25 for 2.
Skipper Todorow replaced Hassan at the Bypass End, hoping for some of the luck that has deserted him lately. The pitch was another of Merton Council's eccentric creations with a more pronounced slope across the pitch than I have ever seen before. There was a bit of uneven bounce but it was well within the spectrum of acceptability and, after all, Lord's has a slope too.
There is no better Nomads bowler at seeking out the snakes than Gideon Reeve and he was quickly at it again, using the slope to claim one scalp and getting low-ish bounce for another. At drinks, Reeve had 3 for 8 from his 4 overs and Leagonians were in difficulty at 48 for 5. Reeve was taken off at this stage, purely to give another high-class Medium Pacer, Gopi, a bowl. The man from Hyderabad didn't disappoint. There was a variation every ball; the slower one, the big off-spinner, the flat one. The only one he didn't produce - to the disappointment of his fans - was the bouncer. Gopi chopped up the tail like a Master Butcher with 3 for 5 in 3 overs; one man fell to a lethal leg-stump slower ball and another deflected it off both his feet before it rolled back onto the stumps.
There was a well-deserved wicket for Todorow to leave Leagonians looking into the abyss of 52 for 9. A brief flurry followed and the skipper sportingly brought Ajmal back on to have another crack at his record. The 5th ball was skied and came down like a meteorite. Thankfully Hassan Khan was under it and made no mistake, giving Ajmal his record 33rd wicket - a great achievement.
The target was 65 and surely this would be no problem, even for a line-up that was missing Mark Bradshaw, Niall McConnell, Amin and Jim Joyce. Bad batting, good bowling, pitch deterioration; it would have to be all 3 for the Nomads to fail. The opening bowler Rob Lowndes looked as likely as anyone to cause problems. He maintained a good length and found some sideways movement but little irregular bounce. He did have Ben Fewson caught and bowled for 8 in his second over, but the 16 runs already on the board had lengthened the odds against a Nomads defeat from possibly 20-1 to more like 100-1. Mahesh Vyas continued his excellent recent form with three 4s in the following over and survived a very confident LBW shout from Lowndes (the ball struck the pad just outside the line.) Prasanth provided solid support before Lowndes got his man, bowling Vyas with the score on 41.
A double bowling change saw Jordan keeping it tight but No. 4 Hassan Khan got after Stiker with three 4s before the bowler took his revenge, having our star all-rounder caught behind with the score on 63. Two to win but when No. 5 Darwin was out second ball, scorer John Crossland could contain himself no longer; "I knew it. Same old Nomads. We're going to mess it up." He shook his head in disgust (or was there just a hint of glee? Surely not.)
Fortunately Nomads' lower order contains many battle-hardened individuals, at least some of whom are capable of scoring 2 runs, and Ajmal quickly sealed the victory.
As it was only 5 o'clock, an 11-overs-a-side beer match was agreed on, to the disgust of John Crossland. "I hate beer matches," he said, with as much conviction the 20th time as the first. At least it was a rare chance for John to display his left-arm Chinamen and it was a very exciting game with Nomads winning on the last ball amidst chaotic scenes as Leagonians tried to run 4 to Emil Todorow at mid-off. They failed of course and Nomads won by 1 run in one of the best beer matches we have played. Even John admitted the last 2 overs were exciting.
Man of the Match was Gideon Reeve who tore through Old Leagonians' middle order. Fielder of the Day was Hassan Khan with his smart catch to help Ajmal to his record.

OLD LEAGONIANS - 64 all out in 24.5 overs

H. Khan - 5-0-12-1
Ajmal - 5.5-1-11-2
Todorow - 7-2-24-1
Reeve - 4-1-8-3
Gopi - 3-2-5-3

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 65 for 4 in 10.5 overs

Fewson, 8
M.Vyas, 22
Prasanth, 7 not out
H. Khan, 17
Darwin, 0
Ajmal, 2 not out

F.O.W. - 16, 41, 63, 63

Latest result

2009-09-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Clapham Nomads beat Old Leagonians by 6 wickets on Sunday 6/9/09. Old Leagonians were 64 all out. Nomads got them for the loss of 4 wickets with Mahesh Vyas top-scoring with 22. Ajmal took 2 wickets to take his tally for the season to 33, a Nomads record.
Full match report will follow

Phoenix (Epsom Liberal) v Nomads - 30/8/09

2009-09-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Nomads travelled to a new venue, Alexandra Park on the edge of Epsom town centre, for this match against Phoenix - a team we beat last year but who used to give us regular hammerings a few years back in their former incarnation of Epsom Liberal. It was a pleasant, rather secluded venue; even the watching gang of teenagers looked on in respectful silence with not a single shout of 'howzat'. Unfortunately they went home early for their tea and missed one of the great bowling performances, but more of that later.
Skipper Todorow won the toss and the late arrival of several players forced him to bat first. The pitch showed signs of use but, apart from the occasional irregular bounce, played well. Ben Fewson adopted the pinch-hitting role he has been playing increasingly in recent matches and took three 4s from the first 2 overs; a particularly powerful straight hit off Raj was the pick of the bunch. His partner, Mahesh Vyas, began cautiously before striking two boundaries though his favourite leg side in the 6th over. As previously, this pair complemented each other very nicely with their different styles. Bowler Raj and his partner Neil began to find some form but the run rate remained steady and yet another half-century 1st wicket stand was reached in around the 9th over. Vyas was displaying a greater range of shots than usual and looked in fine touch. Medium pacer Lowi replaced Raj and soon showed he could move the ball off the pitch but regular wides disrupted his rhythm. At the other end the youngster Centre (nicknamed 'Ayrton' and 'Curtley') struggled even more and produced a string of high wides and no-balls. On 77, with our first century opening stand of the season looking inevitable, Lowi cut one away to find the lower part of Ben Fewson's bat. The ball flew straight to point which was a touch unfortunate.
Mark Bradshaw, who it turned out was batting with a broken finger, was off the mark quickly but a smart piece of fielding had him heading back to the pavilion, run out for 1. No-one likes being out early but it was perhaps a blessing in disguise as a long innings would surely have caused him considerable pain.
The 11-year-old Medium Pacer Sofiane came on and impressed with reasonable accuracy and attitude. He was not fazed by being taken for 26 in 14 balls by Vyas and Prasanth and sneaked a nice straight ball onto Vyas's front pad. Kindhearted umpire Todorow couldn't resist the kid's imploring appeal and Mahesh was dismissed by probably the youngest bowler ever to take a Nomads wicket. If it's any consolation to Mahesh, Sofiane does bowl for his (Primary) school.
The match was nicely poised at 133 for 3 from 20 of the 35 overs but a lot rested on Prasanth and No. 5 Ajmal, the last of the recognised strokemakers. They didn't disappoint; Ajmal warming up with 2 sixes off Lowi and Prasanth being as consistent as ever. A stand of 53 in 50 balls between these 2 meant that our bowlers would have plenty to play with, but Phoenix are traditionally a strong batting side and the short boundaries meant that we really needed well over 200 to feel comfortable.
Nick Lefebve came out and soon received a nice leg-side long-hop from spinner Ray French to help him settle. The other bowler, also called Ray, had tricky variation of pace and, in trying too hard to give the strike to Ajmal, Lefebve hit to mid-off and called for a risky single. Ajmal hesitated slightly and was run out for a hard-hitting 37. Chris Kennedy joined Lefebve and the veteran pair, neither of them natural attacking players, managed at least to milk 21 runs at 4 an over to take the final total up to 216 and leave the match very finely balanced.
On paper, Nomads had only 4 front-line bowlers and, bearing in mind that Phoenix scored 210 off 35 overs last year against a stronger Nomads bowling line-up, defending 216 would take great reserves of cunning and ruthlessness. Fortunately the captain was Emil Todorow so these attributes were not going to be in short supply.
Todorow himself opened alongside Ajmal. The skipper has been bowling well in recent weeks with absolutely no luck and this continued when the hard-hitting Ray French was badly missed during an over in which he took 8 off Emil. Ajmal started the game on 30 wickets, only 2 short of Todorow's club record of 32 scalps in a season, and he roared in in search of blood. The 2 Rays were an impressive opening pairing though and good hitting, initially straight but then all over the park, took the score past 50 with Nomads wilting a little. Fortunately both bowlers were just too good to be denied and there was a wicket apiece; a caught behind for the skipper and a lovely straight plumb LBW to take Ajmal up to 31. After 14 overs there was a double bowling change and on came Andrew West and Gopi, two men who are very different in physical stature but very similar in their determination to take wickets. There was an aura about West as he jogged in, ball in hand, and he very quickly produced a floater to bowl No. 4 R.Gall, a man we were told had averaged 280 in his previous three innings. That's all very well, but it's unlikely he had faced a bowler of the calibre of Andrew West.
Gopi produced his usual excellent variation with several big off-spinners and got a quick reward with the wicket of No. 3 Piper Masha. It was West's day however and, even when Raj sent the ball into orbit for a giant 6, Andrew showed his new-found maturity by merely muttering some extremely obscene curses under his breath and turning round and sending down some more jaffas. Down they fell; bowled, bowled and a brilliant running catch by Gopi at short third man to remove the dangerous Raj.
Shuffling his bowling options cleverly, The Gaffer turned to the spin of Ben Fewson who soon showed we did have a 5th front-line bowler all along with some well-flighted spin. West held the ball aloft after achieving his five-fer with yet another bowled and then Fewson rapped it up to secure a resounding victory by 116 runs. This was a great all-round Nomads performance from a slightly depleted team with everyone chipping in. Phoenix were perhaps more depleted than us, and I did hear a rumour they told John Crossland they were a bit complacent before the game. I'm sure they won't be next season.
There is little that can be said about Andrew West that has not already been said except that he is Man of the Match. Fielder of the Day is a share between Gopi, who took one of the best catches of the season and Mark Bradshaw, who stopped everything at fine leg when the pressure was on - despite a broken finger.

Clapham Nomads - 216 for 5 from 35 overs

Fewson, 27
M. Vyas - 43
Bradshaw, 1
Prasanth, 34
Ajmal, 37
Lefebve, 14 not out
Kennedy, 9 not out

F.O.W. - 77, 85, 133, 186, 195

Phoenix - 100 all out from 27.1 overs

Ajmal, 7-1-35-1
Todorow, 7-0-25-1
West, 7-2-20-5
Gopi, 4-0-11-1
Fewson, 2.1-4-1

Theatres v Nomads - Match stats and records

2009-08-27T03:50:00.000-07:00

Two records were broken in this match; Mark Bradshaw and Niall McConnell's stand of 158 finally eclipsed the long-standing 2nd wicket record and Jim Joyce's business trip to St Tropez was definitely the most glamorous reason ever for missing a match. This record was previously held by John Crossland who missed 2 matches in 2007 whilst on a Mediterranean cruise. That sounds pretty glamorous itself until you realise that he was accompanied by a postman
Man of the Match was Gopi who produced another great spell of which the highlights were 2 wickets in 2 balls and a devastating bouncer. Fielder of the Day was Ajmal.

Clapham Nomads - 233 for 5 Declared from 35 overs

Bradshaw, 70
Fewson, 28
McConnell, 73
Prasanth, 0
Ajmal, 16
Lefebve 6 not out
Reeve, 10 not out

F.O.W. - 35, 193, 194, 200, 221

Touring Theatres - 96 all out in 30.1 overs

Ajmal 8-1-27-1
Todorow 10-5-13-0
Reeve 6-0-18-3
Gopi 5-2-16-5
West 1.1-0-12-1

Clapham Nomads won by 137 runs

Touring Theatre XI v Clapham Nomads - 23/8/09

2009-08-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

A report by John Crossland

Mark Bradshaw, on his return from injury, opened the Nomads batting with Ben Fewson. The latter was immediately into his stride, scoring freely off the slow bowling of Warnaby whose first 2 overs went for 27. It was unusual to see Warnaby as an opening bowler. The other opening bowler, Owen, kept things reasonably tight and he also dismissed Fewson for a rapid 28 with the total on 35.
McConnell now joined Bradshaw and these two started to build a big partnership. Never looking in any trouble, they reached 50 at about the same time and were not parted until they had added 158 runs which is a record for the Nomads 2nd wicket. Bradshaw made a chanceless 70 and McConnell made 73 with eleven 4s and a 6. Ajmal then hammered a few quick runs and, shortly afterwards, skipper Todorow declared with the score on 233 for 5. This was a time game, not limited overs.
In reply, Touring Theatres had some early escapes due to dropped catches with Todorow having two easy chances spilled off his bowling. However when Gideon Reeve and Gopi came into the attack the wickets started to tumble. Reeve, bowling off his new, shorter run-up, was more accurate than he has been on previous occasions, albeit a bit slower, and he took 3 for 18. Gopi, a clever bowler, weaved his magic again and finished with 5 for 16, his second 5-wicket haul of the season. These two bowled so well that Andrew West, who was itching for a bowl, was almost not needed; but he was brought on at the end and took the final wicket with the total on 96. There were still about 11 overs left so this was a very convincing win for the Nomads.
It was great news to hear that England had won the Ashes. Everybody seemed happy, even the one who had bet on an Aussie win. JC

LESSA Christchurch v Nomads - 16/8/09

2009-08-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

Nomads travelled to Eltham to play the team for whom Ben Fewson turns out in the Kent Feeder League on a Saturday. It was a slightly makeshift Nomads line-up due to the understandable reluctance of several players to travel to a place with an 'E' in the postcode.
LESSA were restricted to about 156 for 9 from their 35 overs. A forfeit system was in place in the field whereby any Nomads fielder dropping a catch had to wear a hat in the shape of a turkey's head. Emil Todorow avoided this indignity with a stunning catch on the boundary from a skier. Todorow also impressed with a hyper-economical spell of 9 runs from his 7 overs but the highlight was a hat-trick from Gopi who took a total of 4 wickets. Prasanth was next best with 3.
In Nomads' innings, Ben Fewson put his LESSA team-mates' bowling to the sword with a very rapid 46 before being brilliantly run out. This took a lot of pressure off the batsmen lower down, the highest scorers of whom were Ajmal with about 25 and Gopi with 22. Chris Kennedy also played a good anchor man role with a valuable 14, holding together the late middle order. No.10 Emil Todorow came in with the scores level and about 4 overs to go but victory by 2 wickets was sealed with a wide.
Man of the Match was Gopi for only about the third hat-trick in Nomads' history and 22 runs. Fielder of the Day and full match stats to follow

Worcester Park v Clapham Nomads - 9/8/09

2009-08-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

After a long summer of purgatory, the Nomads finally arrived at Paradise in the shape of Worcester Park CC's ground at Green Lane. For the first time, Nomads had given themselves a Conference Rating of Medium rather than Weak-Medium and were being rewarded with facilities to match their new status; an excellent-looking, correctly-marked pitch, a full-size scoreboard, 2 large sightscreens and a bar full of large, tattooed men who had come to shout at the pampered, over-paid, petulant sports stars (Chelsea in the Charity Shield, not the Nomads.)
Having seen the pitch, and with the toss won, Nomads' Top 8 were champing at the bit. Ben Fewson and Prasanth had first go and the opening over was a bit of a reality check as the Medium Pacer Rob Waite found considerable extra kick off the pitch. Fewson just about kept a low one out and Prasanth also did well to survive. Thankfully the pressure was eased by 4 byes and it was eased further when 12 came from Scott Kent's first over; a boundary for each batsman and a smattering of wides. Most of the early scoring was behind the wicket but progress was swift with 45 taken from the first 8 overs, mostly off Kent.
There were 2 important turning points around this time; Ben Fewson hit the first boundary in front of square - uppishly, but it eased the tension palpably - and Prasanth survived a run out appeal which I could tell, even from the other end, was quite remarkably close.
Both batsman were getting into their stride as 50 was passed. Prasanth played several nice leg side shots. Fewson confided to me that he was struggling to find his form and then struck the spinner Ben Line back over his head for two 4s in an over. I wish I could struggle like that.
Kent had changed ends and, reducing his pace, finally accounted for Prasanth (29) caught with the total on 92; yet another of the fine opening partnerships which have underpinned Nomads' season.
Fewson smote a big 6 off Ricky Geale, removing the bowler from the attack, and raced to another half-century. He was dropped off Ben Line but was starting to look in prime form with Niall McConnell playing a supporting role as drinks were taken after 20 overs with about 115 on the very professional-looking scoreboard.
McConnell was initially quite cautious, pushing the ball gently out on to the off side. "He's only got one shot," one of the revitalised fielders chirped. A top-drawer straight drive soon disproved that theory and the batsmen began to build a major stand with snappy running between the wickets and a sprinkling of classy boundaries. McConnell even caused the blue-shirted men in the bar to take their eyes off Frank Lampard's legs for a second when he produced the shot of the season so far, a quite wonderful cover drive just like they play them on television. Soon after this highlight, McConnell was bowled by Bruce (yes, he was Australian) for his second 44 in successive games and the partnership was broken 4 runs short of its century.
Ben Fewson gave the charge to a slower one from Kent and had to scramble back, seemingly pulling something in the process. "I think it's my quad," Ben grimaced as he staggered to his feet. "Do you want to come off?" The umpire asked. His score (87 Not out) flashed through the batsman's brain. "Do I ****," he replied.
Ben appeared unaffected by the pull and was so well set that he was able to run several balls deliberately down to third man off the edge. This took him to 96 and he brought up the big landmark in fine style with another drive over the bowler's head. This was Ben's third century of the season, a fantastic achievement and probably the finest of the three, taking his seasonal average up to around 67.
Hassan Khan had played a supporting role and this continued after Fewson was finally out for 107. The run rate remained impressive despite a string of slightly unlucky dismissals; Jim Joyce to a snorter, Rob Jenkins to one that kept very low and Amin to a 30-yard direct hit by the wicketkeeper who still had his gloves on. A flurry of crackerjack straight hits from Ajmal took the total up to 244 for 6 at the close.
So just over 6 an over was required and Nomads had mixed feelings; no opponents had successfully chased a total this large in Nomads' history but on the other hand the opposition were a 1st XI containing well-coached youngsters and Australians.
Nomads opening pair of Rob Jenkins and Hassan Khan started reasonably well with Hassan bowling a particularly good line and length. W. Park's opener Ryan made the big mistake of trying to hit Hassan across the line and departed, bowled, for 8. Opener Ladha then consolidated with No. 3 Harrison and runs began to flow, especially off first change Emil Todorow, though Emil was unlucky with several aerial shots narrowly evading the clutches of the Nomads' fielders.
Hassan was taken off after bowling 7 overs, saving one up for later, and Ajmal replaced him downhill, impressing with good pace and soon having Ladha trapped LBW for a rapid 40. Ladha departed to very desultory applause from the W. Park players - I counted 4 claps - which seemed either to be evidence of poor team spirit or that they felt 40 was a run-of-the-mill score. I feared the latter.
2 further wickets fell to Ajmal taking it to 90 for 4 at the 20-over drinks break and then a brief flurry was terminated by a wicket apiece for Amin and Gopi. At 126 for 6 Nomads appeared to have their feet on the jugular and a burst of shots from Number 7 and 8 Kent and Waite (the opening bowlers) didn't appear too significant. Nomads perhaps relaxed a little and suddenly Worcester Park were racing past 150 and Waite and Kent were playing quite beautifully. Nomads bowling was reasonable but there was very little help from the pitch and there was a 6-over spell where every single ball was met by a sturdy middle. 85 were required from the last 10 when Gopi was taken off, a little unluckily perhaps. Rob Jenkins replaced Gopi and the change of pace worked only briefly. Ajmal replaced Amin but 2 successive 4s from him and a Jenkins over which culminated in a 6 brought the rate down to around 6.5. A massive roar suddenly cut through the evening gloom and a thin, stark-naked 20-year-old male appeared inside the boundary, strutting his stuff and obtaining much more ball movement than Nomads' bowlers were getting. He was no Erica Roe sadly and, chased by a Worcester Park fielder trying to slap him on the bottom with a bat, he soon disappeared back into the bar leaving Nomads to attempt to wrap up the match. The required rate was coming down with almost every passing over. Ajmal raised hopes slightly when one of his overs went for only 4 and then even more so when he smashed Kent's stumps. The new player was the skipper, Line, however and he was a competent replacement. Even Hassan's last over failed to stop the rot and Amin returned to bowl the final over with only 5 needed. A dot ball was followed by a scampered 2 to bring up a fine 50 for Waite who celebrated by locating the ball somewhere in the twilight and thumping it for 4 to complete victory.
This was a good performance from Nomads and we justified our Medium rating. The bowling wasn't as bad as the figures appear but perhaps we lack a bit of experience of bowling on really good tracks. We have probably been relying on the pitch to help us a bit too much. There was a rumour Worcester Park had tinkered with their batting order to make a game of it (and certainly their numbers 7 and 8 appeared more accomplished than 4, 5 and 6) but if they did it could easily have backfired. After all, they needed over 100 off the last 12 overs and they didn't know much about us. It is hard to believe they could have achieved that run rate if we'd had up our sleeves someone like, say, Rafi, or (after last week's performance) Andrew West.
Man of the Match can only be the man to whom scoring tons is shelling peas - Mr Ben Fewson. Fielder of the Day is harder; Crossland, Ajmal and Fewson all impressed but Jim Joyce gets the nod. He did very little wrong and a hell of a lot right. NL

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 244 for 6 from 40 overs

Fewson, 107
Prasanth, 29
McConnell, 44
H. Khan, 9 Not out
Joyce, 0
Amin, 9
Jenkins, 1
Ajmal, 7 Not out

F.O.W. - 92, 188, 217 - list to be completed

WORCESTER PARK (Sunday 1st XI) - 246 for 7 from 39.3 overs

H. Khan - 8-3-33-1
Jenkins - 7-1-48-0
Todorow - 8-0-56-0
Ajmal - 8-1-39-4
Amin - 5.3-0-48-1
Gopi - 3-0-22-1

Worcester Park won by 3 wickets

Nomads v K.Lefthanders - Lefthanders' Innings

2009-08-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

In previous years, the script for this innings would have been written before we took the field. Stout defence for the first hour would have been followed by a slight wobble and then more stout defence with Lefthanders finishing on about 65 for 7. However, Kingston are a team in transition and the old approach was there in the person of the very solid defender Nick Crouch but there was also some good straight hitting from his lefthanded partner which, with a far from massive total to defend, meant that Nomads could not go for all out attack straight away. Rob Jenkins took first over and kept it tight without ever really threatening. A few more shots were played off Emil Todorow but he it was who made the breakthrough. Shortly after an easy chance from Crouch had gone down off Todorow's bowling, Emil produced his Crafty Leg-Side One which Crouch deflected and had wicketkeeper John Crossland twisting and stretching to pouch the ball an inch from the turf in a gymnastic display worthy of Olga Korbut.
A period followed where Lefthanders seemed to be making a decent fist of the run chase with some good hitting, particularly straight. Andrew West, fetchingly clad in a figure-hugging blue T-shirt, took first change and immediately impressed as he was in 'bowling machine mode' with virtually every delivery on the stumps and at a length somewhere between good and half-volley. This was an interesting test of Kingston's intentions as a good attacking player can really get after West, but he rather mesmerises defensive players with his accuracy. Just when a few shots were beginning to flow, Ben Fewson swooped for an excellent catch at short-ish mid wicket; it was as if the former actor was playing the part of John Crossland in a docu-drama. 43 for 2 and it quickly became 51 for 3. Numbers 4 and 5 were together at drinks and were looking solid with 116 needed from the final 20 overs.
For a period after drinks, the young pair managed either 5 or 6 in each over and the chase was just about on, but a West maiden ratcheted up the pressure and then 3 wickets fell on 77 to just about kill off Kingston's chances of victory. One of these wickets fell in what will come to be known as West's Over. Each of the first 4 balls was greeted by a thunderous appeal (accompanied by baffled chuntering from the watching Lefthanders.) The fifth ball produced another appeal, and more chuntering which died down abruptly when it was realised that the bails were on the ground and all that remained was to salute a Maestro in action - Mr Andrew West.
By now, Gopi had joined the attack and he produced a brilliant spell of Medium Pace bowling. His first wicket was a caught and bowled with the bowler just casually raising an arm and plucking the ball out of thin air. A caught behind (off a quicker lifter,) a bowled and another caught and bowled followed but Gopi's fifth wicket was the best of all. Meerkat was singlehandedly chasing a target of about 15 an over and took a mighty heave at a well-disguised slower one from Gopi. The batsman had played his shot twice and was halfway through his third attempt when the ball rolled onto his stumps. A moment which combined comedy and triumph and gave Nomads 7 overs to take the last wicket. One of the last pair was the obdurate Dave Connett, a veteran of many many rearguard actions. 4 overs passed yielding only frustration before Ajmal produced a quick half-volley which Connett flicked up to Rob Jenkins at Short Leg. 11 Nomads danced in celebration for almost a minute before glancing around and noticing that the batsman was still there. Both he and the umpire had acknowledged our appeal but decided that there was too much uncertainty for the decision to be given. They could only be implying the possibility of a 'bump ball.' Nomads discussed this at length later after about 3 pints and, using knowledge of Physics and...er... other sciences, decided that the ball's trajectory meant that it could only have bounced once - and it definitely bounced before the batsman played it.
The mood was a little tense for a while and we apologise to Kingston if any industrial language was used. Ajmal treated Connett to a bouncer and then Gopi bowled the penultimate over without success. The stage was nicely set for the final over with a fired-up Ajmal roaring in to Connett. The first ball was a full toss which was safely dealt with to a roar of 'make it bounce' from the slip cordon. Ajmal did just that and produced an absolute snorter which produced an explosion of stumps and celebrating fielders.
So victory with 4 balls to spare in a fixture which can be hard to win. If ever a match needed a Camcorder it was this one. I would love to see the late disputed catch again, and also Crossland and Fewson's diving catches and, most of all, the dramatic declaration.
Man of the match was Gopi for a terrific spell of bowling which set up the victory. Fielder of the Day was John Crossland for 2 catches (one top-class) and throwing himself to the ground repeatedly as well as throwing down the gauntlet to the opposition with his inspired declaration, the Tactical Intervention of the Season so far.

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 176 for 6 Declared from 36 overs

Fewson, 52
Prasanth, 15
McConnell, 44
Ajmal, 0
Jenkins, 34
Ismat, 9 Not out
Lefebve, 5
Todorow, 1 Not out

F.O.W. - 43, 88, 88, 141, 160, 174

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 113 All out from 40.2 overs

Jenkins, 6-1-12-0
Todorow, 7-0-25-1
West, 13-4-22-2
Ajmal, 6.2-1-23-2
Gopi, 8-1-25-5

Nomads won by 63 runs

Nomads v Kingston Lefthanders 2/8-Nomads Innings

2009-08-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Abbey Rec played host to the latest renewal of this long-standing, always eventful fixture. The Lefthanders had warned us in June that they had some new, high-quality players who were away on a fishing trip. We did notice several unfamiliar faces on arrival and, considering this together with the slightly makeshift nature of our batting line-up, it seemed Lefthanders had a reasonable chance of recording only their second victory over Nomads in 9 seasons.
John Crossland captained for the first time this year and there was an emotional return for Andrew West, making his 60th appearance for the club.
Ben Fewson and Prasanth took guard for the Nomads. Fewson hit Chris's second ball for 4 but it was mostly stout defence against the Worcester Park CC League bowler who combined accuracy with a hint of movement off the excellent pitch. "Take it easy, Chris, it's only a Sunday game," a fielder chirped at one point. At the other end, "Meerkat" forced Prasanth to play out 3 successive maidens. Excellent ground-fielding helped this, though he was also dropped at point. 6 runs off 6 overs and the openers seemed only too aware that we were missing Mark Bradshaw, Hassan Khan and Amin. Fewson then grabbed the reins, hitting Chris back over his head for 4 in successive overs. Meerkat was inexplicably taken off with figures of 4-3-2-0 and, with several short deliveries, his replacement Johnson issued Nomads a licence to accelerate. Our lads accepted this eagerly to the tune of 23 off 2 overs, a 6 and a 4 from Prasanth in successive balls being the highlight. Johnson took revenge on Prasanth in the 14th over with the help of a massive slice of luck; the ball hit a pad well forward and rolled back to dislodge a bail. 43 for 1 and yet another solid start, of which we have had so many this season.
Former Leicestershire triallist Niall McConnell walked out, having not played for several years, but the man from Houghton-on-the-Hill looked at home straight away with plenty of time to play his shots, particularly strong square on both sides. Ben Fewson was on 36 at drinks but then raced to his half-century. He was playing as well as he has this season and was profoundly untroubled by Lefthanders' change bowlers, though the leg-spinner Dave Connett produced considerable tweak at times. It was a major surprise when Fewson got a leading edge to a short one from Adam Elliott and departed for 52. No less a figure than umpire Andrew West informed Ben later; "You should have had a century, mate."
Ajmal at No.4 was aware that, in the absence of Amin, he was "slogging for two" and he was bowled third ball. At 88 for 3 all-rounder Rob Jenkins, playing his first Nomads game for 2 months, joined his friend McConnell and the pals played out an important partnership. One side of the wicket was almost boundary-less and the pair repeatedly hit the ball deep into a patch of damp clover just short of the rope. Jenkins' innings of 34 included four 3s and an all-run 4. He was finally stumped off the wily Connett and admitted that, after running 11 in the previous over, he was too tired to make it back to his crease.
Despite the excellent batting on view, skipper Crossland appeared unsettled and was pacing the boundary wearing a deep frown. "Don't think I won't declare," he asserted repeatedly, "because I will." The consensus from the watching Nomads was that, with the Lefthanders team containing new players who were making diving, one-handed stops, a declaration at anything under 180 would be risky. That made Crossland's mind up for him. "I'll declare on 170," he decided. We should have realised that the frown was not evidence of worry, but of the cogs and pistons of a fine cricket brain pumping in overdrive.
McConnell departed, just 6 runs short of a deserved 50, caught off the excellent 13-year-old swing bowler Williams. 160 for 5. With one eye on the pacing skipper, Ismat and Lefebve kept up some momentum with 14 taken off 18 balls but, when Lefebve fell to Chris and only 2 were taken from the following 8 balls, Crossland had seen enough. "I'm calling them in," he shouted, "I'm declaring." The Kingston fielders' faces registered bafflement. "Why?" They asked. Their faces should have shown fear rather than bafflement, being sucked in as they were by a cricketing mastermind.
So an extra quarter of an hour was added to Kingston's innings. Would these minutes prove vital? You'll have to read the next instalment to find out

The 'BALLA D' of Emil Todorow and Mr X.

2009-07-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

In a recent match between the Nomads and Morden CC, a minor umpiring difference of opinion between our own skipper Mr Emil Todorow and legendary Morden stalwart Mr X led to Mr X asserting that he was a faster bowler, a better bowler and, in fact, a better cricketer than Todorow. The Nomads have been discussing this at length in recent weeks, with many helpful and interesting comments made on the subject.
Finally, in a special feature, Clapham Nomads Blogspot has decided once and for all to establish who rules the roost in South London cricket as we compare two men who are very different and yet, somehow, so very much alike.

In a searching and unbiased examination, we will study their cricketing ability, their wider cricketing awareness, and also seek to learn more about the men beneath the white flannels. They will be assessed head-to-head in 8 different areas; batting, bowling, fielding, captaincy, temperament, cricketing experience, hair and piss-taking.

BOWLING -

TODOROW's bowling record in games against Morden is 38-4-123-4, an average of 30.75, but his seasonal average has been better than this in each of his 20 summers of cricket. He is unorthodox but undeniably effective with almost 300 wickets for Clapham Nomads and over 150 - often in trying circumstances - for Open University. Rating - 8 out of 10

Mr X's record in these matches is 38-6-129-4, uncannily similar to Todorow's and indicative of the fact that there are more similarities between the men than there are differences. He is an effective line and length merchant but perhaps lacking just a touch of the Nomads player's flair and variation. It would be a co-incidence if his overall record was also, like Emil's, much better than in Nomads/Morden fixtures. Rating - 6 out of 10

BATTING

TODOROW's batting average against Morden in recent seasons is only 6.67. However, in games in which Mr X was playing this rises to 17.00, indicating that Emil thrives on this great rivalry. He can be a slow starter but when he gets going his square cut is a thing of savage beauty. He has opened the batting many times and may just be harder to dismiss than Mr X. Rating - 6 out of 10

Mr X, like Todorow, can struggle early in his innings but once he is established his footwork and variety of strokeplay may just give him the edge here. Only 2 of his scores have been recorded in Nomads' scorebook; 14 and 30. Rating - 7 out of 10

FIELDING

Mr X has taken at least 1 catch against the Nomads and may have taken more. He is a competent fielder and I can recall neither any great flashes of brilliance nor any particularly serious errors. Rating - 6 out of 10

TODOROW himself would admit that this is not the strongest area of his game but his ground-fielding is becoming more dependable and he has arguably the more powerful throw of the two men. Rating - 5 out of 10

CAPTAINCY

Mr X has extensive captaincy experience and his assertiveness and personal charm make him a natural leader. His field positioning is astute. He remains the only man to captain Morden to victory over the Nomads but he has also led them to a minimum of two defeats. Rating - 6 out of 10

When TODOROW became Nomads' regular captain, he took a long look at the club's on-field behaviour problem and banned him. He may not quite have Mr X's tactical knowledge but he has helped to generate an atmosphere which, dare it be said, may just be slightly happier than Morden's. His record as captain against Morden speaks volumes; Won 5 Lost 1, a success rate of 83%. Rating - 8 out of 10

TEMPERAMENT

TODOROW is a man who experienced early hardship and whose personal philosophy encourages him to relish suffering. He is calm, unflappable and a stoic. He carries this on to the cricket field. If he is hit for 6, he will follow up with an unplayable yorker. If he is given out LBW unluckily, he will shrug it off with just the tiniest glance at his inside edge. If he is confronted by very bad behaviour from an opponent or, more usually, a team-mate, he will deal with the situation coolly and efficiently - and kick the offender up the backside. Rating - Zen-like. 9 out of 10

Until this season, I can recall no incidents involving Mr X. He seemed a pleasant, affable man. He still does, but one or two cracks are starting to appear; blaming his own wayward bowling on Clapham Nomads' excellent choice of balls, obsessively questioning umpires' decisions and entering into childish comparisons of cricketing ability with senior opposition players. Rating - An Area to be Watched. 6 out of 10

CRICKET EXPERIENCE

Mr X is about 60 and has been playing organised cricket for almost 50 years. He grew up in Wimbledon, overlooking Dundonald Road Rec, and remembers the Rec as a pleasant place to play cricket, which shows he does possess a long memory. It is evident from the ability he still possesses that he must once have played at a high level. He still plays for a well-organised and established League club and is likely to have coaching experience. Rating - Vast Experience. 9 out of 10

Emil TODOROW is 57 but didn't hold a bat until he was 33 and didn't start playing organised cricket until he was nearly 40. Since then, though, he has played in 350-400 matches, well over 150 of them as captain. He has helped build up a club from nothing and has vast experience of the low-budget end of non-league cricket. He loves the game deeply and is a good judge of a cricketer; his favourite players being Graeme Hick, Sir Richard Hadlee and 1980s Nottinghamshire seamer Andy Pick. Rating - Unique Experience. 7 out of 10

HAIR

Mr X is clearly a man who takes pride and interest in his hair. It is always neat and well-coiffured, if just slightly long for a man of his age. I suspect he may use an expensive conditioner. In cricketing terms it doesn't particularly help or hinder his play, and the way his hair bounces interestingly when he is appealing vigorously for LBW causes umpires to treat the appeals only marginally less seriously than they otherwise would. He has quite good eyebrows too. Rating - Nice Hair. 9 out of 10

Despite once being described as 'shaggy-haired' in the Daily Telegraph, TODOROW's hair is absolutely first-class. It is the hair of someone who is his own man, of a cerebral man of culture. It is professorial. When he bowls, his hair often floats in the breeze, providing aerodynamic assistance to his run-up and sometimes intimidating younger, more impressionable batsmen. Rating - Best Hair in Cricket. 10 out of 10.

PISS-TAKING

Mr X may, for all we know, be excellent at taking the piss; though the humour in Morden CC's sledging and banter is less subtle and, in fact, less funny than that found in most teams. He has had little opportunity to take the piss out of the Nomads because of the way results have gone. As Todorow would put it; "The piss has been on him." Rating - Gnat's. 4 out of 10

No-one takes the piss quite like TODOROW. He is a master of the art and is devoted to it. In the words of Benny; "A piss-taker he is, always was and always will be." Rating - Young's Special. 10 out of 10.

So there you have it. But what does all this reveal about these two great men? In terms of pure cricketing ability i.e. batting, bowling and fielding, the aggregate scores are Todorow 19 Mr X 19 which underlines the intense similarity between these men and hints at the suspicion that they were, in fact, separated at birth. In a wider cricketing context, bringing in captaincy, temperament and experience, we find Todorow with 43, compared to Mr X's 40, beginning to forge clear. However, it is in the widest sphere, taking the pair not just as Sunday Sportsmen but as rounded men of the world, that a victory by 63 to 53 means that it is Mr X MBE but it is Sir Emil Todorow.

Putney v Clapham Nomads - 26/7/09

2009-07-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

It was down to Putney to join the long list of players who have performed at Putney's historic ground on Lower Common; Jack Hobbs, Jim Laker and now the Nomads. Putney's skipper had accidentally revealed in a forwarded e-mail that he wanted his Fixtures Secretary to find weak opposition as they had been thrashed a lot lately, so the home side's smiles were bright as Messrs Todorow, Crossland and Lefebve (combined age 158) approached them at the start of play; perhaps less so when the rest of our honed young athletes arrived.

Nomads were inserted under a menacing sky. In the absence of Mark Bradshaw, and with Prasanth running late, Ben Fewson and Mahesh Vyas opened and the start was somewhat shaky. Vyas was dropped twice by first slip in the first 5 overs while Fewson snicked one through the slips for four and dug out one that barely bounced. The bowling wasn't particularly threatening though Willow kept a decent line and length from the Pavilion End. 8 overs passed on 24 for 0 but a double bowling change was the cue for acceleration as the batsmen set about "Kermit" and Fahad. As ever, Vyas played exclusively on the leg side early on while Fewson was strongest through the covers. This disrupted the fielding side almost as well as having a left-hand / right-hand combination. 50 was passed in the 11th over and Vyas celebrated by cutting a 4 past point, a sure sign that he was finding form. Both batsmen looked in good touch, in fact, (though Fewson was dropped at mid-on while in the 30s) and it came as rather a surprise when Vyas finally skied one off Fahad and departed for 40 - his best Nomads score for some time. 79 for 1.

Jim Joyce joined Fewson but still appeared hampered by the back injury he sustained last week and he managed only a rather edgy 6 before being bowled.

Out came Prasanth but, after a couple of nice shots, he was undone by a ball that bowled him around his legs. A rare low score for this most consistent of players. 122 for 3. Ben Fewson had by now reached his 50 and he was joined by Amin in an uncharacteristically defensive mood - he blocked for an over before the top of his bails were clipped by a good 'un. Hassan Khan appeared in the unusually low No.6 slot and faced up to the leg-spinner Hill, whose nickname "McWarne" appeared to be based more on his Scottish accent than his degree of turn. Having said that, he had a close LBW shout against Hassan. The No.6 hit a couple of nice shots but didn't last too long, top-edging a pull and being well snapped up in the deep. 139 for 5 was probably the high-water mark for Putney. Ajmal caused the ball to be lost in undergrowth 3 times in an over from Hill - one a mighty 6 - and Fewson repeated the trick in the following over. Hill took revenge by bowling Ajmal and then did the same to Gopi 3 balls later

Nomads might just about have fitted the bill as the type of opposition Putney were seeking if 179 for 7 had been followed by a tame late-order collapse; instead it was followed by Afghanistani debutant Ismat who absolutely creamed his second ball back over the bowler's head. He followed this with several more good straight hits and, although he was trapped LBW for 25, I think Putney found the strength of this No. 9 a little hard to stomach.

Ben Fewson was beginning to acquire an air of invincibility, firstly when a ball rapped some combination of edge and pad before rolling agonisingly back onto his stumps without dislodging a bail, and then when a throw back to the bowler bounced on top of his helmet and made an interesting springy noise without in any way perturbing the batsman. Even a helmetless blow on the head would probably not have affected him - it was that sort of day - and the chance of a second century this season began to dawn. Emil Todorow came out at No.10 but found difficulty in playing either big shots or giving Fewson the strike. A few scrambled singles left Ben on 88 at the start of the penultimate over and a 4 and 2 from the first two balls put him in pole position. Three were required for the ton with 1 over to go. Fewson hit firmly to long off and, while he and new batsman John Crossland were debating whether to go for 1 or 2, a misfield solved the problem and took him on to a very high quality 101. Nomads closed on an imposing 244 for 9 from the full 40.
Tea was taken in the Pavilion which was oddly situated across 2 main roads and captain Todorow formulated his plans; he would give his six bowlers six overs each and the best 2 would ball the remaining overs if needed. The Putney openers were left hand / right hand and the lefthander attempted to take on Hassan Khan and particularly Todorow. He played 3 or 4 fine straight drives but the wily skipper produced a piece of Ballard-esque trickery and bowled the youngster round his legs. I have never seen a batsman so upset by a dismissal; he shunned the comfort of his team mates and sat in a patch of long grass behind a tree with his head in his hands, gazing at the ground and possibly convulsing a little. He should have realised that it is an honour to be out-thought by Amateur Cricket's craftiest bowler. Hassan picked up a wicket caught behind and then No. 4 Hill smacked a Hassan half-volley straight to Ajmal at square leg. Ajmal caught it cleanly but threw it to the floor instantly in celebration. The batsman was adamant that this counted as a drop and stood his ground. Ajmal was indignant but Nomads allowed the batsman to remain, sensing perhaps that it was unlikely to make too much difference. Ajmal greeted Hill with a bouncer when he entered the attack but this was pulled for 4. Hill was probably Putney's most effective batsman and when he was 4th out with the score in the 40s the game seemed up for the home team.
Wickets were shared out evenly with both openers and both 1st changers (Ajmal and Ismat) taking at least one. I left at 6.30 with the score on 62 for 6 from 22 overs in increasing drizzle and it was evident that not even Duckworth and Lewis could save the home team. In the event, another fine cricketing combination - Gopi and Amin - accounted for the remaining wickets and secured victory for the Nomads by 158 runs.
Man of the Match was clearly Ben Fewson. I'll pass on Fielder of the Day for this one because I've largely forgotten the game by now (7th August). NL

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 244 FOR 9 FROM 40 OVERS

Fewson, 103 Not out
M. Vyas, 40
Joyce, 6
Prasanth, 5
Amin, 0
H. Khan, 8
Ajmal, 16
Gopi, 0
Ismat, 25
Todorow, 1
Crossland, 1 Not out

F.O.W - 79, 98, 122, 124, 142, 179, 181

PUTNEY - 86 All out

H. Khan, 6-1-8-1
Todorow, 4-0-17-1
Ismat, 6-1-16-2
Ajmal, 6-1-29-3
Amin, 3-0-7-2
Gopi, 1.4-0-4-1

Nomads won by 158 runs

Clapham Nomads v Nepotists - 19/7/09

2009-07-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

It was back to Raynes Park for the third week in a row as Nomads encountered new opposition in the Nepotists, a primarily Australian team and as affable a bunch of guys as you could wish to meet.
We were cast out onto Pitch 3 this time and it was a choice of three strips; a kids' one, a used one or one with the remnants of a baseball diamond cut into it. Nomads opted for the used one and it played excellently.
Nepotists batted first and the opening pair settled in quickly. The left hand / right hand combination caused Nomads some problems, the confusion was exacerbated by the roar of traffic from the A3 and the stiff breeze which made verbal communication almost impossible. The lefthander Walker, who hit a boundary in most overs, was a good foil for his righthanded partner, a powerful off-driver. Ajmal struggled uphill into the wind and bowled too short, being replaced after 3 overs. Hassan Khan was steadier but also made way early for Emil Todorow, while Amin replaced Ajmal. This pair put something of a brake on the scoring rate. Amin's line and length were impressive; while Emil, perhaps aware of the constant comparisons that have been made between him and Morden CC's Del Ballard, bowled rather in the manner of Ballard himself, keeping it generally on the spot and seeking out what few snakes there were in the pitch.
Progress remained steady, and the over rate poor, as Nepotists manipulated the gaps in the field. There were 'no worries' to speak of until, in the 18th over, 2 balls before drinks, Amin finally made the breakthrough with a hint of movement off the pitch. 84 for 1.
There was a nasty injury to Jim Joyce who twisted his back and had to leave the field for a while. Two other fielders started the game with bad backs but, oddly, the three sore men probably fielded more consistently than some of the eight fit men.
After drinks, Nomads began to exert some control. Amin, Todorow and the returning Hassan all bowled tightly, as did Riaz Khan and (after being wisely switched to bowl downhill) Ajmal. After 27 overs the score was only about 120 and 4 further wickets had fallen including the opener Walker who hit a nice half-century. There was an uncomfortable feeling, though, that Nepotists had something in hand and so it proved. When the tall, blond No.7 Rhys Adams arrived at the crease, our main concern was that he was yet another lefthander to continue our field-positioning nightmare, but as he slapped a straight drive almost through Riaz's hand and then peppered the extra cover boundary with AK47 drives, it was clear we had other problems. This was just the beginning. The former Melbourne First Grade player (who we were told had also been considered for State selection by New South Wales) stepped up a gear and lifted a series of quite gorgeous straight drives over the head of the hapless Riaz Khan. It was actually a treat to witness such beautiful clean hitting, if not quite such a treat to continually climb the barbed wire fence into the next door playing fields in search of the ball. Riaz finally took some degree of revenge, having Adams caught on the extra cover boundary for 46, but it felt that the game might have been taken beyond us, particularly when a series of fielding errors meant there was only marginal deceleration in the final 2 overs.
As we trudged off, estimates of the score ranged from 230 to 250, so it was a big relief to find out that Nepotists had, somehow, only recorded 202; and a further relief when we heard that the seasonal average of the batsman due in next was 109.
Nomads' dependable opening pair Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth strolled out in search of their customary 50 stand. the opening bowler Boshan was tall and had a slightly halting action which didn't prevent him from being accurate and quite pacy. His colleague Dan was wayward at times but capable of the odd tricky one. He was also a dead ringer for former Open University paceman Mick Hunter, a similarity which caused umpire Lefebve to turn down his LBW request extremely politely. Bradshaw was in good touch, especially through point, while Prasanth mixed defence and a good awareness of where his stumps were, with some fine aerial shots, 2 of which dropped unluckily inches short of the leg-side boundary.
Nepotists' captain Dale Atkinson replaced Dan for the 9th over and produced some sharp off-breaks at a lively medium pace. The openers were fairly unfazed, with no alarms greater than one half-decent leg before shout, and the inevitable 50 partnership came up with a boundary off Atkinson. Ordinarily things would have been looking quite rosy, especially with a powerful-looking Nomads batting line-up. 'Nepos' showed no sign of panic, however, and in the 13th over they played their ace in the form of 6 foot 4 inch-plus form of Rhys Adams who produced a speedy yorker first ball up, rapping Prasanth on the toe plumb in front. Bowling off a 6-pace run-up, Adams was as quick as anything we have faced this season and, in his following 2 overs, had Mark Bradshaw caught at point and then brushed Hassan Khan's glove to rip the heart out of Nomads' top order.
Mindful of the need to take what scoring opportunities existed, No.3 Ben Fewson knocked 14 off an Atkinson over to remove the skipper from the attack. No.5 Riaz Khan then continued his fascinating duel with Adams by smacking the paceman back over his head into the trees - a 6 every bit as emphatic as those he had suffered himself. Adams had increased his pace since a close caught behind decision had gone against him and, when he had Riaz caught 2 balls after the 6, he was threatening to put the Nomads to the sword single-handedly.
Jim Joyce came out with a runner and cracked a 4 first ball but was in obvious pain and perished after 3 overs (one of them, valuably, a wicketless over from Adams.) Ben Fewson fell to new bowler Phillips and, at 117 for 6, Amin and Ajmal probably represnted Nomads' last real chance of getting close. Fans of this pair were not disappointed as they not only saw off Adams but produced a flamboyant stand of 36, dominated by Ajmal whose 29 included 2 sixes but was terminated by the useful-looking Slow Left Arm spinner Walker.
Nick Lefebve joined Amin who now took over the lead role, taking two 4s from a Walker over and then 3 from a Phillips over, and dominating a 27-run stand to which Lefebve contributed 1. With 27 needed to win, and regular scorer John Crossland padded and gloved up, there was total confusion as to whether 4 or 5 overs remained. It mattered little to Amin; he proceeded at his usual pace and, for the only time in the match, Nepos became a little anxious, perhaps regretting a lapse of concentration when Amin was dropped by a fielder in a pink wig.
Sadly, Walker had Amin trapped for his 2nd LBW and Emil Todorow joined Lefebve. The confusion about overs was finally cleared up and the target was established as 19 from 2 overs. Both batsmen were having trouble finding shots, particularly against Walker who had excellent variation, though Lefebve did pull a high no-ball from Boshan for 4 to keep the door slightly open. Todorow went for some big shots but, in fading light, couldn't really connect until he skied one and departed for 1. If it's any consolation to Emil, Del Ballard - a notoriously slow starter - probably wouldn't have done any better.
11 were needed off the final over. Lefebve faced Walker but the Aussie was too crafty to be swept and a wide and a scampered single were all that could be managed from the first half of the over. 9 off 3 balls and John Crossland was on strike. A leg-stump full toss could have made things interesting but the impressive Walker wasn't going to make it easy and, seeing Crossland advancing down the pitch, slipped in an off-side wide. The keeper was waiting and, in one movement, removed the bails and Nomads' last hope.
A 7-run defeat but a very decent performance. It was a pleasure to share the pitch with as fine a player as Adams. I could say that Adams was the difference between the teams but I have a feeling that both he and the Nepotists had another gear. Certainly with a different batting order they could have notched 250. Having said that, their skipper did admit they were a bit concerned when Amin was in full spate. Speaking of Amin, it's another Man of the Match award for the increasingly impressive lefthander. He top-scored again and was economical. Fielder of the Day in not so easy. Nick Lefebve took a good catch, but made a couple of ground-fielding errors. No-one really shone but, despite a bad back, John Crossland was close to his best behind the stumps and gets the nod.

Nepotists - 202 for 6 from 35 overs

H. Khan, 7-0-22-1
Ajmal, 7-0-47-0
Amin, 7-0-27-1
Todorow, 7-0-30-0
R. Khan, 7-0-57-4

Clapham Nomads - 195 All out from 34.4 overs

Bradshaw, 22
Prasanth, 26
Fewson, 27
H. Khan, 3
R. Khan, 12
Joyce, 6
Amin, 33
Ajmal, 29
Lefebve, 8 Not out
Todorow, 1
Crossland, 0

Nomads v Morden - 12/7/09 - Nomads' innings

2009-07-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Ben Fewson and Prasanth led the Nomads' reply and Fewson adopted the role of pinch-hitter against the young Alexsis, who had some trouble with his radar. Ben raced to 24 off 19 balls before Alexsis was replaced. Prasanth faced the very experienced medium pacer Del Ballard and showed the maker's name to the veteran, surviving without any problems. Goss came on in Over 7 and tested Fewson with a dangerous maiden, floating the ball down backed by a strong breeze, making the length a matter of guesswork. In response, Prasanth took the attack to Ballard, striking three 4s in an over but, in attempting a fourth, thumping a high full toss (which really should have been called No Ball) straight to mid wicket. 46 for 1. Fewson followed 2 overs later, giving Ballard the charge but spooning it up on the off side for an easy catch.
Amin joined Jim Joyce and there was a sense that a lot hung on this partnership. Joyce began carefully while Amin began with a 6. There followed a memeorable series of events which dictated the course of the game and also gave Nomads plenty to laugh about later. Firstly, Joyce chipped the ball up to mid off but the chance was dropped. Then Amin took an extravagant heave at Ballard, missed, and while the square leg umpire was gazing at the sky, the A3, anything but the game, the wicketkeeper threw the stumps down from 5 yards back. A massive appeal followed (which had to be put into context by Morden's over-enthusiastic appealing and Amin's lack of footwork.) The unpire apologised twice for not seeing the incident but the keeper was inconsolable and was all malevolent glaring and Benny-ish grumbling for the rest of the game. To rub salt in, Ballard then rapped Amin's pads plumb in front; another enormous appeal with the bowler's hair bouncing imploringly in support of the appeal. Fortunately, most of those with decent hearing, and several without, had heard an inside edge. Morden's older players joined together in a massive chorus of chuntering, to the bemusement of the younger players. "Don't worry," one of the youngsters remarked, "they always get like this."
They got even more like this in the next over. One of Morden's ageing bowlers slipped one down Jim Joyce's leg side and there was a definite noise as it passed through to the keeper. A tumultuous appeal. The umpire was unmoved; "too close to call" was his verdict. (Joyce later claimed the ball hit his forearm and showed a bruise to back this up, while the square leg umpire thought the noise was Joyce's bat hitting the ground. So 'too close to call' and therefore Not Out was probably the correct decision.) "No wonder you always beat us, you're all ****ing cheats," was the bowler's assessment. Well I can't remember all the older fixtures but our victory over Morden this May might have had something to do with the 15 catches they dropped, rather than any cheating.
Amusingly, Jim Joyce then began to play quite beautifully, spanking controlled boundaries at will. Amin took a massive heave at almost every ball and connected with several. When told to take it easy by captain/umpire Todorow, Amin grinned, pointed at the sky and said "six."
The total raced past 100 and the realisation of impending defeat seemed to calm Morden's veterans down. They even kept quiet when Amin was bowled off a no ball. Thankfully it was a very early call.
Joyce was LBW for a commanding 37 and at 114 for 3 there was still a bit of work to do. Ajmal joined Amin and, unsurprisingly, their stand of 23 consisted mostly of boundaries. By this time Gumpert, Morden's 3rd change bowler (and easily their best) had joined the attack. Young, quick and with a good short ball he bowled Ajmal for 8.
Only 20 were now required but the batting order from 6 down was a mixture of defensive players, sloggers and unknown quantities. No.6 Nick Lefebve joined Amin with the intention of being there at the end. Gumpert tried a little too hard against the new batsman who was able to watch the rest of the over sail past his off stump. The diminutive 13-year-old Jamie came on and quickly impressed with good line and length and dangerous low trajectory. This didn't faze Amin at all and he plundered 9 from the second half of the over. He fell to Gumpert in the next over though; caught and bowled for a massively entertaining and eventful 42.
10 more were needed as No.7 Riaz Khan strolled out with, as ever, carnage on his mind. Two wild swishes were followed by a scoop up to deep square leg off Jamie but the chance was dropped....by Jamie's father. Riaz celebrated his escape with a 4 and a single but Gumpert shattered his stumps halfway though the next over.
Out walked Emil Todorow to join Lefebve and, given that this pair have done more stonewalling than the average Cumbrian hill-farmer, the number of overs became of interest for the first time. 3 required in 6.3 overs; surely even this pair could manage 0.48 per over. Todorow negotiated the rest of the over and took one for the team on his torso. "I had to show him I wasn't hurt," the skipper said later. Lefebve then played out a Jamie maiden (missing out on one juicy leg-side treat.) Todorow was equally obdurate against Gumpert's next over which yielded only a no ball.
2 to win from 4 overs and the watching Nomads were beginning to fidget just a little. Lefebve (still on 0 after 14 balls) faced Jamie and decided it was time for Plan B; playing some shots (which in Lefebve's case means the sweep.) The first ball rapped the batsman's fists and dropped safely to the ground, only to be hailed by an extraordinary appeal from Morden. The second ball was steered away down to the vacant Long Leg area and 2 were comfortably taken to complete a victory that was never in serious doubt.
I'm not sure if we'll play Morden again. Their record against the Nomads of Won 1 Lost 9 seems to have got to their older players. Their younger players are a credit to the game though. The most unpleasant incident was when one of their players threw his cup to the ground petulantly during the drinks break, leaving John Crossland to pick it up. It was premium orange squash, costing almost £1 a bottle.
If they contact us, we'll probably play them.
Emil caused some mirth later when he told of a further incident in which one of their bowlers, after a minor dispute over a leg bye, fixed umpire Todorow with a glare and told him; "I'm faster than you, a better bowler than you and a better cricketer than you."
An objective comparison of Emil's and Mr X's cricketing and personal qualities may follow on this blog in due course.
Man of the Match is probably Amin. He was the tightest bowler and also top-scored, though Jim Joyce's innings was the more impressive. No-one really stood out in the field but John Crossland hurled himself quite spectacularly to the floor to save a certain 4 byes. No-one hates conceding byes more than this evergreen keeper. He is Fielder of the Day.

Nomads v Morden - 12/7/09 - Morden's innings

2009-07-16T04:29:00.000-07:00

It was back to Raynes Park again as Nomads looked to continue their excellent record against Morden CC. It was clear straight away that something was amiss on Planet Morden, particularly amongst their most senior players. Little snippets of news about the game; the fact we were playing out on Pitch 2 and our lack of a scoreboard were met with histrionic sighs, eye-rolling and muttered oaths. It was fortunate we didn't see their reaction to the pitch. Like many of Merton Council's it looked eccentric - a pitch of two halves; one half verdant, the other parched. Having said that though, it played very well.
The potential for showers dictated a 35-over contest. Emil Todorow inserted Morden and shared the new ball with Amin for the first 12 overs. Morden's young top order negotiated some accurate bowling, particularly from Amin who slipped one between bat and pad to make his breakthrough. Todorow was marginally more expensive but induced a false shot to have one of the openers caught by Ben Fewson off a skier.
After 12 overs the score was around 50 for 2. Morden continued to accelerate with good hitting through point and straight, especially off Ajmal, though the young paceman got a few to lift, one of which was snapped up by keeper John Crossland. Assad also bowled with good pace and, like Ajmal, went for 5 an over and took one wicket, a coolly-taken catch in the deep by Ben Fewson.
With 4 down and about 85 on the board, elder statesman Del Ballard came in and, after starting very shakily, began to use his feet well, particularly against Riaz Khan. As Ballard nudged and nurdled his way through the teens and 20s, skipper Todorow brought on the debutant Gopi who, being shortish in stature and quite animated, was quickly nicknamed Murali by a couple of Nomads (despite being a Medium Pacer and having a conventional action.) Gopi made an immediate impact. The man from Hyderabad rattled the stumps in his first over and bowled 2 further players in his subsequent 4 overs. There was no mystery to his success; he simply proved the virtue of bowling straight on a slowish pitch against batsmen who were looking to force the pace.
Gopi's efforts meant that, with 2 overs to go, Morden were in a spot of bother at 141 for 7 and Nomads were able to afford the luxury of Nick Lefebve bowling the penultimate over. After a dodgy start including a couple of wides, the veteran round-arm lefty produced the expected comedy with his third legitimate ball; a decent length but very slow floater which almost stopped when it pitched but retained just enough momentum to loop over the bat and nestle against the base of the stumps, just about dislodging a bail. The bewildered batsman stood his ground, shaking his head for a few seconds to the indignation of the bowler who retorted; "It spun, mate." Two further wides were followed by a rank long-hop which new bat Dave Goss hit straight to mid-on where it was dropped by Ben Fewson. To rub it in, Goss hit the last ball, another short one, for 4. The final over, from Gopi, was rather more accurate but less eventful and Morden closed on 156 for 8. A total which we rather take for granted achieving against Morden, though without Mark Bradshaw and Hassan Khan nail-biting was anticipated.

Clapham Nomads v Morden 12/7/09 (Match stats)

2009-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Morden - 156 for 8 from 35 overs

Amin - 6-2-18-1
Todorow - 6-0-27-1
Ajmal - 7-1-36-1
Assad - 6-0-31-1
Riaz Khan - 4-0-20-0
Gopi - 5-0-22-3
Lefebve - 1-0-10-1

Clapham Nomads 157 for 6 from 31.2 overs

Fewson - 26
Prasanth - 20
Joyce - 37
Amin - 42
Ajmal - 8
Lefebve - 2 Not out
R. Khan - 5
Todorow - 0 Not out

Did not bat; Crossland, Gopi, Assad

F.O.W. - 46, 51, 114, 137, 147, 154

Clapham Nomads won by 4 wickets. Match report should hopefully follow tomorrow (subject to being able to squeeze all the incident in.)

Caribbean Mix v Clapham Nomads - match stats

2009-07-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Caribbean Mix - 169 all out from 28.2 overs (M. Vyas 38, Shahzad 36.)

H. Khan - 6.2-1-20-4
Todorow - 6-0-36-0
Ajmal - 8-1-44-3
Amin - 6-0-50-2
Reeve - 2-0-17-0

Clapham Nomads - 175 for 3 from 37.3 overs

Bradshaw - 74
Prasanth - 46
Joyce - 10
Fewson - 16 Not out
H. Khan - 8 Not out

Did not bat; Amin, Ajmal, Lefebve, Reeve, Todorow, Crossland

F.O.W. - 99, 122, 161

Clapham Nomads won by 7 wickets

Caribbean Mix v Clapham Nomads - 5/7/09

2009-07-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

Nomads lined up at Raynes Park Sports Ground against Caribbean Mix for a 40-over per side match, looking to avoid a 4th successive hammering by these opponents, The close links between the teams were underlined by the presence in the Mix team of 4 men who have turned out for the Nomads.
Caribbean supremo Jim Ferguson had indicated that this year might be our best chance of victory as they are in a period of transition. Looking at their line-up, there seemed some truth in this though there were also several faces who inspired painful memories.
Ferguson and former Nomad Mahesh Vyas opened the batting at a fairly sedate pace. Vyas scores exclusively on the leg side early on and, in trying too hard to avoid it, Emil Todorow bowled a number of leg-side deliveries which helped the opener to settle. Ferguson began to play a few shots but the breakthrough came when he smacked it straight back to Hassan Khan who accepted the chance smartly.
Hassan quickly accounted for No.3 and then there was a rousing reception for No.4 Riaz Khan, one of the most popular Nomads players of all time. We all knew what he is capable of but preventing it was another matter. Two leg-side 4s off Todorow were followed by a steepling 6 over long off. The cameo didn't last too long as Riaz was dismissed for about 20 but Mahesh Vyas was still there and beginning to hit straight and through mid off - an ominous sign. Thankfully, Hassan Khan swooped for an excellent diving catch to send Vyas on his way for 38.
4 down with the score in the 80s but the dangerous lefthander Jono was playing some firm shots. It took a fellow lefty to account for Jono; Amin swerving one round the batsman's legs onto his leg stump.
Debutant Shahzad at No.7 soon made it clear he was high class and played the shot of the day over the covers onto the pavilion roof or, as Richie Benaud would have it; "in and out of the confectionery stand."
Nomads were staying in the contest with good fielding - a diving catch by Jim Joyce was a standout - and some competitive bowling - Ajmal earned himself a caught and bowled with a distinctly sharp delivery. Shahzad was eventually removed for a rapid 36 which left some of Caribbean's more experienced players at the crease. Some entertaining and highly vocal running mix-ups were combined with some quality stroke play and it was a distinct relief when the final wicket fell for 169 with 11.4 overs unused. We were later told by one of the late-order batsman, T.Brown, that he had been planning to take the total up to 250 but ran out of partners.
The target seemed achievable with one of Nomads strongest batting line-ups but, given the presence in the Mix team of a couple of players we hadn't seen before, and the history of these fixtures, you wouldn't have taken odds of shorter than 6-4.
Nomads' bowling was generally good though Todorow in particular was hampered by a ridge resembling a mini version of the South Downs escarpment on the edge of the wicket. This didn't affect batting but made bowlers run-ups at one end a matter of careful navigation. Fielding, especially catching, was very good (despite John Crossland's protestations) apart from a mad 5 minutes early on where overthrows became almost compulsory. Again, Todorow was the main victim.
Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth were re-united as opening partners. The left armer Jono caused problems straight away from the A3 end, angling the ball in at deceptive pace off a short run-up. The odd one straightened sharply, notably the 5th ball of the first over which Bradshaw played uppishly. Short Cover dived in but put the chance down. The other opening bowler, Maurice, had excellent variation of pace but bowled the occasional loose delivery. 15 came from the first 6 overs and it was a considerable relief not to have lost a wicket. Bradshaw cracked two successive 4s in Jono's fourth over and this heralded a slight change in the balance of power as Caribbean's heads dropped perceptibly despite being exhorted by Jim Ferguson to show "Sex Appeal." (We were assured later by Jim that this was a coded instruction to bowl 6 inches outside off stump - any other meaning is just too disturbing to contemplate.)
Batting progress was rather more serene than it had been in the first few white knuckle overs. The openers combined well with good running and regular rotation of the strike. There was still the odd alarm with Bradshaw dropped again by wicketkeeper Mahesh Vyas who was promptly replaced behind the sticks by the indignant bowler/skipper Jono.
A double bowling change produced a change of pace with several boundaries taken off the spinner T.Brown while Shahzad produced a hostile spell of pace bowling with plenty of short stuff. Prasanth hooked Shahzad for 4 but was forced to dab the follow-up bouncer gently skywards and was caught for a high class 46 with the Nomads total just one short of the century this partnership deserved.
Mark Bradshaw was continuing to prove a thorn in Caribbean's side and combined excellent shot selection with some let-offs. A regulation catch was dropped by replacement keeper Jono (to the chagrin of the original glovesman, Mahesh Vyas, who said he would have caught it.) Bradshaw completed a valuable half-century but when he snicked another 4 over the slips one fielder intoned oratorically; "Yes, today is your day. Today you can do anything you want; anything."
No.3 Jim Joyce kept up the momentum with a cameo 10 before being bowled by Riaz Khan. 122 for 2 and 48 was required with plenty of batting to come. Ben Fewson came out at No.4 and looked solid from the word go. Mark Bradshaw upped the ante and dominated a partnership of 39 from 31 balls with Fewson to take Nomads to within touching distance. The run rate had never been a major worry but with 30 needed off 8 overs, Jim Ferguson did speculate, to the world in general, that the batsman might be feeling a bit of pressure. If they did, it soon dissipated when 5 came off Usman's first ball, a fast leg-side wide that buried itself deep in the boundary undergrowth. Bradshaw was finally caught for a crucial 74 with the score on 161. Hassan Khan entered with the clear intention of scoring the winning runs with a 6. Part-time spinner Ferguson came on and Hassan's ambition was quickly realised.
An excellent win - our first over Caribbean Mix for 5 years - and a good-spirited game after which we enjoyed some post-match pints and banter with the opposition in the Raynes Park Bowling Club. Rather fittingly, the bar television was showing highlights of England's last Ashes victory. Like Freddie and the boys back in September 2005, Nomads were able to enjoy the booze and 12 months of glory with just the tiniest nagging fear about the type of revenge that might be served up to us next year.
Man of the Mtch. Mark Bradshaw did have a few escapes but don't let that detract from how well he played. Hassan Khan bowled faster than he has for a while; his 4 wickets, 3 catches and climactic 6 are enough to earn him a 50% share with Mark. Fielder of the Day was clearly Hassan. In addition to his catches, he had 2 direct hits (neither of which unfortunately resulted in a run out) and he managed one excellent stop in the deep where he appeared to grow an extra arm.

latest results

2009-07-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Clapham Nomads have won their last 2 matches. A good victory over Caribbean Mix on 5/7/09 and an eventful, bad-tempered 4-wicket success over Morden on 12/7/09. Full reports and stats for both will follow in next day or 2.

Wimbledon United v Nomads - 28/6/09

2009-06-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

Clapham Nomads beat Wimbledon United by 2 wickets in a closely-fought, high-scoring Conference game at Cottenham Park, SW20. Wimbledon notched approx 205 all out off approx 36 overs. Stand-out bowler was Hassan Khan who took a five wicket haul. Emil took 2 wickets, Amin also bowled well. For Nomads, Prasanth scored a 50 as did Jim Joyce. One Nomads player had to leave at tea for domestic reasons so when, with 7 wickets down, Emil joined Hassan at the crease there was only John Crossland still to come in and about 20 runs needed to win (overs weren't a problem.) These were achieved with Emil smiting a mighty 4 and Hassan completing his 50.
Man of the Match was obviously Hassan for achieving a rare double. Fielder of the Day was Jim Joyce.
Match stats and possibly a fuller report will follow.
In the meantime there are some match photos and there will be a match report on Wimbledon United's website http://wucc.org.uk/
For some reason, they think our club name is Clapham Bells. NL

Clapham Nomads v Energy Exiles - 21/6/09

2009-06-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

"The Longest Day" was the subtitle assigned to this 21st June fixture against old rivals the Energy Exiles. Images were evoked of bitter adversaries locked in mortal combat under a blazing sun but these images were false; firstly the temperature never climbed above average and secondly we really like the Exiles and we hope they like us too.
The only true whiff of danger was provided by the Nursery Road pitch, one of Merton Council's worst; under-prepared, with a green strip resembling a mini-runway just outside off stump on a good length. Having said that, the danger was to the batsmen's averages rather than to their health, though there was one injury, more of which later.
There had been rumours of 45 overs a side but eventually 40 each was settled on and Nomads were inserted by Exiles' skipper Phil Ling. Exiles had numerous bowling options but stuck to the same formula as in the previous game. Andy Wingfield was lively and more accurate than last month, while Naren Patel began from the Pavilion End with a Todorow-esque mixture of wides and deadly deliveries. Patel produced his deadliest with the penultimate ball of the first over and it provided the wicket the Exiles wanted most. Mark Bradshaw was undone by a ball which hit the green strip, diverted sharply inwards and hit the stumps low down. With Bradshaw's departure, some of the spice was removed from the contest but he still averages 55 in 3 innings for the Nomads against his former team.
Jim Joyce came in and consolidated for 3 overs before starting to launch his T20-honed shots. He hit one particularly nice off-drive against Wingfield but hearts were in mouths at times as he only just got the bat down to Patel on several occasions. In the 10th over Patel finally got his man bowled - another one that kept a bit low. Worse was to follow in the next over; Hassan got a leading edge to a straightener from Andy Wingfield and the ball was pouched with a roar of delight from the bowler who realised the importance of this wicket. 30 for 3 and three men in the pavilion whom you would back to score 100 between them. Ben Fewson was beginning to resemble General Custer and he cracked 3 boundaries in 8 balls to prompt a double bowling change.
Phil Ling's first ball had the umpire's arms twitching in readiness to call an off-side wide when the Reader cherry suddenly arced in quite beautifully and clipped Ajmal's leg bail. Four balls later, Ben Fewson looped a short ball up into the leg side and we were suddenly 48 for 5 with the last 2 of Nomads' much-vaunted Top 7 at the wicket. Amin and Abdul provided much-needed stabilisation. The left-hander Amin hit 5 boundaries in this partnership while Abdul was steadier before being caught off Ling for 6 out of a partnership of 29 in 33 balls. Nick Lefebve aimed to continue the Anchor Man role and was just beginning to settle when Uttley got one to straighten and lift a bit and Lefebve was snapped up at short Cover Point by his former Battersea Spinners 2nd XI captain and former Nomads team-mate Martin Thomas.
92 for 7 and a lot now depended on Amin. Nissar Khan provided further support before Amin himself was adjudged leg before off the bowling of Gwyn Thomas, out for a valuable 45 including eight 4s. Nissar fell 2 overs later. 118 for 9 and it was Entertainment Time with John Crossland joining Emil Todorow at the crease. Incident inevitably ensued but it was not the type for which we were hoping. Simon Gundry, after bowling an over of spin, "greeted" Todorow with a bouncer. The wicketkeeper duly retreated a few yards but a few deliveries later the ball popped up alarmingly on its second bounce just in front of the wicketkeeper resulting in a deep cut just below the eye. A crowd of players including "Club Doctor" Todorow dispensed advice, water, ice and toilet tissue before the keeper was driven to hospital by Naren Patel where we trust he was patched up with no problems.
Nomads lent Exiles 2 fielders and they sledged Todorow gleefully, but this cannot be blamed for the final wicket; a good 'un from Martin Thomas.
128 all out and Exiles were favourites but, thanks largely to Amin, they would have to bat well.
It didn't appear to be Exiles' strongest-ever batting line-up and hopes were quickly raised when Hassan Khan had Martin Thomas LBW early on. Opener Keith Roberts was joined by John Tither and this pair dug in. Opening bowlers H. Khan and Emil Todorow continued for 12 overs at which stage Hassan's figures were 6-6-0-1. A few shots were played off Todorow but the skipper was only costing about 3 an over. If this had been any other opposition it might have been felt that they were going just a little too slowly but most Nomads were aware that Exiles are one of the canniest teams around and wickets were paramount.
Ajmal replaced Hassan but Exiles' left-hand / right-hand combination made his radar a bit more elusive than usual and acceleration occurred. Amin looked tight from the Pavilion End though.
A breakthrough finally came with the score on around 60. Ajmal held a sharp catch off Keith Roberts who "hit the ball straight to cover" off the bowling of Amin. No.4 was bowled first ball and, with Simon Gundry at No.5, we were in amongst Exiles' hitters. Gundry played a couple of nice shots but was bowled by a pea-roller from Amin.
Andy Wingfield came in looking to up the tempo and he twice rattled the trees on the tramline side. John Tither also joined in with a 6 and continued to play admirably; defending stoutly, not giving a chance that I can recall, but increasingly picking off the bad balls. With 10 overs to go, 48 was still required and, for perhaps the only point in the game, Nomads' hopes were high. Wingfield was out played on but, even with re-introduction of Hassan, the scoreboard never jammed totally. Four an over was the requirement with 24 balls left. An over from Todorow went for 9 but yielded the wicket of Uttley. Todorow struck again when, on the advice of Mark Bradshaw (in one of the tactical interventions of the season so far), he bowled one full and straight at Ling; the umpire's raised finger was the reward.
5 were needed off 12 balls and, amid scenes of buttock-clenching tension, only 2 came from the penultimate over. Nissar Khan bowled the final over. A dot ball was followed by a firm off-drive from Tither for a single. With only Gwyn Thomas still to bat, Naren faced ball No. 3; the edge was found but the ball dropped short of deep slip and a single was scampered to level the scores. Surrounded on all sides by Nomads in variety of crouching poses, John Tither picked a gap and struck the short-ish ball though the covers for 4 to complete a truly excellent 50 and the Exiles' victory.
This was at least the 4th time Exiles have passed our total in the final over and it was hard to evade the feeling that they had scripted the entire match to end this way, and had toyed with us from ball one. Well done though, Exiles, on a good victory. We'll have to do whatever necessary to beat them next season. Rafi? Benny? Dave Hunter? Australian ringers? Are you out there?
Man of the Match was Amin - 45 and 3 for 19, a fine all-round performance. Fielder of the Day was a share between Ajmal (sharp catch, quick around the outfield) and Jim Joyce (several good stops close up, got in the batsmen's faces.) Notable bowling from Hassan; one of the most economical analyses in Nomads; history.

Result- Energy Exiles won by 3 wickets. Match stats to follow soon. NL

K.Lefthanders v Nomads - 14/6/09 - match summary

2009-06-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

CLAPHAM NOMADS - 233 for 7 from 34 overs

Bradshaw, 5
Fewson, 110 not out
Joyce, 40
A. Khan, 17
Ajmal, 0
R. Khan, 0
Amin, 40
Todorow, 0
Reeve, 1 not out

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS - 69 for 9 from 37 overs

Assad, 8-2-8-1
Todorow, 9-3-14-1
Ajmal, 10-2-16-4
Reeve, 4-0-11-2
R. Khan, 3-1-3-0
Amin, 2-0-8-1
Joyce, 1-0-6-0

Match Drawn

Kingston Lefthanders v Nomads - 14/6/09

2009-06-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

NOMADS' INNINGS

On a very pleasant and sunny day in Surbiton, Clapham Nomads found themselves batting first against Kingston Lefthanders in a timed game. The pitch looked dry and likely to break up as the afternoon went on. Mark Bradshaw and Ben Fewson opened the batting for Nomads against the the Lefthanders' medium pace opening attack. However, Bradshaw made only five runs before he steered a short-ish ball from Lewis straight to slip. Jim Joyce then joined Fewson in a rollicking partnership of 82 at 7 an over as both players slapped the ball all over the place. Both were given a life by the Lefthanders' fielders before Joyce was bowled by Connett for 40.
Abdul made good use of the sweep shot in a partnership of about 30 with Ben Fewson and kept our run rate up around 6 an over. Abdul was eventually caught behind for 17. Ajmal and Riaz were both dismissed for ducks by the Lefthanders' young medium pacer and the innings was in the balance at about 130 for 5. Amin made a tentative start before he unfurled some outstanding drives. After slowing down around his 50, Ben Fewson attacked once more, playing some particularly good shots off the leg-spin of Connett. Lefthanders continued to drop catches - one poor chap displayed admirable bravery with his ground-fielding but really should have been moved from the catching firing line by his captain. However, the Lefthanders ground-fielding was pretty sound throughout. Ben completed his maiden century with a short single to mid-wicket. Amin fell LBW to Connett for 40 - a very encouraging innings from a new player. Emil Todorow was promptly run out without scoring and Gideon Reeve got off the mark and the innings closed on 233 for 7. Ben Fewson made an outstanding unbeaten 110. The Lefthanders over rate was pretty poor - 34 overs in 2 and a half hours - especially so as none of their bowlers had much of a run-up and there were few fielding changes made. This is one of the reasons why I don't really enjoy timed matches as it can reward such indisciplined cricket. MB

KINGSTON LEFTHANDERS' INNINGS

Kingston Lefthanders took the field facing a daunting target of 234 for victory in 1 hour plus 20 overs. They are a formidable defensive batting unit. Nomads have set a target of over 100 on 9 or 10 occasions in time games against them and have only managed to dismiss them twice. At least a repeat of last season's defeat looked unlikely, though with a comparatively new-look Lefthanders side we couldn't be certain.
Lively Medium-Fast bowler Assad, another find from the Riaz Khan production line of talent, took one end with skipper Emil Todorow supplying his usual trickery uphill at the other end. Lefthanders' openers made their intentions clear from the first over, anything accurate was met with a firm, dead bat; pretty much anything else was waved through to wicketkeeper John Crossland. Opener Nick Crouch was particularly solid in a role he has played many times in these fixtures. Excitement was in short supply but, with the score in the teens, Todorow found a bit of extra life and had Crouch's partner magnificently caught, one-handed, in the slips by Ajmal.
The No. 3 proved just as competent as Crouch and, as time drifted by towards the one hour mark with very little acceleration, a draw seemed fairly inevitable. A few spectators approached the boundary, eager to watch some more of the game that has been filling TV screens lately (the one starring Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi,) but left quite suddenly after an over or two, scratching ther heads in bafflement.
Assad and Todorow bowled right through to the drinks break which was taken with 20 overs remaining and the score on 31 for 1. Ajmal replaced Assad after the break and was into his stride with good pace but the batsmen still seemed fairly untroubled. Gideon Reeve replaced Emil Todorow 3 overs later. Reeve had been picked out by Mark Bradshaw in the field as the bowler most likely to find "the ridge" from the Surbiton End and, right on cue in his second over he produced a shooter to send the No 3 on his way. When Gideon followed this by bowling Crouch around his legs in his next over the door had opened slightly. It was forced wide open in the next over when Ajmal scattered the stumps of Dave Connett, one of the best defensive players at this level. With 6 wickets to be claimed in 11 overs, and Kingston's less defensively-minded players to come, there was hope. Ajmal ratched up the excitement level with 3 further wickets - all bowled. Reeve was replaced by Riaz Khan who didn't really find his radar. Likewise the left-armer Amin, though he did claim a wicket.
With 4 overs to go, we needed 2 wickets and the skipper turned to the spin of Jim Joyce. Halfway through the over, the batsman chipped the ball just over Joyce's head. The bowler wheeled back and looked odds-on to claim the catch but he unfortunately collided with the non-striker and the chance went astray. This was now more exciting and incident-packed than any 20-20 rubbish. In an inspired piece of captaincy, Assad was brought back at the Surbiton End and his full toss was steered at waist height straight to the waiting Gideon Reeve at gully. The final over was bowled by Assad and, with 9 wickets down, the Lefthanders batsman known by his team-mates as "Brains" faced the music with stout defence the requirement. Several extravagant strokes failed to connect but, from the fifth ball, Brains smacked it into the off-side and scampered a single; with one wicket in hand and 165 runs required off the last ball, the batsman called for a quick second (the ball was in the fielder's hand) but this was declined by his partner.
The last ball was safely negotiated and an unexpectedly exciting game ended in a draw.
There had been some debate between John and Emil as to whether Emil should have declared with 4 overs of Nomads innings to go (after Ben had completed his 100) and obviously the extra 4 overs could have been decisive, but sometimes the perceived insult of a before-tea declaration can galvanise opposition. Anyway, it was an enjoyable game; certainly more enjoyable than the facile victories we have recorded over Kingston in Limited Overs games at home.
Man of the Match was Ben Fewson for his career-best 110 Not Out, the 6th highest score in Nomads history. Fielder of the Day is a tougher choice. There was very little fielding to be done as very few shots were played. John Crossland was busy and good, but he has been even better at times this season. There were only 2 catches and Ajmal's was tougher so I will nominate him.
NL

Woodside Green v Nomads - 7/6/09

2009-06-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

For a team that never tours, there was slight excitement for Nomads at crossing the border into Surrey; a county that evokes images of tranquil greens surrounded by silent conifer woods, retired stockbrokers strolling on manicured lawns or, as Emil put it, "Welcome to Surrey. Please wipe your feet." Sadly Shelton Avenue, Warlingham is not much like that - just an extension of Croydon really.
After early morning thunderstorms, we were just grateful the game was on. There were several puddles on the outfield but the pitch was ok if spongy. 35 overs a side was agreed on with the proviso from the groundsman that any further rain would see the game called off.
Like Dulwich and Morden, Woodside Green were a mixture of gnarled veterans and youngsters of 16 to 18. The most gnarled of all informed us that "their kids had come on a lot" and the team was now rated Medium rather than Weak-Medium; not good news as we usually lost to them when they were in the latter category.
Captain Emil Todorow won the toss and chose to bat, allegedly despite the home skipper's expressed fear that the game might be all over too quickly. A comment noted by Todorow.
Ben Fewson, making his first appearance for a year, took guard with Abdul Khan. The opening overs were tricky. The captain, Ramsey, was clearly a former League bowler; just above Medium and accurate with the ball doing plenty off the pitch. At the other end, the young Cave was lively and attempted to provide "chin music" though he was hooked for 4 by both batsmen, Abdul's shot narrowly evading Square Leg's fingers. Ramsey had a very close shout for LBW before having Abdul caught behind with the score on 16.
Enter debutant Jim Joyce., a regular 20-20 player who showed this pedigree with some lavish strokes. Sadly, the only one that really connected was possibly the Shot of the Season so far - an absolute tracer bullet of an off drive that a lucky/unlucky fielder somehow got a hand to. In the next over, Ramsey delivered a ball missing leg that rapped both pads before trickling back onto the stumps and Joyce departed unluckily for 2.
Ben Fewson was playing nicely through the covers as ever but on 18 he was slightly unfortunate to smack a short-ish one from the new bowler (Ramsey's son) straight to Square Leg. 30 for 3 and a lot appeared to depend on the old firm of Hassan Khan and Ajmal. They didn't disappoint. Hassan initially steadied things while Ajmal set about demoralising the young bowlers. Two sixes and two fours were the highlights and once again Ajmal outscored his partner, being bowled for 25 out of a partnership of 48. Another debut man, Amin (who guested for Touring Theatres against Nomads last week) announced his arrival with a large 6 but soon departed. Nick Lefebve strolled out with instructions to stay there and give the strike to his partner. Hassan was approaching overdrive, racing past 50 with a brutal assault on Cave; three successive short balls each despatched with aplomb to the boundary. The youngster kept his shape though. In fact all Woodside's young players had a good attitude, though one of them attempted a stern glare at the batsman (more Rory McGrath than Glenn McGrath) quite bizarrely after a rank full toss had been patted away for a dot ball.
A mid-pitch mix-up accounted for Lefebve, run out for 8 out of a partnership of 42 and, when Hassan followed him in the next over for a fine 71, the score was 143 for 7 and the match was in the balance.
8th wicket pair Chris Kennedy and Rob Jenkins rose to the occasion, and put Nomads slightly ahead on points, with a hugely enjoyable stand of 35 from 23 balls. Kennedy played a nice cover drive for 4 but Jenkins more than fulfilled the promise he had shown in the nets. Lofting it, but hard and accurately for an Ajmal-esque 30 Not out including a 6 and four 4s. Nomads wound up on 178 for 7 from the full 35. It was hard to assess the position; the pitch was tricky, bouncy and drying but the boundaries were short. Woodside Green had never made this many against us so we were hopeful.
The usual excellent tea boosted Nomads' spirits even more and we took the field on a pleasant early evening with the puddles rapidly diminishing. Rob Jenkins worked up a head of steam downhill from the Warlingham End, regularly smacking wicketkeeper John Crossland's gloves at chest height. The young opener Woodham seemed slightly disconcerted by the pace and this was perhaps confirmed when he chipped one to the waiting Fewson at short cover. Caught Hull bowled Sheffield. A wicket Made in Yorkshire.
From the Croydon End, Emil Todorow produced a series of remarkable deliveries, kicking up off a good length to neck height. Some onlookers might have put this down to the pitch but no other bowler had really done it so one would have to credit the natural sorcery of the bowler. As one batsman remarked, to the bemusement of the cerebral Sofia-born Medium pacer, "you're ****ing unplayable, mate!"
Despite this, opener Masterman and No 3 Worrall were making fair progress with a boundary in most overs. When the dangerous-looking Worrall was badly dropped on 18 (the ball went for 4) and followed up with a 6 next ball, an ominous air was developing on about 45 for 1. Happily, Ajmal had Worrall caught behind the very next ball and then ripped out numbers 4, 5 and 6 in fairly rapid succession. A couple of them just couldn't handle the young paceman's bounce, dabbing the ball tamely into the air from which it was plucked, vulture-like, by the salivating Nomads fielders.
Hassan provided a foil for Ajmal; slightly less pacy but more accurate (this mirrors their batting partnerships.) With 15 overs left, Woodside needed another 100, but with 6 wickets down, they were really looking for one of their promising youngsters to grab the initiative. Nomads didn't allow this to happen. Skipper Todorow had a steely glint in his eye - perhaps recalling the conversation at the toss - and didn't ease the pressure for a second. The only way he could have been more ruthless would have been by bringing himself back to bowl.
There was a Chris Kennedy Special to savour (a full-length diving catch at short mid-wicket off Hassan.) Ajmal completed his five-fer with a snorter to have the captain Ramsey caught behind and then provided an assist for the last wicket, delivering a pinpoint throw for Crossland who whipped the bails off to run the final man out and prompt a flurry of pads and expletives from the batsman and a wave of self-satisfaction from the Nomads as they contemplated their best result of the season so far; a 91-run win over tough opposition.
In the clubhouse afterwards, Nomads saw England record a 20-20 victory over Pakistan. The watching Emil Todorow could only admire the cricket on display but despair that his own level of ruthlessness was not matched by his England counterpart, Collingwood.
Man of the Match was Ajmal with 5 for 28, the best Nomads bowling analysis for a couple of years, 25 quick runs and good fielding.
Fielder of the Day was too close to call between Abdul Khan (2 sharp catches and yet another direct hit - that unfortunately didn't result in a wicket) and John Crossland (2 catches and no byes conceded. Yet another vintage performance from the evergreen keeper who modestly asserted repeatedly that "it was easy on a pitch like that".) He made it look easy.

NOMADS - 178 for 7 from 35 overs

Fewson, 18
A. Khan, 6
Joyce, 2
H. Khan, 71
Ajmal, 25
Amin, 7
Lefebve, 8
Kennedy, 6 Not out
Jenkins 30 Not out

WOODSIDE GREEN - 87 all out from 22 overs

Jenkins, 5-2-17-1
Todorow, 5-0-19-0
H. Khan, 6-0-21-3
Ajmal, 6-1-28-5

Nomads v Touring Theatre XI - 31/5/09

2009-06-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

A REPORT BY MARK BRADSHAW

On a second successive warm Sunday, Clapham Nomads hosted Touring Theatre XI at Abbey Recreation ground, South Wimbledon. On a dry wicket which looked likely to break up as the match went on, Emil Todorow rightly elected to bat on winning the toss. Mark Bradshaw and Prasanth again opened the batting for the Nomads. Prasanth quickly got into his stride on a slow wicket and was slapping short deliveries to the boundary on both sides of the wicket. Bradshaw was content to look for singles and the partnership reached 94 with Prasanth completing his first fifty for the team. Just when a century seemed on the cards, Prasanth played on to a dreadful long-hop after making 66 fine runs.
Bradshaw and Abdul Khan put on a small stand before Bradshaw edged behind for a somewhat sedate (actually it was boring) 38. Abdul played some solid attacking shots before he was out for 28, stumped off the bowling of Warnaby, who despite being hardly able to run was probably the pick of the bowlers with his off-spinners. Than the real fun started as Hassan Khan and Ajmal put on over 90 runs in 10 overs, and Ajmal completed his first 50 for us in a splendid display of attacking batting. Hassan was run out for 45 in the last over and Rob Jenkins scored his first run for the team as Nomads closed on 249 for 4 from their 40 overs.
Touring Theatres had a decent top 4 in their batting line-up, but at least 3 of them would need to fire if they were going to challenge our total. However, in the 2nd over, one of their openers swiped across the line against Todorow and paid the price. Trenchell and Nomi then started playing some excellent shots and inducing some fielding errors with some good running. The Nomads appeared a little flat in the field for several overs. There is always a danger when you've made a big total that you can slip into thinking all you need to do is go through the motions to beat the opposition. Thankfully, the dangerous Nomi's innings was cut short as he slapped a full-toss from Jenkins straight to Abdul Khan who completed a one-handed catch at square leg. The wickets then tumbled and after 15 overs Touring Theatres were 49 for 6 with only Trenchell making much headway against the Nomads' bowling as Jenkins finished with 3 for 15 and Todorow 2 for 21. Theatres' 7th wicket partnership did show some spirit, but once Gideon Reeve (4 for 12) had made the breakthrough, the rest of the innings fell away a little with Rob Jenkins taking 3 catches all at short-ish cover off Gideon's bowling. Nick Lefebve bowled 5 overs of his left-arm slows and it was nice to see his arm was still as low as ever in preparation for the Energy Exiles in a couple of weeks and he bemused the batsmen several times with his swerve and flight. The No.11 entertained us with some bold shots before Ajmal was brought into the attack and shattered the No.11's stumps to complete a 157 run victory. Our bowling and fielding performance wasn't quite as good as the previous week, but it was certainly satisfactory against very pleasant opponents who really didn't get much luck throughout the match.
Man of the Match was prasanth for his 66 which set us on the way to our large total. Fielder of the Day was Rob Jenkins for his three catches, but honourable mention should also go to Abdul.

NOMADS - 249 for 4 from 40 overs

Bradshaw, 38
Prasanth, 66
A. Khan, 28
H. Khan, 43
Ajmal, 54 Not out
Jenkins, 1 Not out

TOURING THEATRE XI - 92 all out from 34.2 overs

Jenkins 7-4-15-3
Todorow 8-1-21-2
Reeve 8-4-12-4
Lefebve 5-0-21-0
Nissar Khan 4-2-8-0
Ajmal 2.2-1-6-1

Exiles v Nomads - match summary

2009-05-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Nomads - 140 for 8 from 40 overs

Bradshaw, 80 not out
Prasanth, 15
Ferguson, 2
H. Khan, 0
Ajmal, 0
Lefebve, 8
A. Khan, 1
R. Khan, 5
Todorow, 0
Reeve, 13 not out

Energy Exiles - 141 for 8 from 36.1 overs
(Top scorer - Sri, 48)

H. Khan 8-3-13-0
Todorow 8-1-34-2
Ajmal 8-0-30-3
A. Khan 2-0-25-0
G. Reeve 7.1-0-24-2
R. Khan 3-0-4-1

Man of the Match - Mark Bradshaw; make it a century in the return game on 21st June, Mark. Also good all-round performance from Gideon Reeve and a spectacular splintered stump from Ajmal. Fielder of the Day was Riaz Khan - an impassable barrier at deep extra cover.