Club Statistics
Match Summary: vs. Clapham Nomads, Sunday, 17 Sep 2006
Ground: Abbey Recreation Ground
Captain: Andrew Wingfield
Match type: 35 overs
Toss: Clapham Nomads elected to bat
Weather: Mainly Sunny
Opposition: Clapham Nomads scored: 207 for 6 (35 overs)
Exiles Score: 126 all out (29.4 overs)
Result: Lost by 81 runs
Man of the match: Robin Freeman 10 & 0 for 24
| Batsmen | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Roberts | ct. | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Mark Bradshaw | b. | 20 | 29 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Vivek Sardhia (W) | b. | 21 | 32 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Chris Edwards | b. | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Wil Scott | ct. | 27 | 55 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Marcin Zieleniewski | run out | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | David Stiffell | ct. | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Robin Freeman | b. | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Andrew Wingfield (C) | b. | 15 | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Jeff Hilson | b. | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Gwyn Thomas | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Extra(s) 4w 10b 1lb | 15 | |||||
| 126 | 170 | |||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Wingfield | 7.0 | 2 | 38 | 1 | 38 |
| 2 | Jeff Hilson | 7.0 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 31 |
| 3 | Robin Freeman | 7.0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Wil Scott | 3.0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Gwyn Thomas | 7.0 | 0 | 55 | 2 | 27.5 |
| 6 | Keith Roberts | 4.0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 29 |
| Player | Catch | Run Out | Stumping | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wingfield | 1 | |||
| David Stiffell | 1 | |||
| Robin Freeman | 1 | |||
| Vivek Sardhia (W) | 1 | 1 |
The usual end of season match against the Clapham Nomads began in typically unsurprising fashion, the Nomads turning up half an hour late. Things got worse as M. Thomas recognized the dangerous Rafi getting out of a vehicle, a destroyer of many an attack over the years. To top it of, a delirious John Crossland won the toss and elected to bat.
Eventually, the Nomad batsmen wondered out to the middle to be faced by Messer's Wingfield and Hilson (finally recovered from various ailments). Both openers began well, Wingfield dismissing Chris (bottom edging a well taken catch to our keeper). The enthusiasm continued as Hilson and a few others thought Riaz, the other opener had also been caught behind. His luck did not last long as he was run out by a sharp piece of fielding from the skipper.
Unfortunately, this was a false dawn as the Nomad middle order not dissimilar to that of Pakistan's started to get on top by punishing any loose delivery. Messer's Hassan, Chance and Rafi all scored around 50, with Scott, Roberts and Thomas G harshly treated. Gwyn finally had Hassan caught by Stiffell at point, but the highlight was still to come. Keith once again required to turn his arm over, bowled a bemused Chance with a classic turning off-break! A truly momentous occasion. Benny later told me he wanted to give the other guys a chance to bat! The no. 6, Edwards did not last long, as he was deceived by a well flighted delivery from Gwyn Thomas (who by this stage was bowling like Pinkney) and stumped. However, he was less then happy to be given out by Todorow and it was up to Bradshaw to send him on his way in no uncertain terms.
Sumith was the last man to go, mistiming a drive to Robin Freeman at cover, who had to make good ground to take the catch. Freeman had also bowled well without luck, mesmerising the batsmen with his leg break. The Nomads ended their innings on 207 for 6 with a quick cameo from Nick Lefebvre as he fended off Jeff, who despite advice from his team-mates (and a particularly vociferous Bradshaw) to bowl at off-stump, simply fed Lefebvre's favourite leg-side.
Mention has to be given to some of the less then fantastic fielding on display. When Rafi did offer a chance during a brilliant innings, mistiming a bully shot, not only did Jeff have to be woken up by yells from Mark, as he stared into space looking for geese, but he also put his hands on his head and ducked as the ball sailed 10 yards past him at long on!
Tea was very pleasant, but the skipper had a lot to think about regarding his batting line up, especially where to play 'specialist batsmen' M. Thomas, who had committed the cardinal sin of playing football the day before and getting himself injured. N. Patel had also arrived at that point to offer some much needed batting advice.
The exiles innings got of to a disastrous start, as Roberts keen to make the most of the opening bowlers chased a wide one from Todorow and was well caught at point. This brought new recruit Vivek Sardhia to the crease, who equipped himself well, particularly against Brooke-Mills, who had a close lbw appeal turned down and had Bradshaw dropped at gully. The two steadied the ship, until the wily Todorow nipped one back to dismiss Vivek. Chris Edwards was next in, but the hope of some sensible cricket did not materialise. An impressive drive was followed by a less impressive stroke as Emil had his third victim, finishing with figures of 3 for 20 in a masterly display of inswing bowling.
With W. Scott our last recognized batsmen coming in and Messer's Thomas M and Stiffell warming up, things did not look promising. Bradshaw and Scott anchored the innings for a while, until Hassan deceived Bradshaw with his variation and bowled him of an inside edge. This brought the hobbling Thomas with a runner to the crease. After a few words of warning from Patel senior that he was counting the dot balls, Thomas managed to smack a short ball over Sumith's head. However, the entertainment ended next ball, as a mix up between everyone led to an inevitable run out. Dave Stiffell next in made his intentions clear with a huge 6 into the car park, causing gasps from a Nomad fielder, whose vehicle was in close proximity. Todorow also looked uncomfortable when asked if his car was insured. Wil was then very well caught by Terry Brooke-Mills, trying to pull a high full toss. By this time Crossland had unfairly, in Jeff's opinion, brought on Rafi to bowl, who was not slow. Stiffell was superbly caught at slip by Hassan and after a couple of good 4's, Robin was next to go. Andy offered some resistance, playing Rafi well and sensibly, but he soon fell to a quicker one. The Champion was also in, taking his runs very carefully to avoid facing anything fast. However, the fun and games did not last; as one bully shot too many saw our innings come to a sorry end.
The exiles had come up against a strong Clapham Nomad side and had witnessed a devastating innings. We were also missing a couple of players (who would have improved the balance of the side) to make it a real contest, so a disappointing end to the season. However, John Crossland was particularly delighted with the victory in the pub afterwards as he was also celebrating his recent birthday.
Report By: Marcin Zieleniewski