Energy Exiles Cricket Club

Match Summary: vs. Clapham Nomads, Sunday, 13 May 2018

Ground: Abbey Recreation Ground
Captain: Chris Plume
Match type: 35 overs
Toss: Nomads elected to bowl
Weather: Overcast
Opposition: Clapham Nomads scored: 161 for 5 (32.2 overs)
Exiles Score: 160 for 8 (35 overs)
Result: Lost by 5 wickets
Man of the match: Chris Plume 54 runs

Following a very wet Saturday, the outcome of this game was always likely to be heavily influenced by the toss; the team batting first would have to contend with a new ball and a very soft, spongey wicket offering no pace or carry early on, and a slow outfield (compounded by big boundaries at Abbey Rec). The team batting second would have the benefit of a drier surface and batting against a new ball. It’s never nice for the toss to have such an impact, particularly with our luck when it comes to winning them (or more accurately, losing them) and so when the Exiles were inserted by Nomads skipper Emil, they would have to make the most of challenging conditions.

Openers Chris Plume and Shahid Iqbal started watchfully, until Iqbal wafted rather recklessly at a full ball from Hassan, edging to Mahesh at slip. Plume and Bilal Musakhel rebuilt carefully, but with a slow pitch and outfield, timing the ball was problematic and neither batsman got full value for their shots. Bilal would eventually fall for 15, and Bernard Leuvennink would only have a brief stay before being trapped LBW.

Gradually, as the sun shone, the wicket got a little easier to play, and enter Jonny Aloysius, who looked busy from the off, particularly off the front foot. Jonny (27) and Chris put on a solid 50 partnership together at a good clip, and saw the Exiles past 100, before Jonny became the first of Zia’s three victims. Plume passed 50 (a half century entirely without a boundary, until his final scoring shot) before he departed trying to accelerate the scoring.

The Exiles lower order ran aggressively to push the total along, and surpass 150; They ended on 160/8, which felt like a good effort given the difficult start (the first 10 overs yielding just 26) but probably only about a par score with batting conditions rapidly improving.

After tea, the Exiles opening bowlers Ashik Santimon and Faisal Musakhel started well, and both were unlucky not to make a breakthrough in their opening spells as they caused openers Mahesh and Darwin plenty of issues with pace and movement. It was first change Bilal Musakhel who grabbed the opening wicket, and this precipitated a bit of a top-order wobble for the Nomads as Zabie Musakhel and Chris Aloysius (6-1-21-2) made inroads.

The arrival of Zia to join Hasan, however, proved to be pivotal as both players played with characteristic aggression, spreading the field and doing what the Exiles had not been able to do –strike boundaries. It was this extra gear that took the game away from the Exiles, and although Hassan fell to Faisal Musakhel late on, they had broken the back of the chase. Zia and Sami saw the Nomads home with two overs to spare.

A difficult afternoon for the Exiles, who were always in the game but it was one of those days where it was ‘a good toss to win’. There was good bowling and batting shown, which hints at promise for the future, and Chris Aloysius returned excellent figures on debut. Skipper Plume elected himself man of the match for his half century at the top of the order.

Report By: Chris Plume

Last modified: 11 March 2018 14:31:46. Top of the page