MATCH 16 NOMADS CC v Blackheath CC The Rectory Field Charlton Road, Blackheath, SE7 7EZ  May 1st 1.00pm  

Result:    Match Drawn  
Toss:     Blackheath CC  
Umpires:  Joe Campbell & Others
Scorer:   Several
Debut(s): Emon Uddin(Bowled and fielded).

BLACKHEATH CC Innings              R  B  4s 6s
R Fleming   retired out           103 87 13 4
T Barker    run out (H Kandampully 35 47  3 0
A Hasnath   bowled     Ireland     13 18  1 0
S Manku     lbw      b Ireland      6  4  1 0
A Henderson not out                16 10  0 0
G Howlett   not out                23 15  1 1
Extras     (b11,lb 0,w 2,nb 0)     13
TOTAL      (3/4 wickets,32 overs) 203
Dnb:M Mahfuzul,D Kandemiri,D Lucas,S Douglas-Freeman,Z Hussain.

Fow:1-99(2),2-157(3),3-162(4).

Bowling-Ayaz 8 0 35 0,Uddin 4 1 32 0,Vithlani 2 0 8 0,Ireland 7 0 53 2,Butcher 8 1 50 0,Page 3 0 12 0.

NOMADS CC Innings                           R  B 4s 6s
T Liversidge  c Henderson b Douglas-Freeman 0  7  0 0
J Lascelles   c Barker    b Hussain         6 32  0 0
R Ormiston    c Hasnath   b Hussain         7 24  0 0
H Kandampully c & b         Howlett         7 18  1 0
V Kandampully c Howlett   b Hussain         0  1  0 0
J Ireland     not out                      30 51  3 1
O Ayaz        c Howlett   b Hussain         7  6  1 0
C Page        lbw         b Hussain         2 30  0 0
A Kapadia     bowled        Manku          30 36  4 0
B Butcher     not out                       5  7  1 0
Extras       (b3,lb4,w3,nb8)               18
TOTAL        (8 wickets,35 overs)         112
Dnb:S Vithlani(Absent without reason)(12th man E Uddin)

Fow:1-1(1),2-16(3),3-23(2),4-23(5),5-24(4),6-31(7),7-53(8),8-102(9).

Bowling-Douglas-Freeman 5 1 5 1,Kandemi 5 1 10 0,Hussain 7 1 19 5,Howlett 5 2 14 1,Hasnath 4 0 18 0,Manku 6 0 25 1,Nahfuzul 3 0 20 0.

Nomads underwhelm on Bank Holiday at Blackheath  

Nomads’ usual bank holiday match versus Barnes was rearranged due to a cup game, and in lieu of that fixture, match manager Vic Kandampully organised a game against his home club – Blackheath CC.

Against a strong Blackheath opening pair, and in the face of persistent showers, Nomads struggled to apply and maintain pressure with the new ball. 12/0 after five overs had multiplied to 78/0 after 13 by the time the rain was heavy enough to send us scampering from the field.

An early tea was taken – Blackheath produced a truly first-class spread with brie, pate, homemade sausage rolls, scones with Cornish clotted cream, and five different home-made desserts, courtesy of Vic’s girlfriend Laura, and Ben Butcher’s girlfriend Lauren. Umpire Joe Campbell gave his seal of approval through mouthfuls of cake: “Tea of the Year!”

On resumption, Nomads took the pace off via Joe Ireland (2/53) and Ben Butcher, but the breakthrough came from a superb run-out effected by Harry Kandampully’s bullet arm from the boundary. Despite the loss of partners, Blackheath’s Richard Fleming (103 retd) kept on attacking the spinners with his slog-sweep and lofted drives, despite his innings being punctuated by further rain delays. Although he was dropped on the midwicket boundary, this was the only chance given in an efficient and aggressive century.

Given the time lost to rain, the captains agreed to set up a run chase to make a game of it. 203 runs in 35 overs was a fair declaration given that the Saturday match on the same pitch had yielded scores of around 220 and that Nomads would have 3 overs more than Blackheath had.

Unfortunately the run chase did not go well. Rain had slowed the pitch, but we also batted pretty poorly.

Tom Liversidge chipped to point tamely, and Nomads struggled to score against the Blackheath seamers. The introduction of young leg-spinner Zihad Hussain (5/19) then elicited the dismissals of Lascelles, Ormiston and (first ball!) Vic Kandampully, all caught off miscued leg-side attacking shots. When Harry Kandampully was caught by the bowler off a scorching straight drive, Nomads were in real trouble at 31/5.

It was left to Joe Ireland (30*) and Adnan Kapadia (30) to save Nomads from utter ignominy – which they did with calm and aplomb amidst some belated spring sunshine. Adnan was out shortly before the end, but Ben Butcher blocked stoically to salvage the match.

A draw then, but a very one-sided game dominated from start to finish by Blackheath’s good play.

A full review of the game (and of Chris Page’s LBW, with geometrical drawings in beer foam) was undertaken in the bar over several jugs of East Coast IPA, several trays of sandwiches, and assorted cakes.