MATCH NOMADS CC/Virgin XI Sunday 15th July v Frensham 2.00pm Hollowdene Frensham Surrey 

 Sledging?   Not us, Ump!

 Controversial Win 
    

Controversy, once a byword for Virgin Cricket, has been conspicuous by its absence in recent years for the club. But it returned with a vengeance on Sunday at Frensham. A low-scoring match was heading for the tightest of conclusions as Frensham, with the last pair at the wicket, required 3 more runs for victory with Karl Thorns preparing to start the penultimate over of the match. Suddenly, with no clear signs that trouble was afoot, Frensham's no. 11 (also their captain, and in previous years someone who always came across as an affable fellow) pulled up the stumps and marched off the field, having evidently taken gross exception to a flurry of verbals emanating towards the batsmen and umpires from the slip region. Despite the best diplomatic efforts of skipper Lascelles (am I really reading this right?!), the game ended there and then. Confusion reigned, and the air was filled with accusation and counter-accusation.

But, although never stated, by any correct interpretation of the laws of cricket, by virtue of the fact that Frensham refused to complete the game, Nomads/Virgin were the winners of the match by 2 runs.

The climactic conclusion of the game was triggered by an incident that had taken place two overs earlier. Thorns bowled a waist high full toss to the Frensham skipper, appearing to strike him on the thumb as he attempted to pull. The ball ran down towards the long leg boundary, only for Paul Brown, defying his 93 years of age, to athletically stick his size 9 boot in the way, preventing a boundary. Neither batsman attempted a run, and when the Minister's return was pinged (?) in to wicket-keeper Wycherley, he - noticing that the non-striking batsman was wandering down the wicket - threw the wicket down from 22 yards. The umpire however had turned away, and saying alternately that he had not seen what had happened, and then that it was extremely unsporting of us to try to run someone out when they were going to see whether the batsman had been injured. End result - not out, and a few disgruntled Virgin fielders.

And so to the cricket match itself. Virgin, fielding a superstar line-up with a whole cosmos of self-proclaimed star players, got off to a brisk start, so that when Lascelles was first out for 35, 52 had been put on the board in 11 overs. Reasonable progress continued to be made, and when the score reached 126-3, with Wycherley batting well, and While having just joined him at the crease (painful it was for him too), a sizeable total looked in store. Enter a certain Alan Stone, Frensham's veteran off-spin bowler, the day before his 60th birthday. A collapse that can only be described as hideous then ensued, with one so-called quality batsman following the other in finding ways to get out to the innocuous oldster.

Some sensible batting from Keble-White at no. 9, keeping While company, restored a modicum of stability before three wickets fell in the same over to the same Mr. Stone to give him the astonishing figures of 7-17 in 6 overs, and to bring the innings to a close for a pathetic 177. Virgin XI have been ''Stoned' many times on the field before but never quite like this.

Thankfully, a much improved performance in the field kept the game pretty evenly balanced throughout. Thorns took a couple of early wickets, but it was the bowling of 14-year old Ollie Smith that swung things back our way. Flighting his leg-spin beautifully and extracting much turn, he proved a real handful, and his superb 12 over spell brought him figures of 4-42. The game would have been in the bag if their no. 4 (another Stone), the only man to make 50 in the game, had not been dropped - an absolute sitter, with Virgin Superstar no. 2 the culprit - before he reached 20. And so, as the game headed for a nerve-wracking finale, Thorns and While returned to take 3 of the remaining 4 wickets. Would there have been a 4th if the game had been allowed to reach its natural conclusion? The world will never know.

 
 14 years old Olly took 4-42 

Result: Nomads won by 2 runs  
Toss:   Nomads/Virgin  
Umpires:Various  
Scorers:Various:  
Debutant(s):

NOMADS/VIRGIN CC Innings 
J.Lascelles   b           R.Stone 35 
P.Brown       bowled       Naylor 19 
A.Stokes      c B.Weeks b R.Stone  9
R.Wycherley   c R.Stone b A.Stone 30 
J.While       c D.Stone b A.Stone 37 
A.Smith       lbw       b A.Stone  0
K.Thorns      c R.Stone b A.Stone  7
C.Sargent     bowled      A.Stone  0 
M.Keble-White not out             24 
O.Smith       c B.Weeks b A.Stone  0
R.Leachman    c D.Stone b A.Stone  0 
Extras                            17
TOTAL                            177 

Fow:1-52, 2-69, 3-100, 4-126, 5-126, 6-140, 7-140, 8-177, 9-177, 10-177

Bowling-R.Stone 12-1-43-2,E.Weeks 6-0-38-0, S.Naylor 11-1-72-1, A.Stone 6-1-17-7.

FRENSHAM CC Innings
P.Chuter    c Lascelles  b Thorns  20 
S.Farncombe c and        b Thorns   7
J.Weldon    c Sargent    b O.Smith 10
D.Stone     c Wycherley  b Thorns  55
R.Trayfoot  bowled         O.Smith  0
R.Stone     c Sargent    b O.Smith 21
E.Weeks     st Wycherley b O.Smith  3
B.Weeks     bowled         Thorns  21
A.Stone     bowled         While    4
S.Naylor    not out                 2
A.Page      retired                14
Extras                             17
TOTAL(Innings Forfeited,37.1 ovs) 175 

Fow:1-28,2-33,3-70 

Bowling-K.Thorns 10.1-3-40-4, J.While 11-2-35-1, C.Sargent 10-0-39-0, O.Smith 12- -3-42-4, A.Smith 4-1-7-0.

 Previous Matches   
In 2006 Nomads/Virgin XI Lost by 4 wkts
In 2005 Nomads/Virgin XI   Won by 86 runs    
In 2004 Nomads/Virgin XI   Won by 6 wickets   
In 2003 Nomads/Virgin XI   Hung on for a draw        
In 2002
In 2001
In 2000
In 1999
In 1998
 
 Prior to the merger with Virgin XI Nomads had played at Frensham so for a while both clubs played there in the same season          

Previous Nomads CC matches
1997 Match Drawn
1996
1995
1994
1993
  

Frensham CC Website