Match 20 NOMADS CC v HAILEYBURY HERMITS CC at Haileybury College Hertford Heath Sunday May 20th 11.00am-Declaration match 20 overs from 5.30pm

Result:  Nomads won by 2 wickets
Toss:    Haileybury Hermits
Umpires: Michael Blumberg &
Scorers: Several
Debut(s):Duncan Ellis 

HAILEYBURY HERMITS CC Innings               R B  4s 6s
J Satt          bowled          Page       38 41 5  1
T Wigglesworth+ c Ormiston    b Shawl      10 13 1  0
T Billings*     c Kandampully b Page       25 36 3  0
T Howe          c T Marshall  b Page        8 13 0  0
R Toms          c T Marshall  b Page       12 13 4  0
T Saysel        bowled          T Marshall 45 39 4  1
E Wright       c T Marshall   b Page       11 14 1  0
A Neal          run out(Farrell)           32 27 2  1
S Wilson        c Style       b T Marshall  4  6 0  0
R Woodburn      not out                     0  4 0  0
S Boothby       c T Marshall  b Brockton    0  1 0  0
Extras         (b3,lb1,w0,nb3)              7 
TOTAL          (All out,40 overs)         205

Fow:1-35,2-72,3-78,4-102,5-121,6-130,7-156,8-190.9-201,10-205.

Bowling-T Marshall 12 2 36 2,Shawl 7 1 39 1,A Marshall 11 0 54 0,Page 11 0 60 5,Brockton 2.2 1 5 1.

NOMADS CC Innings                        R  B 4s 6s
K Farrell     c & b            Wilson   17 43  3 0
T Brockton*   c ?            b Woodburn 63 70 13 0
V Kandampully c ?            b Wilson    3 19  0 0
R Style       lbw            b Wilson    1  8  0 0
R Ormiston    bowled           Wilson    2 21  0 0
K Alexander   bowled           Neal      5 20  1 0
T Marshall    not out                   71 95  9 1
C Page        c Wigglesworth b Neal      0 45  0 0
A Marshall    not out                   17 21  2 0
Extras        (b6,lb6,w8,nb2)           22
TOTAL         (8 wickets,59 overs)     206
Dnb:S Shawl,D Ellis+ 

Fow:1-64(1),2-72(3),3-80(4),4-96(5),5-97(2),6-108(6),7-120(8),8-168(9).

Bowling-Boothby 17 2 69 0,Neal 13 5 37 3,Woodburn 9 1 14 1,Wilson 15 2 46 4,Toms 5 1 24 0. 

  Page bamboozles Haileyburians and Marshalls take Nomads to victory

Nomads' first trip to Haileybury since 1986 resulted in a tense but thoroughly enjoyable match played under blue skies at a beautiful setting.  After a little negotiation a traditional declaration game was agreed and Haileybury’s skipper won the toss and elected to bat writes Tom Brockton.

At 75-1 after some 16 overs this looked to be a good decision despite some good bowling from Tom Marshall and Sajjad Shawl The sole success for Nomads had come via a snick off Shawl and Ormiston pouched the chance at first slip (how many times has he done that in his career?). Enter old stager Chris “The Professor” Page.  He clean bowled the Haileybury opener with his first ball, the bemused batsman trying to slog sweep to the shorter boundary,missing the ball completely as it lobbed gently onto his off stump. Page was quickly into his stride taking wickets in each of his first three overs, including the Haileybury skipper who was bowled neck and crop by a beauty from the former Sunbury star.

Middlesex Over 50’s skipper Andy Marshall was bowling accurately at the other end but Page was doing the damage. The Haileybury batters could not contain themselves, providing the safe hands of Ealing all-rounder Tom Marshall & Blackheath’s Vic Kandampully with chances in the deep, all accepted with glee. Page took 5-60 and despite taking some punishment from the lower order bowled exceptionally well. 

That Hermits reached a decent total was due to the contribution of no 7 Wright with 45 and no 8 Neale 32. Neale the  Cricketer Cup skipper who usually bats 3 or 4 and opens the bowling) looked very good   but he was foolishly run out,

Tom Marshall was recalled to clean up the tail and that he did, with some skill deserving his two wickets after a luckless opening burst which on another day would have yielded 3 or 4 scalps and Brockton then ended the innings, the home side slumping to 205 all out in just 40 overs. This left Nomads the best part of 60 overs tochase this seemingly modest total.

Lunch/tea was taken at 2pm, and an enjoyable 45 minutes it was, Professor Page generously brought a couple of bottles of Sauv Blanc and that went down well with the tasty treats from the Haileybury kitchen.   

Former Herts League cricketers Brockton and Farrell opened up for Nomads and immediately got the scoreboard ticking, the usually watchful Nomads skipper striking nine boundaries in the first ten overs as the score ticked onto 50-0.  Changes in the bowling did bring immediate reward as the Haileybury leggie dismissed Farrel (17) and Kandampully in quick succession.  Rupert Style was then palpably LBW not reading the leggies googly and when ex pro Ross Ormiston departed, also for a low score  Nomads had collapsed from 64-0 to 96-4.  

Brockton reached his 50 with a well timed cut for 4, but was then taken at mid-off after a loose uppish drive. Nomads skipper out for 63 from 70 balls containing 13 boundaries. England over 60s cricketer Keith Alexander was then bowled by the returning opening bowler as Haileybury looked to kill the game.

However Tom Marshall and Chris Page had other ideas and forged an important, if not one sided partnership of 48 where Page faced 45 balls before being dismissed for 0.  However, Tom was looking a class act  and some stubborn support from his father looked to be getting the Nomads closer to an unlikely victory at approximately 5 runs an over..

Tom was proving hard to dislodge, and his ability to rotate the strike, enabling him to hit a boundary almost every over and then pinch a single off the 5^th or 6^th ball was frustrating the homeside. However with overs  starting to run out  Andy Marshall proved equal  to the task striking two boundaries in an important over to release some pressure.Tom was now past fifty and his bat was looking incredibly wide.  Victory was attained with just 1 over left, Marshall Snr swatting over point to give Nomads a win by just 2 wickets. Tom 71* and Andy 17*."Possibly Andy Marshalls' finest hour for Nomads remarked Nomads President Michael Blumberg who had been umpiring.

In a match that had swung one way and another several times,it was quite an achievement from the depths of 108-6, against a decent young bowling attack, showing that experience (and a dash of youth) can win over the young bucks.  Haileybury average age 24,Nomads average age 51. 

Nomads President is also an Old Haileyburian and having contacted Tom Wigglesworth of Haileybury Hermits these two suggested a fixture would be appropriate.

A cracking good match resulted and we thank Haileybury for their hospitality and look forward to a return to this grand setting in 2019.

Most Nomads retired to the nearby College Arms for a few ales and further celebrations cut short nevertheless by the establishment's early Sunday closing.