Match 37 Nomads vMerrow, Epsom Road, Merrow,Guildford Surrey Thursday August 2nd 2012 1130 am

Result:   Merrow won by 8 wickets Toss:Merrow
Umpire(s):Paul Maloney & others
Scorer:
Debuts:None.

NOMADS CC Innings                  R  M  B
A Smith     c & b       Lowe       0  2  1
R Sur       bowled      Anderson  15 41 21
J Oliver    c Wilson  b Lowe      32 32 22
R Woolhouse bowled      Lowe       0  1  1
K Smith     c Trueman b Perry      4 29 29
S Shawl     bowled      Perry      0  9  7
A Marshall  c Wilson  b Perry      0  1  3
D Elliott   c Newman  b Henderson 10 24 17
T Marshall  bowled      Trueman    0  2  4
GC Lamb     not out               14 29 25
ME Blumberg c Taylor  b Henderson 10 23 21
Extras     (b1,lb2,nb3,w6)        12
TOTAL      (All out,23.1 overs    97

Fow:1-0,2-51,2-51,3-51,4-51,5-53,6-53,7-57,8-69,9-77,10-97.

Bowling-Lowe 5 1 30 3,Anderson 4 1 20 1,Perry 3 0 15 3,Trueman 5 3 11 1,Henderson 4.1 0 4 0,Newman 2 0 4 0.

MERROW CC Innings                  R M  B
R M B T Johnson c Lamb b Olive     4 14 14
J Newman        bowled   Shawl     2 15 11
S Anderson      not out           63 44 30
N Barnes        not out           15 40 15
Extras          (b15,lb0,w0,nb12) 17
TOTAL     (2 wickets,10.3 overs) 101
Dnb:D Taylor.T Trueman,L Lowe,P Perry,H Henderson,W Wilson,?.

Fow:1-14,2-15.

Bowling-Olive 5 0 65 1,Shawl 5 1 27 1,Elliott 0.3 0 4 0.

                                                 A debacle of serious dimensions

Nomads resumed the contest with Merrow after a lapse of some years and were utterly thrashed.It was not the worst batting line up in nomads history but it was one that required the top order to fire on all cylinders. Losing the toss Nomads were invited to bat on a hard pitch with a few wet patches. Taking number one spot Andrew Smith decided to pull the first ball for six over mid wicket. Unfortunately the ball was rather quicker than he expected and so he patted the ball back to the bowler for a golden duck.
 
For a while thereafter John Olive and Rohan Ssure dealt with the swift Merrow attack with some relish and the score was rattling along when John Olive was given out caught behind for 32 off 23 balls. This was more than unfortunate for Nomads as a big Olive innings was essential.
 
Kevin Smith and Richard Woolhouse changed their positions in the original batting order. Now Woolhouse is a plunderer of moderate bowling but highly suspect against pace although he snicked and edged Terblanche a few seasons ago to good effect and Smith has technique to blunt a rampant pace attack. So a minute or so later Woolhouse had gone, bowled for a golden duck and Kevin Smith was raidly putting on batting gear.Indeed in aleague match he would have been counted out. Hardly had he arrived than Rohan missed a good one so we were now 53-4 with not a lot to come.
 
Sensing the problem, prompted by Kevin, Merrow skipper took off his quicks and introduced flighted filth from one end and gentle seam from the other.
 
However inadequate Nomads (Olive apart) were to Merrow's quicks they were even more incapable against the dross. A few overs later we were 57-7.The most notable duck being Sajjad's. An almighty swing at a Perry snail paced lob missed by what seemed like a minute before he was bowled.Even worse the experienced Andy Marshall fell to Perry also for a duck and Kevin smith played an overhead tennis shot to short fine leg which some assumed would be called 'no ball'. Young Tom Marshall followed in the family tradition recording another duck,67-8 Dominic Elliott played a few shots before drilling airily a half volley to extra cover. We were now 77-9.
 
The veteran last pair of Charlton Lamb and Michael Blumberg combiniing 145 years of age between them took the innings up to 87-9 at lunch, and what a good lunch it was with red wine and ample supplies of Port and speeches of welcome and thanks by the respective skippers.
 
Blumberg has frustrated Merrow's bowlers and supporters for long periods of tedium in the past and that was the remaining hope Nomads had of posting some sort of total. However after lunch Lamb and Blumberg hit a couple more boundaries before the President was out bat pad to a diving one hand catch by the 6ft 7 opposition skipper. Did the batsman really curse Johnno Gordon's fancy pads or was that curse mistranslated! Certainly the ball did ricochet with lazy exaggeration off the pads to deadly effect.
 
Nomads had two good seamers and took two early wickets leaving Merrow reeling at 15-2.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However such was the pace of John Olive that Merrow skipper Dan Taylor sent in New Zealand guest ahead of the less than eager Merrow youngsters. in a few overs he murdered the fearsome Olive who conceded 65 runs off 5 overs and the match was all over. His relationship with the umpire was not enhanced on the field by a spate of no balls including one clean bowled with ran away to the boundary. What should have been 0-1, became 5-0. Ugh !
 
In all both innings had lasted a total of 24 overs. Not much for a scheduled all day match, and yet there was much hospitality and Nomads lingered long into to the evening watching an Under 13s match between Merrow and Effingham. Much to our surprise we were invited warmly to return and agreed.
 
John Nagenda would doubtless have thrown down the gauntlet, "You boys better be strong next year". Well certainly we had better had.
 
But for the graciousness of our hosts this would otherwise have been a thoroughly embarassing performance. Well it still is yet somehow it seemed like a very enjoyable day. Thank you Merrow.