Match 12 Nomads v NPL Lensbury Monday Bank Holiday May 26th 2003 at Queen’s Road Teddington Middx
 
Result:     NPL Lensbury won by 95 runs   
Toss:             NPL Lensbury   
Umpire(s):   B Wilson &   
 
NPL LENSBURY CC Innings
T Gardiner c Lascelles b Kacper     0
A Atwell   bowled        Ireland   47
T Embury   bowled        Ireland   22
A Padhani  not out                 20
S Huxtable c Mann      b Ireland   32
M Flux     bowled        Ireland    0
E Wesson   not out                 39
M Champion c Sub      b Blumberg   15
A Tuck     not out                  2
Extras (2b,7lb,18w,3nb)            30
TOTAL (7 wickets, 35.5 overs)    207
DNB:D Burns,L Bowles  
 
FoW:    1-0,2-83,3-93,4-135,5-135,6-156,7-163.  
 
Bowling-    Kacper 16 1 62 1,Woolhouse 6 1 34 0, J Ireland 15 2 59 5,Blumberg 6 0 43 1.  
 
NOMADS CC Innings
J Lascelles c Tuck     b Champion   11
J Lane      c Atwell   b Champion   18
R Woolhouse st Burns   b Padhani    21
J Ireland   st Burns   b Padhani     0
R Mann      c Huxtable b Padhani     4
C Lamb      c Wesson   b Bowles      5
S Marians   bowled       Tuck        7
P Kacper    bowled       Bowles     23
ME Blumberg not out                 12
M Ireland   c Hebbert  b Rae         4
Extras      (0b,2lb,5w,0nb)          4
TOTAL (All Out(9 whts),45 overs)  112
 
FoW:    1-29,2-29,3-30,4-57,5-60,6-60,7-87,8-100,9-112.  
 
Bowling-    Tuck 12 3 38 2,Champion 8.4 4 16 3, Bowles 11 4 22 2,Padhani 6 0 33 2,Huxtable 2 1 1 0.  
 

Nomads woeful batting
      

Lots of people were available for this game but when some of the preferred selection starting dropping like flies from Saturday onwards even on arriving at Clapham Junction en route for NPL it was with some relief that we took the field with 10 and a welcome sub. Of the drop outs Sunil Patel was most unfortunate having suffered a fractured thumb on Saturday and he rang from the hospital to let us know. GET WELL SOON Sunil. Whether bowling, ‘Keeping or batting his removal from the scene was a serious loss in this match let alone weeks to come.
 
Paul Kacper making his debut opened the bowling and soon removed one of the openers for a duck. He was to bowl for 16 overs and should have had two catches taken behind the wicket and deserved several more. Richard Woolhouse bowling from the other end was suckered by a Canadian Baseball player who came in no 3. His batting technique looked awful and he might have been caught a couple of times close on the leg early on and he had the habit of jumping out of the way of pitched up balls going down leg side. This induced Richard to bowl short at him which only unleashed some crashing blows while at the other end Atwell who was dropped off Kacper flourished producing some handsome drives and crisp cuts and this contrasting partnership blossomed.
 
With the introduction of Jo Ireland for Woolhouse things began to happen for Nomads. Ireland struck twice with a faster yorker and this then spurred him into reverting to fast medium seam over the wicket rather than left arm spin round the wicket.. This experiment was not productive and 42 were added for the next wicket before Ireland struck again twice on 136 and again at 156 with his 5th wicket.
 
When Blumberg had Champion out caught Canadian sub at 163-7 Nomads had very much the initiative. But NPL skipper Wesson and number 9 Tuck were to add 44 off a few overs of inviting flight, Wesson being especially productive off Blumberg’s last over, the match ball being lost forever off the last ball of the over. At 207-7 NPL declared setting Nomads a target of around 5 an over.
 
After a splendid tea Nomads openers Lascelles and Lane were playing comfortably until at 29 both were induced to playing curious shots and were caught. Ireland played an even more eccentric blow and was caught for a duck. Nomads at 30-3 were in serious need of consolidation..Mann joined Woolhouse and provided stout defence while Woolhouse made merry at the other end. Having scored 21(2 x 4& 4 x 3) he launched himself as if to hit the ball back to Central London and almost regained his ground such was the low velocity of the flighted ball in question. He was stumped and mighty cross with himself. Perhaps it was the fear of a fifth 3 that had produced such a recless shot.
 
Mann hit a nice boundary and then attempted the same shot off a very different ball, miscued and was caught. Nomads 60-5. Veteran maestro Lamb hit a boundary effortlessly only to be caught shortly afterwards. Debutant Paul Kacper now joined Marians and demonstrated quite how non threatening the bowling was with a robust 23 until bowled by Bowles. This brought Blumberg to the wicket with 13.2 overs to go. The skipper and Marians seemed to be comfortably playing out time for an outrageous draw when Marians was deceived by a slower ball from Tuck which was unusually straight and so was bowled.
 
This brought Joe Ireland’s brother to the crease and he is not a cricketer though a useful fielder. Quite soon he had achieved his initial goals namely to last longer and score more than his cricketing brother. He had come in with 6.3 overs to go. For some unexplained reason Blumberg 12* did not take the easy bye off the third ball of Champion’s over presumably planning to play out the last over himself. Well Champion bowled a short but straight fourth ball inducing a cross bat shot from Ireland which he missed and the ball hit the bails. Nomads with one man short had lost and we deserved so to do.
 
It is perhaps worth recording that we chased a rather larger total last year and won handsomely. Keith Alexander hit 90*..where was he this year ? At Butlins with the grandchildren..someone must have a word with Veronica. In traditional style after such a drubbing five Nomads left the NPL bar with reluctance post 10.00pm. Well the Timothy Taylors and Caledonian Deuchers bitter was excellent.
 
The President Richard Kershaw had graced us with his presence for much of the game but had to leave just before the end, confident of a draw !