Wednesday August 2nd v Kidmore End CC

Match 33 NOMADS CC v KIDMORE END CC Wednesday August 2nd  The Playing Field The Hamlet Gallowstree Common Near Reading Berkshire RG4 9BU 2.00pm–Time Game

Result:  Kidmore End won by 3 wickets with 4 balls to go
Toss:    Nomads CC
Umpires: Brian Wilson & AN Other
Scorer:  Various
Debuts:  Kirti Azad,Tilak Raj,Sukhvinder Singh,A Mohindra,I Cuthbertson, P Brock    

NOMADS CC Innings
P Brock       bowled       Berry    6
I Smith       c T Fritz  b Bishop  11
K Azad        c Mundy    b Berry    6
A Ford        c J Elvey  b Berry    1
T Stowe       bowled       R Fritz 42
A Mohindra    c & b        Berry    0
T Raj         c J Elvey  b Berry    8
S Singh       c J Elvey  b R Fritz 38
I Cuthbertson st I Fritz b R Fritz 32
ME Blumberg*  not out              21
T Dann+       not out              14
Extras                             19
TOTAL       (9 wkts dec,53 overs) 198 

Fow:1-18(1),2-18(2),3-24(4),4-31(3),5-49(7)7-112(8),8-155(8),9-167(9). 

Bowling-Bishop 8 3 17 1,Berry 12 2 38 5,Bradshaw 18 5 56 0,R Fritz 14 4 58 3,Mundy 1 0 11 0.

KIDMORE END CC Innings
K Head     bowled         Azad   12
R Fritz    c Mohindra   b Singh  38
I Fritz+   c Singh      b Raj     6
R Mundy    not out               87
G Elvey    c Raj         b Singh 10
E Davies   c Cuthbertson b Singh  4
H Bradshaw c Dann        b Brock  9
C Elvey    c Dann        b Azad   9
S Berry    not out                2
Extras                           24
TOTAL      (7 wickets,36.2)     199
Dnb:P Bishop,J Elvey. 

Fow:Not recorded.

Bowling-Azad 12.2 2 44 2,Raj 10 4 23 1,Singh 6 0 46 3,Blumberg 3 0 29 0,Brock 5 0 33 1. 

Test Cricketer not enough

When Kirti Azad said he had three friends who would like a game the match manager replied " Yes Please". Not often does a Nomads XI include a test cricketer and three other 1st class players(Ranji Trophy). So how on earth did we lose? Well the skipper, Hon Sec Michael Blumberg, did a Crombie!

We won the toss and batted first anticipating a big score. Alas we were soon 31-5 and not long after 48-7. Luckily we batted to 11 and we had picked up fortuitously a County U-17s who happened to be netting at the club and asked us if he could play.Well as we had a drop out he played. Tim Stowe and Sukinder Singh took the score to 119 and the last three added 76 before the skipper declared including a 10th wicket stand unbeaten of 31. We had got out of jail,just! A Test cricketer and two first class cricketers had amassed a mere 14 runs between them and Gaieties run machine Ian Smith fell cheaply.

Well following a slighly protracted Tea  we took the field  confident of bowling the opposition out.We had anticipating bowling 40 overs back but in the end it would be 37. Kirti Azad turned the ball sideways. The batsman played and missed repeatedly. Several byes resulted as Kirti failed to signal to the keeper Tim Dann what astonishing ball he was going to bowl. At the other end Tilak Raj was bowling a mean spell(10 4 23 1). Two wickets fell cheaply and R Fritz and Mundy dug in despite many a miss and the score was going nowhere. So the skippered took off Azad and introduced Singh who plied a gentler art of spin and soon removed R Fritz and two others. The skipper brought himself on to lob some filth and get Kidmore End back in the game. Mundy relished this and the skipper went for 39 off 3, job done. Brock replaced Singh and the skipper recalled Kirti Azad to finish the innings off. However Mundy, by now, was in confident mode and attacked Azad. Mundy gave some chances including one that should have been taken. The U-17 County lad raced in from mid wicket to take what was  for him was a routine catch only to come in too quickly and mess up the catch. Two wickets fell at the other end but Berry blocked while Mundy chanced his arm and so with 4 balls to go won the match for Kidmore End.

After the match, in the bar, the skipper was approached by the Indian 1st class contingent. "Michael we do not play cricket to lose". "But it turned out an exciting finish protested the skipper and by the way what was up with your batting today".

Well Crombie would have been thrilled and anyway Kidmore End poured a lot of jugs of beer our way afterwards.

Time and again the youngster kept apologising to the rest of the Nomads until his Mum arrived to take him home and thanked us for giving him a game. "I will never drop a catch like that again, I promise,I am so sorry".

Well did he? 

What a match!

Kirti Azad did not have a distinguished International career but his 1st class career is formidable. He broke all records in the Durham leagues. Subsequently he followed his father into politics. He played against us on our Centenary Tour to India at which point he was India’s Chairman of selectors. On one of our trips to France we played against a son of Kirti playing for Chantilly CC. More about Kirti

Kirti did also play for Cricket World XI hitting a fast ton against the BBC but when due to play for Nomads against the same opposition the match was rained off.

Sukhvinder Singh****Tilak Raj****Atul Mohindra

Season 1989