Brigands v Nomads, 21 April 2025

And they’re off.

A dull, chilly, and damp Easter Monday following on from a week of sunshine welcomed the start of the cricket season and Brigands hosting Nomads CC from North London.

The Brigands, skippered by Mike Beardall, won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch where the challenging weather this spring has restricted grass growth, which saw a quick final cut with the petrol mower 30 minutes before play started!

Openers Gerry Northwood and Paul Whittle faced some good bowling straight from the off; Whittle falling 3rd ball to an in-swinger from Collett (a member of the Middlesex county youth academy) before David Mann joined Northwood (48 with 9 boundaries) in a stand of 48 in just under an hour.

A cameo from Dave Turner (14) pushed the score to 74. Guy Ladenburg glued the rest of the innings together being last man out for 21, the Brigand’s closing their innings for 122 off 34 overs.

With persistent light drizzle during the innings, the players, officials, and spectators were glad of the chance to warm themselves in the Long Room over cups of warming tea, sandwiches and cake.

The Nomads replied with Neil Wood opening the bowling from the southern end and Sam Sargent from the north, bowling tightly in tandem for 12 overs with 3 maidens conceding only 38 runs. Debutant Rory Morris came on at first change, but it took until Ladenburg came on in the 16th over for the 1st wicket; Bradley caught by Northwood right on the cusp of a rain-break.

Play restarted with steadily brightening skies and the first hint of sunshine although this did little to turn the tide on the field of play. The Nomads steadily accumulated runs until Ladenburg finally got through the defences of Hamilton (42 of 38 balls) with only 5 needed.

Top scorer for the match, Kandampully, hit the winning runs with a booundary, finishing on 56 and Broadhalfpenny Down draped in glorious early evening sunshine.

Brigands 122 (Northwood 41, Ladenburg 21, Bonneywell 5/25) lost to Nomads 124/2 (Kandampully 56, Ladenburg 2/33) by 8 wickets