Lichfield Nomads Cricket Club : Match Reports 2005

Lichfield Nomads completed a 100% tour record in Lincolnshire with a three wicket victory over Friskney.

Friskney 'old boy' Ted Osborn was captain for the day in the absence of skipper Blackburn.

Friskney started cautiously and Hoddy was soon back in the wickets again taking the first two wickets. Gray for a duck and S. Clements for 3 to reduce Friskney to 13 for 2 off 13 overs. Heslington bowled his 8 overs right through without a wicket for a miserly 7 runs. Grant then threatened to turn the game with a more positive approach and some big hitting but he fell to Greaves for 26, pulling straight to Heslington on the square leg boundary, who took a sharp catch, much to Heslington's joy (and amazement). The Clement family added a useful 21 before Dad was out for 32 bowled by Greaves.
Heslington then almost repeated the trick as George Danby pulled Greaves to the same spot on the boundary, first ball, but this time, with more time to think about it, the chance was spurned. Danby made the Nomads pay with some big hitting and he put on 28 before Fearon bowled S. Clements with one that moved into the right hander off the pitch. Danby was starting to look dangerous but he failed in his bid to marshall the tail. Fearon bowled M. Berry for a duck and Hughes trapped C. Berry lbw for a single. Fearon then nearly claimed a hat trick as he removed Thornally and Marshall in consecutive balls to claim his first 4 wicket haul of the season, all clean bowled. Bailey showed more determination than some of the others and reached 7 before being bowled by Hughes. Friskney were all out for 139, a lowish total but the wicket was offering enough to suggest it would be a challenging target.

Tea was spent with ears pressed to car radios as England secured a dramatic victory against Australia at Trent Bridge to go 2-1 up in the 2005 Ashes series.

Hussein and Hughes (Snr) started well enough but like many of the top order were slightly unlucky in their dismissals. Hughes got one that kept low and clipped the inside edge onto the stumps and Hussein was bowled off his pads. Caygill went for a duck, caught off a leading edge and Pinfield was also bowled off his pads. The Nomads were in trouble at 17 for 4. Skipper Osborn and Heslington set about a damage limitation exercise and built a crucial stand of 59 before Osborn was caught for 31. Fearon made an immediate impact, getting off the mark with a huge straight six over long-on that cleared the fence and bounced onto the road and another big hit that fell just short at long-off. Heslington responded by upping the run rate himself and the pair put on 47 in less than half an hour. The required rate was now less than 4 an over. Sam Baraud fell for a duck but Ian Hughes helped guide the Nomads to needing just 3 off the last two overs. The pressure mounted as 2 were required off the last 6 balls. A single off the third ball meant the scores were tied with 3 balls remaining. Two dot balls followed and it all rested on the final ball. Heslington squirted the ball to short point and the fielder shied at the stumps but missed as Hughes scrambled through from the non-striker's end.