Lichfield Nomads Cricket Club : Match Reports 2009

Lichfield Nomads 240 for 3
WT Parker 157 all out

Nomads reeling in early defeats. Poppadum recipe checked out.

Extras took the honours and were not far short of being the difference between success and defeat, WTP batsmen totalling 140 with Nomads batsmen scoring just 10 more.

Nomads batted first, opening with Fearon and Stanley. Scoring off Bishop was difficult as he extracted considerable movement, his opening spell of five overs going for just 13. At the other end, Straw was having difficulty with his line and extras quickly took the lead in the run chase as the keeper was unable to reach several balls. The score had reached 43 (17 of which had come from the bat) when Bishop pitched one six inches outside off stump only for it to cut back and hit the top of Fearon’s leg stump. Weir arrived….. then left again soon after without troubling Willis, who would soon be squashing the wides even tighter into the available space in the scorebook. Moss took a little time getting used to the swing from Wheeler with a number of edges flying wide of fielders, then just as he was getting into his stride, he contrived to thrust his thigh at a ball from Carter which was outside leg and force it onto his stumps (this was particularly strange as he was wearing Heslington’s spare whites, which were ‘a little tight on the thighs’). At this stage extras were well in the lead with 69 of the 147 runs scored, with scoring from the bat rather slower than Nomads might have hoped. Stanley continued to score where he could but was having difficulty with balls slanting across him, regularly groping outside off; however he had dealt with the returning Bishop to see him out of the attack. Gardner arrived, and appeared keen to make up time for not opening, as he struck the, now tiring, bowling to all parts. Such was Gardner’s influence that he scored 62 from only 35 balls while Stanley added 10 out of his final total of 45 from 147 balls, but it’s not often that a Nomad carries his bat. This set WTP to score at a run a ball.

A good tea, with well-received fruit cake left Nomads perhaps a little lethargic in the field. (Compare last week when we were hungry for wickets having had no fruit cake.) Hughes struck two early blows, though not before grumbling about the parlous state of Nomad’s catching skills (a comment that would return to haunt him). Almost immediately, Stanley took a good catch one-handed above his shoulder (with the ball threatening to reach the heights of Mount Godwin-Austin/Kanchenjunga) to remove Martin, then Wheeler was bowled middle stump as Hughes announced he was bowling outside off to avoid the batsman’s obvious intention of pulling and hooking everything possible. Heslington weighed in with the wicket of Bennett, and Nomads might have hoped to have broken through. This was not to be and Johnson and Bishop began to tear into the bowling, keeping up with the asking rate. Nomads fielders continued to be lethargic, with the exception of Forster who ‘rolled back the years’ with an impressive stop at mid-on to deny another four. Hughes tried Edwards and Greaves to no avail, the batsmen finding gaps with impunity. Forster was brought on to bring control, big mistake… as he struggled to release the ball cleanly and sprayed it round like a swine flu victim without a tissue. However, he did manage to bowl the odd decent ball, finally trapping Bishop who had struck 44 from just 35 balls. At Bishop’s departure Johnson recognised the need to push the score himself and called suicidally for a single which Moss swooped on, bouncing the ball neatly to Forster to remove the bails, running out Straw by a clear metre. Now Moss had joined the attack and although troubling the batsmen for pace was conceding more than he would have liked. Fearon, at the other end, was also bowling well and removed Johnson S with his famous slower ball. Fearon was particularly unlucky to have Hughes under a dolly-dropper which slipped through the captain’s hands, (ref earlier comment by captain). Moss reduced his pace and created even more panic amongst the batsmen, removing Johnson who had continued to look threatening, followed by Carter next ball, unfortunately his hat-trick ball was a little loose and disappeared to the boundary at square leg, with the field in. With dark clouds looming and rain in the air Fearon wrapped up the WTP innings, trapping Woodington (?) lbw, off his bat (even Moss is unlikely to get out that way!)  (Clearly pad first, excellent decision - Ed)