Lichfield Nomads Cricket Club : Match Reports 2009

Nomads lose to big hitting Sutton
A rapid century from Richard Johnson propelled Sutton on the Hill to 210 for 2 off just 31 overs. The home skipper inserted the Nomads before tea and with only one Nomad in the top 10 batting averages in the team it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the Nomads to reach their target. Early wickets meant that the Nomads were soon hanging on for the draw and some tight bowling by Nujrat (6-34) saw the Nomads dismissed for 105.

Fearon won the toss and opted to bowl in the hope of having both options later on in the game. Heslington hit his straps straight away and bowled an intelligent, controlled spell. Hoddy was very unlucky not to get the verdict on a straight full toss that trapped Johnson in front of the stumps and he later saw Fearon put down a stinging one hander driven straight by Johnson. Steve George replaced Hoddy up the hill and the Sutton batsmen continued to play their shots, mainly in the V. Heslington finally made the breakthrough, with the last ball of his 9th and final over, bowling the left hander Hall for 31. Fearon took over from the top end and bowled some tasty yorkers but without luck. Westwood put down a sharp chance in the covers from Johnson, who continued to bat positively and was peppering the fields on his way to a century. Nick George replaced Dad and bowled very well under the circumstances. He got his reward, bowling Martindale for 31 in the 26th over. Westwood had bowled just two overs when skipper Johnson called time on the Sutton innings and inserted the Nomads for a tricky 20 minutes before tea.

The Nomads reply was less than convincing. Fearon departed for a duck, caught at mid on off Fred Ashford. Heslington was the only batsmen to offer any sustained resistance. Stanley hung around doggedly taking more than 30 balls to get off the mark but after he departed there was a steady flow of wickets.
The Nomads calling was poor and there were a couple of close calls before Westwood was run out. Pickering was the first of the three lbws. He was perhaps unlucky as the square leg umpire thought it looked a bit high. Graeme Blackburn was clean bowled for a duck as Nujrat was bowling the odd rapid delivery off a couple of paces. Nick George was bowled by Dolman. All this time, Heslington was in imperious form, clobbering boundaries around the park and hitting some cracking straight drives. But the emphasis changed with the signal for the last 20 overs and the tumbling of wickets at the other end. Once Heslington was bowled by Nujrat the innings rapidly collapsed. Collings was unhappy with his lbw decision (who isn't?). Blackburn P was more circumspect with his. Another none call saw George run out to bring the innings to a rapid close.
A generally bad day at the office for the Nomads with the exception of Mark Heslington.
Credit to Sutton for a positive declaration and some solid bowling that never let the pressure drop.
At least the beer at the Three Horseshoes was up to scratch as the Nomads retired to lick their wounds and consider how to restore their pride in the remainder of the season.