Lichfield Nomads Cricket Club : Match Reports 2009

Moss rolls over Vikings

On a warm and sunny late September day Nomads began to look like they knew what they were doing as Dan Moss contributed an excellent innings and stands were finally built.

Blythe Bridge openers tore into the Nomads bowlers, Heslington and Forster, with the score mounting to 33 by the end of the third over. However Forster applied the brakes in his 2^nd over, bowling Edgerton playing across the line. Two balls later the bowler might have had a second as a return catch went down, the ball travelling slower than anticipated. Next over Heslington bowled Brough before his score mounted too much. This put a dampener on the scoring as Hays, replacing Heslington, removed Podmore to a catch by Blackburn jnr in his second over. This dismissal may well create a Nomads record, there being 39 years between bowler and catcher. A second record also seems likely, with Hays and Forster bowling in tandem reaching 119 years + between them!! A good catch by Blackburn snr, at the second attempt, on the square leg boundary removed Barker as he began to go for his shots. Moss made the batsmen struggle as he extracted unexpected swing. Prime struck a massive shot towards the mid on boundary, with Forster almost leaving the ground to stop the expected six as he stretched one hand up. So confident was Prime of his boundary that he didn’t bother to run, so remained at the striker’s end. Next ball a fast yorker from Moss made him even more sorry that he hadn’t taken a single! As the lower order Blythe Bridge batsmen struggled to maintain the scoring rate wickets continued to fall, Nixon sent back by his dad to be run out without scoring, Heslington taking two more, including a leaping catch by the salmon-like Pinfield who had earlier dropped a straight-forward one off Moss, with the innings completed with a catch by Gardner, who had taken over mid-off from the struggling Hughes (how does someone of his age and recently married get a bad back?).

A stunning tea encouraged Nomads lower order to suggest the openers should hang around a while, however Barker was troubling Gardner with pace and swing and Weir did not have to wait long before he was on his way out. Moss continued to dominate the bowlers and the stands, with wides helping out on a regular basis. Weir fell to a good ball from Prime as he started with seamers before changing to the slower stuff to trap Pinfield who walked after feeling the faintest of nicks, despite Blackburn turning down the less-than-convincing appeal. Blackburn jnr then broke the Blythe hearts as they felt they were through to the tail (little did they know). A straight bat and a strong spirit saw Blackburn (who had earlier improved considerably after last week in his spot behind the stumps) finish on an unbeaten ten, as Moss, having been let off once in the slips, made the Blythe bowlers pay, striking one sweetly, a good 40 metres over the hedge at mid-wicket, hammering Prime for a dozen in his final over. To complete a satisfying victory, with plenty of time to spare.

At last some positive efforts from Nomads who stuck to the task much better, when attacked, than last week.