Lichfield Nomads Cricket Club : Match Reports 2011 |
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Blythe Bridge v Lichfield Nomads
Scores: Nomads 217 for 4. Blythe Bridge 214 for 9
A cool day with scattered clouds and the threat of showers saw
Nomads visiting one of their favourite teas (sorry, venues). Westwood won the
toss and elected to bat, opening with Gardner and Moss. A good start saw the
opening bowlers ( who were according to the youthful opposition scorers Mad Mick
and Scotty) dispatched to all parts
of the ground for 51 off the first 8 overs. A change of bowling saw a useful
left-hand ‘quicky’ come on who eventually had Moss caught off an outside edge
from a ball that moved away for 38. A good catch by the keeper who apparently
has county connections and is sponsored.( Note to treasurer can Nomads get
sponsored.) Shortly after, Gardner
hit a fine straight drive and was caught just in front of the sightscreen – a
fine catch as the scorer thought the ball might be going for a six. At 88 for 2
off 16 overs , there seemed little cause for panic especially as the new batsmen
were Fearon and Westwood, neither noted for slow scoring. As expected the
run-rate did not slacken and a partnership of 61 off 11 overs followed, at which
point Fearon was adjudged lbw. A score of 149-3 with 13 overs to go suggested a
total approaching 250. However the new batsman, Stanley, is not naturally a fast
scorer and the bowling had tightened up with the introduction of the wicket
keeper who had relinquished his pads to take up bowling duties . The run rate
dropped but some good running and strike rotation maintained a still respectable 4 per over.
Westwood was finally bowled by Brian the wicket keeper (apologies for lack of
surnames as the opposition scorers only knew first names and had by this stage
lost interest and were playing football). A rapid 15 off 7 balls by Hughes gave
us a total of 217-4. A little short of what might have been but still, we
expected, sufficient for the win.
(The usual fine tea followed, marred only by the lack of the
accustomed Staffordshire Oatcakes.)
However if we were expecting a comfortable victory, we were soon
disillusioned when Heslington and Hoddy, usually an opening pair not prone to
giving too many runs away, were dispatched at a rate of 6 per over. Whilst the
two bowlers were not quite bowling at their best, the opening batsmen were
obviously of a decent standard, piercing the field with their shots. However
Heslington managed to claim a wicket, thanks to a fine catch by Pickering at
square leg. The speed of the ball can be judged by the fact that he had to leave
the field to administer to a cut caused by the impact. Forster replaced Hoddy
and a few overs later Moss replaced Heslington. The batsmen had hit a few uppish
shots near fielders but not quite to fielders. Allowing for the quality of
batsman, Moss was the pick of our bowlers claiming a wicket with a full length
ball/ low full toss, and going for fewer than 4 per over. Greaves came on to try
to buy a wicket with his unorthodox bowling but the opposition were too good ,
waiting for the ball or using their feet to get to the pitch and 18 off 2 overs saw this plan
rejected. At this point with about 40 runs required off 11 overs and only 2
wickets down , a final throw of the dice saw Hughes and Westwood come on.
Possibly the batsmen were overconfident and tried to finish things quickly but 2
good catches by Foster, one off each bowler, dismissed the batsmen who had
scored 69 and 35 respectively. If I recall correctly the catches were at point off a square cut and at
mid on off a lofted drive. An initial assessment of the incoming batsmen was
that they were not of the same standard as the departing batsmen and as Moss
observed “ We’re in with a sniff here, Lads”. Advice was given to the bowlers to
bowl straight and pitch it up; wickets and run-rate tumbled. At the start of the
last over 6 were required to win and only 2 runs were scored giving a memorable
3 run victory.
This was a memorable match which saw Nomads clutch victory from
the jaws of defeat instead of the other way round as is often the case. This was
thanks to taking our catches (5 with none dropped [Shurely Shome mishtake-Ed])
and never giving up. A fine performance.
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Lichfield
Nomads
How Out
Bowler
Total
How Out
Bowler
Total
Gardner
ct
Grimley
43
Grimley
Ct
Pickering
Heslington
38
Moss
Ct
Ball
38
Heathcote
Bowled
Moss
41
Westwood
Bowled
Brian
66
Prime
Ct
Forster
Hughes
69
Fearon
Lbw
Craig
24
Ball
Ct
Forster
Westwood
35
Stanley
n/o
14
‘Mick’
Ct
Westwood
Hughes
2
Hughes
n/o
15
‘Ringo’
bowled
Westwood
0
Pickering
Dnb
‘Bomber’
n/o
5
Heslington
dnb
‘Dan’
bowled
Westwood
5
Forster
Dnb
‘Craig’
bowled
Westwood
0
Hoddy
Dnb
‘Cosmo’
Ct
Heslington
Hughes
0
Greaves
dnb
Extras
17
Extras
19
217-4
214-9
Mick 4-0-24-0,
Scott 4-0-25-0, Ball 6-0-25-1, Grimley 6-0-36-1, Craig 5-0-34-1, Bomber
7-0-34-0, Brian 5-1-12-1
Heslington 8-0-46-1, Hoddy 6-0-35-0, Forster 6-0-38-0, Moss 8-1-28-1, Greaves 2-0-18-0,
Westwood 7-0-22-4, Hughes 4-0-12-3
Blythe Bridge
20/9/11
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Web page prepared by Paul Fearon (c) Lichfield Nomads Cricket Club 2011