Nomads end losing streak

The Nomads travelled to Cheshire to face Audlem hopeful of a first 40 overs win of the season but aware of the challenge ahead, having never won there before.
In chilly cloudy conditions the Nomads fielded first and an impressive opening spell from Lee and Mahmood put Audlem under immediate pressure. Both bowled through their allocated overs leaving Audlem 33-2 after 16 overs following two wickets for Lee, one bowled and one via an excellent catch in the slips from Gardner. A change in bowling offered a little respite for the Audlem batsman but their progress was checked when Ahmed was stumped by keeper Rolfe off Jordan’s bowling. Hutton, Cogzell and Cartwright joined the attack and between them proceeded to take regular wickets to prevent the Audlem innings from gaining any momentum. Hutton took 2 middle order wickets, whilst Cogzell was unlucky to end with just one wicket after some missed chances and tight umpiring decisions. But the pick of the bowlers was Cartwright who ended with 4 wickets for just 9 runs whilst cleaning up the tail to leave Audlem 132 all out.

The Nomads tucked into tea satisfied with their performance in the field but well aware that the result wasn’t a formality given some previous performances with the bat earlier in the season. The sun broke through the clouds to brighten proceedings as Ghosal and Gardner started the Nomads reply and they made a solid start before Ghosal was bowled for 5. This bought Hutton to the crease and with Gardner anchoring one end he was given license to play some shots to move the score towards the target, making 38 before being caught in the deep. Loxley was the next man in, and followed a nice shot for 4 with a mistimed shot that saw him caught at mid-on.
Mahmood strode to the crease with the words of ‘get your head down’ from the captain ringing in his ears and raised a few pulses with some initial loose shots. But he soon settled in to play a magnificent innings to accelerate the Nomads towards victory hitting two huge sixes whilst being supported throughout by the ever-present Gardner. The two knocked off the runs to bring up the victory, with the winning runs coming from 4 no-balls cruelling denying Mahmood the chance of his half-century. But his disappointment was soon lifted as the Nomads celebrated their first victory of the season together. An excellent performance with contributions across the team led to a great result, which combined with great hosting from Audlem made a grand day out. With the first win secured it is now up to the Nomads to keep up the high standards in the next fixtures to secure further positive results.

[Disclaimer: Any offence caused by this article is unintentional, any praise is well deserved]

Date: 19 June 2022
Start time: 2:00pm
Venue: Audlem C.C.
Competition: 40 overs Friendly
Scores: Audlem 132, Lichfield Nomads 136 for 3
Result: Lichfield Nomads beat Audlem by 7 wkts
Toss:
Scorers: D. Cartwright, A. Jordan
Umpires: Rolfe, Lee, Ghosal, Stanley
Report: T. Scurlock
Weather: Fine

27 June 2022