Nomads put to the sword in home defeat

Our opening home game of the season saw Nomads take on Martins. Winning the toss Martins elected to bat and scored very quickly taking advantage of anything off line or length. Play was delayed for several minutes when one of their openers was hit on the the head by a ball from Mahmood which rose unexpectedly off a full length. An early drop was proving costly as Martins steamed along at just under 10 per over. The openers were replaced by firstly Hutton and then Hoddy, who was in search of his 500th wicket for Nomads. Hoddy achieved his target in his 4th over via a catch by Bastable. The run rate slowed somewhat until Noman came to the crease. Early on he top edged a ball over slips but when he got into his stride he took advantage of some less than accurate bowling and scored a rapid 80 before Hutton had him caught. The innings then finished at 275-9.

Nomads started well with the help of some extras but then Ghosal was out to a good caught and bowled. Gardner was then run out attempting to push things along. With Brannigan and Mahmood in and Hutton to come a win was still possible but soon the required run-rate was heading towards 10 per over and when Hutton hit a wide ball straight to a fielder, the match was all but over. An excellent knock by Bastable for a pb of 40 was the end of the excitement and Nomads finished on 185-8.

Too many loose balls were the downfall of Nomads. If a couple of chances had gone to hand things would have been much closer, but in the end we were beaten by the better team on the day . The evening was brought to an end with John Hoddy celebrating 500 wickets and Pete Gardner his 70th birthday.
[Disclaimer: Any offence caused by this article is unintentional, any praise is well deserved]

Date: 28th May 2023
Start time: 2:00pm
Venue: Gorway Road, Walsall C.C.
Competition: 40 overs Friendly
Scores: Martins 275 for 9 v Lichfield Nomads 185 for 8
Result: Martins beat Lichfield Nomads by 90 runs
Toss: Martins won the toss and elected to bat.
Scorer: Hoddy (Electronic)
Umpires: Rolfe, Hughes etc
Report: J. Hoddy
Weather: Sunny, breezy

28 May 2023