Nomads lose first ever DLS match

The Nomads travelled to the lovely Cheshire village of Audlem for what proved to be an eventful afternoon & evening.
Our hosts won the toss and batted first, powering to 71-2 inside 10 overs. Threatening skies, accompanied by ever increasing claps of thunder, prefaced an opening of the heavens and play was suspended as the covers were quickly placed in situ.
After one abortive attempt to resume, the game restarted with the match reduced to 35 overs per side. Thankfully the odd puddle, lying in used tracks on the square, evaporated although the outfield was damp and slippery.
As the large herd of cows from Gorse Croft Farm meandered past en-route for milking, seemingly showing little interest in proceedings, Audlem continued to play aggressive cricket - aided and abetted by several dropped catches - with Paul Fearon proving to be the pick of our bowlers. A score in excess of 250 seemed likely, but some tight bowling at the death restricted the hosts to 233-7.

Somewhat unexpectedly the heavens re-opened during tea, once again leaving the outfield soggy, although the rapidly reinstated covers did their job. As brighter skies, on the back of an increasing westerly, moved in it was agreed that the Nomads reply would be for 25 overs, meaning the DLS target was an unlikely 193 at at rate approaching 8 an over. There’s a first time for everything, and this was it in terms of the combined wisdom of Messrs Duckworth, Lewis & Stern, certainly as far as we were concerned.
Nomads early reply was at a decent rate, but wickets started falling. The running out of Pete Gradner for 28 proved crucial as the middle order crumbled. Healthy resistance from Jimmy Cogzell and Dan Lee late on enabled us to reach 117-8 by the close. Paul Fearon was voted MVP.
It’s always a pleasure to visit Audlem, they are splendid hosts. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to have a full game and perform better than on this occasion.

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

Date: 25th June 2023
Start time: 2:05pm
Venue: Audlem C.C.
Competition: 35 overs Friendly
Scores: Audlem 233 for 7 (35 Overs) v Lichfield Nomads 117 for 8 (25 Overs - Target 193 DLS)
Result: Audlem beat Lichfield Nomads by 76 runs (Duckworth / Lewis / Stern)
Toss: Audlem won the toss and elected to bat.
Scorer: A. Jordan
Umpires: K. Stanley, D Rolfe, Various
Report: A. Jordan
Weather: Variable

27 June 2023