Nomads fall agonisingly short at Betley

Having won the toss, Dave Rolfe chose to bowl first. Light rain was falling as Betley got their innings underway. Opener Willoughby Happe gave early notice as to his intentions - unfortunately a very difficult steepling catch wasn’t taken, something we went on to rue. After 10 overs the rain became too heavy for play to continue and the covers came on. Some time earlier the horse in the field to the south of the club had shrewdly positioned himself under a large tree - his knowledge of local weather was seemingly better than that of puny humans.
Following a half hour break, we resumed with the game reduced to 35 overs per side. Happe and Ryan Cheetham plundered our bowling, the former retiring having reached 103 out of Betley’s 143-1. His brother Tom entered the fray and with 6 overs remaining the score was 180-1. However the dismissal of Cheetham, splendidly stumped by Rolfy, saw a complete turn around in fortunes as Tony Jordan and Jon Loxley took 3 wickets each. Betley closed on 194-7, perhaps 30 or so runs short of a total that seemed likely just 25 minutes earlier.

Following a truncated tea break, and as the wind continued to blow hard down the ground, Pete Gardner and Rolfy set out to build a foundation upon which we could reach the target, amassing 49 after 11 overs. Risks were being taken with the running, however, and perhaps it was only a matter of time before a direct hit broke the partnership. And so it proved to be as Rolfy went for 21. Big hitters Aneek Mahmood and Jon Loxley went relatively cheaply, however a major blow was the next direct hit that saw Gards run out for a well made 42.
Batters got in but then got out - the third run out of the innings was unnecessary, coming off a dropped catch, but perhaps summed up the chase. Every time it looked like we were in with a shout, misfortune of one sort or another struck. Ultimtely we came up 9 runs short.

After the game Betley treated us to a BBQ, many thanks to Hector Murray for his efforts! And so the season came to an end. It’s been a good one but could, perhaps, have been a little bit better. COYN.


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

Date: 24 Sept 2023
Start time: 1:00pm
Venue: Betley
Competition: Reduced to 35 overs friendly
Scores: Betley 194 for 7 v Lichfield Nomads 185 for 9
Result: Betley won by 9 runs
Toss: Lichfield Nomads won the toss and elected to field.
Scorer: T. Jordan
Umpires: Various
Report: T. Jordan
Weather: Variable. Rain early on, very windy.

27 Sept 2023