Winning t20 return for the Nomads

The Armitage CC pitch looked a belter, as we arrived, having dodged the nearby rain. Consecutive toss losses for Captain Loxley (now just a tosser) saw the Nomads bowl first; however, we were happy with this outcome considering the amount of bowling & variation the skipper had at his disposal.

Using a pink ball, the opening bowlers of Hughes & O’Brien bowled with accuracy & pace but that seemed to suit the opening batters, as Watkins took a particular liking to the bowling. The change in bowling certainly paid dividends, as Fearon bowled the fellow opener before having Barry caught on the cow corner boundary by Ellis – despite Ellis falling over and dropping the ball, a few seconds after completing the catch, the umpire deemed he had it under control and gave the wicket.
The constant changes in bowling (max of 2 overs per spell) and the pace off approach meant we used 7 bowlers across the Duke of York innings; that, along with tight fielding meant we constricted Duke of York in the middle to late overs, as they struggled to score, after Watkins retired, having hit a well- made 52. Gibson came back on and proceeded to take 2 wickets in his 3rd over. One clean bowled & one caught behind, by a juggling stand-in wicket keeper Loxley. The older pink ball and conditions meant we were getting alot of swing & movement, as Duke of York only made, just shy of 30 runs from the last 6 overs.

A run-a-ball target of 124, couldn’t have got off to a better start as Fearon, flicked the first ball of the innings off his pads to the fine leg boundary.
However, Watkins, now opening the bowling with his leg spin caused no-end of trouble for the Nomads top order. Fearon went for 9, Loxley went cheaply for 1 then Bastable became his 3rd victim, all bowled whilst turning the ball wildly; Bastable joining the ever-growing Gonad club.
After Ellis was out bowled for 2, the Nomads were teetering at 33-4 however this brought O’Brien & debutant Shah together in the middle. After a watchful start, they both opened up and began to spray the ball around the park, with plenty of boundaries, as the scoreboard readily ticked over.
Shah was hurtling towards a maiden 50 on debut, before he was unfortunately bowled for a brilliant 42, as a partnership of 71 with O’Brien, ​took the Nomads to the brink of victory. Needing 20 more runs to win, O’Brien was joined by fellow Nomads debutant Mangukiya, who proved to be the perfect anchor.
O’Brien continued in his march towards his maiden 50 for the club, as the target became ever closer. O’Brien would hit a 4 to win the match, down at deep square leg and in doing so, take him to his maiden half century for the club, finishing on 52 not out.
Mangukiya would finish on 5 not out, as we won with 5 wickets in hand & 20 balls to spare.
A great team performance and a thoroughly enjoyable evening, played in an excellent spirit, with contributions from everyone. As the sun set over the ground, we enjoyed a few well-earnt beers at the Armitage CC bar.


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

Date: 4 June 2025
Start time: 18:30pm
Venue: Armitage CC.
Competition: T20 20 overs friendly
Scores: Duke of York 123 for 4 v Lichfield Nomads 125 for 5
Result: Lichfield Nomads beat Duke of York by 5 wkts
Toss: Duke of York won the toss and elected to bat.
Umpires: Stanley, Hughes, Fearon
Scorer: J. Hoddy Report: J. Loxley
Weather: Cool,breezy

5 June 2025