Nomads Battered and Bruised at Audlem

Nomads travelled to Audlem having picked from a small pool of available players. We won the toss and batted, opening with Gardner and Rolfe.Some tight bowling from the young Audlem openers saw Nomads struggling to score and this perhaps contributed to Rolfe calling for a very tight single which saw Gardner run out by 2 yards much to his annoyance and Rolfe’s consternation. The following batsmen all made starts but could not push on for a big score until O’Brien and Parsonage came together and took advantage of some friendlier bowling to post 38 and 48 respectively.
After this the innings ground to a halt with the last 3 wickets only scoring 8 runs.
The score of 167 seemed unlikely to cause Audlem problems on a small, steeply sloping ground.

Loxley tried opening with Gibson and Hoddy. Gibson bowled extremely well with his 6 overs going for 9 runs and he was unlucky not to claim any wickets. Hoddy managed one wicket, the relative rabbit on the Audlem side, and then O’Brien took a wicket with a quick yorker but the Audlem batters scored well, 2 retiring on 35. On a slightly sour note, an appeal for a caught behind which produced a loud noise was not heard by the umpire and the young batsman did not walk. Also towards the end Hoddy was hit on the temple fielding at extra cover by a well-hit drive. However no real damage seems to have been done.

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

Date: 28 June 2026
Start time: 1:00pm
Venue: Audlem C.C.
Competition: 40 overs friendly
Scores: Lichfield Nomads 167 (37.2 ovs) v Audlem 169 for 2 (27.1 ovs)
Result: Audlem won by 8 wkts
Toss: Nomads won the toss and elected to bat
Scorer: Hoddy, Jordan, Opposition
Umpires: Stanley, Various.
Report: J. Hoddy
Weather: Warm.

3 July 2026