Stafford Strikers at the double

The Old Hill wicket and outfield were hard and fast after the hot weather during the week. The Nomads batted first but got off to a shaky start. Stafford strikers’ bowlers started as they meant to go on, with accurate bowling and few loose deliveries. Rolfe was first out to ball which came into him. Bastable was looking in good form hitting 3 boundaries before being run out for 14. Gibson got a top edge to a full toss which hit him just below the eye, forcing him to retire hurt. With Shah departing for single figures and Loxley for a duck, Nomads were effectively 5 down with 41 on the board.

With Gardner finding the bowling of DPG hard to get away ( facing 3 consecutive maidens) it was O’Brien’s innings of 21 off 25 balls which upped the scoring rate and started to give the Nomads some momentum. Cogzell (29 n.o.) and Hughes (14 n.o.) continued in this vein with an unbeaten partnership of 29 to take the final score to 143 which was below par but which gave the Nomads something to bowl at. The Strikers used 9 bowlers to good effect.

Cogzell claimed an early Strikers wicket with his customary inswing. But then V. Sekar and N Singh put on a partnership of 48 before Singh was well caught by Bastable off the bowling of Gibson. Gibson’s seam bowling, with variable pace, claimed a further 2 quick wickets to give the Nomads a glimmer of hope. But Sekar continued to score quickly before retiring at 50 . M Ganesan and Maddy P followed with a 50 partnership to secure the win for the Strikers. Nomads fought to the end with Cogzell and Parsonage notable in the field. But the Strikers played well and deserved their win. ( They seem to be on a bit of a winning streak according to Play-Cricket.com)

MVP
Cozgell 9
Gibson 2
[Disclaimer: Any offence caused by this article is unintentional, any praise is well deserved]

Date: 5 July 2026
Start time: 1:30pm
Venue: Haden Hill, Old Hill C.C.
Competition: 40 overs friendly
Scores: Stafford Strikers 218 for 4 v Lichfield Nomads 71
Result: Stafford Strikers won by 147 runs
Toss: Stafford Strikers won the toss and elected to bat
Scorer: Tony Jordan
Umpires: Various
Report: P. Gardner
Weather:

10 July 2026