Threes suffer Bump in the Road in Mid Sussex as they rue 62 Extras!

Scaynes Hill v Nomad 3s had promised a thriller at the top of Div 6 and the players from both sides duly obliged with an encounter which went the distance.  Cricket was the ultimate winner!

After a decade of following the Nomads, this was my first visit to the Awbrook Ground and I must say it’s a stunner set amongst mature trees and rolling farmland.  The busy A272 may thunder past but you generally can’t hear much traffic. On a hot dry sunny day it was a real pleasure to settle in to watch a Sussex division 6 cricket match. Idyllic location!

Fas won the toss and decided to have a bowl and send his troops into the mid day sunshine.  In the huddle he asked them to show energy from ball one and lastly keep a lid on those extra’s. He had them revved up!  Unfortunately, the Nomads suffered ten overs to forget as some big hits from Jack Bacon and Nick Wright got the score rattling along. Our cause was not helped by an overflow of extra’s. Writing was on the wall with the very first delivery.  Five wides and lost brand new cherry in the undergrowth. Our hosts comfortably went to 81 with out loss in double quick time with the visitors sliding into their shells.

Jamie Patrick was called upon first change to make a difference and within a few balls he got down low to take a smart caught and bowled as Bacon departed for a solid 33. During the middle overs Nomads managed to create some kind of control of proceedings as both Flynn and Ian went at 6 and  4 an over.  The ground managed to catch its breath. After a speedy opening Hill opener Nick Wright ground out a determined half century and was given a nice round of applause when departing the scene. A really good knock.  As Jones three for 31 and Patrick four for 59 cleared out the engine room it did seem that the Nomads might have been chasing around 250.   However, with the extra’s column ever mounting Andrew Parsons and Eddie Cox put the icing on a good day for the hosts batting line up with a volley of boundaries. They ended on a mammoth total of 283 for 9 off 40 overs complete with the top scorer by far, Extra’s at 62 not out.

Tea Taken

Chris Baker and Mingles solidly set about the chase with steely determination.  On 17 though English copped a world class Whitlock slip catch, high to the right and a one handed grab. It was one of those that even the batter can only stand and admire.  Jamie and Sam both got starts but couldn’t quite go on with their efforts as Nomads went to 71 for 3. The skipper gave spark to the engine room with a hurry up 43 which included 6 boundaries. All the while our talented and experienced opener Baker grafted away in the blazing sun. At 182 for 5, Baker out for 67, the Nomads still had clear notions of winning the game. It was at this point that Adam Rowland started making his presence felt with the long handle.  In an exhilarating 37 balls he had belted no less then five maximums.  There were incredible sounds from the bat as balls went to all parts.  He quickly brought up his 50 to an excellent straight drive out of the ground. With the required rate being well maintained Nomads were running out of wickets. Then with just 32 needed Senthil Palaniappan put the match to bed with a stunning catch on the ropes at third man.  Rowland not out on 64.

You can see a full interview with Fas on the whattsapp channel but even after this game he is still dreaming of winning Sussex Division 6 and securing promotion.  He was thrilled with the batting performance but know’s ‘we need to tidy up that extra’s column!’

Bowman says ‘when a legend speaks you need to listen.  Ian Jones said later ‘we are giving far too many extra’s every week and are making life very hard for ourselves!’  Our Threes are a multi-talented experienced squad of cricketers led by a highly charged and enthusiastic skipper. There is every reason to hope, no expect them to be very prominent in the table come early September.  There are nine games to go, and we would need to win most of them to gain promotion. It’s obvious to me that if you want to this then you will need to eradicate those wides and no balls!

On a more positive note, huge congrats to Chris and Adam for putting us in with a chance. Two brilliant inns of differing qualities. Adam will receive most of the headlines for some big hitting, but Chris has demonstrated again that he is one hell of an opening bat and we are very lucky to have him here at the Nomads. His 67 lifts him to top scorer in the division with 357 and gets my Nomads MOM award.’

‘Many thanks to Scaynes Hill for hosting at your wonderful facility and congratulations.  I notice you guys are hosting our 4s next week. We look forward to the return match on 26^th August 2023 on our beautiful south square. Hopefully both our teams can secure promotion and perhaps that fixture could be the title decider!’

Colin Bowman 25/6/2023