After a weekend off for the bank holiday, Walsall Health were back in action once more on what has been one of the best seasons for having games on in recent memory. Unfortunately, the team has come up second best in quite a few of these games, winning breeds winning but so often losing can do that to, here again, the team came up just short in a game they’ll walk away thinking was well within their grasp. Here is the tail of the tape from a game where so much went right for the Elf, but it came up just short.

Many things during this tough run has not been lacking, though, the team spirit between players being one of them, the majority of the team were down early, pitching in to make sure everything was ready for a good game of Sunday cricket. Goalposts down, scoreboard up, even the weather was doing it’s part, thick clouds were overhead but hardly broke as the team managed to get a full game in. Another thing that hasn’t been lacking has been the runs coming off Jack Stenson’s bat, a superb 100 in the Health’s last came was a culmination of a fine season for one of the club’s biggest characters, shortest blokes and finest batsman. Well batted Jack. In the absence of Alex Nunns and Trig, Jack has also stepped into the captain’s role and has lead the team finely and maintained a great atmosphere on match days.

This week the Elf found themselves batting first and Jack and Mac went to the crease and set a fine platform for the team to build on. The two batsman navigated the new ball and bowlers well, dashing quick singles to keep the scoreboard ticking as well as playing some fine shots to exploit a very short boundary. Both batsman have gone superbly this season and this game was no exception, it was always going to take something special to break the stand and with the score at 69, that ball with your name on it arrived for Jack Stenson who was just 2 short of another 2025 half century before he was bowled by a beauty. This bought Will Lauchlan to the crease who’s batting this season has been boom or bust, with 4 ducks but also a PB best score in the last game. Fortunately for him it was the latter in this innings, him and Mac built a another good partneship, taking the team through to 113 before Mac too was bowled with 50 in his sights for a well made and patient 37.

With Mac out, Chuck came in to bat and the two batsman kept the runs ticking nicely. The two looked set with quick runs and regularly boundaries until Chuckie was out for 16. The situation around his dismissal was less than savoury though with some dissapointing conduct from some in the opposition. Walsall Health play ‘Friendly Sunday Cricket’, always have and always will and the first word, Friendly, is just as important as the Cricket, this is a club built on good and positive atmosphere and it was credit to every player on the day that they stuck to that in testing circumstances.

Dave Hill was next to the crease and with Lauchlan in the 40s, the two looked to settle into a rythmn of pushing the field back. Lauchlan for his second game in a row though was out with the half century approaching to a Caught and Bowled. Dave Hill was out not long after for 2. From their Longdon managed to put the shackles on for the rest of the innings and the lower order was held down, contributions of 4 from Eddie, 10* from Shabir and 1* for Paul Caines meant the Elf finished up on 176-6 from their 40 overs.

The team knew it would be a tough, but not impossible, task to defend a total that was probably a good 30/40 runs off par. But this is the Health and we always try to dig in. A decisive moment came very early in the innings when the Longdon captain was put down for 0. It would be the first of a few dropped chances that ultimately saw a one-man attack sink the Health. Wickets were chipped away at regularly at the other end, not least by Paul Caines, who finished with four of them; it could have been more on another day had the catches stuck and at least we would have had a jug in defeat, but it was just one of those days.

DS was also unlucky to finish without a wicket, the usual line and length was there but the wickets just wouldn’t come. Chuckie also came away with a wicket and again on another day he would have had more, his wicket was taken with a JP classic, the Elf fielder taking a one handed catch that whistled off the bat and was a certain boundary until JP stuck a fantastic catch. Chuck was also inches away from a stunning catch of his own to get the Longdon captain in the deep that would have certinatly seen the Elf to a well deserved win, but the ball bounced just before it made it to Chuck’s hand. Despite the best bowling effort of Wyatt Hill, Shabir and JP though, the prized wicket of the Longdon captain wouldn’t come and with a score of 125 not out, he saw his team home and the Elf were left licking their wounds.

A tough result to take on a day where so much went right for the team. The Elf only have two games left in the season and it would be great to finsh 2025 in style. The next game is a home one at Carter Park on 7th September (weather permitting) if you can, please turn out to the give the lads one last push at the end of the season.

With the forecast early in the day looking slightly suspect and the covers on as the players arrived, a decision was made to reduce the overs to 35 per side. Captain for the day, Rich Fell lost the toss and made to bowl first while the pitch was still covered, and the bowler’s eyes lit up as the removal of the covers unveiled a classic Rushall Green-top, which looked as if it would trouble the Old Moseley top order.  

In a strange turn of events, regular first over bowler, Dave Stephens relinquished a first go at the opening batters to Rich Fell, who struggled to find rhythm, finding it hard to control the unfamiliar new ball. DS wasn’t kept away for too long though as he took the second over, looking instantly threatening to the Moseley openers and taking one of their wickets with the last ball of his first over. A very smart catch by Paul Caines at first slip, showing off his fielding prowess. When the correct length was found by the bowlers, the pitch was creating real issues for the batting side, either popping to shoulder height or rolling at ankle height. Dave continued to find testing lines and lengths for the left-handed Moseley pair throughout his spell. At the other end, Rich decided a change could bring a wicket. John Nicholls would be the man to try to break the partnership, and he did. He continuously put the ball on a good length and forced Moseley’s number three into a big shot, which newly wedded Jack Stenson settled underneath and caught comfortably. Despite boundaries being leaked, it was an even start between the sides.  

However, the Elf didn’t have many seam bowling options, so Rich (Trig) turned to spinner, Will Tomlinson. The number 4 batsman looked to be positive straight away, belting the ball over long off for 6 and then long on in consecutive overs. The second of the sixes being inches away from being an unbelievable catch by DS, who pulled off the grab but stumbled over the boundary, much to the amusement of his teammates. Jonty, however, was keeping the run count low at one end at least, trying to draw a false shot out of the batters but he couldn’t find another wicket before his seven over spell drew to a close. His replacement was a fellow veteran bowler, Paul Caines who used all his experience to continue the streak of taking a wicket in his first over at Carter Park, outsmarting the skillful batsman with a slower ball which he danced past and saw crash into the stumps.  

Soon after Caines’ introduction, Tomlinson was replaced at the opposite end by right arm off spinner and fellow Will, Lauchlan. He had the tough task of bowling to the opening batsman who was motoring towards a century, which he would later bring up, a great knock. However, Lauchlan managed to somewhat stem the flow of runs and keep the total from reaching something out of the Elfs grasp. The skipper, Trig, was back on at the opposite end to back up Lauchlan with some much-improved bowling from his first spell, he removed Moseley’s number 6 batter with help from some nice glovework from Mac Perager to remove the bails with the batsman out of his ground.  

After this wicket, Trig threw the ball to Wyatt Hill, fresh from his first wicket ever last week (big hand Wyatt). He struggled slightly in his first over, having to adjust his lines for the left-hand, right-hand combination, however, considering it was the final stages of the innings, Hill the Younger did well to challenge the batsmen and got his rewards in the final over of the innings. Firstly, causing the righty to sky one into the offside, which was taken comfortably. Then a similar delivery was chipped up by the left handed century maker, which Rich Fell called for and caught expertly. The final delivery of the innings a swing and a miss from the batsman, who then walked out of his crease and get stumped by Mac, however, the umpire believed he called over before this so Wyatt saw his dreams of a 3-for taken away.

The innings was a struggle for the Elf with a few injuries in the field but some good bowling towards the back end had reigned Old Moseley in, keeping them to 227, not a low score but one which could have been a lot worse. It was going to be a tough chase but with the pitch drying out and a strong batting lineup, Walsall Health would definitely have a good go at getting the runs required.

Opening up for the Health was two of their finest with the bat and two batsman who have both played talismanic innings this season. Mac had notched a lovely half-century away at Bayshill. While pre-marriage Jack Stenson had been just a few runs short of a century in his last knock before getting hitched.

Unfortunately, Mac couldn’t repeat the feat, some tight bowling on fourth and fifth stump eventually took an edge and a sharp slip catch meant the Elf keeper was back in the hutch for just a single. Debutant Marlon took his place at the crease. He played the straight ball well and opened the arms to anything wide but unfortunately struggled to make contact to match the aggression and was soon given out LBW for 7. 

Stenson was still going well at the other end and was joined by Will Tomlinson. A classy batsman himself who is overdue an aforementioned big score and bat raise himself. Would today be the day?

 He joined Jack with the score at 43-2, usually a solid start but the rate was starting to escape the Health. The left-hand right-hand combination was muddling the bowlers’ lines and lengths but eventually one was pitched perfectly to Stenson, an LBW so plumb that even DS had to give it and Jack had no complaints either. A strong 42 from Jack and his jet lag, keep up the big scores Stenson.

Paul Caines was next in but couldn’t quite get going before being bowled for 6. With the score at 87-4, Lauchlan came out, someone who has been very organised in recent weeks and had all his ducks in a row. The baron run was soon over though, a couple of boundaries knocked the dust off his bat and soon the partnership was going strong, both batsman rotated the strike well with some drop and runs and the occasional acricutural club to the boundary. Despite the two settling well, the run rate remained stubbornly high and with the front line bowlers returning for the last few overs, the total was always getting away from the batsmen.

This time where there was Will’s there wouldn’t be a way. But their could be some stat padding and personal milestones. With Lauchlan on 45 though with two overs to go the ball sat up nicely, however he could only cloth it straight back to the bowler for an easy C&B, the partnership worth 82.

Tomlinson wasn’t going to make the same mistake, though. The ball before he flicked up and over off his pads for a beauty of a 6, you’d be hard pressed to find a better shot played by an Elf player this season. And soon the bat was being pointed to the pavilion as he took himself over the 50 mark. I’d put everything I own on this being the first of many for the Elf, well batted Will, it was a pleasure to be out there for most of it with you. There was time for one more lofty 6 to finish and get Will up to 57 not out and a single for the other not out batsman Wyatt Hill before the Elf finished up their overs on 185-5. A few ifs, buts and maybes for the team, but it was a great effort from the boys who just came up just a little short on the day. 

The Elf continue their season at Lichfield on Sunday, promoted to the main square so the England selectors can get a better view no doubt. With the forecast set fair and a lovely away ground, it’s well worth coming to support the lads if you are nearby. Come on the Elf.

Bowling innings by Will T, batting innings by Will L 

After the last ball heartbreak away to Longdon last week, the Walsall Health team of 10 travelled all the way down to the rolling hills of Gloucestershire to face Bayshill. To almost everyone’s surprise, all elf players managed to get themselves there on time, nearly enough time for a warmup. However, with the temperature up around 30 degrees, it was unanimously decided that such professional behaviour wouldn’t be necessary. With everyone expecting and ready to field first due to the presumption that Bayshill would bat first if they won the toss on such a hot day and stand-in skipper Rich Fell wanting his side to have a bowl, the team were surprised to see the universal signal for batting first to be shown by Trig on his way back from the middle.  

The opening pair for the Health was to be the experienced Mac Perager and Paul Caines, both extremely capable of getting the innings off to a flying start. It was Cainesy who began more positively, punishing the ball to the fence on multiple occasions. Mac started in familiar fashion, nudging the ball around for singles and thrashing the bad ball to the boundary rope when it came. With the game being reduced to 30 overs because of the heat, Mac and Paul found themselves batting for nearly a third of the innings, regularly rotating the strike and seeing off the new ball expertly. Seemingly well set, Paul looked to smash another boundary but found the mid-off fielder who managed to cling on to the ball, removing Caines for 18. Will Tomlinson came in at 3 hoping to support Mac and prevent a typical Elf collapse; however, this looked unlikely as he skied his second ball but luckily it somehow landed in an area where no fielder could get to it. At the other end, wicketkeeper batsman Mac was still ticking along nicely despite the Bayshill bowlers finding some spin and variable bounce. Will couldn’t stay there for very long though, tamely chipping a half volley to mid-wicket for 10.  

Shortly after this wicket, probably the pick of the Bayshill came on and got the ball spinning both ways, soon ripping one through the defences of new man Dave Hill not long after he had found the boundary. The fifth man in was Will Lauchlan who couldn’t keep out a straight delivery by the Bayshill man from the other end. This bowling partnership was putting the Elf under pressure to avoid an irreparable collapse. With wickets falling at the other end, Mac was unphased finding the fence more regularly as he went on and eventually batted his way through to a run-a-ball 50, unfortunately for the Health, having to retire due to Bayshill’s retire at 50 rule. Wyatt Hill and Rich Fell were Will and Mac’s respective replacements, and they looked to solidify the innings and steer the Elf to a respectable total. They set out well, keeping out the good deliveries and finding singles off a slightly looser one. Despite making a good start, Wyatt found himself stumped for 5 by some smart glovework that Mac would be proud of. New to the crease was taxi driver for the day, Dave Stephens. By the time he came in Trig was just beginning to accelerate, meaning Dave could play himself in and build his innings. Due to the wickets falling so regularly, there was still plenty of time in the innings to “bat properly” and not have to rush to reach a defendable score.  

Ignoring some questionable running between the wickets including a couple of, “yes, no, yes, no, no” calls, the partnership grew, pushing Walsall Health up towards the 150 mark. However, similarly to Paul Caines, Trig picked out a fielder just as he got set and looked to go up a gear, out for 18. Josh Butler was thrown up the order into the nosebleed territory of single digits at 9, unfortunately, he couldn’t stick with Dave for very long and was out for nought. In fairness, the advice of the umpire to reverse sweep his first ball probably wasn’t helpful. Next to the crease was the Elf’s Welshman John Preece whose task was to hold up an end so DS could tee off at the other. One part of that plan went well, and JP stood at the other end awaiting DS to dispatch a few boundaries but instead he watched as Dave was clean bowled for 23. Luckily, when the team arrived at Bayshill an 11th player was offered to them by the opposition, so they had another batter to help cross that 150 run landmark. The team watched eagerly to see whether the next Joe Root had been put at number 11, but they had nothing to worry about as he was cleaned up first ball. Typically, when a number 11 gets out the innings is over, but Mac was allowed to come back in after retiring not out so hopes of some more runs were not entirely out of the question, but first Mac had to negotiate a hat-trick ball, which he did with a solid block. However, Mac and JP couldn’t add any more runs as John was bowled by a delivery reminiscent of the late great Shane Warne to Andrew Strauss. The Elf had given themselves 147 runs to defend.  

While the Health probably would’ve taken 147 at the start of the game, the unanimous verdict at teas was that on the Bayshill ground, they were probably a good 10-20 runs short. Even the most modest flicks and pulls were racing to the boundary on a cracked, biscuit coloured outfield that due to the heatwaves, had been scorched and starved of rain. This only pushed Trig further into his Bazball bible of attacking fields. Slips, catchers and players around the bat was the order of the day if the Elf were going to be triumphant, if the bowler could get the line and length ride, the field would be there; anything else and some bowling figures were going to take a pummeling.

If you ever needed a bowler to hit these lines and length from the Elf stable, then DS was just the man. By his own admission, he hasn’t bowled his best this summer, but this spell was a vintage one for Dave. A couple of early boundaries were no bother for him or the team, this was about getting 10 wickets pure and simple and with the last ball of his first over, Dave had his first with the score on just 9, a classic DS line and length ball, finding some nip and most importantly, the bats edge. Mac did the rest with some fine glovework, and Dave didn’t have to wait long for his next. He set himself up for the hat-trick ball when a wild flash from the Bayshill batsman went through to Will T at slip, a good grab with the ball travelling. DS was now on a hat-trick. He couldn’t quite grab it, though as the ball flashed a yard or two wide of gully. Unlucky Dave.

Josh Butler was his opening partner, after the success of spin earlier in the game, it was worth getting it on as early as possible. Josh bowled well to such an attacking field, even pitching in with a maiden but it was a rare blank in the wickets column despite such a good spell. DS grabbed himself a third before the end of the opening bowlers six overs, another player bowled to finish with superb figures of 3-23. A usual 8 over game and he would have been eyeing up a fifer.

At 46-3 the Elf were eyeing up a famous victory but started to hit some resistance in the Bayshill line up. JP and Will Tomlinson were the next two bowlers on and knowing the outfield would support the batsman, the two went after the spinners, in particular JP, who took the punishment to finish his first spell 0-30 off 3 overs. Tommo got a reward in his first over, though, getting a wicket out bowled to get Bayshill 82-4. Trig replaced JP at the other end and after running himself literally into the ground in the field, set off on a bowling spell that Ben Stokes would be proud of filled with grit and energy. He was rewarded early, a wicket in his second over with no advance on the score.

The game was toing and froing, Will Tomlinson got his second, another batsman bowled, and Trig was making chance after chance, but the target was coming into view for Bayshill. A few crunching boundaries through a despairing, spirited field meant they definitely needed the wickets. JP was back in once Will finished up but couldn’t break the deadlock and when Trig got his second, a great second catch of the day for Will T, the game was only going to finish one way and fitting on such a quick outfield it was a 4, but not without drama though, the ball flying agonisingly above the fingertips of Trig for what would have been the most brilliant caught and bowled.

Handshakes at the end and a well earned beer, the Elf had come up short in a close one again, but it had been another that had been played in the right spirits and at no point in the day were the team not smiling and laughing, until they saw on the satnav how long it was going to take to get back up the M5.

Walsall Health are next in action back at Carter Park this coming Sunday. The forecast looks grim, but when has that ever concerned anyone who loves cricket.

Elf batting innings by Will Tomlinson. Elf bowling innings by Will Lauchlan.

After a disappointing cancellation by the opposition last week, Walsall Health returned to the field and Staffordshire for a game against Longdon. 

With the forecast pretty grim for Sunday morning, the Elf were hoping to avoid a second weekend in a row off the field. Fortunately, the early rain cleared away and not a single over was lost in a game that went right to the last ball. 

The team was excited and ready to go. Well, 10 of them were. New signing Paul Caines was suspiciously absent but was probably only running a little bit late. The game started with the Health fielding, some moisture on the field and a downwards slope that Lords would be impressed with. 

Opening the bowling were Liam Gower and Will Tomlinson, a great mix of pace and spin from two exciting young players. Tommo got one through the gate in his first over to remove the Longdon opener for 1 and got their number 3 in his second, thanks to one of 3 fine catches in the innings by Jack Stenson.

 From there, a counterattack started from Longdon, and Gower took most of the punishment as the batsman struggled to get Tommo away. The extra pace and the quickly dried outfield made sure the ball raced to the boundary and a few skied shots were just short of going to hand. The game was flowing back to the bowlers before a stunning low catch from J Preece broke a handy partnership for the home team and gave Gower his wicket to finish with figures of 1-53. Tommo had time for one more, another Stenson catch to finish with a superb 3-13 from his 7 overs. 

Rich Fell was the first change bowler of the game. Special mention for Trig this week as it marked his 250th appearance for the club. Simply a phenomenal achievement for a club icon, loved and respected by players of every age, new and old alike, people like Trig are what makes this club so special. Here’s to many, many more games for you, Rich. 

Apart from being a top bloke, he’s also a pretty handy bowler and he wasn’t going to stay wicketless in this game, despite Will Lauchlan’s best efforts in the slips. He began to breeze through the lower middle order and the tail. Jonny Preece also chipped in with two wickets, including a quite brilliant C&B, of his own, as the Elf stopped partnerships forming. However, for another week this season there was to be a wag and a sting in the tail. The Longdon number 8, a left-hander with an eye for a big boundary, was proving tough to remove and was rotating the strike well and regularly finding the rope. With Fell getting 3-29 and Preece 2-35. The last Longdon bat stuck around long enough to drag the team to a very competitive 165. The wicket, better late than never, just like the man who got it, Paul Caines. 

The Elf had bowled well but still had a tough target of 166 to win. 

A couple of the Elf’s form players went out to open, Jack Stenson and Mac. Stenson was a man right in the mood for a big score, bounding down the wicket most balls to unsettle the bowler, get the pitch of the ball and play a gallery of leg side flicks and pulls. Mac had a tougher time of it and after a couple of singles, he went to put a ball into the near by Cannock Chase but could only sky it and was caught for 2. 

Nunns was the next batsman in at 3 after a big score in his previous game in the position. He supported Jack superbly, who wasted no time getting through to his 50 with less than 70 on the board. The legside tactic worked with aplomb, the quality and the timing of the shots were exquisite. Everyone knew what he was going to do on each shot, but they were powerless to stop it, such was the quality of the stroke making. Nunns just had to take the single, stick in, and watch from the best seat in the house. The partnership got to 79 before Nunns was out caught for 16. 

The runs were big from Stenson, but the required rate wasn’t shifting from a stubborn 6 an over. Dave Hill was next in and went one better than rotating the strike and decided to bludgeon a couple of boundaries of his own before mistiming one to be caught well for 8. Wyatt Hill was next in and looked to support Jack on his quest for three figures, but ultimately had the make the ultimate sacrifice when a mix-up led to a run out. Will Tomlinson came next and began building a partnership with Jack that looked to carry him through to a hundred and the Elf to a win, however a big shock was coming, Jack was clipping singles and twos well but the boundaries were drying up and in an attempt to restart them he chopped on running down the wicket, he trudged off for an amazing score between 89-91 for a bit of a discussion with the scorers. 

With him went a big chunk of the Elf hopes, with the run rate rising and the best Longdon bowlers coming back on, it was tough going for the Elf. Lauchlan was out for 4, Caines 9 and Gower 3. Tommo was running out of partners; it went down to the last ball with 6 needed. Rich Fell was facing, the headlines were already being written of the winning maximum on the 250th game, but the bowling was just too good and the Elf fell agonizingly short. 

It will be a day to live long in the memories though, big milestones, a huge innings from Jack Stenson, cracking pub afterwards and that time that Paul Caines didn’t arrive until the 19th over. Well played, lads. 

Next week the Elf are on a big day out to Gloucester, not to visit Clarkson’s Farm and see Dai Preece recording season 5, but to visit Bayshill. Get the mini bus hired and we’ll see you all there. 

On Thursday evening, three days before Walsall Health’s home game vs Old Halesonians, a question dropped into the club’s WhatsApp group chat. The opposition had asked if the Health would consider making the game 30 overs aside, instead of the usual 40. It wasn’t so much a cat amongst the pigeons as an unpinned hand grenade, Jack Stenson nearly choked on one of his teas, Mark Wood suggested a 3 day test (that he wasn’t available for), Josh Butler was questioning the point in even bothering (hopefully about the game and not life in general.) A compromise of 35 overs was reached. 

Fast forward to Sunday 12:02, 28 minutes before the meet and the Elf probably would’ve taken a T10 with an over each. The clouds had rolled in, the rain was falling as a wall, Josh Butler was stuck in it, possibly once again wondering what the point was. Amazingly, the clouds parted and the game was on as the Elf players began to eye an afternoon at the bar with Test Match Special. Nunns lost the toss, but the Elf were bowling anyway. 

At the start of the innings, it looked as though no one had told the opposition that it wasn’t, in fact, a T10. Every ball was met with a swinging bat in the first 6 or 7 overs, supremely bowled by the always threatening and usually tight DS and Paul Caines. The wickets started in Paul’s first over, his confident declaration last week of always taking a wicket in his first over looked more and more prophetic in the 5th and 6th balls of his first over, the first a ball getting through and rattling the stumps. The second leg before. The hat-trick ball of his next over was dealt with by the batsman. Not quite in the hattrick hall of fame yet Paul, but the Elf had a brilliant start. 

The wickets weren’t done there, though. Paul would get himself another 2 and DS chipped in with one of his own. The game looked like coming in at far less than 30 overs, the Health had them reeling at 5 down for less than 50 runs off 7 overs. The opening bowlers had laid down a great platform. Next into the attack were the kings of Spain, JB and JP. From there, a fightback began to click into gear for Halesonians. The gung-ho nature of the batting fought back, a few balls clipped for 6 to a short boundary on the leg side from JP, but some superb ground fielding from all the team meant JP could have a few balls at the lower order and soon he got a couple through. JP accounting for a couple of slices of rabbit pie in quick succession (rich from a match report on two ducks in a row coming into this game, I know.) 

Once JP was done with his portion, Josh Butler leapt onto the scene and secured a slice of his own, Dan Dunn with his second catch of the innings and with it bringing up his half century of catches for the club and joining an elite list of club legends with 2000+ runs, 50+ wickets and 50+ catches. Very well played Double D, an absolutely brilliant achievement.

With a set batsman in though, there was still danger to be guarded against for the Elf and the 10 and 11 for the opposition indicated some reversal of the order was occurring. Both 10 and 11 went through for rapid half centuries as the Elf struggled to remove them. The score motored onto 234. Dunn had bowled the set batsman before a massive partnership from the last 2 in the tail took the score well beyond what the Elf were expecting to chase, Will Tomlinson finally breaking the partnership with the last ball of the innings, Mac helping out with some quick hands to bring the stumping.

From a game that seemed to have only been going one way, the Elf were now going to have scored at over a run a ball. It was a cautious start by Jack Stenson, a real form batsman for the Elf this season, but he had a rare bad day at the office, getting pinned LBW for 2. This brought the left-hand/right-hand combination for the Health in the form of Alex Nunns and other opener Dan Dunn. In big chases like this, big partnerships are needed and two of the Elf’s finest obliged with a huge one. Both played the situation brilliantly, in an almost chanceless partnership of 132. It was looking like a straight shootout for who would get to their century first. It was a surprise to all when a ball finally breached the defences and Dunn was bowled for a fantastic 60.

This bought Will Lauchlan in who watched from the other end as Nunns was also out, leg before for a quite brilliant 74. From there, the momentum swung violently away from the Elf, Lauchlan feathered off the glove through to the keeper for 5. Will Tomlinson was next for 1, Dave Preece followed shortly after for the same score. Caines didn’t even manage a single as he was pinned first ball leg before. The score had gone from 145-1 to 181-7. A batting collapse the lower and middle order of India would be impressed with. Death. Taxes and a Walsall Health batting collapse.

Amongst the carnage was a beacon of hope at the other end in the form of Mac Perager, who last week was described as a coiled spring; it didn’t take much for him to bounce into life this week, almost from the word go he was taking singles and lashing the ball to the boundary. He found some support in DS who held up an end with him. But with exactly 36 needed from the last over, even the marathon man couldn’t break that record. He and Dave got the Health well past the 200 mark though, to leave them just 27 runs short of the target, Mac finishing not out on 27, DS not out on 3. A great effort from all 11 at the Health, but in the end, they just ran out of deliveries. Maybe a 40-over game would’ve been a different story.

The Elf are back on the road this Sunday as they travel south to Worcester for a game against Peopleton. If you’re free and in the area, get down and show the team some support and you’ll get a good match in return.

Does anyone remember much of the cricket played between April and June 2024? No? Not really? Probably because there wasn’t much of it. It was a drab, rainy, cold affair, one long spring that stretched into summer and ran until roughly April this year.

2025? No such problems. Walsall Health has hardly lost an over to the weather this year, let alone a game. It is shaping up to be a vintage summer weather-wise and while results might have been inconsistent, the sunshine hasn’t been, and when all is said and done, that is the important bit. 

Another faultless feature of the Elf this season has been winning the toss. Jack Stenson, skippering the side for their home game against Springhill, carried on this tossing purple patch. The Elf would be bowling first against Springhill at Carter Park on a fabulous summer’s day. 

Tasked with avoiding a painful bowling innings similar to last week was a new opening bowling partnership. Pace like fire Mark Wood (Jack Lester) and pace like DS (DS). While the pair went wicketless, the scoring was much less brutal than last week. Tidy line and length bowling brought encouragement for DS and while Lester opened with a solid beamer, he soon settled into a rhythm that was regularly testing the batsmen. 

This good spell encouraged captain Stenson to stick with pace and Liam Gower, replaced Lester for his first bowl of the season, some very good deliveries flew past the edges and a couple of chances went up and down but wickets were to come. Cairns, on Health debut at the tender age of just 62 could’ve put the ball on a sixpence and the accuracy was quickly rewarded. 

From a solid start between the opening batsmen, Paul took two wickets in 3 balls in his first over to take the score from 67-0 to 68-2, the first an LBW, the next a caught and bowled. Liam ‘David’ Gower was also proving a threat at the other end, quick bowling was keeping the Springhill batsman busy and alert, the extra pace did lead to a couple more boundaries, but with Paul bowling so well at the other end, Liam had the licence to attack and was unlucky to finish wicketless. 

Paul got himself a third wicket a few overs later, another LBW and both openers were back in the hutch. The fourth followed to make the score 115-4, another good grab by Lester who is well up in the catching charts this season. Paul having a bowling spell to remember but still guilty of some jug avoidance.

From here, another partnership grew in a game that was ebbing and flowing like a good test match, the strike was rotated well and the odd boundary meant 200 was looking more of an obligation for Springhill than a target, the Elf needed something special to unpick the partnership. The team’s ground fielding is always solid, but this needed something spectacular and when Springhill took a risky single to Wyatt Hill, the Elf had just their moment. The ball was gathered confidently by the Elf fielder, with 3 stumps to go for, the throw was perfect, he’d have only needed one, the batsman was short and the Elf had the breakthrough. 

161-5 quickly became 185-8, Dan Dunn’s mix of pace and spin from the DS end accounted for two of the Springhill batsmen, both clean bowled, while Jonny Preece also got his name in the wickets column with the same mode of dismissal. Crucially, though, the late impetus of the innings had been halted, leaving a target of 189 for the Elf to chase.

While the team scoffed their teas in the interval, Jack Stenson was working on an idea (and about 6 teas of his own) with the batting lineup. He had a plan. Dan Dunn at 4, Dave Hill to open with himself and Lauchlan sticking at 3 and after 1 over, the ploy had paid off spectacularly.

For Springhill. 

Hill and Lauchlan back in the hutch, both for the dreaded 0, Dave in particular getting an absolute snorter though through the gate that would’ve got a hell of a lot of batsmen out. 5-2 and Springhill were buzzing.

Dunn came out to the middle ready to Joe Root the Elf out of a sticky start and Joe Root he did. Along with Stenson the two put on a solid partnership of 42. Dan, in particular playing some aggressive, classy, counter punches to the boundary, the run rate was quickly becoming a non-issue. Wickets however, could prove to be, with the partnership looking to give the rest of the line-up up pad rash, a wicket came, Dunn caught for 21. 

Mac was next in, a classy, coiled spring of a batsman who can block the ball and nick singles all day but will occasionally hammer one over the boundary when it’s least expected. The Elf, while going okay, needed a long partnership, and wow, did they get one. Jack and Mac put the Elf’s first century stand of the season, their running was quick and certain, the boundary count rising as well with some excellent flicks and pulls. Stenson raced through for another 50, a superb captain’s knock. The only complaint is he should have gotten more, but with the Elf victory looking on, he holed out for a fine 66. Century this season? You wouldn’t bet against it. 

Mac was shaping up well for a half century of his own but after losing his partner in crime Stenson, he was out shortly after himself for 45, a smart catch in the field. Jack Lester came and went for 0 after that and suddenly amongst the sunshine a few nerves could be heard jangling (as well as some muffled kit throwing from Lester.) 

The score had gone from 151-3 to 160-6. What is a Sunday without a Walsall Health wobble?

The team still needed just one more partnership to get them home a couple of calm heads and they found them with Wyatt Hill and Paul Cairns. Wyatt held up an end well, staying alive against some good bowling from a Springhill team who had their tails up, and could sense an opportunity. He played a great supporting role to Cairns, who seems to be allergic to pressure. With nearly 30 still needed, the debutant played like he was netting, 3 4s in a row of the pads, and another two balls later off the same over meant the required runs were halved. More boundaries followed to lift any pressure, even with Wyatt falling to an LBW shout, Cairns took Elf to victory as if he was playing Sunday friendly cricket.

The Elf won by 3 wickets in another good game against good opposition. 

The Elf, and hopefully the sun, are back in action this Sunday at Carter Park. It’s definitely too hot and sunny to do anything else, so you might as well come and watch it, not like there’s any other cricket on that day.

Walsall Health beat the weather but not Beaumont.

After a couple of tough but spirited defeats in Staffordshire, the Walsall Health team were grateful to see the green, green grass of home at Carter Park. However, the blue, blue sky they’d have been hoping for, was very much lacking. Thick shades of grey and black were rolling around, weather forecasts were giving many different predictions of just how much it was going to rain and for how long. However, cricket has no time for such worries; it’s a game almost run entirely on optimism and an attitude that everything will work out in the end, just keep going. One thing that has definitely been working out this season is Alex Nunns’s tossing ability, and he did keep it going. Another win, and with the sky looking ominous and the track a shade of green, bowling was always going to be the best option.

With DS having a serious matter to attend to (gardening), the opening bowling was shared by Will Tomlinson and Josh Butler. The first couple of overs started well, with the score 14-0 after 3 overs. I say that because it’s about as good as it got. There were showers around; they didn’t last long, but a downpour was coming, and it was going to be heavy. It was in the form of runs, and they weren’t stopping anytime soon. With smart rotation of the strike, the bowlers couldn’t settle, and every bad ball was punished with aplomb. The good balls were being picked off for singles, the loose ones brutally dispatched to the ropes.

Both opening bowlers ended up wicketless, and the runs were not stopping there. Next into the attack/ firing line were Will Felton (William the third) and Samir Rehman, both on debut, both probably wondering what they had got themselves into. The bowling and the fielding continued to be solid, but the batting was exceptional; the two openers made it to drinks and 20 overs with the score well past the hundred mark and it had been almost entirely chanceless. 

After drinks, the batsman started to go even harder at the bowlers, but with that came some chances. Mac took a stunning one-handed catch behind the stumps, but to sum up the Health’s luck, his elbow hit the turf and the ball came out and away. 

Soon though, mercifully, the wicket came. Will Felton, whose pace had caused the most problems for the set batsman, found a bit of uneven bounce (hard to believe at Rushall…) and an edge and this time Mac made no mistake. The partnership at been well over 150, and there was still a third of the innings to go but the Health had an end to work with.

Jonny Preece then came on for Samir, and along with Felton, the two started to make some inroads. Will got himself another wicket to finish with 2-59, and Jonny went one better, getting himself in for three wickets after ending his 8 overs for 52. There was time in the innings for Dave Preece to get himself a wicket with some lively pace bowling despite a bad back at a worryingly young age. The last 10 overs had definitely belonged to the Elf but with a score of 267 to chase, the damage looked to have already been done. 

Nunns and Jack Stenson walked out hoping to replicate the opening onslaught they had just seen from the Beaumont batsmen. The two looked solid enough, the left-hand and right-hand combination going well before Stenson got an absolute grubber of a delivery. Jack is notorious for not being the tallest, so you’d think a low one would be a bit easier to keep out, but this ball would’ve done for everyone; it snuck under the bat and onto the stumps. This brought Will Lauchlan to the middle, but he could add nothing to the score, a punch into the leg side came of a leading edge and a smart catch meant he opened his duck trophy campaign. 

With the score 19-2, the in-form Will Tomlinson came out to support the captain. The double lefty partnership was having some success but just as they seemed to turn the screw the wickets came. Nunns was out to a bizarre full toss looping in and taking his wickets when he looked to be seeing the ball so well. Wyatt Hill was in next and was out for 3, unlucky to pick out of the only leg side fielders with a decent flick round the corner.

D. Preece was next in and unfortunately the next out for 6, he had an attacking intent and the Beaumont bowlers will have been pleased to see the back of him. Samir was next in. Tomlinson was going well at the other end and was carrying the last thin hopes of the game. With Samir still finding his flow, Tommo risked a single to keep the strike, but a communication breakdown left him well short of his ground and run out for 25. 

With hopes of the victory pretty much gone, Mac was in and with Samir set about making sure the Elf got to 3 figures or at least batted out their innings. Mac though, went full bazball. His 2nd, 3rd and 4th scoring shots were 4,6,4 off consecutive balls, decent deliveries as well. The partnership blossomed and finished on a fantastic 66 with Mac eventually out for a superb 29. Samir wasn’t finished yet, though helping himself to a huge 6 of his own, he dug in well for a 28* not out and was there at the end, a mix of good batting and maybe a good way of avoiding Will Tomlinson. Will Felton was out for 6 off the last ball of the innings, the Elf had lost but there were some real highlights to take away for the team. Opening partnership aside, it would have been a very even game. 

The Elf might have been beaten, but so had the weather, and getting the game on is always the priority; anything after that is a bonus. With a couple more home games in a row, the team will be hoping to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later. 

Trent Valley 193-8 Beat Walsall Health 114 by 79 Runs.

This week Walsall Health were back in Staffordshire, visiting Armitage to play against Trent Valley. Visiting a village famous for its production of toilets and bathroom furniture would the Elf come out smelling of roses or would it all go down the pan?

It was a mixed day weather-wise, sunshine and blue skies regularly broken up by short, sharp showers. The ground was pristine, if a little hilly and a field of local cows craned over the fence to see Alex Nunns take another toss and actually win another, slightly startled to have the choice again, he turned to the team, still elated and dumbstruck by the skipper’s run of wins. Eventually, the Elf decided to have a bowl and with make shi(f)t wicket keeper Will Lauchlan pushed for a stump to stump line, take the keeper out of the game and the wickets would come (or at least not be dropped by him.)

The full and straight plan proved quite a good ploy, especially in the opening bowlers Dave Stephens and Josh Butler. There were regular late forward defences that just saved the batsman being bowled or out lbw and with hardly any width on offer, the only scoring shots were being clipped off the pads or off edges. The Health could sense an opportunity and before long, the wickets the tight bowling deserved arrived. DS had the first, the Trent Valley batsman bowled between bat and pad for 7 and Josh Butler grabbed an LBW, then a few overs later. A smart caught and bowled for Josh followed and the Health had a good advantage, helped further by Will Tomlinson taking the number 4 batsman with an LBW that seemed to have come off the bat first. Definitely the last debatable umpiring call of the day…

The Elf didn’t mind that, though, at drinks with Trent Valley 4 down, confidence was high. But like the intermittent sunshine, it didn’t last. 

JP, coming on as the change bowler, was immediately taken to task by the Trent Valley batsman, his first three balls all being deposited to the boundaries, it was unfortunately a sign of things to come. John Nicholls (playing his 250 game for the Elf no less, phenomenal achievement Jonty, here’s to many more) bowled from the other end, but with runs streaming Jonty’s usual tight lines and building of pressure left him wicketless. Eventually, JP could take no more, with the scorers also begging for mercy, he was taken out of the attack. 52 runs conceded off his 4 overs. It could’ve been the end of his day, but it’s a funny game and an inspired piece of captaincy by Nunn’s deployed JP from the other end and crucially a long boundary to cow corner. From there, the partnership fell quickly, with some excellent catching in the deep from both Jack Stenson and Tomlinson. The partnership was broken and there was an opportunity for the Elf bowlers to make some serious inroads. 

Maybe a hattrick? 

Step up Will Tomlinson. Again. 

Stump to stump did the trick. One out bowled. Second ball, same again. Bowled. Silly field deployed, no one has ever taken two hat-tricks for the Elf, let alone in the same season. It was always going to be at the stumps. The ball left his hand. Bat went forward. The bat missed. It sailed between bat and pad. The fielders coiled ready to swamp the bowler. A bit of bounce. Middle stump must have ducked. It was a shade over the top. Bails whipped off. A single appeal. More in hope than expectation. The umpire shook his head. Correct decision. Tomlinson was inches away from opening a new section in the Elf Hall of Fame all to himself.

There was time for one more JP wicket, a comeback spell that Lazarus would’ve been proud of but the target was a stiff one, 194 was needed from 40 overs. 

Skipper Nunns took the pressure on himself and walked out to open with Stenson. The left-hand right-hand combo started off well, the two got themselves in and kept close to the rate. Trying to accelerate, though Nunn’s had a swipe at an ugly wide one and was caught out. Stenson would follow 3 runs later and the Elf were struggling at 24-2. Will’s Lauchlan and Tomlinson dug in but, besides a couple of sweetly struck 4s couldn’t get into a bowling attack that on the day was just too good. The partnership got to 30, Lauchlan’s innings had more edges than Sweeney Todd’s barber shop before his luck ran out for 17. 

Will was replaced with Hill, who accelerated the strike rate of the innings dramatically. It’s a shame it only lasted two balls, the first racing to the boundary, the second doing the same, but this time, to the bails. Hill was replaced with Hill, it was Dave’s go. He dug in with Tomlinson who was playing a faultless knock at the other end. The scoring was still slow, though and in an attempt to get it kickstarted Dave was out for 4. 

DS was next to take on the tough bowling and played a gorgeous straight drive and supported Tommo well but some very awkward spin bowling soon dismissed him for 8. 

Jonty was in next, his bat probably asking for double time for the overtime, it’s done in 2025 compared to previous years. He too dug in well to support Wil,l but a combination of good bowling and questionable umpiring accounted for Jonty, a debatable LBW call for 1 that will not be discussed further in this report, as the umpire is also the person writing it.

JP and Josh Butler couldn’t do much to help at the end of the tail 1 and 0 respectively and Tomlinson was not out for a brilliant 37. Just think of the averages Will. The Elf were all out for 114, they had guts but ultimately not the glory in the face of some superb bowling. 

The Elf return to home comforts (and thankfully leave Staffordshire thoroughly in the rear view) for a home game at Carter Park on Sunday against Beaumont.

25.05.25
Alrewas CC (111-2) beat Walsall Health CC (109 AO) by eight wickets

After two consecutive wins away at Wellington and home against Lichfield, Walsall Health travelled over to Alrewas for the annual late May bank holiday fixture to participate in the Tim and Andie Oliver Memorial game. The pitch was set, the teas were magnificent and the weather played ball. The question was ‘Were the Health going to end the run of defeats against Alrewas or was it going to be a routine victory for the home team – again’? After a bit mix up to begin with, the Health decided to have a bat, with what was a fairly settled top 6. With only 10 men captain JP had to do some re-organisation (albeit slight) to give the Health the best opportunity for victory.

1. Jack Stenson (47) – After a confident 50 he scored against Lichfield the week before, Jack started
   off his innings really well batting with intent and getting off the mark making quick runs and
   spraying the ball to all parts of the ground. Every couple of balls, all you could hear was Jack’s
   loud and clear voice with a ‘Yes’ or ‘There’s one there”. He managed to get settled at crease and
   you could see confidence oozing in him through his shot selection and his quick thinking. Was this
   going to be the knock that set up his season? He looked so assured, it felt that it would have to
   take a brilliant ball to dismiss him, but unfortunately he was caught off the bowling of Collins in
   the sixth over. A great knock and hopefully, more of this to come as the season progresses.
   Amongst all this, Jack must be pleased to have passed 1000 run milestone for the Health and
   before we know it, we’ll be celebrating him passing 2000 runs.
   
2. Mac Perager (21) – Mac was given an opening spot for the first time since the end of July 2024
   and looked as though he was a natural opener. Playing with the composure and level-headedness
   that was required by the openers in order to build a steady score. After scoring in 1’s in the first
   few overs, Mac began to get more adventurous and with it came confidence to go for the
   boundaries and 2s. It seemed as though up until Jack’s wicket (when the score was on 60) there
   pair looked as though they had been batting together for a year. The telepathy they had between
   one another suggests it won’t be the last time they open together. Unfortunate, Mac’s innings
   was prematurely ended when on 21, he was judged to be out LBW. A very calm 21 that had set
   the innings up nicely for the incoming batsmen to prosper from.
   
3. Will Tomlinson (13) – Will has become a very dependable batsman and bowler for the Health this
   season so far with scores of 34, 28 and 28 with the bat and 7 wickets with the ball this term. He is
   very quickly becoming a multi-talented cog in the Walsall Health side that can be called at any
   time, no matter the situation. Here against Alrewas, it was Will the batsman that was called upon
   to restart the innings after the fall of the first wicket. He and Mac went about their work to
   increase the run-rate to what it was with the openers. He was just getting into his stride when he
   was caught off the bowling of J. Burrows for 13. He also made a good contribution with the ball
   finishing with 2-27 off 7 overs in doing so became the leading wicket taker this season. The
   question is will he be able to carry this encouraging on , especially with so much going on at the moment and make it a season to remember? Keep up the good work Will and the rewardseventually come.
   
4. Dave Hill (3) – In at number 4 was the increasingly more confident Dave Hill. Having been given
   the chance to bat at number 4 a few times this season, he has been able to get himself in, assess
   the situation and go from there. However, the Alrewas attack did not give Dave any room and
   made it difficult for him to get any shots away to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately, this
   pressure told and when he was on 3, Dave was bowled by the bowler of the day, J. Burrows who
   would go on to take five wickets. In the field, he made a valuable contribution stopping nearly
   everything that came his way. Another top performance in the field and very dependable.
   
5. Ryan Addis (1) – This was Ryan’s season debut for the Health, so it was not known what was to be
   expected. When he went out, the first couple of balls suggested that he looked as though he was
   going to be out there for a while. But before he could set himself for a long innings, he was
   caught for 1. So soon after the dismissal of Mac, it needed both players a bit of time at the
   crease, but unfortunately, J. Burrows was in that zone where everything he bowled turned into
   wickets. Unlucky Ryan. Better luck next time.
   
6. Dan Dunn (1) – The resident opener was placed further down the order for this game with the
   intention of using his bowling ability to support the Health and support the tail with the batting.
   This experiment unfortunately did not work this time round for Dan or for captain JP (who had
   hoped Dan’s experience with the bat would add a bit of calm down the order. I cannot imagine
   Dan will be batting down the order very often, and those chances will have decreased after what
   happened against Alrewas. In all honesty, Dan is a top order player and with hindsight, that is
   where he should have batted. However, we all learn something every day, and this is one thing JP
   will have to remember next time he leads the Health on the field. Dan also had a stint bowling,
   but unfortunately (despite him saying he’d been bowling well), finished with figures of 0-25 off 3
   overs. I think next time Dan takes the field for the Health, he will not need to worry about where
   he bats and he will be in more comfortable surroundings.
   
7. Wyatt Hill (0) – A difficult day for Wyatt who had the misfortune to face just a solitary ball as he
   was undone by J. Burrows for the latter’s 5 th and final wicket of the day. Willing to field in a
   variety of positions, but did so with the willingness and enthusiasm. With one scare when chasing
   the ball towards the boundary, an unfortunate tweak somewhere, caused great concern amongst
   the Health players – that is apart from Hill SNR, if rumours are to be believed, but Wyatt quickly
   ran the injury off and was preparing himself before coming on to bowl. Unfortunately, this
   materialise, but I’m sure he will get plenty of opportunity with the ball before the end of the
   season.
   
8. Dave Stephens (5) – After a batting collapse akin to that of an England Cricket team saw in the
   1990s and 2000s, in walked the opening bowler Dave Stephens, with the hope of playing a few
   lusty blows to the boundary that gone missing from the Health innings of Mac Pareger halfway
   through the innings. Dave had been able to do it before and in some quarters, there was a sense
   he would not miss out this time. His first scoring shot made its way to the boundary with a
   powerfully controlled shot. Was DS going to go on and add a quick 10-20 runs. Unfortunately on this occasion, the answer was no as with partners at a premium, he got caught behind off the the end of DS and probably any quick runs. DS also took on the weekly role as opening bowler. He, by his own admission stated “I haven’t bowled as well this year”, but he’s always able to come up with something special. For example, a ct and bowled wicket he took against Yoxall, and the constant spells bowls where he doesn’t get his just rewards. Unfortunately, he was left wicketless against Alrewas, although, a little bit more luck, he could have had a wicket from a dropped catch that might have made all the difference. As it was, he finished with figures of 0-35 off 6 overs. Better luck next time DS. Those wickets will come.
   
9. Jonathan Preece (0) – JP was taking charge of his 3 rd game as captain and had plenty to ponder
   from the batting line-up (which he made two of) and who to use as his bowlers. It’s a shame he
   didn’t spend more time batting and practising running between the wickets. After some good
   judgement when facing, it was while he was at the bowlers end that his innings ended. A quick
   run was called by the new batsman and while there may have been some confusion as to whose
   call it was, JP set off for the run and was halfway down the wicket when the keeper dislodged the
   bails to the frustration of the skipper.
   
10. John Nicholls (0 n/o) – John was playing only his second game of the season after he featured in
    the opening game against Yoxall. After some careful persuading at the start of the day, Jonty in
    his favoured number 10 (out of 10) position, hoping he would be able to add to his ever-
    increasing DNBs. At wicket number 8, Jonty was padding up (for what seemed to be the
    inevitable) when all of a sudden, came the familiar noise of the ice-cream van, followed by the
    voice of Club President Rick Jarrams with “John the Ice Cream van is here”. John, reverting to his
    10-year-old self at Christmas time, charged out of the changing rooms, headed to the van, ate
    what he’d bought and then strolled out the middle. Unfortunately, he did not add to his DNBs
    record, but did remain not out (for the umpteenth time). However, he did show his worth in the
    bowling department. Despite not taking any wickets, chances were created and on another day,
    those chances would have been taken and the game might have had a different outcome. Jonty’s
    efforts with the ball saw him finish with figures of 0-23 off 5 overs. A good effort on his comeback
    after a short sabbatical. Hopefully, with the weather getting better, we will see a lot more of John
    and those wickets (like DS’s) will come.
    
    All in all, another good game played in the right spirit. After all was said and done, a day that would have made not only Tim and Andie proud, but also Andie’s son, Tom, who not only made an appearance, but participated in the fixture even opening the bowling from the church end. Hopefully this time next year, the fixture will be just as enjoyable as it has been over the last few years.

Jack and Jack make it back-to-back for the Walsall Health 

The scoreboard was up, covers off the pitch, the track looked fantastic on a perfect summer’s day. The outfield was pristine, the stale ends of warm beer bottles cleared out of the clubhouse from the night before, all at Carter Park was set. The Walsall Health were ready, even the late and last Jack Stenson had seen off a round of 18 and made it to the ground. The lads were ready to go minutes before the start. But one very important thing was missing. An Opposition. 

Nervous glances and text messages were fired out, tee times looked into in case Lichfield never arrived, and there was even a threat of a fielding drill breaking out. Worried that the winning streak would be over before it even began, the players watched the entrance to the ground nervously for signs off life but soon the first cars started snaking round the corner and Lichfield had arrived. The visitors kindly donated the toss and apologised for the admin error that made them late. 

The Health were to bat first and after a few team low scores to start the ’25 season, the order of the day was to dig in and get some runs on the board. Dan Dunn and Stenson fought hard for the Batsman of the Year last season. They showed why at the beginning of the innings, seeing off some tricky opening bowling, the boundaries were starting to come and the run rate increased before Dunn was bowled for 14 by Rubisch (bowler’s name, not the ball that got him.) This brought Will Lauchlan to the crease, batting at 3 for the second time this season, he dug in with Stenson, both were given a couple of lives but kept the board ticking until drinks and beyond, laying a good foundation for the innings with a team season high partnership of 82.

At the risk of two leaving 9 batters in the shed though and wasting their teammates Sunday, the two decided to twist and play some attacking shots (Stenson followed this decision up with a maiden.) Lauchlan had already struck a 6 earlier in the innings and spent his last few balls trying to do the same with (very) limited success before being bowled for 32. Stenson followed soon after for the Elf’s first 50+ score of the season, eventually out caught for 56. With 3 figures on the board, the incoming batsmen, Will Tomlinson and Dave Hill had licence to swing from the hip and play some shots. Hill was out early for 2 but Tomlinson was quick through the gears and was peppering the boundaries regularly with a flurry of well-timed 4s. Nunns joined him for a double southpaw batting partnership of 37 before the two fell in quick succession, Will for 28, Alex for 15. Mac (2) and Wyatt (7) finished not out as the Elf went to a very respectable 193-6. Double their previous score on a much worse pitch than the week before. Cricket ay? 

Bowling has been the strong suit of the Elf this season. DS though, the reliable everthere, has been short of his best this year by his own admission, but there wasn’t a hint of it in this spell. Almost every ball was on a sixpence and as is often the case with Dave, the good balls were too good to get an edge. He ended up with just the 5 maidens out of 8 overs as well as two wickets for just the 9 runs. A bit expensive Dave but well bowled. Starting from the other end was last week’s hero Tomlinson who also got himself a wicket to get  Lichfield 3 down after the first 12 overs. 

Lichfield weren’t done yet, though. A partnership started to form and Tomlinson was swiped for two sixes. Following that the Lichfield batsmen took a real liking to Rich Fell, who was rewarded for giving up his end to Mark Wood/Jack Lester by being slapped to the boundary regularly before taking himself out of the attack before drinks.

The changes and drinks turned out to be a master stroke for the Health as Lester came onto bowl and began a flurry of wickets, taking two in his first over to dent any real hopes of a Lichfield comeback. Dan Dunn came on at the other end and between them, the two bowled out Lichfield well short of the target. A serious case of jug avoidance for Lester, who with one ball at the number 11 to get his first fifer, sent it harmlessly down the leg side. His four wickets, though made a big difference in a game Lichfield were looking to get back into. Three wickets for Dan Dunn, also including a ‘one of the cameras’ diving caught and bowled. Big hand also in the field to the Elf in particular Alex Nunns who came away with 3 catches and Mac for a brilliant stumping towards the end, often his hands are a bit too quick for square leg umpires to give it out but it never stops his now traditional whipping off of the bails and death stare of square leg for a decision. 

All in all, it was a solid team effort from the Health, but a double Jack was the order of the day in a convincing win. 

Walsall Health continue their season at the memorial game at Alrewas on the late May bank holiday Sunday (weather permitting.) It’s always a lovely day played in the right spirit, with a very decent ice cream van and bar so make your way down if possible.