Nelson travelled to Enfield on Sunday and suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in their history, losing by a massive 178 runs.
Nelson were defeated in every facet of the game; batting, bowling and fielding were all below par and they need to forget this match in a hurry.
Nelson won the toss and put Enfield in to bat – possibly the first mistake, as the hosts immediately punished wayward bowling.
Too many short pitched balls on the leg side were either wides or hits to the boundary and Enfield raced to put up their 50 in the ninth over.
Simon Doane replaced Max Howells and got a couple of early wickets but eventually his 10 overs cost 53 runs.
By the 35th over, Enfield had progressed to 157 for the loss of only four wickets but, within the next four overs, Nelson clawed their way back into the game by taking four wickets for seven runs.
Neil Thompson and Adil Ali shared those wickets but were then unable to keep the momentum going. The tail added 58 runs while losing just one more wicket and Enfield were 222 for 9 at the end of their 50 overs.
Adam Bracewell (47), Joe Wrigley (43) and tail-ender David Bracewell (32) were the main run-getters. Adil Ali finished with 3 for 41 from his 13 overs.
Nelson’s reply was woeful. There was no sign of the debacle to come, from the first ten overs although only 18 runs had been mustered for the loss of Chris Heap’s wicket.
From thereon in, however, it was one long procession and not a single batsman made it into double figures. In fact, top scorer was Mr Extras with eight.
Hassan Fazal, Enfield’s opening bowler, was magnificent, bowling direct with pace, and he finished with 6 for 18.
He received great support from his opening partner, Zahir Afzal, who returned 4 for 22. Nelson’s total was 44 and the entire innings lasted only 22 overs and one ball.
Next weekend’s double-header at Haslingden – league on Saturday and Worsley Cup semi-final on Sunday – has become a most important weekend.