Hickey calls riot act after collapse

Captain Liam Hickey staged a team meeting after Cannock's dismaying collapse against Attock.

Ever reliable Dave Womble nabbed four wickets and gave a master-class in line and length.

With Cannock's out-cricket matching Womble's performance, Hickey thought his side were set for a victory only to be jolted by a miserable performance with the bat, which saw them dismissed for 107.

It was the recurrence of a worrying theme of late which the captain is eager to address. That may mean temporary abandonment of his summer campaign, to extend the experience of the club's younger players.

He said: "We did the first half of the job perfectly but we just can't buy a run at the moment.

"We had a team meeting after the game to try to get to the bottom of the problem. There are clearly going to have to be changes.

"I think we're going to have to a bit more experience there. My game plan for the season was to give the younger guys a chance but they are just not performing at the moment."

Womble will be a key figure in the batting process too, as will Nigel Francis and Hickey himself, as they look to produce a more solid performance at home to Harborne on Saturday.

Hickey remains grateful that in a period of youth development at Cannock, he has such a proven hand as Womble to rely upon.

He said: "I've got the gloves on and it's a pleasure to keep to his bowling. His seam position and the areas that he bowls are just top class.

"He took four wickets but the batsmen must have played and missed at half his deliveries."

Old Hill hope a two-week plan comes together to leave them in a powerful position at the First Division summit on Saturday.

Phase One saw the leaders escape from a dicey encounter with challengers Shrewsbury at the weekend with the damage restricted to a losing draw.

Now Phase Two kicks in, with Old Hill eyeing a clash against bottom of the table strugglers Sutton Coldfield as a prime chance for maximum points, while second-placed Bromsgrove clash with third-placed Shrewsbury.

He said: "It won't worry me to see Bromsgrove and Shrewsbury trading blows with each other before settling for an amicable draw."

"If our match goes to form at the same time, we could finish the evening with a very strong lead."

Halesowen head for Wellington hoping they can have better luck with the weather after a frustrating weekend against Stratford.

Just three overs were possible, before the rain came and shut down any hopes they nurtured of making further progress away from the lingering clutches of second bottom.

Wellington occupy that place and that sets up Saturday's game nicely for captain Mark Fisher, leading an unchanged team.

He said: "They are second from bottom and that has to be seen as an opportunity for us to push on into the top half of the table," says Fisher.