At Tynemouth CC on Monday there was a collective sigh of relief from the Hill Supporters as Matty Brown ran past a ball from Max Williamson to be stumped by Hayden Mustard to complete a much needed victory in the NEPL Premier Division. Barring a miracle our status in the top echelon of North East Cricket should be secure.
How we ended up in a relegation struggle is a subject for another day – it has been a strange season that has been drastically affected by adverse weather and by a series of unfortunate events that could hardly have been foreseen. Planning is already underway for 2024 and I will keep Members informed as we move forward.
This weekend holds real promise as on Friday our Under 19 side visit Tynedale in the final of the Norhumberland T20 Cup. The side led by Saturday`s Man of the Match Dan Gardiner are defending the trophy they won last year. The game starts at 5.00pm so please support our boys if you can.
On Saturday there is an NEPL and WTL programme of fixtures whilst on Sunday the First X1 host the Smithson Northumberland Cup Final. This is a T20 Game v Ashngton with the rather odd start time of 12.00noon. Again please support the team in what should be an entertaining clash.
The NEPL Season finishes the following week on September 9th which I will never tire of saying is far too early. Beautiful weather is certain until the end of the month.
Aside from onfield matters within the Club there have been a series of Sub Committee meetings culminating in a gathering of the full Committee last week. The feedback from the Sub Committees was constructive and will inform the decision making process over the next year. Top of the To Do list is to sort out the leaks in the Gents Toilets. This may cause some inconvenience in the Autumn.
Our Squash Section continues to thrive and two teams will compete in the Northumberland League this winter which is a first.
The Junior Cricket Sessions ended last Tuesday and Barry Pearson and the band of Coaches are to be massively congratulated on another heroic voluntary effort in 2023. Our structure is as good as any in the North East and the pipeline of keen cricketers of all standards is well established.
Evasio MacMillan will be heading off on his travels soon and heading back to Sydney. He has been an excellent addition to the Hill (and Dawson) Family and hopefully he will be back one day. On the other side of the coin the equally dashing Rory Hanley has (eventually) returned from Latin America where he has been learning the Spanish Lingo and generally mucking about.
Kyle Coetzer made a timely return to the colours on Saturday having completed his attempt at the world record for eating Hotel Breakfasts whilst working with the Welsh Fire on the 100. It`s possible he looks marginally less skinny?
Enough frivolity – please keep consulting the website for forthcoming events – there is a big St Oswalds Charity Day on Saturday September 16th and we will be staging Cricket Presentation evenings for the Seniors and Juniors in the near future. The Quiz season is also almost upon us....new teams always welcome.
Finally it would be remiss of me to not mention the sad death of Brian Hogarth recently. A former Treasurer of BHCC, Life Member and huge supporter of the Club he will be much missed. R.I.P.
Simon Lunn
Mobile: 07791 683827
Email: simon.lunn@live.co.uk
