The 2nd XI took on Hetton Lyons in the final of the Banks Bowl on Monday. Despite being in a lower division, Hetton have only lost one game previously this season (to The Hill in the NEPL T20 group stage) and are a strong side. Hetton won the toss and chose to bowl. Hynd made a bright start with a run a ball 24. Joe Anderson, coming in at 3, starred with the bat making 74 from 76 balls, holding the innings together as partners came and went. The other main contributor was William Archbold who took the pressure off Anderson with a flashy 42 from 30 balls. The lower order was required to go and swipe at the last few overs, seeing us finish on 219-9. This was considered a decent score on a tiring pitch.
Some generous offerings from Jones saw the away team get off to a bright start in the powerplay, but once the openers were removed by Jones and Torre respectively, the Hetton challenge began to fade. A barrage of spin made the most of Geoff's penchant for getting good use out of his pitches and wickets continued to fall. As they did, Andy Dawson did not miss the opportunity to remind his men (in his usual calm, measured fashion) that one or two poor overs could easily let Hetton back into the game. Fortunately the introduction of Archbold, the fourth prong of the spin attack, mopped up the remaining Hetton batsmen, secured the silverware, and the Man of the Match award.
