1st XI Match Review from Pete Halliday
The Hill welcomed a newly promoted Burnmoor side to Denton Bank which featured several familiar faces. The visitors had secured 4 wins from their opening 9 games in an impressive start to their campaign in the top tier.
Our opponents won the toss and elected to bat first on a firm Hill wicket. After a positive start, the early introduction of spinner Max Williamson did the trick, dismissing experienced NEPL player Allan Worthy for 19.
A strong performance from Durham all rounder Ryan Pringle (80), supported with various partnerships resulted in the away side posting 226-8 declared from 54 overs. Williamson (3-59) and Callum Harding (3-46) the pick of the Hill bowlers.
To say the Hill’s response didn’t start well would be an understatement! 0-2 from the first 3 balls of the innings, thanks to a devastating opening spell from left arm seam bowler Samiullah Khan (5-24).
Despite the odd glimmer of hope within the middle order, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the game looked beyond the hosts at 95-8. Then Williamson joined Luke Doneathy, and the rest is now history.
A club and league record 9th wicket partnership of 113 left the Hill at 208-8, securing a credible draw. Doneathy (96*) and Williamson (39*) also posting individual career best performances for the Hill in league cricket. Fantastic effort. The squad are looking forward to a round of beers from each to celebrate their achievements!
2nd XI review v Sunderland
The 2s secured an excellent victory at Sunderland. Bowling first the Hill restricted Sunderland to 181 for 6 from their 55 overs, spinners Pete Jones and Joe Torre each getting 2 wickets. In reply we found ourselves at 32 for 4, but excellent contributions from Williams Archbold with 71 and skipper Andy Dawson with 46 helped us to recover and knock off the target for loss of 6 wickets in the 48th over.
3rd XI review
An amazing 44 ball century from Leighton Hopper was the highlight of a huge 144 run win v Mitford in the West Tyne League. Batting first we scored 287 for 7 in only 40 overs, with Rasish Shad (43) and Davey Ladd (39) also adding useful contribtions. We then bowled out the hosts for 143, with Zain Ullah getting 4 for 34 and Harry Reeves 2 for 18. The victory moved us into 5th place in the league, only 19 points off the top spot.
