After defeats for all teams last weekend, the winning ways returned for 1s, 2s, and West Tyne 3s this week. The 1s victory at Sunderland was especially timely and will hopefully help a late season push for league safety. There was some superb individual performances this weekend, with Daniel Gardiner starring for the 1s, Max Tidmarsh for the 2s and Michael Maclauchlan for the 3s, read on for the details ...
NEPL Premier League - 1st XI v Sunderland (a) - Won by 4 wickets - Match Report by Phil Haves
A visit to Ashbrooke on Saturday meant that as the season draws towards a close a win was a must if we had any hopes of avoiding relegation.
Pete won the toss & had no hesitation in deciding to bowl on what looked a helpful wicket. This was proved to be a good decision as the early overs proved a challenge to the home batters as Callum & Luke extracted variable bounce from an unpredictable wicket. This was to prove to be the undoing of Durham’s George Drissell as he gloved Callum to Haydon behind the stumps & when fellow opener Shurben found Belly at square leg off Luke’s bowling the hosts were reduced to 26/2. The introduction of Dan brought 2 further quick wickets & at 52/4 we had made great use of a testing wicket. Some tight bowling in the middle of the innings by Max & Prowler kept a check on the run rate in a partnership between Allen & Fishwick which reached 68 before it was broken by Prowler. Wickets fell at regular intervals towards the end of the innings as the home side were bowled out for 183 in the last over. Dan led the way with 4 wickets whilst Max with 2 & Callum,Luke & Prowler chipped in with 1 each.
In reply Rory made quick fire 13 before nicking off with the score on 16 however this was merely a pre-curser to what turned out to be the decisive partnership of the match as Adam & Dan added 105. Adam made a typically solid 46 before somewhat controversially being given out for 46. Riding his luck a wee bit & finding the gaps in the field Dan reached 50 off 74 balls & despite the loss of 4 cheap wickets he was still at the crease unbeaten on 82 (his 2nd consecutive half century) at the end as we completed the victory with 4 overs to spare.
We move on to a double header this coming weekend as Felling visit NBMS Denton Bank on Saturday whilst Sunday sees us visit Roseworth Terrace to face South North.
1st XI NEPL Scorecard v Sunderland (a)
NEPL Division 2 - 2nd XI v Sacriston (h) - Won by 150 runs - Captains Report by Pete Jones
Sacriston won the toss and elected to bowl, possibly hoping to take advantage of a slightly green looking wicket. The 1st over conceded 17 runs, only 3 of them off the bat. Things did not get much better for Sacriston as Rory Mustard and Max Tidmash amassed 158 for the 1st wicket. Rory got his second 50 plus score for the 2nd team and Max was eventually dismissed for an excellent 132 from 126 balls. We finished our 45 overs with 298 including 44 extras.
Sacriston started brightly but the pressure of the imposing 1st innings score was too much and they were bowled out for 148 in the 36th over. The wickets were shared around but the pick of the bowlers was Ayush who took 2-26 from his 9 overs.
2nd XI NEPL Scorecard v Sacriston (h)
West Tyne - 3rd XI v Humshaugh (a) - Won by 5 wickets - Captains Report by Chris Pounder
The West Tyne 3’a finished the regular season with a win at Humsaugh.
Losing the toss and being asked to field first 3’s would restrict Humsaugh to 105 in 34 overs with the pick of the bowlers Michael MacLauchlan getting 4 wickets for 12 and 3 catches.
In reply 3’s would knock off the runs in 29th over with Dave Haxon scoring 43 not out with young Harsh Patel 26 backing him nicely in the middle.
We now move on to the end of season play offs. The top 4 in the league will play each other, with the rest of the Division 1 and 2 teams split into two groups. We have been drawn against Newton, Newbrough and Stocksfield. We play Newton (away), Newbrough (home at Stamfordham) and Stocksfield (away) over the next 3 Saturdays.
3rd XI West Tyne scorecard v Humshaugh (a)
