Our young NEPL 3s side but a terrfic display in the final of the Banks Cup to a strong and experienced Chester le Street on Sunday. On the Saturday the 1s went down by 4 wickets at home to Ashington, however the 2s won by the narrowest of margins (1 run) at Ashington and out NTCL 3s kept their terrific league season going with a 62 run win over Corbridge 2s. Read on for all the news.
NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v Ashington (h) - Lost by 4 wickets - Match Report by Phil Haves
Northumberland rivals Ashington were the visitors to NBMS Denton Bank on Saturday as our 1 year stay in the Premier Division was almost at an end.
Belly won the toss and elected to have a bat. Dave and Rory once again added a half century opening stand as they have done on a number of occasions this season until Dave was dismissed for 48 with the score on 73. This however triggered an all too familiar passage of play with the dismissals of Rory (23), Sam (0) and Aaryan (9) as we slumped to 93/4. When Ayush was out for 16 and Belly (19) 93/4 became 133/6 and another disappointing batting display was on the cards. Ben and Woody had other ideas however, and with Woody taking toll of any wayward deliveries the pair added 68 when Woody was out for 38 (4x4s & 2x6s) with the total on 201. Max the added a brisk 26 off 13 balls and with Ben finishing unbeaten on 48 our innings closed on 230/7.
In reply the visitors made a confident start racking up 55 for the first wicket when Harpo dismissed Jessop caught by Dave. Woody, Lee and Max each took a wicket reducing Ashington to 131/4. Former Hill all rounder Gardiner joined Ben Harmison and the pair added a match defining 64 for the 5th wicket until Harpo dismissed Gardiner for 45. Woody claimed another wicket with 2 runs required but an unbeaten half century from Harmison saw the visitors home by 4 wickets with 7 overs to spare to officially confirm our relegation.
NEPL 1st XI Scorecard v Ashington (h)
NEPL Division 2 - 2nd XI v Ashington (a) - Won by 1 run
The 2s were involved in a terrific game at Langwell Crescent and came out on top by 1 run, as Ashington fell just short in their chase.
Skipper Fletcher on the toss and chose to bat, and thanks to useful contributions from the top 4, Abu and the skipper both with 48, Michael Mc (25) and Harsh (13) we got off to a great start at 135 for 3, however the middle and lower order struggled with only stalwart Andy Dawson (20) reaching double figures as we finished 204 all out with 4 overs still to bat.
Ashington's reply got off to a solid start however with some tight bowling we gradually chipped away at the wicket column as scoreboard pressure began to mount. Still needing 8 an over with a few overs left, the run out of Matthew Collins by Abu was crucial and a couple of tight overs to conclude by Joe and then Nazif were good enough to see us home by the bearest of margins. All 5 bowlers bowled 10 overs and each played their part with the wickets spread about, 2 for Abu and Nazif, and 1 each for Joe, Pete and Aaron.
NEPL 2nd XI Scorecard v Ashington (a)
NTCL Division 5 South - 3rd XI v Corbridge II (a) - Won by 62 runs - Vice Captain's Match Report by James Walder
Skipper Cherry kept his toss losing streak going when the 3rd XI travelled to Corbridge and we were asked to bat first.
A good opening stand of 52 from Rash (39) and Sukhveer (15) put us in a good position but the usual flurry of wickets saw us reduced to 81 for 3. A series of partnerships saw us get max batting bonus points reaching 191 for 7 built around an innings from James of 88 not out off 77 balls.
Some tight opening spells from Nicholas and Naz got us off to a good start but a good second wicket partnership (one of the batters was u12) took Corbridge to 90 for 1 but the game changed after drinks with the introduction of Abdul. Not content with getting his first wicket for the Hill he picked up 2 more in the same over. In tandem with Oli (1 for 24) the runs dried up and the wickets continued. Abdul ended up with figures of 9 overs 6 for 30 and was also involved in a run out. Corbridge were bowled out for 129.
A great 30 point win and we will finish the league now lower than 8th and with a couple more wins could move even higher.
NTCL 3rd XI Scorecard v Corbridge II (a)
Banks Cup Final - NEPL 3rd XI v Chester le Street (a) - Lost by 8 wickets
Our young 3rd XI made up of 7 Under 15s, 1 Under 18 and 3 senior players put up a terrific display against Chester le Street in the Banks Cup final.
Chester won the toss and asked us to bat and we posted a very respectable 144 for 5 in our 20 overs, thanks to a terrifc 63 not out from Harsh Patel. Unfortunately for the Hill the Chester 3rd team pro (aka Luke Allen) took a liking to our young attched and bashed a half century of 26 balls, this coupled with 63 not out from opener Hulme, saw the hosts supass our score in the 16th over for the loss of only 2 wickets. Our young attack (all juniors) never gave up and were a credit to the club.
NEPL 3rd XI Banks Cup FInal Scorecard v Chester le Street (a)
