It hasn't happened too many times this season, but we are delighted to report that both the 1st and 2nd teams recorded NEPL league victories on the same day. Both teams managed to dodge the showers and get their games completed, with the 1st team's win setting up an exciting end to the season in Division 1, where the Top 5 teams (we currently sit 3rd) are separated by only 6 points with only 2 games to go - the top 2 gaining promotion back to the Premier Division. On Sunday the 2nd's were well placed in the final of the Roswerth Trophy against Felling when monsoon type weather it NBMS Denton Bank, forcing the abandonment of the game.
NEPL Division 1 - 1st XI v Gateshead Fell (a) - Won by 37 runs - Match Report by Phil Haves
In another massive game at the top of the Division we came away from Eastwood Gardens with 24 points following a 37 run victory over the League leaders.
With inclement weather forecast for late afternoon it was no surprise that having won the toss the hosts asked us to bat first. Belly & Adam opened up & the skipper took full advantage of a wayward first over from Dawson hitting 3 boundaries as we got off to a flyer with 18 on the board.
The introduction of former Durham seamer Graham Onions put the brakes on our quick start when he dismissed Belly for 24 & when Mark was caught behind off Angus we were 40/2. Adam (19) & Pete (16) were then dismissed - 80/4. Left arm spinner Bennett took the wickets of Abu (9) & Fletch(1) leaving us in danger of being bowled out cheaply at 107/6.
The lower order of Max (10), Callum (13), Winnie (17no) & Lee (10) batted brilliantly, manoeuvred the field & coupled with some lusty blows saw us through to what we felt was a more than competitive total of 175.
With the possibility of DLS coming into play it was imperative we got off to a good start with the ball in order to get ahead of the game & once again Callum & Max started in a disciplined fashion. Max dismissed opener Dawson & the home sides overseas French early. When Winnie had former Hill player Rami Singh caught by Fletch, Lee was in the middle of a miserly spell reducing the Fell to 34/4 as Clark was out LBW. This quickly became 44/5 when Pete took a sharp stumping chance again off Lee who finished with 2/12 off his 9 overs. A couple of short rain delays weren’t detrimental to our progress as wickets for Max, Winnie & 2 for TK reduced the home side to 112/9 but well behind on DLS. Some late hitting particularly by Porter in a last wicket partnership of 26 threatened to get the Fell close until Abu took the last wicket & we gained a vital win bowling the home side out for 138.
Saturday sees Philadelphia visit NBMS Denton Bank in another pivotal weekend in our quest for promotion. This is the latest League Table.
1st XI NEPL Scorecard v Gateshead Fell (a)
NEPL Division 2 -2nd v Gateshead Fell (h) - Won by 60 runs - Match report by Safiun Diip
On a green but flat deck that looked full of runs, Benwell Hill were sent in after losing the toss. Rohaan Aatif (49) and Jayam Patel (18) got us off to the perfect start with a composed 43-run stand, before Warren Poxon (45) and Jake Robson (34) kept the scoreboard ticking. The real fireworks came at the back end, as Michael Maclauchlan (62*) played a superb, controlled innings alongside Aaron Armstrong (25*). Their unbeaten 70-run partnership lifted the Hill to a commanding 270–6 from 45 overs.
Chasing a big total, Ayush Chakraborty struck twice early with his lively spin and Warren Poxon added another to put Fell under pressure. But the visitors hit back with a stubborn 79-run stand between Richard Smith (48) and Marcus North (25), testing the Hill in tricky, stop start conditions with rain drifting through. Just as the game was slipping away, up stepped Safi (3–45) turning the match on its head with two wickets in one over. Smith’s dismissal was the moment of the day: a stunning, stump-high, one-handed grab from Jake Robson that left the whole side buzzing.
From there, the Hill never looked back. Maclauchlan (2–24) and Patel (2–9) mopped up the tail, while Safi capped off the win with a spectacular one-handed catch on the boundary.
Fell were bowled out for 210 in 40.2 overs, sealing a thrilling 60-run victory and 24 priceless league points for Benwell Hill.
2nd XI NEPL Scorecard v Gateshead Fell (h)
NTCL Division 5 West v Riding Mill (h) - Lost by 14 runs - Match Report by James Walder
There was another promising performance from a young 3rd XI (the team included 8 players u19) in a narrow defeat to Riding Mill.
After winning the toss there were early wickets for Gabriel Mellor and Ed Moody but a powerful partnership put Riding Mill in strong position as they reached 161 for 3 with 10 overs to go. The team fought back really well with pick of the bowlers Oliver Smalley (3/49), Harsh Patel (2/18) and Taylor Matthews (2/40). The ground fielding and catching helped bowl Riding Mill out for 181 with nine of the ten wickets falling to catches. 20 of the 35 overs we bowled were by u14 or u13 players. Special mention to Hassan Ahmad who kept wicket with three good catches including a diving good leg side catch and for scorer Thomas Walder who fielded for another 20 overs and didn’t look out of place even as an u11 player.
The top order struggled against some accurate and consistent bowling with both Riding Mill openers bowling their 9 overs from the start. Ramin Aatif knuckled down and after brief cameos from James Walder and Freddie Mexter it looked like the match would fall victim to the rain. After more than an hour off the pitch we got back on and Ramin and Taylor started to attack the bowling with Ramin unlucky to fall to a leading edge on 34. The game was in the balance when Taylor got bowled for 55 and despite 17 from Nicholas Walder we came up 14 runs short.
Whilst relegation to Division 6 looks inevitable the young players who have represented the 3rd XI this year can be proud of how they have competed in an adult league against some experienced players.
3rd XI NTCL Scorecard v Riding Mill (h)
2nd XI Roseworth Trophy Final v Felling (h)
On Sunday the 2s kicked off the first senior cup final of the season. Felling won the and chose to bat, however our bowlers were on top from the start and restricted the visitors to 116 for 6 off 20 overs. Ayush and Michael Mc taking 2 wickets each, plus 1 each for Aaron and Warren. In reply the Hill were well placed at 32 for 1 off 4 overs when the heavens opened, and huge downpour resulted in puddles on various parts of the ground led to the abandonment of the game.
Opinion - Given that the time was only 5:30pm when the game was abandoned and there was at least 2 hours of good light available it was too quick a decision to abandon the game. The rest of the evening was glorious, and the remaining 16 overs could of been played before the light faded just before 8pm.
The game will be replayed in full, provisional date is Sunday 14th September.
2nd XI Roseworth Trophy Final Scorecard v Felling (h)
