A massive welcome back to the Benwell Hill Website and a huge vote of thanks to Scott Williamson and Fenwick Marley for tiptoeing through the technological minefield to get www.benwellhill.co.uk back up and running. It will take a little while before things get completely back to normal but the patience of the membership thus far is much appreciated.
On home soil the 2018 Season came to an end with an enjoyable Presidents Game against Benwell and Walbottle CC. The occasion helped to mark our old rivals 150th Anniversary and was especially memorable as we were able to sing Happy Birthday to our President Norman Green who celebrated his 90th Birthday on September 25th. Equally memorable was the opportunity to welcome back to the Club some esteemed former players especially Nicholas Craig and Michael Younger- true Hill legends.
I will provide a fuller review of the season in October when the dust has settled. For the first time in my recent memory no trophies were won but there were a host of near misses and all our League teams enjoyed a reasonable measure of success. Somehow the nearly nature of the campaign was summed up by the 3rd X1 losing the Appleby Cup final at Humshaugh off the final ball of the entire season. However, the cupboard may not be completely empty as the 2018 Smithson Northumberland Trophy will be resolved at the beginning of 2019.
There are a host of reasons to be cheerful as the Club beds down for winter. We fielded probably the youngest first team in our history, a number of players at all levels made enormous progress and the Club was almost always a happy place to be around. We have great leaders in the Club on the field and off it – too many to mention in this piece. Suffice to say I thank all concerned for their unstinting efforts to make Benwell Hill `a proper cricket club`.
More to follow in the ensuing weeks and months . Onwards!!
Simon Lunn
27th September 2018
