Fantasy Cricket - Week 8 Update - Max back on top

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 21:13:00 +0000

The battle for the Benwell Hill fantasy league leadership is hotting up with Max taking over at the top once again from Aaron courtesy of a week 8 score of 542 points.

Weekend Review - 1st's throw away victory chance, 2nd's emphatic win, NTCL 3rd's lose but comfortable win for NEPL 3rd's

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:03:00 +0000

It was a frustrating weekend for Phil Bell's 1st XI as they threw away an excellent opportunity to get a rare win at Burnmoor, however the 2nd XI got back to winning ways in fine style against Tynedale, but NTCL 3rd XI lost at Matfen, on Sunday the NEPL 3rd XI recorded an excellent win over Philadelphia.

NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v Burnmoor (a) - Lost by 21 runs - Match Report by Phil Haves

Current champions were our latest hurdle as we travelled to Burnmoor on Saturday.

Having won the toss the home side elected to bat on a warm Saturday morning.

Lee and Max bowling in tandem then restricted the scoring opportunities whilst taking regular wickets and when Harpo returned to pick up a couple of quick wickets the home side declared with their scored on 156/9.

Set what appeared to be an attainable target Dave and Rory set about the task in their usual aggressive manner taking the total to 46 before Dave was disappointingly caught behind for 20.

Ultimately this felt like a big missed opportunity to gain that elusive second win of the season losing by 21 runs.

NTCL Division 5 South - 3rd XI v Matfen (h) - Lost by 58 runs - Vice 'Captain's Match Report by James Walder

A young 3rd XI hosted Matfen and after winning the toss chose to bowl first.

After an early wicket for Jeff was followed by some steady partnerships taking Matfen to 137-4 with Oli picking up 2 wickets in two balls and it looked like we may limit Matfen to around 200.

The chase didn't start well with Robbie in his first match of the season and Thomas falling early.

We are hosting top of the table Annfield Plain next and need to be more consistent in our batting and bowling.

Fantasy Cricket - Week 7 Update - Aaron back on top

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 22:28:00 +0000

Aaron Armstrong last years runner up has taken over again at the top of this seasons table, thanks to a weekly points total of 410, however the big scorers of the week were Phil Nicholson with 566 points (24th to 18th) followed by Andy Dawson with 508 points (13th to 10th).

Weekend Review - Losses for 1st's and 2nd's but superb win for NTCL 3rd's

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 21:21:00 +0000

It was a tough weekend for the 1st and 2nd's who went down to heavy defeats against local rivals South North, however the NTCL 3rd's recorded a superb win over Humshaugh with young Oliver Smalley the star of the show with 6 for 28.

NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v South North (a) - Lost by 121 runs - Match Report by Phil Haves

Saturday saw a trip to Roseworth Terrace as we visited local rivals and current Premier League leaders.

The decision looked vindicated as inspite of losing Hewison, caught by Max off Ben, the home side cruised to 170 without further loss and our bowlers toiled in the heat.

With 57 overs to chase down the target we felt very much in the game at the interval however the Bulls veteran seamer Wightman had other ideas dismissing Dave in the first over for 0 then taking a stunning caught and bowled off SMJ which left us reeling at 6/2.

With the season half way through we find ourselves anchored to the bottom of the table and in need of a morale boosting positive result from somewhere.

NEPL Divison 2 - 2nd XI v South North (h) - Lost by 5 wickets

A weakend 2nd team minus Captain Joe and Captain of Vice Pete lost to title rivals South North at NBMS Denton Bank by 5 wickets.

The Hill won the toss and decided to bat and depsite being in early trouble managed to post a respectable score of 205 for 9 off 58 overs.

Depsite two quick wickets from Nazif Habibi, South North batters dug in and built some sold partnerships which saw them knock off our score in the 50th over for the loss of 5 wickets.

Following back to back defeats we have slipped to 4th in the league 75 points behind league leaders Chester le Street.

NTCL Division 5 South - 3rd XI v Humshaugh (h) - Won by 5 wickets - Vice 'Captain's Match Report by James Walder

A slightly more experienced 3rd XI hosted Humshaugh at a warm and sunny Newbrough.

The turning point was an injury to Cherry in his first over leading to the introduction of Oliver.

Hopes for a steady start were over with Seb running himself out and then Haroon missing a straight one.

A good team performance and the full 30 points and fingers crossed that Cherry will make a swift recovery.

Fantasy Cricket - Week 5 & 6 update - Matty Hynd takes over at the top

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:20:00 +0000

There is a new name at the top of the Fantasy Cricket League with 3rd XI Skipper Matty Hynd scoring a magnificent 1351 points over weeks 5 and 6, however the Armstrong's - Paul and Aaron (who were winner and runner up in the last comp) moving into the 2nd and 3rd place.

Christie century not quite enough to secure win for 1st's, the 2nd's and both 3rd's lose.

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:05:00 +0000

Despite a superb 135 from Dave Christie the 1st's had to settle for a winning draw in their home game against Castle Eden, unfortunately the 2nd's went down to a rare defeat in the reverse fixture at Castle Eden, and both the NTCL 3rd's and NEPL 3rd's were well beaten by Stamfordham and Whitburn respectively.

NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v Castle Eden (h) - Winning Draw - Match Report by Phil Haves

With summer eventually arriving at NBMS Denton Bank on Saturday we entertained Castle Eden on a warm sunny day.

This was a prelude of what was to come from Dave who launched a blistering attack on the visitors bowling.

In reply Ben picked up 2 early wickets both caught by Sam D however when the visitors Professional was dropped early in his innings it felt inevitable that he would make the most of his second chance and so it played out as he reached his hundred.

We picked up 17 points for the winning draw and now face a huge couple of weeks with games at South North and Burnmoor.

We were due one, after 5 weeks of success in a row, the 2s finally tasted defeat for the first time in a red ball fixture this season.

Having lost the toss and asked to field we were frustrated by an excellent opening partnership and 100 from their skipper in testing conditions, and although we had numerous half chances to remove him, we were unable to do so.

In the second half, we disappointed.

That result leaves us fourth, with a class against South North next week who have just leapfrogged us into third!

The NTCL 3’s suffered a 94 run defeat on Saturday at the hands of our former landlords Stamfordham.

In reply we were 7 down for just 42 with Inyatullah Habibi with 32 the only top order contributor.

Despite a heavy defeat what we can take from the game is the willingness to dig in and gain those vital points that will hopefully ensure we remain in the league.

Big wins for 2nd's at Ashington but 1st's lose again

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 20:51:00 +0000

Apologies for the delay in posting the match reports from the fixtures on the weekend of 13-14 June, however a beach sun bed in Rhodes was a far more appealing proposition.

NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v Ashington (a) - Lost by 6 wickets

A visit to Langwell Terrace was our next challenge towards achieving an elusive second League victory of the season as Northumberland rivals Ashington were our hosts.

Not for the first time this season we lost the toss & were asked to bat first.

In reply we managed to get 2 fairly early wickets however former Hill Pro Kothari & Evans, who was dropped first ball, ensured our depleted bowling attack toiled as they added 158 to take the game away from us.

Another disappointing result on the road which leaves us rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

NTCL Division 5 South - 3rd XI v Corbridge (h) - Lost by 4 wickets - Captain's Match Report by Chris Pounder

Unfortunately after a good win last week against Newton the 3rds were unable to make it back to back wins after a disappointing performance against Corbridge.

Having lost the toss we started brightly with Seb and new boy Jamie Dingle opening the batting.

Jamie was looking good hitting four fours in his 29 before playing, in his words, a very bad shot leaving us 1 down for 31.

At one point we were in with a shout having Corbridge 69/5 but that 92 would prove to be to be 30 runs light and Corbridge reached their total in the 27th over.

David Bamford RIP - Funeral Arrangements now included

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:55:00 +0000

The club are saddened to learn of the passing of former player, long-time member & great supporter of the Hill, David Bamford.

Benwell Hill Women and Girls teams - update and photos

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 22:56:00 +0000

Everybody at Benwell Hill has been delighted to see the restart of our Women's team in the Northumberland Women's Cricket League.

The Women's team is largely made up of daughters, sisters, mothers and girlfriends of club members, and we have also welcomed a number of new players for 2026.

This week club photographer Martin Avery was at the Women's game v Backworth,

Max takes over at the top of the Fantasy League

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:35:00 +0000

Another eventful weekend of cricket has resulted in Max taking over at the top of the Benwell Hilll Fantasy Cricket table from Joe Fletcher (now second), thanks to a team score of 443 points, however Oli Speeding's team were the top week 4 scorers with 461 points.

Top fantasy players this week were Inaya Habibi with 126 points thanks to his excellent 96 runs againt Newton, and Ayush Chakraborty who had another excellent all round performance this weekend with 118 points, Ayush is also the top individual player with a total of 416 points after the first 4 weekends of the fantasy season.

Agonising defeat for the 1st's, battling draw for 2nd's and two great wins for the 3rd's

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 22:21:00 +0000

It was a mixed weekend of weather and results for the Hill on Saturday 6th/Sunday 7th June.

NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v Burnopfield (h) - Lost by 2 wickets

It was a damp miserable afternoon but just about playable, so all eyes were on the captains at the toss.

We lost skipper Bell early, soon to be followed by Adam, and when the pro departed for 28 (all 3 wickets to Matty Oswell) we were 38 for 3, however Toby Barton and Sam Dinning led the recovery before Sam (22) was adjudged LBW to leave us 103 for 4, however after that wickets fell regularly, Barton going quickly after, new man Morgan Barnes fell for 12, Max for 10, and we eventually stumbled to 148 all out with Ben Cant the not out batsman on 16.

In reply we snared Burnopfield dangerman John Oswell early for 1, and wickets fell regularly thereafter 27 for 2, 63 for 3, 85 for 4, 95 for 5, however skipped Ross Whitfield (43 not out) remained at the wicket and his presence proved crucial as he held the innings together eventually finding a match winning 9th wicket partnership with Josh Boushfield (31 not out) to surpass our 148 in the 34th over.

It was a tremendous effort by our 3 seamers who bowled all but 2 of the 34 overs, Sam Martin-Jenkins the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 58 off 11.

Next up is a trip north to old foes Ashington in what is a crucial game as we aim to get back to winning ways.

NTCL Division 5 South - 3rd XI v Newton (a) - Won by 4 runs - Injured Vice Captains Match Report by James Walder

The 3rd XI travelled to Humshaugh to play Newton and it was the return match for Nick and Jeff Mason and a welcome first sighting of Kaush.

Skipper Chris 'Cherry' Pounder continued his impressive run of losing every toss this season and with rain forecast we were asked to bat.

Despite not picking up early wickets, the bowlers limited scoring opportunities until Jamie got 2 wickets.

A good win in a tight game with good fielding and bowling getting us across the line.

Chairmans News : June 2026

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:07:00 +0000

With the advent of summer on June 1 of course weather changed for the worse but happily to date there have been relatively few fixtures lost and the Ground has been as busy as ever.

This theme is reflected in 2nd and third team results which can be found on the BHCC website.

This is, of course, led by Barry Pearson who was rightfully recognised by the Northumberland Cricket Board recently in highlighting the work of Volunteers in Cricket.

Overseas Professional David Christie has made a big impression around the Club, and our young players can learn a great deal from how he approaches his role.

Elsewhere the Patio project is now complete and is testament to the seemingly unlimited skills of Mark Charlton.

Members will be pleased to learn that work to rebuild the West Road wall is getting underway today.

The Squash Court will also be refurbished in early August which will require closure for a few days.

A new bench will shortly be appearing in front of the Club House which has been purchased by the Shaw Family in honour of the much-missed Professor – our former Secretary and much-loved player.

Finally, website readers will be aware of the recent sad death of Les Jowsey who played in the 70`s and was Club Captain in 1979.

Sorry Joe Moore – this is a little lengthy but there seemed a lot of news to impart.

Finally take a look at the photo below taken from Club Photographer Martin Avery's drone, it superbly captures the recent improvements made to the front of the club.

Simon Lunn

Chairman

Email:

Red Ball games kick off with a frustrating draw for 1st's and a crushing win for 2nd's however both 3rd teams lose

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 20:18:00 +0000

Read the reports below to get the full story on a frustrating Saturday for the 1st's at home against Felling, a big win for the 2nd's and how the NTCL 3rd's got hammered for a double century by Greenside batter.

NEPL Premier Division - 1st XI v Felling (h) - Losing Draw - Match Report by Phil Haves

Felling were the visitors to NBMS Denton Bank on Saturday in the first of the red ball win/lose/draw series of games which saw Aaron Armstrong make his First Eleven League debut after a series of strong performances in the Seconds.

Belly won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first.

Stamper and Aussie Robinson increased the run rate moving the score on to 191 before Aaron claimed his maiden wicket caught by Dave Christie.

In reply David and Rory looked untroubled taking the opening partnership to 96 before David was controversially given out LBW for 56 (3x4 & 4x6).

We took 10 points from the game and go again next weekend when we entertain Burnopfield.

NEPL Sunday Division 1 v Seaham Harbour (a) - Lost by 6 runs - Captain's Report by MattyNEPL Hynd

The NEPL 3s took the field with another young side left by Michael and after losing the toss they were bowling on a warm day.

Gabriel and Nic started well and we had Seaham in trouble at 51 for 4.

Harsh and Michael opened up and we lost Michael early and quickly followed by siddique for 9 leaving us in trouble at 22/2.

Saturday saw us visit Jesmond on very warm and sunny day, proper cricketing weather.

On winning the toss Belly elected to bat first with Rory and Dave opening up.

A cameo innings of 20 by Oli added a further 50 with Sam as we passed 200.

In reply early wickets eluded us as the Newcastle openers progressed the total to 68 in quick time before the introduction of SMJ made the breakthrough dismissing Doig.

A sobering and disappointing defeat to end this set of orange ball fixtures as we move into win/lose/draw matches on Saturday with a home game against Felling when a confidence boosting win would help our League position.

Back to winning ways for the 2s on Saturday, in a nail biter against Newcastle.

Having lost the toss and being asked to bowl, we did excellently in restricting Newcastle to 173, some early wickets for Ayush and Abu set up this seasons best bowling performance so far (across all teams) from Aaron Armstrong with 6/20 off his 7.

In response, the wicket proved tough, and another bout of 45-3 left us struggling not only with wickets, but also run rate!

Michael Maclachlan and Joe Fletcher tried to steady things, and take the game as deep as possible, but when they both fell for 41 and 30 in a short space, followed by Andy Dawson dismissed for 2.

However, one of the great strengths of this side is our ability to bat deep, and some great hitting, and running between Aaron and Harsh, got us close, needing 15 off 15 balls when Harsh was dismissed.

Jonesy was sent in to slog to the short boundary, and with a 6 off the last ball of the 49th over, we needed 4 off 6!

That result leaves us with 4 wins from 5, and a trip to Felling next week, for our first red ball fixture of the season!

NEPL Sunday Division 1 v South North (a) - Won by 5 runs - Captain's Report by Matty Hynd

The NEPL 3rd team made it 2 wins from 3 after a close fought victory over a young South Northumberland team.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first we lost both openers early.

Knowing that South Northumberland had a strong batting unit we knew early wickets were needed.

A great all round performance by the team who never gave up and took some fantastic catches.

Saturday saw us slip to a disappointing defeat at Hetton Lyons as our batting failed and we were unable to set any form of defendable target.

Only 3 batters reached double figures and the turning point in the innings was without doubt the run out of Dave who harnessed his power game and had made a diligent and composed 32.

Despite Max reducing the hosts to 8/2 the target was achieved without further loss as Fishwick and Jarvis Clay, so often a thorn in our side, saw Hetton home inside 27 overs.

Having failed to collect any points from the game we move on to Jesmond on Saturday when we hope to complete this sequence of Win/Lose games with a much improved performance and result.

NTCL Division 5 South - 3rd XI v Blaydon II (a) - Lost by 29 run - Vice Captains Match Report by James Walder

Another young 3rd XI hosted the Blaydon 2nd XI at Newbrough.

However a number of partnerships built around J Burke (104 not out) saw Blaydon post 217 for 9 helped by a couple of dropped catches.

The chase got off to a bad start with Adam out in the first over but James had good partnerships with Gabe and Seb as we reached 117 for 3.

A close game where the dropped catches or a couple of partnerships could have made the difference.

Benwell Hill Fantasy Cricket League is back

Wed, 13 May 2026 21:11:00 +0000

Benwell Hill Fantasy Cricket is returning for the 2026 season.

Benwell Hill CC