Slow Starters

 Theoretically, we've already had 5 weeks of the 2023 cricket season....

Week 1: April 15^th

All games postponed until later in the season, date to be confirmed, on account of bad weather.

Week 2: April 22^nd

All games cancelled due to rain.

I was delighted to be selected for Tynemouth 3s, especially as I’m now a full fee-paying member (at the insistence of Dan Storey), for the home clash with Civil Service. Unfortunately, the incessant rain that arrived on Friday morning and didn’t relent until Sunday afternoon, meant that the chances of a game were virtually non-existent. Obviously I turned up at the club, had a coffee and caught up with some of the lads who, in many instances, I’d not seen since last September, ready to hear the inevitable bad news of play being abandoned, which came just after noon. A quick series of farewells and a taxi back to Shelley’s then saw me cycle down to High Flatworth to watch Willington Quay Saints 0 Alnwick Town 2 in the Northern Alliance George Dobbins League Cup semi-final, so the day wasn’t a complete write-off.

Week 3: April 29^th

Tynemouth Cricket Club’s 2023 season finally got underway at the weekend after several previous fixtures had to be cancelled because of rain and saturated grounds. Two games were played at home. On Saturday they lost to Felling in a League match and on Monday they beat Eppleton in the Banks Salver Cup. Both games were played in cold and damp conditions on a used wicket which made run scoring difficult especially for the side batting first.

Saturday saw the visit of Felling to Preston Avenue and as spectators looked for extra layers and warmed themselves with cups of hot tea and coffee, Tynemouth Captain Matt Brown had the misfortune to call wrong at the toss and not surprisingly his team were put in to bat. Ben Debnam opened up with Matthew Kimmitt. Both struggled against the moving ball and low bounce and were quickly dismissed by Elliott Fox bowling from the Rugby Stand end. Worse was to follow for Tynemouth as the excellent Seb Allison joined forces with the experienced Felling skipper Paul Leonard to blow away the Tynemouth top and middle order. At one stage the home side had been reduced to a remarkable 22/7 however Tshepo Ntuli and Andrew Smith battled hard and played with a lot of common sense as the wicket began to ease. Their 31 run partnership steadied the ship a touch but in truth she was already on the rocks and when Smith was adjudged lbw to Leonard the innings was wrapped up quickly with a total of just 61 on the board. Ntuli remained not out on 24.

Michael Booth, on debut for Tynemouth, impressed with his pacy first spell getting the prized wicket of Middlesex player Joe Cracknell, bowled second ball and when Ntuli had South African Travis Norris stumped by Stuart Poynter for just 9 there was just a flicker of hope. However the pitch was becoming easier to bat on and the outfield a bit drier, which allowed Andrew Whaits to play the one positive innings of the day with a fine 41 made off just 57 balls. New Professional Ntuli’s short spell showed promise for the future with his flighted off spin finding turn and bounce, but this game was effectively over after just an hour, having waited 3 weeks to get started.!!!

On Monday a weakened Eppleton side were the visitors to Preston Avenue and Dean Musther’s men could only muster 88 batting first. Dan McGee impressed with 3 wickets and the rest were shared around. In reply Tynemouth chased the score down comfortably in just 11 overs. Matt Kimmitt with 40 and Joe Snowdon with 34 were both undefeated at the end having shared a fine partnership of 76. Tynemouth will host Ashington in the next round on Sunday 21st May.

On Saturday, Tynemouth 2s paid a visit to their counterparts from Felling, edging a close game by a margin of 2 wickets. Felling batted first, making 217 all out from 46 overs, with skipper Graham Wright (71) anchoring the innings. For Tynemouth, James Carr was a central figure, claiming an excellent 4-30 from his 10 overs.  The other wickets were shared between Neil Bennett (2-42), Sam Robson (2-47), Josh Koen (1-37) and Andrew Davison (1-47). In the response, Barry Stewart top scored with 112, ably assisted by Patrick Hallam (51), but in the absence of other significant contributions, it was left to Graham Hallam (16*) to help ease the home team over the line.

Tynemouth 3s were handed their longest trip of the season to Wark, to play newly promoted United Stars. It was a tough ask and Richard Hay’s team bowled and fielded creditably to limit the expansive home side to 168/9 from their 40 overs. Credit goes to bowlers both young, James Walker (3-38), old, Ed Snelders (3-40) and in-between, Dan Storey (2-34), for their efforts. The fear was always that a lack of batting would by the 3s undoing and so it was; with only 10 players, the 3s amassed a total of 73/9, to lose by 95 runs. Top scorer Shams (28) had a fine debut, picking up an excellent caught and bowled when United Stars batted.

Next weekend, Tynemouth CC first XI travel to Castle Eden for an 11.30 start, while the 2s host their Sunderland counterparts at 12.00, who they play again on Sunday at Ashbrooke in a Banks Bowl tie that begins at 1.30, while the Saturday 3s host Newcastle 3s at 1.00.

Another call-up for the 3s saw me travel, partly by public transport (at the insistence of Dan Storey), to the frozen uplands of the Tyne Valley. While we’d assembled almost a full team, getting us all there was a more complicated problem. Being partly comprised of young lads, the paucity of driving licences, never mind motor vehicles, was a significant issue. I stepped up to the plate by poncing a lift from Steve Mordue, who was standing at Tynedale, then taking the rural 680 service to Bellingham, to hop off at Wark. If the weather had been nice, it would have been a lovely trip. It wasn’t. It was freezing, but dry. The last time I’d been to Wark, it was with Percy Main for an Alliance game in February 2008. We lost 7-2 in a game officiated by David Rathband, who was later to gain fame after being blinded by Raoul Moat. The main point of the game was the dismissal of our notoriously hot-headed defender Alan Ryder, who went berserk when Rathband mistakenly called him “Darren,” before seeing red on account of foul and abusive language. In response to his dismissal, Alan booted the ball into the River North Tyne then threw the corner flag like a javelin, embedding it in the door of the groundsman’s hut. Today wasn’t as bad as that.

I arrived around 12.15 to find the place deserted but could spy the sandwich tea in the clubhouse lounge. Eventually we all turned up, as did the opposition, United Stars. We started on time, blessed by skipper Richy Hay’s thoughtful idea of bringing us all hand warming crystals, that at least cut out the chance of hypothermia. On a field fringed by a herd of cows at long off, a gaggle of ewes and their spring progeny at cover point and the river at deep square leg, we bowled first and did quite well to restrict them to 168-9 on a day as cold and unforgiving as midwinter in a work house. Of course catching that total was a fond ask, and we subsided to 73-9, not even making a single batting point. My own contribution was a pugnacious 4-ball 0*. Despite the terrible climactic conditions, it was a great day, though it was too cold for pints and I headed home for a hot bath and an even hotter mug of cocoa.

Week 4: May 6^th

The start of May did not herald any advance in the playing fortunes of Tynemouth CC first XI, who travelled to Castle Eden for an NEPL game on Saturday morning, only for the fixture to be cancelled after the umpires deemed the sodden outfield to be too dangerous, despite the willingness of both captains to fulfil the fixture.

Tynemouth 2s had a more successful time of it, winning their double header against Sunderland. The Saturday saw the two teams contest a league fixture at Preston Avenue. The visitors batted first and were dismissed for 131 in 41 overs. The key bowling performance was Sam Robson’s 4-35, ably assisted by Neil Bennett (2-19) Dan Watt (2-26), with Barry Stewart and Dan Thorburn also taking a wicket each. In reply, Tynemouth achieved the runs required in 35 overs, for the loss of 6 wickets. The major contributions were by Dan Thorburn (51) and Patrick Hallam (40), building on his half century the week before. On Sunday, the teams met again at Ashbrooke in a Banks Bowl first round game. Tynemouth batted first, making 151 all out, before dismissing the home side for 94, to win decisively.

The Saturday 3s were also at home, to Newcastle 3s. Batting first, Tynemouth were dismissed for 77, with Adam Tugby (20) and James Walker (19) making the most significant contributions. In reply, Newcastle managed to secure the win, but at a loss of 7 wickets, showing Tynemouth kept at their task admirably. Shamsur Oraikhil (4-22) and skipper Richy Hay (3-21) both bowled superbly in another good performance by the 3s.

Next weekend, Tynemouth CC first XI host Chester le Street (11.30), while the 2s make the reverse journey to Ropery Lane for a noon start, while the Saturday 3s are away to Leadgate. The Sunday 3s will be hoping to belatedly start a season that has not seen them play at all as yet, when they travel to Philadelphia.

I knew I’d not be playing in this fixture when Richy sent me a message to alert me on the Tuesday. Obviously, I was disappointed, but I have to say this is another example of Richy’s excellent captaincy. He doesn’t just let you down; he keeps you informed and, even if I wasn’t playing, I still felt included and part of the team. That said, I decided it was my responsibility as Press Officer to head down to Castle Eden with Peter & Di Brown to see the firsts. Partly because I knew the way and could navigate and partly so I could take the pressure off Vince Howe of writing the report. In the end, Friday evening’s cloudburst and some overnight drizzle meant the game couldn’t be played, which was a real shame as it’s a very scenic spot. So, despite the wishes of the captains, the game was off, and I was headed back up through the tunnel, which gave me a chance to take in the Alliance D3 title decider between Benton and Hazlerigg at Churchill Playing Fields. I also saw a short bit of Corbridge 2s flaying Monkseaton 2s around the shop, but as this blog’s about cricket, I’ll not mention it further.

 

Week 5: May 13^th

Chester le Street 257-5; Tynemouth 177 all out.

Meanwhile, Tynemouth 2s made the reverse journey to Ropery Lane and lost a relatively low-scoring game by a margin of 24 runs. Bowling first, Tynemouth restricted Chester le Street to 153-9 from their 50 overs. Sam Robson (4-31), following on from his excellent form the week before, was the pick of the bowlers, ably supported by Shams Oraikhil (3-41) and the elegant James Carr (2-32). Unfortunately, Tynemouth were unable to reach the runs required, subsiding to 75-9 at one point, before a pugnacious 37 by James Carr, assisted by Martin Pollard (12*) brought some respectability to the score. The galling thing about Tynemouth’s 129 all out, is that the innings ended with 11 overs unused, which would have been telling with the margin of defeat being a relatively paltry 24 runs.

There was good news up in the hills at Leadgate, where Tynemouth 3s put in another spirited team performance to win by the relative comfortable margin of 35 runs. Batting first, the Tynemouth innings was lit up by a splendid, attacking 71 by Alfie Bowman. He was given ample support by fellow young tyros Hamish Swaddle-Scott (35) and Adam Tugby (14). Unfortunately, from a highly promising position of 140-4 at the halfway stage, the tail singularly failed to wag, as the innings faded to 155 all out after 34 overs. However, another fine performance with the ball, as well as excellent catches in the deep by both Bowman and Tugby, who also contributed a superbly thoughtful run out, saw Tynemouth through to their first win of the season. After opening spells of parsimonious accuracy by skipper Richy Hay and Paul Hurst, the damage was done by Dom Askins (4-27), Ed Snelders (3-42) and James Walker (2-19). Sadly, after a glorious Saturday afternoon, rain returned on Sunday to impose yet another wash-out on the Sunday 3s.

Next Saturday, Tynemouth 1s host Newcastle, while the 2s make the reverse trip, while the Saturday 3s make the short journey to Priors Park to play Lions. On Sunday, the 1s host Ashington in round 2 of the Banks Salver, while the Sunday 3s play host to Chester le Street Academy on the back pitch.

This was a good day. Having already worked out a journey plan that involved a lift from Fanta to Burnopfield and the X71 onwards to Leadgate (to the approval of Dan Storey), I managed to sort a lift from Paul Hurst (to the disgust of Dan Storey). It was a warm day at a massively improved cricket club, blessed by a large, good-natured crowd who’d arrived early to watch the Newcastle game and stayed on for more pints in the sunshine, whose changing facilities have had an amazing upgrade, where umpiring was a joy, even if I may have erroneously given Dom Askins out lbw, as we scored quickly and stylishly. Unfortunately, I didn’t contribute much, being bowled without scoring after facing 5 balls. As I was wearing my new lenses, I could actually see the ball, not that it made much difference to my performance. Indeed, it simply gave me a better view of the straightforward catch I put down off Ed at mid-on. The only excuse I have is that the journalist in me had already started to write the report before the ball reached me. Lesson learned eh?

Next week, as we’re at home, I’m fully expecting to be on the sidelines as some of our better players (as well as Dan Storey) are available. If I am, so what? I enjoy my trips out into the wilds of North West Durham and the Tyne Valley. I’ve already started planning my route on public transport to Annfield Plain for Saturday 27 May. It’s the X72 from Eldon Square to the Crown & Thistle, apparently….