Washed Out

 The 2023 cricket season is over. Thankfully...

Saturday 19^th August:

A good all round team effort by Tynemouth first XI saw them secure a deserved win at home to Ashington. After a heavy and prolonged period of rain overnight the Preston Avenue ground was very wet first thing, but with sunshine and a warm wind predicted the prospects of play looked good. However a delayed start saw the game begin at 14.30 and a shortened game of 35 overs per side was to be contested. The wicket was dry enough and played well throughout but the run ups and crease at the Percy Park end of the ground made decisions tricky around a starting time but thankfully agreement was eventually reached.

Ashington skipper Sean McCafferty won the toss and asked Tynemouth to bat first. Ben Debnam opened up with Matt Kimmitt but nicked one outside of off stump, dismissed for just 1 and when Tshepo Ntuli went soon after for 7, Tynemouth were in a spot of bother at 30/2.  That brought the in-form Matt Brown to the crease, and he then began to repair the damage with Kimmitt with a fine partnership of 59. The right handed Brown stands tall in the crease and plays with a minimum of movement yet great timing. When in form he adds composure and confidence to the top order. His 37 here off just 38 balls were important runs, helping to build a score and at the same time up the run rate. The left handed Kimmitt has a different way altogether! Low to the ground, there’s a spontaneity about his play that can be maddening at times but on this occasion it was great to watch. Preferring horizontal bat shots and often bringing in his trademark reverse sweep, this was an inventive knock and a joy to watch. 63 off 63 balls was just what his team needed and made sure they would have a score to defend. A word also for another high class innings from young Robbie Bowman: once again he showed great composure and concentration for one so young. Some of his stroke play was out of the top drawer and 2 mighty sixes, one flying high over the Pavilion and the other straight into the home dressing room, were a joy to behold. A total of 195 felt a tad above par but one the away side would certainly challenge.

For the visitors Professional Jeremiah Louis and Cameron Nicholls bowled economically and well but the rest struggled with the positive batting of Kimmitt, Brown and Bowman. Home skipper Martin Pollard had 3 spinners in his side and opted to open with 2 of them, in the returning Phil Morse and Professional Tshepo Ntuli. Jack Jessop and Adam Nichol opened up for the visitors and whilst there were a few early boundaries there was a slightly frantic feel about the batting, perhaps because of the early power play and it was no surprise to see Jessop hit a short ball from Morse straight to Matt Brown at deep square leg. As Pollard rung the bowling changes, wickets kept tumbling. Nicholls was yorked by a beauty from Andrew Jones and then Ntuli dismissed Jack McCarthy and Ben O’Brien in consecutive overs, leaving Ashington up with the run rate but 4 wickets down for just 65.

Former first class player Ben Harmison was now batting with Jeremiah Louis and the partnership began to develop. Harmison remains a class act. A tall and elegant left hander with a solid defence and ability to work the ball around. Louis more block, block, bonk, but effective too. Their partnership took the score to 100 and just as Ashington got back in the game Morse was back in the attack and had Harmison well caught by Ed Foreman at deep mid-off for 20. Morse was proving to be the key and further wickets of Louis and James Harmison put Tynemouth well on top. The catching from Tynemouth was superb with Andrew Jones and Foreman taking two beauties, and with Morse, Brown and Poynter getting in to the act as well, the home side closed the game out for what in the end was a comfortable win. 4/39 from Morse was impressive but the whole attack combined well and were supported by some fine fielding.

A win here plus losses for Hetton Lyons and Whitburn have given Tynemouth a bit of a gap between themselves and the bottom two. More performances like this one will see them safe. A full scorecard can be found here: https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/results/5543833 and the League Table is here (remember, two teams are relegated): https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/division/109537 Next weekend Tynemouth play away to Burnopfield on Saturday and then at home to Benwell Hill on Bank Holiday Monday . Both games start at 11.30.

In the reverse fixture, Ashington 2s prevailed by 2 wickets over Tynemouth 2s. Batting first, The Croons posted 185, with Barry Stewart (80) leading from the front, gaining support from Dan McGee (34), Adam Tugby (21) and Sam Robson (18). Unfortunately, the competitive total was not quite enough, despite the best efforts of all Tynemouth bowlers, with Robson (2/25) and McGee (2/44) proving the pick of them.

 

Tynemouth Saturday 3s suffered an agonising loss by 10 runs to Cowgate 2s, in a game shortened to 25 overs each that began at 3.15. The home side batted first and, in the absence of umpires, were the beneficiaries of generous decisions regarding potential runouts. Their total of 134/9 was perhaps more than they would have posted with neutral umpires in place but saw excellent bowling from skipper Richy Hay (3/24), Ed Snelders (3/26) and Dan Storey (2/30) keep Tynemouth in the game. The early run out of chairman and Wallsend native Graeme Hallam was a blow that the visitors never fully recovered from, but belligerent knocks from Evan Hull-Denholm (28), Hay (19), Shams Oraikhill (19) and especially a heroic unbeaten 22* from Alosh Jose, saw Tynemouth go agonisingly close. However, a return of 8 points in defeat proved the validity of playing the game, rather than settling for 5 from an abandonment.

Sadly, an experienced Sunday 3s lost by 59 runs away to Sunderland. The home side batted first, posting 208/8, with James Carr (2/30), Joel Hull-Denholm (2/40) and Emily Whiting (2/43) all bowling superbly. The Tynemouth innings, include eye-catching efforts from Hull-Denholm (46), Patrick Hallam (32) and Barry Stewart (17), ended on 149 all out.

Sometimes, I really hate myself. Today was one of those instances. I was completely in the right, morally, but behaved in a way that was utterly wrong and I still find my conduct inexplicable, if not necessarily indefensible. Earlier in the season, I’d not enjoyed the home game with Cowgate, as I’d had a bad time umpiring, suffering dog’s abuse for not giving Rohan out, when the ball was clearly going down leg side and then for giving Finn out, both LBW of course, when he’d hit it. In that game, the rancour was amplified by a feeling of utter hopelessness, as I’d neither batted nor bowled. It’s bad enough being incompetent, but to be otiose and incompetent is even worse. That said, when we’d played them a couple of weeks afterwards in the cup one midweek, I’d bowled a couple of overs and felt reasonably good about things. That wasn’t the case on this occasion.

This game should not have taken place. Not only had the overnight rain left the outfield a mud bath, but there was also a junior football match taking place on the outfield that churned the grass up even more. Added to that, the uncovered wicket was effectively underwater. We should have arrived, had a cursory look, shaken hands then headed back to TCC for the Ashington game. Cowgate weren’t having that. As they still had a slim chance of promotion, they insisted on giving the pitch time to dry. We sat around doing nothing until about 3pm when, after insistent pressure on their part, the game went ahead, albeit reduced to 25 overs.

Of course, the lack of proper umpires became a significant problem as the bloke who’d given me such dog’s abuse for not giving out Rohan and then benefitted from my terrible decision to trigger Finn, was standing for them, having already been out himself. In an outrageous example of blatant cheating that simply could not be regarded as regular incompetence, he refused to give a run out when their bloke was miles out of his ground. We were astonished and appalled, but we grudgingly played on and saw him top score. My anger at this injustice began to fester and continued as I was again umpiring. This time I was called on to adjudicate on a run out from square leg, which I had no idea about as one of their fielders was obscuring my vision. Actually, they seemed to accept my explanation. Sadly, my anger again came to the surface when we did the handshakes after we’d fallen 10 runs short of the target. I was more than a little frustrated that, yet again, I’d neither bowled nor batted in the game. Not being given the chance to influence things makes me feel frustrated and impotent and seeing the bloke who’d abused me in the first game and cheated in this one made me see red. His pal in front of him firstly refused to shake my hand, so we exchanged unpleasantries (he told me to fuck off, so I reciprocated), before the cheat started to have a real go.

In retrospect, I know I should have walked away and said nothing, but I suppose my football background got the better of me. Pointing out that if this had been a Sunday league match in the old days, all 22 of us would have been at it like it was a saloon bar brawl in the 19^th century gold rush, I admit that I went to flip his cap off. It didn’t work and he started to get hysterical, demanding the coppers were called as I’d assaulted him. I was ushered away, which was just as well as I was about to explode. Thankfully Richy managed to calm him down and we left without further incident.

Immediately afterwards, I knew I’d fucked up. Badly. If I wasn’t able to calm down enough for the handshakes, I had the perfect excuse as I had to take my pads off, being ready to bat if needed. As I’d gone to do the handshakes, I should have just ignored the cheat and his pal, but I was so angry I didn’t. Sadly, this was a total disaster and one that I was too embarrassed to tell Shelley about. As we were off to Belfast the next day, I tried to bury things to the back of my mind. Bad move.

Saturday 26^th August:

A Bank Holiday weekend which provided two opportunities for Tynemouth CC first XI to improve their position in the table, ended in frustration as the team failed to pick up a win through a combination of bad luck on Saturday due to the weather at Burnopfield and another poor batting display on Monday against Benwell Hill at Preston Avenue. As a result, a win from the remaining two fixtures is now required or the Club will be relegated in to Division 1 of the North East Premier League for the first time.

On Saturday, with glorious sunshine at the coast and dry weather at every other Premier League ground hosting a match, Tynemouth had the misfortune to be playing away at Burnopfield. Way out west, way up high, and way out of luck! On arrival, the square and outfield were both wet and the clouds were grey and surrounding the ground in a most threatening way. However, both teams and umpires were keen to play, and a delayed start time was agreed. Home skipper Dave Seymour won the toss and asked Tynemouth to have a bat first. Before a ball was bowled light drizzle began to fall, delaying the start still further and players were on and off several times until torrential rain of a biblical nature arrived, flooding the square and parts of the outfield as well. Players and umpires dashed off and knew straight away that there was no chance of any further play. Credit should be given to the ground staff for their efforts. In the hour where play was possible Tynemouth had compiled a useful 70/2 off 17 overs with Matt Brown unbeaten on 13 and Tshepo Ntuli, in his last game for the Croons, 17*. The popular South African has now returned home for pre-season training. Best wishes Tshepo, and thanks for your efforts both on and off the field.

On Monday, fellow strugglers Benwell Hill were the visitors to Preston Avenue and whilst mathematicians might disagree, everyone playing and watching knew that the winners would end the game safe from the drop and the losers would still need a win. Martin Pollard won the toss and asked The Hill to take first guard. Jacob Clark, who replaces Ntuli for the remaining games, started well from the Rugby Stand end of the ground and he had Hayden Mustard brilliantly caught by Matt Kimmitt at slip for a four ball duck and not long after had Phil Bell caught by Andrew Jones also for a duck. Jones, himself, was bowling down Bank from the Golf Course end and he had danger man James Price caught behind for just 6. Clarke completed 10 steady overs of medium paced swing bowling in one spell ending with good figures of 2/21. The Hill needed a recovery from 52/4 and it was Kyle Coetzer who led it with a fine innings of 55, well supported by his skipper Pete Halliday (19) and Will Archbold (15), ensuring the Hill would have a score to defend on what was a low and slow pitch. Coetzer played the knock of the day combining his usual excellent timing with a real determination to chisel out a score to help his team win an important game. A final total of 165 was competitive though perhaps a tad under par. For Tynemouth the two opening bowlers were the pick but a word also for Phil Morse who ended up with 2 wickets including a beauty to clean bowl Coetzer.

Ben Debnam and Matt Kimmitt opened up for the home side but neither lasted long as Debnam was trapped lbw by Aussie Evasio McMillan and then Kimmitt chipped one straight to the safe hands of Coetzer at mid-wicket. 10/2 was not the start the home side needed. Jacob Clarke and Mo Jamal set about repairing the damage and had moved the score on to 44 when Clarke hit a fine square cut off Dan Gardiner. Off the bat it looked like a certain boundary, but Will Archbold flung himself to his left and took a quite stunning one handed catch at backward point. In his very next over the pacy Gardiner got one to bounce and Jamal mistimed his pull shot and was caught by Callum Harding at mid-on. Tynemouth were in trouble now and once again the batting succumbed despite the efforts of Matthew Brown who played a steady hand before being last man out for 27. Tynemouth’s total of 101 in just 35 overs was a disappointing effort, though credit should also go to the Benwell Hill bowlers who all made a contribution and to their fine fielding too.

A good crowd, including decent numbers from the away team, saw a competitive game played in good spirits in a contest where the stakes were high and the atmosphere at times pretty tense. Next Saturday the game is at Hetton Lyons. With the Lyons currently second bottom it has become a must win game for both teams.

There was precious little joy to be found among the other Tynemouth sides either. The 2s lost at home to Gateshead Fell and away to Benwell Hill on Saturday and Monday respectively. Batting first against the Fell veteran Wallsend native Graeme Hallam (46) top scored, assisted by son Patrick (44), aged former Munster resident Andrew Lineham (42) and skipper Chris Fairley (39), as Tynemouth posted 210/8. Sadly, this was not enough as the visitors won by 6 wickets. On Monday, Tynemouth restricted The Hill to 149 all out, with Josh Koen (3/18) and Shams Oraikhill (2/13) proving the pick of the bowlers. Sadly, the batting was found lacking as the home side dismissed Tynemouth for 104, with only Dan McGee (52) and Patrick Hallam (21) making significant contributions.

The Saturday 3s lost by 8 wickets to Hexham Leazes and the Sunday 3s have now completed their fixtures for the season.

The inevitable reckoning for my actions came the following Thursday. Getting ready for a day on the gargle in Bangor, I plucked up the courage to phone Andy Lineham to discuss the incident at Cowgate. Fair play to Linaz, he handled it brilliantly; yes, he called me out on my actions, but he wasn’t in any way excessively judgemental or pompous. He told me what I knew; that it was unacceptable and that I’d have to face sanctions. In the end a three-game ban, balancing both the seriousness of the offence with potential extenuating circumstances, seemed fair enough. I must admit though, I didn’t feel able to face anyone at the club on the Saturday we got back from Belfast. Without question, I’d have been selected for the Hexham Leazes game, though with equal certainty I can state my presence would not have positively influenced the result (lost by 8 wickets after being bowled out for 56) one iota. The silver lining was that the next 2 fixtures were winnable ones, though if we lost either of them, we were down.

 Saturday 2^nd September:

A good all-round performance by an enthusiastic team resulted in the win needed to avoid relegation as Tynemouth CC first XI (248/9) beat Hetton Lyons (174 all out) by 74 runs. After a season where the weather has affected us more than most and the side has not played to its full potential, when it really mattered, they rose to the occasion, winning well and playing some positive cricket throughout. Hetton Lyons will now be relegated along with Whitburn; despite being 24 points behind Tynemouth, which is the maximum possible for winning a game in the 50-over format, they will not avoid the drop, even if Tynemouth fail to accrue a single point at home to Burnmoor on Saturday, as Tynemouth have won more games, which is the next criterion used to rank teams after total points are taken into consideration.

The Hetton Lyons ground is one that improves year on year and was in great condition to welcome Tynemouth in a game where the losers would almost certainly be relegated. The field was damp and the grass lush, so boundaries were to be scarce early on; however, once the sun got out, it ground out quickly and for a change the weather was perfect for cricket. Blue skies and a gentle breeze made short sleeves de rigeur. Lyons skipper Stu Walker won the toss and decided to have a bowl. For Tynemouth, Ben Debnam opened up with Matt Kimmitt, but after a positive start, Kimmitt fell for 12 with the score on 15. Enter Stu Poynter who then provided us with a quite brilliant innings of 74 off just 50 balls. This was Poynter at his best and a knock he should be proud of. As Ben Debnam got stuck in resolutely at one end, Poynter was in full flow at the other. An innings full of power packed straight drives, slog sweeps and, when necessary, solid defence. Five sixes and seven fours were hit all round the ground, and out of it on occasions too. When his dismissal came it was the ball after drinks, caught and bowled by Cameron Grimwood, but by then Tynemouth were well ahead in the game at 107/2.

Jacob Clarke didn’t last long but Debnam was beginning to flow now, seemingly loosened up by the bravado of Poynter and, along with the impressive Matt Brown, these two built a fine partnership of 71 before Debnam was adjudged lbw off the bowling of Aussie Marcus Farquharson for a determined 43. Brown was next out for a valuable 46, when attempting to up the scoring rate and though a few wickets did fall quickly, Robbie Bowman once again showed class and composure with a lovely cameo of 22 at a run a ball. The final act saw Andrew Jones smash 2 huge maximums in the final over which helped his side reach an impressive 248/9.

In reply, Hetton opened with Stu Walker and Gary Scott in an attempt to get a fast start in the powerplay, but one that failed as Jacob Clarke dismissed both, leaving the Lyons struggling at 12/2. Farquharson with 47 and Chris Martin with 61 played good hands but this Tynemouth team was not to be denied. Clarke with 3/40 and Phil Morse with 3/42 were the main wicket takers and a word should be spared too for Matt Brown, who once again bowled an economical spell, not to mention Andrew Jones who opened the bowling and then came back to take the last two wickets. This is Andrew’s last match for Tynemouth as he’s moving out of the area with work. He’s been great to have around, has bowled very well and been totally committed on the field whether batting, bowling or fielding. When he clean bowled last man Oliver Watt, he ended his time as a Croon with a “Broadie;” a 6 with his last shot and a wicket with his last ball. Well done Andrew and best wishes for the future.

In the reverse field, Tynemouth 2s were relegated to the back field in order to accommodate a wedding marquee on the main pitch but were little discomfited by this change in surroundings. Batting first, they posted 166/8, courtesy of helpful knocks by Patrick Hallam (41), Barry Stewart (36) and Dan Thorburn (20). This total proved to be more than enough as Hetton Lyons 2s were dismissed for 110. Shams Oraikhill (3/19) was the pick of the bowlers, ably assisted by Dan McGee (3/32) and Richy Hay (2/39). The 2s finish their campaign away to Burnmoor on Saturday.

The Sunday 3s have sadly been relegated to Sunday Division 2, but the Saturday 3s remain alive in Northumberland and Tyneside Cricket League Division 5 (South), 6 points above the drop zone, with 2 games to play. Because of the nuptials at Preston Avenue on Saturday, the 3s were given use of the main field on the Sunday and made the best of the situation with a 52-run victory over Benwell & Walbottle 2s, who now drop to second bottom. In the absence of regular skipper Hay, Sam Robson adopted the locum role and marshalled his charges to a crucial victory. In a season where batting has been the most painful of Achilles heels for the 3s, Andrew Davison’s impeccable 84, supported by Wallsend-born Graeme Hallam’s 55, at almost a run a year, were crucial to an imposing 232/8 from 40 overs. To put this in context, this more than the aggregate score for the home games against Annfield Plain, Hexham Leazes, Leadgate and Newcastle combined.

In response, the bowlers stepped up to the mark, not least the impressive parsimonious Dan Storey (1/14) and the more extravagant Dom Askins (2/37), resulting in Benwell & Walbottle closing on 180/6. On Saturday, Tynemouth visit bottom placed Lintz 2s in a crucial clash, while Benwell & Walbottle host a massively improved Leadgate. A win on Saturday is essential, especially as the final Saturday of the season sees Tynemouth playing host to Champions elect Greenside, while Lintz face off against Benwell & Walbottle in a cricketing danse macabre.

After spending another brilliant Saturday in the company of Percy Main Amateurs, seeing us win 2-0 over a very disappointing Burradon & New Fordley outfit, I took a deep breath on Sunday lunch time, then headed down to Preston Avenue for the delayed 3s game. I was almost sick with nerves heading into the place, but luckily nobody blanked me, only Sam Robson took the piss and there were loads of blokes I knew around, so it was easy to blend into the background. It was great to see us win and, being honest, there was absolutely no way I’d have got into that team on merit, though I’ll admit to feeling a little distant and detached from proceedings.

Saturday 9^th September:

The final game of the 2023 season saw a competitive match at Preston Avenue under the sight of clear blue skies and the sound of some resident Ring Tailed Parakeets, much to the delight of Life Member and inveterate twitcher, John Carr. A flat wicket and a quick outfield made batting quite easy at times. However neither side ever really got going as the game swung one way and then the other before a superb innings of 98 not out from Burnmoor’s Karl Turner won it for the away side. The result meant Burnmoor finished the season in second place behind South Northumberland and Tynemouth avoided relegation finishing 10^th. Whitburn and Hetton Lyons go down and are to be replaced by Sunderland and Tynedale in the top division next season.

Tynemouth batted first and lost a wicket early as Ben Debnam was trapped on the crease and adjudged lbw to Josh Coughlin. Last week’s batting star Stuey Poynter once again started positively but also fell lbw to Coughlin for 15. However Matt Kimmitt was going well, and he was joined by Jacob Clarke. The two put together a fine partnership of 59 before Kimmitt was caught for a solid 64, leaving his team handily placed at 114/3. The left handed Kimmitt played very fluently. His high risk approach on this occasion bringing good rewards. At the other end the right handed Clarke was more orthodox in approach. A solid defence punctuated by aggression if the bowler strayed off line or length and it was a shame when he was out soon after for a well put together innings of 46. However from a commanding 161/4, the middle and late order batsmen rather fluffed their lines and a final score of 194 was disappointing given such a good start. Robbie Bowman batting at 6 once again produced a lovely innings of 46. His form over the past few weeks has been excellent and bodes very well for this 15 year old who is impressing not just in our First team but with Durham CCC as well. We all look forward to watching him batting and keeping wicket next season. For Burnmoor, and after Josh Coughlin’s early inroads, it was the off spinners Ryan Pringle and Craig Stephenson who had the most success picking up seven wickets between them.

With several regular bowlers missing this week, Tynemouth opened the bowling with Matthew Brown, and he took the key wicket of Ross Greenwell with a fine yorker early in the piece. However it was the left handed Karl Turner who got off to a flyer with a succession of beautifully timed boundaries hit all round the ground. The understrength Tynemouth attack battled hard and had some success. Brown and Dan McGee got a couple of wickets each and Clarke, Skipper Pollard and Josh Koen one each to keep the home side in the game and at 164/7 Tynemouth must have fancied their chances, but Turner was playing a gem of an innings and though he thoroughly deserved a century ended on 98 not out with the winning shot and the last runs of the 2023 season.

A full scorecard can be found here:  https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/results/5543835

And a final league table here: https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/division/109537

Tynemouth 2s played the reverse fixture at Burnmoor and were rather ignominiously skittled for exactly 100, though any concerns about the pitch can be firmly rebuffed by noting Burnmoor knocked off the runs required in a shade over 12 overs for the loss of one wicket. A far happier tale was written by the Saturday 3s, who still have a final fixture next Saturday at home to Greenside (12.30), who rescued themselves from a seemingly impossible position only a fortnight ago by completing a pair of victories, home to Benwell & Walbottle 2s last week and away to Lintz 2 this.

After a season of pitiful batting performances, the venerable Wallsend-born former English golfer Graeme Hallam came to the side’s rescue. Last week it was a half century, while this week, despite pulling both hamstrings in the line of duty, he contributed a gallant unbeaten 116 as the 3s posted their highest total of the season: 236/8. There were also useful knocks from Andrew Davison (30), Dom Haskins (23) and a fine unbeaten 22 from Paul Hurst, whose one-bounce ramp shot to the boundary was warmly applauded by the dozen or so spectators sunning themselves on a breathless afternoon on the Gateshead / Durham border.

Skipper Richy Hay put behind him his unfortunate batting calamity (run out 0 from a single ball), by bowling with economy and pace in returning 1-20 from his 9 overs.  Other praiseworthy bowling performances saw tidy spells from Matty Walton (2/20) and Asik Miah (2/18, plus a superb run out), meaning Lintz, though batting doggedly and with great spirit, fell 65 runs short, ending on 175/8. It has, as ever, been a tough campaign for the Saturday 3s, but Hay and his men rightfully deserve their title the Kings of the Back Field.

So, how did I feel about this one? Elated, to say the very least. Partly at the result, but mainly because Richy gave me a lift and I got to see the lads in the flesh. In all honesty, this was another selection that was above and beyond my abilities, which was great to be perfectly honest. We were never in any danger of losing and, buoyed up by the win, and the sense of camaraderie and inclusion from being at Lintz, I thoroughly enjoyed the end of season piss-up in the clubhouse, despite being sensible enough to check out around 11 o’clock. I may not have played, but Tynemouth is my club and the 3s are my team.

Saturday 16^th September

Tynemouth 3s v Greenside, rained off.

Tynemouth 3s: played 22, won 5, abandoned 5, lost 12.

ian cusack: selected 14, won 1, abandoned 3, lost 10.

runs scored 6, average 1.5.

overs bowled 9, runs conceded 60, wickets taken 0.

The downpour began on Thursday evening and continued, unabated, for 36 hours. In the circumstances, 5 points against the divisional champions was a decent return, even if was only because of a cancellation. I can’t pretend I wasn’t relieved, not because I was able to see Percy Main (I wasn’t, as the cup game at Hebburn fell victim to a waterlogged pitch, so I got stuck with seeing an unimpressive Benfield losing to a similarly uninspired Whitley Bay), but because I’d failed to make the starting XI. Richy told me I was 13^th man and, yet again, you couldn’t argue with the selection. I’m just not good enough and, if this one had gone ahead without me, I might have called it a day on my “playing” career. As it is, I won’t; I’m going to give it one more year until I’m 60 and then that’ll be it for me. Despite coming in to the season fitter and more positive than for years, the terrible weather that has blighted the past few months, destroyed all momentum any of us had. But when I have played, other than the debacle against Cowgate, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even when we lost by 227 runs to Leadgate, mainly on account of the fact I got to bowl a 6 over spell. Best of all was hitting that straight drive to the boundary at Hexham, especially as Harry got to see it, on a glorious afternoon on a beautiful ground in the Tyne Valley. I’ll cherish that memory forever.