Never mind The Ashes, the real cricketing drama of Summer 2023 is to be found, as ever, in NTCL D5 (S), which is just reaching halfway, which is about where I got to at Greenside on Saturday when their keeper whipped the bails off -:
Saturday
20 May:
On
the first glorious weekend of the summer, Tynemouth Cricket Club responded well
to the climactic situation with a near-perfect set of results for all 3
Saturday sides. Tynemouth CC first XI were busy all three days, starting their
NEPL T20 group competition with a low-scoring win over Whitburn, in front of a
large and enthusiastic crowd on Friday evening. Having won the toss, Tynemouth
elected to field and restricted Whitburn to 104-8 from their allotted overs.
The bowling honours went to Owen Gourley (4-11), who produced an excellent
spell of hostile pace bowling, backed up by Tsepo Ntuli’s off spin, 2-27, and a
welcome return to action for Phil Morse (1-19). In reply, Tynemouth didn’t have
things easy, but Ed Forman’s unbeaten 30, with support from Andrew Smith (14*)
and Robbie Bowman (13), saw the home side home by 3 wickets, with 10 balls to
spare.
If
that seemed a narrow margin of victory, it was positively cavernous compared to
Saturday’s one wicket win over Newcastle, who were hampered by the absence of
the suspended Jacques Du Toit. Sponsored by The Cosy Dove pub in Spital
Tongues, this was an absorbing contest with all possible results on the table
until the very last ball. Batting first, the visitors found themselves in all
manner of trouble at 54-5 and then 74-6, with the superb bowling of Andrew
Jones (4-16) causing most of the damage, with his full pitched inswingers
bamboozling the Newcastle batters throughout his spell. Ntuli (3-41) was also
among the wickets and Gourley picked up the key wicket of opener Trevaskis.
However, Hart (53) and Green (43) rescued the visitors with a century
partnership, before Jones returned to clean up the tail, with Newcastle
dismissed for 178 after 44 overs.
In
reply, the two Matthews, skipper Brown (49) and opener Kimmitt (44) top scored
but received little tangible support from others. When the ninth wicket fell
for 151, prospects were bleak, but Andrew Smith (26*), assisted by Jones (4*)
got Tynemouth over the line by the narrowest of margins with 4 balls to spare.
Sadly, Sunday’s Banks Salver tie at home to Ashington ended in defeat by a
margin of 30 runs. Fielding first, Tynemouth saw the visitors amass 211-9, with
Martin Pollard (5-42) and Phil Morse (2-34) the pick of the bowlers. This was a
weakened Tynemouth side, without a recognised wicket keeper, which perhaps
could have been the cue for the watching Rob Elliott to become another Magpie
Croon, though it wasn’t to be. In reply, Kimmitt (62) and the excellent Barry
Stewart (57) anchored proceedings but lacked support elsewhere as the innings
ended on 181 all out.
On
Saturday, Tynemouth 2s travelled to Jesmond for the reverse fixture, posting an
impressive 238-9, with Stewart (70), Bowman (49), Hallam (32) and Robson (28)
providing the bulk of the runs. In reply, Newcastle made a decent fist of it,
but were dismissed for 219, with all 6 bowlers among the wickets.
The
Saturday 3s reversed their fixture with Lions and made the short trip to Priors
Park. Batting first, Chad Koen (56) gave Tynemouth a fighting chance, as they
posted 138 all out from the last ball. Other notable contributions were all of
14 runs, by Hamish Swaddle-Scott, Adam Tugby and skipper Richy Hay. In reply, a
fine bowling performance saw Lions dismissed for 122. Dom Askins (4-23) and Dan
Storey (3-26) were key to a superb win for the resurgent Saturday 3s.
On
Sunday 21 May, the Tynemouth Women’s Softball Team played host to Ponteland. It
was their first outdoor game this season and Gems lost the toss and were put
into bat first by their opponents. Opening batters Rosie and Emma got off to a
great start scoring a respectable 28 off their 3 overs in bat. The next pair
were unlucky and lost 3 wickets in their pair, but the 3rd pair managed to pick
up the score again as did the 4th and 5th batting pair. Ponteland’s fielding
was good, and they had a few key bowlers. Tynemouth posted a score of 74-5. In
return Tynemouth got off to a good start with their bowling and fielding with
quite similar scores to Ponteland and Jan taking our only wicket in the 6th
over, but by Pontelands 3rd batting pair, Gems were struggling and missed a
couple of key wicket opportunities resulting in Ponteland achieving 105-1. All
enjoyed a cricket tea in the club house after.
I
wasn’t selected for this one, which was something of a blessing I suppose.
That’s not just because we won, but because I had another engagement, in the
shape of the Percy Main Amateurs end of season awards night. This meant I was
happy to watch Newcastle bat against the first XI, but I nipped off early and
missed the narrowest of victory margins, somewhat nonplussed by the fact that
legendary umpire Eddy Collins told me my summer t-shirt and shorts combo was a
“nice little outfit.” Still, a good set of results for all the teams eh?
Saturday
27 May:
Tynemouth
CC first XI were comprehensively beaten on Saturday by a confident, top of the
table, South Northumberland side, and in particular, by a superb 4th wicket
partnership of 173 between Nikhil Gorantla and skipper Adam Cragg. On another
glorious afternoon for cricket at Preston Avenue, when the ground looked
magnificent, It
was Adam Cragg who won the toss and was happy to bat first on a flat but used
wicket that had even bounce but little pace.
Tynemouth
came out of the traps quickly and Andrew Smith clean bowled both openers,
Birtwistle and Southern straight away.
He seemed to be enjoying having a red ball back in his hand and when
Richard Stanyon had Chris Hewison adjudged LBW the away team were in real
trouble at 2-3. Despite a terrific start by Tynemouth, things were about to
change and slowly but surely Gorantla and Cragg began to rebuild. Gorantla, who
played for Essex 2s last year and is now studying at Durham University, played
a gem of an innings, showing great foot work, timing and placement. So easy on
the eye; surely a return to first class cricket will come. Nothing seemed to
hurry him despite the continued efforts of the Tynemouth attack. At the other
end, Cragg was resolute in defence and eager to attack when given a chance. The
running between the wickets was also exemplary in a wonderful partnership that
was only broken with the score on 176 when Cragg was caught by Tshepo Ntuli off
the bowling of Martin Pollard for 69. Smith, Stanyon and Ntuli were the pick of
the home attack but once again were let down by several dropped catches, though
they all worked hard and kept going and once Gorantla was out for 101, reaped
some reward with wickets tumbling at the end before South North declared on 216-8.
Tynemouth
tried a new opening partnership with Dan Thorburn and Ed Foreman but a real mix
up between the pair saw Thorburn run out for just 2. Matty Brown came to the
crease next but after a couple of lovely boundaries edged one outside the off
stump and was caught at slip by Birtwistle off the bowling of Sean Tindale.
Matt Kimmitt and Foreman tried to recover the situation with a steady
partnership but when Kimmitt chipped one up to Whiteman off Sean Tindale the
rest of the Tynemouth innings disappointed. Three crazy run outs and a number
of careless shots saw the team crumble and they were all out for 105 in just 39
overs of the 58 available. Foreman top scored with 33. For South North the
evergreen Lee Crozier took 3-32 off 13 overs. The
loss puts Tynemouth back in the relegation zone and they will have to up their
game next weekend when they travel to Ashington. A full scorecard can be found
here:
https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/results/5543842 while the NEPL table is
here: https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/division/109537
Tynemouth
2s made the reverse trip to South North on Saturday and came away with a tie,
after a remarkable conclusion to a thrilling game. Batting first, Tynemouth
made 232-5 declared, with skipper Chris Fairley (119*) leading from the front,
ably supported by Barry Stewart (74), as well as a helpful 2-39, and Josh Koen
(21), who was also the pick of the Tynemouth bowlers, returning figures of
3-45, including holding his nerve as the home side closed on 232-9. Shamsur
Orakhail (2-29) gave another encouraging display of spin bowling. On Sunday,
Tynemouth 2s travelled to Newcastle for a Banks Bowl round 2 game. Having
conceded 280 to an attacking home side, it seemed an unlikely task to win the
game, but Sam Robson (110*) came to the fore with 16 from the final over,
including consecutive maximums, to see Tynemouth home by 3 wickets.
Unfortunately
Tynemouth 3s were unable to carry on their good recent run, losing by 75 runs
at Annfield Plain. Skipper Richy Hay rotated his bowlers, using 7 to restrict
the home side to 170-7, with Dan Storey (2-16) being particularly effective.
Sadly, a lack of batting, despite the attacking instincts of Paul Hurst (19)
and a solicitous 1* from the recalled cusack, meant realistic prospects of
victory were never seriously entertained. There were encouraging performances
by debutants Rohan George (10 runs, a wicket and a pair of excellent catches)
and Asik Miah, who showed an excellent arm in the field, which bodes well for
the future.
Tynemouth
Gems, the women’s softball team, played their first away game of the season
against South North. Due to injuries and availability issues we played with a 9
player squad with two players who were making their debuts. We won the toss and
went to field. Bowling was steady and secure, and we had two catches from Rosie
plus Rosie, Sandy and Jan bowled great spells. Fielding was tight on the
boundaries, with Sandy particularly keeping the runs down by accurate fielding.
A great improvement in all players and we went into bat with 70 to chase.
Batting again was safe secure and both Kath and Heather score 4s on their debut
game. We sadly lost 5 wickets, but it was a well-played game by both teams,
with the final score a draw. Great team
spirit and hospitality provided by SN and a great evening’s cricket was enjoyed
by all.
I
really like Annfield Plain’s fabulously named Enterprise Park as a ground, even
though I’ve been on the end of a thumping every time I’ve been. One great thing
about today’s visit, other than the hideous slice I sent squirting in the
direction of point for a scarcely deserved single, was seeing my mate Nick, who
is now resident in those parts. He’d seen my Facebook post and popped down for
a catch up. It would have been nice to hang around, but I had to get back to
town to see UT at the Lubber Fiend. To do so, I left my bag in Richie’s car
then managed to retrieve it from the club, via Fanta’s help, on about the
Wednesday. By that time, my kit was in a ripe old state I can tell you.
Saturday
4 June:
Tynemouth
Cricket Club’s first XI continue to stutter as the 2023 season enters June. On
Tuesday night, a much changed team lost to South Northumberland at Roseworth
Terrace by 10 runs in the Tyneside Charity Bowl, round 2. Batting first, the
home team posted 141-5, with all the wickets claimed by spinners Patrick
Hallam, Dan McGee, Shamsur Oraikhil and Sam Robson. Tynemouth’s response fell
just short, closing on 131-7, aided by decent efforts by Matthew Kimmitt (26),
Ed Foreman (25) and McGee (24). Friday night saw a disappointing loss away to
Philadelphia by 6 wickets in the NEPL T20 group stages. After skipper Matt
Brown (22) and Kimmitt (20) saw Tynemouth off to a flying start, the Croons
capitulated to 106 all out, with only Tshepo Ntuli (20), offering any real
resistance. Philadelphia reached their target after only 16 overs, for the loss
of 4 wickets: one each to Owen Gourley, Andrew Jones, Ntuli and Dan Watt. On
Saturday, the first XI played away to Ashington in an NEPL league game. For the
match report I am indebted, as ever, to Vince Howe.
Tynemouth’s
first team travelled to a sunny Langwell Crescent to face NEPL top division
newcomers Ashington but once again came away with just a handful of bonus
points, following another loss. Those arriving early were delighted to be
greeted by the sight of Mark Wood going through a training session with England
and Durham coach Neil Killeen. Woody, who of course began his cricketing career
at Ashington, looked fit enough and bowled with great pace and control. If he
gets a chance against the Aussies let’s all wish him well.
In
the absence of several regulars, Tynemouth were captained by Stu Poynter, a
former Durham team mate of Woody. Poynter won the toss and elected to have a
bat first on what former Ashington Skipper and Chairman Bob Dunning described
as “a belter!” Dan
Thorburn opened up with Ben Debnam and the two started steadily before Thorburn
played across one and was bowled by the pacy Mitchell Killeen. Almost
immediately a second wicket fell when Ed Foreman chipped one to short
mid-wicket.
Kimmitt
was then brilliantly caught by keeper Jack McCarthy off what looked a beauty
from Ben Harmison to leave Tynemouth in big trouble at 25-3. Sadly, things were
about to get a whole lot worse! Ian Sharkey replaced Matty Collins, and his
medium paced swingers did for Debnam, Bowman, Ntuli, McGee and then Poynter in
a remarkable spell of 10 overs 5 wickets for 23 runs leaving the visitors
reeling at 73-9 when Shams Oraikhil, on debut, came out last man to join number
nine Andrew Jones.
The
last pair frustrated the home attack with two lovely cameos. Jones, tall in the
crease with a bit of a swagger, started the fight back by getting in line and
showing good defence off front and back foot. He then decided to go through the
gears and began hitting the ball well and over the top. His was a fine innings.
Determined yet flamboyant. A reassuring presence and everything his beleaguered
side needed. At the other end Shams showed no nerves and watched the ball
carefully onto the bat. Ones and twos mostly to start but then a tad more
expensive. All along the ground and mostly to leg. A terrific fighting
partnership of 70 was ended when Matty Collins had Shams adjudged lbw for a
terrific 24 leaving his partner not out on 49. Chapeau! A
total of 143 was still modest but at least it gave the visitors some hope of
victory.
Tynemouth
supporters were delighted as were the Burger sellers and the Bar Committee who
were wondering at one point whether everyone would have finished watching the
game and then moved on to watch the FA Cup final! But as Tynemouth hopes soared
so did the food and drink profits. As someone who remembers many years of
playing cricket against Ashington it was great to see the ground looking so
good and their return to the top Division is a real positive for Northumberland
cricket. Poynter
decided to go with his proven performers first opening up with Jones and Ntuli
and when the South African bowled Jack McCarthy for a duck it looked a good
move. Jones bowled a lively opening spell, beating the bat regularly and then
cleaning out the aggressive Jack Jessop for 26. Owen Gourley replaced Ntuli and
produced his best spell of the summer so far. He had the talented Killeen
neatly caught at slip by Poynter and had little luck going his way. Jones
returned to have Ben Harmison caught behind by 15 year old Robbie Bowman who
was neat and tidy behind the stumps and when Dan McGee trapped Ashington pro, Jeremiah
Louis, in front of middle, the Ashington innings was rocking at 72-5. But then
a fine sixth wicket partnership of 42 between the fluent Ben O’Brien who ended
on 61 not out and the obdurate James Harmison who made 18 settled home nerves.
Unfortunately for Ntuli and his team, he had to withdraw after just 4 overs
following a cut to his hand. Hopefully he will be back for the two games next
weekend. The game was played in front of a more than decent crowd and in a
great spirit too, epitomised by the home skipper Sean McCafferty providing a
replacement fielder for Ntuli for most of the innings. To summarise, this was a
good effort from the Tynemouth bowlers on a good batting wicket and without a
number of key men. A full scorecard can be found here: https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/results/5543729 and the up to date table
here:
https://nepremierleague.play-cricket.com/website/division/109537
In
the reverse fixture at Preston Avenue, Tynemouth 2s dismissed Ashington 2s for
140, with the wickets shared around. The Koen brothers, in what ought to have
made a decent feature film, took 4 wickets between them: Chad and Josh claiming
a brace apiece. Dan Watt (2-18) and Neil Bennett (2-30) also put in good
spells, and it was nice to see Dom Askins, promoted from the 3s after recent
excellent bowling performances, claiming a victim as well. In reply, Tynemouth
achieved the runs required for the loss of 3 wickets, helped along by excellent
performances by Barry Stewart (48*), Josh Koen (36) and Chris Fairley (20).
Tynemouth
Saturday 3s had an excellent win in the second round of the Dr Tom Barlow Cup
on Thursday night, beating Lions by 38 runs. Tynemouth batted first and scored
125-4 from their 20 overs, with significant contributions from Hamish
Swaddle-Scott (38), Dom Askins (30*) and Adam Tugby (20). Lions were dismissed
for 87, on account of excellent spells from all the bowlers, especially that
man Askins (2-14).
Unfortunately,
Saturday’s league game against Cowgate Sports was not played in the greatest of
spirits. Having batted first and made 206 all out from 39.2 overs, courtesy of
particularly fine work with the ball by Paul Hurst, who claimed 4 wickets and
the elegant, if limping, James Carr, who took 3, the visitors were never
seriously in danger of losing, as Tynemouth’s eventual total of 152-8 suggests.
However, some of the antics of the visiting players, in terms of appeals made
and subsequent reactions to negative decisions, veered dangerously close to
dissent and intimidatory conduct. Hopefully, this will not be the case when the
two sides meet again in the quarter final of the Dr Tom Barlow Cup on 15th
June.
Finally,
Sunday saw a fabulous sunny afternoon at Stocksfield for a Tynemouth Gems
Women’s softball team away game. Gems lost the toss and went into field.
Bowling and fielding was safe and secure, and we took 5 wickets, and 2 catches.
Playing with 9 players, it was a great start. Gems then went into bat and each
batting pair played well safely and with some outstanding 4s and 6s. The final
score saw Gems triumph 95- 44. Really great team play by Gems and a super
afternoon with superb hospitality from Stocksfield.
I
wasn’t needed for the Thursday night Cup game, but the call came for Saturday. It
was nice to finally get a game at Preston Avenue, as I’ve been more of an away
fixture this year. Unfortunately, this was probably one of my worst experiences
on a cricket field, as I’ve not come across such unsporting conduct in many a
long year. Everything went well when we were bowling, even if we did let them
have rather too many runs. The problem came when I was asked to umpire, which
is a poisoned chalice at the best of times. Firstly their left arm spinner went
absolutely ballistic when I didn’t give Rohan, one of our new lads who has
recently moved to the area from Milton Keynes, out leg before. I honestly still
to this day maintain it was the correct decision, as the ball was missing leg
stump. Not good enough for them though; the bowler went absolutely light and
had to be calmed down by his team mates. Even then he was muttering insults
about me and claiming I was incompetent. This gets in your head and a few overs
later I gave Finn Hodgson out LBW. I was convinced the ball pitched in line and
would have hit the stumps. What I missed was that he’d hit the ball, but I
hadn’t heard that as I tried to close my ears to the general cacophony. Once
I’d been informed of this, I tried to get their captain to call Finn back as
I’d made a mistake; he wouldn’t budge, and another player called me a “liar”
and a “cheat.”
I
wish I had either walked off or abandoned the game, but instead I stuck it out
to the end of the over. Thanks as ever go to next man in Jimmy Carr for keeping
a lid on proceedings and looking after me. Luckily I didn’t need to bat, for
the first time all season. It took me a couple of beers to calm down at the end
and not burst into tears. I felt particularly bad as Shelley had come down to see
her first ever game of cricket and this shambles was what she saw.
Saturday
11 June:
Before a bowl had been bowled by the Tynemouth CC first XI,
there was an important development to digest. Matty Brown, after a more than
two years at the helm, decided to step down as Captain, in order to concentrate
on his batting. In his place, the experienced and popular Martin Pollard agreed
to assume this onerous role with immediate effect. Thanks go to Matt for the
job he has done as skipper and the whole club is delighted to announce that
Matt is continuing to play for Tynemouth, offering support to Polly where he
can.
Poll’s first game in charge was a Friday evening NEPL T20
group game at Preston Avenue for the visit of Burnmoor. There may have been a
shade fewer in attendance than were present at St James Park for Sam Fender,
but the club was thronged, nonetheless. Those in attendance saw a fine game,
won by the home side off the penultimate ball. The visitors batted first,
posting 149-7, with Tsepo Ntuli (3-21) and skipper Poll (1-19) both returning
excellent spells. Tynemouth reached the total required for the loss of 6
wickets off 19.5 overs, with the runs mainly coming from aggressive hitting by
Matt Kimmitt (37), Stu Poynter (33) and Robbie Bowman (24). Despite this win,
Tynemouth only finished 3rd in their group on net run rate, and so
ends their interest in the NEPL T20 competition for this season.
On Saturday, Tynemouth (179-3) beat Burnopfield (178 all out)
by 7 wickets. Conditions, once again, were ideal at Preston Avenue: a lovely
sunny day, the ground looking a picture and a new wicket with a bit of grass
that provided something for everyone through the day. This was Martin Pollard’s first Saturday game
as Captain, having taken over from Matt Brown, who wishes to concentrate fully
on his batting, and Polly started well by winning the toss and asking
Burnopfield to bat first.
The
two Andrews opened the bowling for the home side; alias Smith and Jones both
got early movement and then wickets as Jones accounted for Seymour and Dinning
and Smith trapped Harrison in front of all three. Burnopfield skipper John
Oswell hit some lusty blows before he also was adjudged lbw, this time to the
persistent Tshepo Ntuli. Wickets continued to fall on a regular basis with all
five of the Tynemouth bowlers maintaining pressure much to the satisfaction of
the lads from the Rockliffe Arms who were enjoying another game of
cricket in the sun with pints in their hands.
Only
Cole Pearce from the visitors offered any real resistance. He played a fine
hand with nice timing and an array of attacking shots off quick and slow
bowlers alike. A couple of sweep shots off Ntuli perhaps the highlights but
then he went just before lunch with the score a modest 98-5. This was a good
morning’s work from Tynemouth. Wickets continued to fall after lunch shared and
when Aussie Finlay McGurk was brilliantly stumped down the leg side off Andrew
Smith the score was just 125-9. A terrific stand-up routine by Stu Poynter. Yet
strangely Tynemouth could not get the last laugh as Rhys Saunders and Matthew
Scott joked their way to a 50 run partnership for the last wicket until Ntuli
finally had Saunders caught by Kimmitt. Credit to all of the bowlers, the
fielders for some good catches and ground work, and to Pollard who marshalled
his troops well throughout.
A
total of 178 seemed well under par and as fans were arriving at St James’s Park
for the Sam Fender gig, the Tynemouth batsmen were about to put on a show
themselves. Ben
Debnam and Matt Kimmitt opened up and began in positive fashion, both taking
the attack to the opposition and the score had reached 37 when Debnam top edged
a short pitched delivery from Matthew Scott and was caught at fine leg for 23.
The same bowler had Kimmitt caught for 28, as the hopes of the away were rising
at 56-2. However the game was about to swing decisively in Tynemouth’s favour
as Tshepo Ntuli and Matt Brown began to put together a fine and match winning
partnership. Ntuli, sent up the order by Pollard, responded well. His was a
well-crafted innings. Solid defence, watchful, and with quick feet he found the
boundary several times with well struck shots mostly off the back foot and to
the leg side. At the other end Brown was at his most relaxed and languid best.
An effortless knock of genuine class. Some excellent running between the
wickets also helped them steer their side to the brink of victory with a
terrific partnership of 119. Ntuli eventually going for 60 and Brown undefeated
on 61. This was an emphatic victory for Tynemouth which took them out of the
relegation zone and a repeat of today’s efforts should see the side climb
higher over the next few weeks.
The
week started with Tynemouth 2s travelling to Littletown, in the wilds of County
Durham, for a Roseworth Trophy match on Monday evening. Robbie Bowman, quickly
growing accustomed to unfamiliar surroundings, led the charge with 94, given
able support by Patrick Hallam (48) as the Croons made 205 from their 20 overs.
Littletown were game but came up short at 153 all out.
At
the weekend, Tynemouth 2s travelled to Gateshead Fell, site of Andrew Linehan’s
extraordinary run out two years ago that become an internet sensation. Perhaps
mindful of this, Andrew was unavailable today, having opted to see Pink live at
the Stadium of Light. It is up to the reader to decide which was the more
embarrassing event. A strong Tynemouth 2nd XI reached an impressive 271-5
declared from exactly 50 overs. The damage was mainly done by Robbie Bowman
(101), assisted by Barry Stewart (66*), Patrick Hallam (36) and Dan McGee
(28*). In reply, Gateshead Fell were dismissed for 131, with Josh Koen (5-19)
doing his utmost to secure a prompt finish.
Tynemouth
Saturday 3s travelled to the rustic splendour of Hexham Leazes, which must one
of the most scenic grounds in the Northumberland and Tyneside Cricket League,
with the natural beauty of the surroundings given added force by the glorious
weather in which the game was played. Certainly, Hamish Swaddle-Scott responded
positively to his environment, scoring a superb, effortless 97, with 16
boundaries and a maximum in that total. He was given support by skipper Richy
Hay (30), though Hexham’s persistence restricted Tynemouth to 178 all out.
Remaining unbeaten was ian cusack (4*), whose back foot straight drive to the
boundary, greeted with universal acclaim by the watching multitudes, was
described by the watching, noted cricket writer Harry Pearson as “redolent of
Victor Trumper in his heyday.”
In
reply, Hexham Leazes struggled early on, in the face of excellent, accurate
bowling from Hay and Dan Watt, who claimed the first wicket, courtesy of a
brilliant catch by Rohan George. However, the arrival at the crease of skipper
Ross Davies (77) saw the game swing decisively in the home side’s favour, as he
smote 7 boundaries and 5 maximums, before falling to an excellent delivery from
Paul Hurst, as the home side cantered home with 8 wickets to spare.
Tynemouth’s
Sunday 3s had been in action on Tuesday in the Banks Cup, advancing to the next
round after a narrow 8 run win over Benwell Hill. Batting first, Tynemouth
posted 142-7, with Patrick Hallam (57) and Shams Oraikill (54) leading the
charge and both taking wickets as The Hill mustered 134-9 in reply. It was
encouraging to see young Chris Beever back in a Tynemouth shirt as he
contributed a more than helpful 2-16 from his spell.
Finally,
Tynemouth Gems softball team played away to Newcastle. Gems won the toss and
went into field, restricting the opposition to 81. However, Newcastle’s bowling
was really secure, plus they took two catches and a wicket. Although some great
4s were scored Gems only made 51 so Newcastle triumphed. It was, however, a great
evening of cricket and the hospitality was superb.
Now
this was the exact opposite of the previous week’s debacle. Alright, we lost
again, quite heavily in the end, but it was a wonderful afternoon in the Tyne
Valley. I’d never been to Hexham Leazes before and I can only hope I get there
again soon, on a day as glorious as this was. At the far west of the town,
looking north, it is perched snugly on a hillside, with an undulating outfield
and breathtaking views on all sides. Added to the fact Harry Pearson turned up
to watch, as well as a workmate Ben Porteous, it all made for a glorious
afternoon. We batted first and it felt quite good for a while. Sadly a few
wickets went in a clatter and poor Mish got out for 97, but I had a straight
driven 4, which made me feel unspeakably happy. Things quietened down a bit
when they started biffing us around the place, but the pints in the Coach &
Horses later on tasted delightful. A great day. This is why I watch and attempt
to play cricket. No sport can match it for the camaraderie or the bucolic
pleasures it provides on days such as this.
Saturday
18 June:
Tynemouth
CC first XI lost their hold on the Bobby Smithson Northumberland County Cup,
going down to a 15-run defeat away to Benwell Hill. The home side batted first,
posting 157-6, with Haydon Mustard (48) and Kyle Coetzer (36) providing most of
the runs, while Andrew Jones (2-28) and Phil Morse (2-37) were effective for
Tynemouth. In reply, Robbie Bowman clubbed an awesome 75, including 7
boundaries and two maximums, but his departure saw the visitors lose impetus
and the innings closed on 142-5.
On
Saturday, Tynemouth made only 73 all out, as they lost at home to Hetton Lyons
by 6 wickets. The weather was mostly cloudy but sticky with it and the pitch
looked flat and dry. New home skipper Martin Pollard won the toss and elected
to have a bat first. Tynemouth’s overseas professional, Tshepo Ntuli, was unfit
to play due to a cut hand and he was replaced by Jacques Snyman, another first
class player, following the agreement of the NEPL. However Tynemouth got off to
the worst possible start with Ben Debnam bowled, Snyman run out and Ed Foreman
caught behind leaving the team in big trouble at 7-3. Mathew Brown and Stu
Poynter did their best to calm the storm with a decent partnership of 49 before
Brown played on to Aaron Feroz who was getting good turn from the pitch. Poynter
followed soon after also bowled by Feroz and the rest of the innings was
quickly wrapped up by medium pacer Aaron Watt as the Tynemouth batters failed
to resist the attack from the Lyons. 73 all out in just 28 overs was a
disappointing effort.
Pollard
chose to open the bowling with Snyman, and he got good turn and bounce as the
seamers worked away at the other end. Snyman bowled well combining good turn
and bounce with accuracy and took 3 wickets including one superb catch by
Matthew Brown at short leg. However opener Stu Walker was resolute and was not
for shifting. His 39 not out the cornerstone of the successful chase from the Lyons
pack. Credit must be given to the Tynemouth bowling and fielding, though this
result puts them back in a relegation position and they will need to bat better
in upcoming matches if they are to move up the table.
Meanwhile,
Tynemouth 2s made the reverse journey and came away with a crushing 92 run
victory. Batting first, the watching crowd were treated to sparkling innings by
Dan Thorburn (41), Chris Fairley (89) and Tynemouth’s own version of Baz Ball,
from Barry Stewart, who hit 91 from 90 deliveries. Declaring on 256-5 from 50
overs, Tynemouth eventually dismissed Hetton Lyons for 164 after 39 overs. Owen
Gourley (5-44) and Dan Watt (3-22) both bowled superbly to wrap up the win.
Sadly,
Tynemouth 2s bowed out of the Banks Bowl at home to Hetton Lyons 2s on Sunday.
Asked to bat first, Tynemouth made 178 all out, with Patrick Hallam, who had
notched a century the previous Sunday, leading the way with 52. Barry Stewart
contributed a fine 37, but the total was achieved by Hetton Lyons for the loss
of 3 wickets, with 8 overs to spare.
On
Thursday, Tynemouth Saturday 3s lost their home quarter final in the Dr Tom
Barlow Memorial Cup to Cowgate 2s. Tynemouth batted first and, after a solid
opening stand between Richy Hay (13) and Hamish Swaddle-Scott (12), the innings
rather fell away, apart from Rohan George (14), until Alosh Jose (17*) and
Lewis Hurst (17*) took the home side to 98-7 from 20 overs. This did not seem
enough and so it proved as Cowgate scored 100-2 from 14 overs. Thankfully,
Saturday’s return to league action in the NTCL Division 5 (South) saw an upturn
in fortunes, with a 6 wicket victory away to Benwell and Walbottle 2s.
Having
won the toss and inserted the home side, skipper Hay backed up his judgement
with a sound spell of bowling, seeing him claim 3-28. At the other end, Neil
Bennett (4-28) was more than slightly instrumental in restricting Benwell and
Walbottle to 158-9. Also, it should be noted that Tynemouth were sharp in the
field, especially young Lewis Gault who effected a brilliant run-out. The reply
saw Tynemouth knock off the runs in 28 overs, with Swaddle-Scott (80) leading
the way, carrying on from last week’s sublime knock at Hexham Leazes. George
(35) continued to demonstrate what an excellent addition he has been to the team
this season, while the returning Dom Askins (14*) thumped three successive
boundaries to win the game at a canter. This was an excellent team performance.
I
finally had my first bowl of the season during the Thursday Cup game against a
better behaved Cowgate side, who kept themselves in check with a pair of real
umpires to deal with. I sent down a couple of overs for 16, which was a bit too
expensive for my tastes, partially because of a couple of hideous leg side drop
downs. However, I got myself on line for the second over, but didn’t buy a
wicket with a couple of ones I tossed up, going for a 4 and a 2 respectively.
Still, it was good fun, even if we lost, to play a competitive game that didn’t
descend into acrimony. Getting away from the Corinthian ideal, Richie picked a
strong side for Saturday, didn’t use me, and won with ease. The firsts lost so
badly I didn’t even get to see them play as it was over just after 2pm.
Saturday
25 June:
Tynemouth’s
first team travelled to Burnmoor’s Village Ground on the last Saturday in June,
with hopes of a victory that would help turn their season around and though the
win didn’t come, this was a much better effort from the Seasiders who fought
hard all day under blue skies and a blistering sun. Early arrivals were
surprised to find that the wicket was soft and had a good amount of dry grass
on it too. This was due to it being uncovered the evening before when a t20
quarter final took place and no covering was allowable until that game had been
officially washed out.
Home
skipper Ryan Pringle won the toss and somewhat surprisingly elected to have a
bat first. Andrew Jones took the new ball with Andrew Smith, and both
immediately found movement and bounce on a sticky wicket that was not easy to
bat on. Jones cleaned bowled both Ross Greenwell and then Ryan Pringle, always
a prized wicket, and at the other end Smith had Karl Turner caught by Owen
Gourley leaving the home side struggling at 21-3. At this point veteran Alan
Worthy joined Marcus Brown and they slowly began a fight back though the
bowlers remained on top. The score had reached 56 when Owen Gourley joined the
attack, and he made an immediate impact bowling Brown and then Paul Craig with
two beauties in his first two overs, leaving Burnmoor in trouble again at 58-5.
The next partnership between Worthy and Josh Coughlin however was crucial and
proved it was possible to bat on this tricky but drying surface. Worthy used
all his experience at the crease playing with a straight bat and whilst mostly
in defensive mode played one or two lovely drives and pulls on the rare
occasions the bowlers strayed in length. This was determined batting and just
what his team needed. At the other end Coughlin was more adventurous. Tall at
the crease, the left hander looked to get on the front foot when he could and
drove the ball well. Anything short he punished to the leg side across a
lightning fast outfield. One such shot almost took out Audrey Debnam and she
let out a very loud bark, usually reserved for passing Burnmoor supporting
dogs!
As
the partnership closed in on a century it looked like Burnmoor had regained the
initiative. However a smart catch by Dan Thorburn off the bowling of Shaw Nel
was reward for a superb spell of accurate seam bowling. A great example of
perseverance paying off. Hard yakka in the midday sun. When Joe Snowdon caught
Coughlin off the steady bowling of off spinner and captain Martin Pollard the
game was back in the balance at 156-7. Next out was home professional Waqas
Maqsood, known locally as “Whacka,” but he failed to live up to his nickname on
this occasion, beaten in the flight by Pollard and caught quite brilliantly by
Gourley. Once the returning Andrew Jones clean bowled Graeme Bridge, the home
side declared on 170-9 which was about par. Credit to all of the bowlers but
especially Seamers Andrew Jones and Shaw Nel who ran in tirelessly all day from
the scoreboard end. Chapeau! A word or two about the ground at Burnmoor and its
improvements over the past few years. Some great work has been done turning it
into a proper NEPL ground and a place the Tynemouth supporters now enjoy going
to. The locals have a nice place to watch cricket too and they turned up in
good numbers to support their team tanning themselves in the sun and sharing a
beer or two.
Once
again the Tynemouth top order failed to fire and with just 26 on the board
Thorburn, Snowdon and Debnam had all perished. The next two partnerships
however put the away side right back in the game. The first included Matthew
Brown who made an elegant 17 and the second Robbie Bowman who played a
confident innings of 24 against some high class bowling. Just 15 years of age,
his ball striking has always been outstanding but he’s now showing he has a
fighting spirit and improved game management. Both partnerships were with
Mohammed Jamal on debut for the club. Jamal provided a calming influence out in
the middle and seemed to have lots of time to play his shots. Careful in
defence and only allowing himself an occasional attacking shot this was expert
batting. Looking to use up all of the overs to force a win and trusting his
partners to stay with him, but just when it looked like Tynemouth were on
course for victory the excellent Graeme Bridge brought about the first false
shot from Jamal as he pushed at one and was caught in the covers bringing to an
end a patient, high class knock of 53. The tail just couldn’t wag this week and
the side was eventually bowled out in 52 overs for 148 and 22 runs short. Bridge
with 4/37 and Maqsood with 3/20 were the pick of the Burnmoor bowlers and they
proved just too strong on the day for a determined Tynemouth side.
At
Preston Avenue, Tynemouth 2s played host to Burnmoor 2s, winning by a tight
margin of 18 runs. The home side batted first, reaching 209-7 declared from 50
overs. The main contribution was a sparkling, unbeaten 70 from the man in form,
Barry Stewart, ably supported by Joel Hull-Denholm (39) and Josh Koen (31). In
reply, Burnmoor were dismissed for 191, with the wickets going to Shams
Oraikhil (3-39) and two each for James Carr, Koen and that man Stewart.
On
the back field, Tynemouth Saturday 3s had a bitterly disappointing loss to
bottom of the table Lintz 2s. Despite restricting the visitors to 134-7 from
their 40 overs, with Ed Snelders (2-12), Paul Hurst (2-23) and skipper Richy
Hay (2-39) all bowling well, Tynemouth never looked likely to get the runs
required. Only Chad Koen (22) and Hay (19) provided meaningful resistance, as
far too many batters were out to loose shots, resulting in the innings
crumbling to a desultory 72 all out. A word for Lintz’s young Harry Kirtley;
having opened the innings, he then took three catches in a row, before turning
the screw decisively by returning the remarkable figures of 6-3-4-4. Well done
to him. Let’s hope Tynemouth 3s learn from this experience.
The
Sunday 3s were most unfortunate to be washed out at 80-1 in pursuit of 132
against Sunderland. When it comes to bad luck, it never rains but it pours,
although Joel Hull-Denholm will have enjoyed following up his 3 wickets with an
unbeaten 28* when the rains came.
The
week before, Lintz conceded 395 in 40 overs against Hexham Leazes, which shows
just what a batting performance we put in. I went out, determined to lay bat on
ball and get us to the elusive first batting point, but having swiped and
missed at almost 2 overs of their left armer’s medium pace, he turned to two
step off spin and bowled me second ball. I felt ashamed as I skulked off.
Perhaps time is catching up on me. An average of 2.5 and no wickets so far this
season. Working late on a Tuesday, I can’t even make it to nets. Ho hum.
There’s the Ashes and then there’s this; the depressing reality of being a
rising 59 year old, semi incompetent bit part player…
Saturday
1 July:
Tynemouth
CC first XI (155 all out) beat Benwell Hill (143 all out) by 12 runs in a match
that swung one way then another all day, producing a nail biting finish that
saw Tynemouth pick up a much needed win. Whilst there was some sun and some
cloud at Denton Bank, it was the wind that was constant factor, strong and
rattling along the Tyne Valley from the west, blowing across the highest ground
in the North East Premier League.
Home
skipper Peter Halliday won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the away
team to have a bat first on a damp wicket after a night of heavy rain. The top
order for Tynemouth failed again, but these were difficult batting conditions
with both Callum Harding and Aussie Evasio McMillan both finding sideways
movement off the seam and a bit of swing too. They accounted for Matthew
Kimmitt, Ben Debnam, Matthew Brown and Tshepo Ntuli with only 25 runs on the
Board and when Stu Poynter pulled a ball straight to Harding off the bowling of
Dan Gardner soon after Tynemouth looked to be in desperate straits at 31-5.
However two youngsters, in the shape of 18 year old Joe Snowdon and 15 year old
Robbie Bowman, showed great composure and fine judgement to bat together while
the wicket slowly dried out. A fine partnership of 47 followed. Patient,
disciplined and gutsy too, these young guns were very much on the same
wavelength. A touch of Snowy and Tintin for those old enough to remember them.
Bowman made 25 and Snowdon 38, but more were needed, and it came with the very
last wicket stand by the two veterans of the side: Andrew Smith and skipper
Martin Pollard. Smith was positive from ball one and with a push here for one,
a nudge there for two and some well struck drives to the ropes, things were
moving along nicely. Pollard introduced his own brand of Bazball with positive
hooks and drives and the returning McMillan responded in typical Aussie style
bouncing the skipper and hitting his helmet. However
by the time Pollard was dismissed Tynemouth had made 155 with Smith undefeated
on 36.
Between
innings there were one or two takers from the fruit and veg stall outside the
Pavilion. A healthier option than the kitchen at Hetton Lyons but on a day like
this those bacon butties would have certainly gone down a treat! Back to the
cricket and the run chase from the Hill. Durham Academy youngster Hayden
Mustard opened up with Angus Guy and although there was a bit of playing and
missing the pair survived the new ball and had reached 37 when Mustard, on 22,
played a most injudicious shot, by attempting to slog sweep Ntuli on the run
and only providing keeper Poynter with the simplest of stumping chances. Ntuli
then stunned the home supporters by dismissing Adam Heather and then Evasio
McMillan, both lbw, in consecutive deliveries! 37-0 had quickly changed to 38-3
and Ntuli was enjoying his bowling again after 3 weeks out with a badly cut
hand. At the other end Andrew Jones and Shaw Nel provided great support, both
running in over after over with great pace and accuracy, pitching the ball well
up on a surface that was still offering some help.
Now
it was the home team that was finding batting difficult and struggled with both
pace and turn. First Phil Bell was caught by Poynter off Ntuli, then Peter
Halliday was clean bowled by Jones, and then William Archbold caught again by
the keeper off Nel. Angus Guy had continued to play well at the other end and
was keeping his side in the game with a patient and intelligent knock but when
he was also caught behind this time off Jones it looked like the game was up
for the Hill at 78-7. However an unlikely 9th wicket partnership between Max
Williamson and Saffy Diip was to frustrate Tynemouth as the two slowly looked
to win the game for their side. Williamson looked to attack when he could but
looked solid in defence and youngster Diip, who finished on 21 not out, was yet
another youngster showing great maturity on the day with some confident and
very correct batting. As Tynemouth’s entire third team arrived to give their
support after their game at Greenside, the result was in the balance.
Williamson
and Diip had taken their team to within 17 of victory and as the tension rose
amongst the supporters it was Jones who rose to the occasion, clean bowling
Williamson for a fighting 32 and shortly afterwards had Callum Harding adjudged
lbw to clinch victory for his side by 12 runs. Jones took 4-47 and Ntuli 5-37,
his first five wicket haul for the club, providing a much needed and well
deserved win for Tynemouth against a Hill team that pushed them all the way.
Whilst Tynemouth remain second bottom and in a relegation spot the team will
take confidence from this win into next week’s home game with bottom of the
table Whitburn.
Unfortunately,
the 1s were the only Tynemouth side to finish on the winning side this weekend.
The 2s lost at home to Benwell Hill by 3 wickets. Batting first, Tynemouth
amassed 176 all out from a shade under 39 overs, with Joel Hull-Denholm’s 74
providing a solid platform, that was also built on by Dan McGee (38), though
only Ed Foreman (15) and Josh Koen (13) also reached double figures. In reply,
The Hill looked out of it at 115-7, but an unbroken 8th wicket stand of 64 saw
the visitors home, despite the best efforts of James Carr (3-32) and Dan McGee
(2-41).
The
Saturday 3s faced a tough away game against promotion contenders Greenside,
though a much changed side featured some experienced batters, with Anthony
Turner (27) and Andrew Davison (19) making useful contributions, though the
star of the show was Adam Tugby (36*) who was cruelly deprived of the chance of
making an ever better score when ian cusack (1) senselessly ran himself out; a
dismissal significantly less contentious than Bairstow’s at Lord’s the day
after. Tynemouth end up 122 all out and, after the best tea of the season thus
far, did their best to chip away at Greenside. Skipper Richy Hay certainly
played his part, claiming a wicket in his first over and holding a brace of
excellent catches to provide wickets for Dom Askins and Asik Miah, but Greenside,
aided by a storming unbeaten 62 by Dan Foster, made the runs in 26 overs. This
allowed the 3s to support the 1s in their winning cause at Benwell Hill, as
alluded to above.
The
Sunday 3s lost to South North by 4 runs at Roseworth Terrace. The home side
made an imposing 167-2; one dismissal was a run out and the other a wicket for
12 year old George Stewart, who is proving to be a real chip off the old block.
His dad Barry (48*) top scored in a losing battle, where Patrick Hallam (33),
Joel Hull-Denholm (20), Finn Hodgson (20) and Dom Askins (19) also made useful,
if ultimately fruitless, runs.
It
has been a busy few weeks for the TCC Women’s softball teams, with a few new
faces joining us. Last Sunday, a mixed team played in a festival at Seaton Burn
and finished an admirable second only just beaten by Ponteland. This Sunday TCC
Gems had their final league fixture for this summer, away to Matfen and between
the showers and a glorious tea, unfortunately could not beat a strong Matfen on
home turf. It has been a great season for them and there are plenty of
festivals and friendlies still to come.
I
really hadn’t expected to play in this one, as availability was said to be “looking
good.” Indeed, I wasn’t in the published XI that came out on Wednesday. I wasn’t
upset at all, as I’d tentatively agreed to play my first ever game of Walking
Football at Gosforth Bohemians, where they were having a family fun day,
involving some inter-club friendlies. My pal Pete Holland is their over 35s
keeper and I was looking forward to seeing him, but I began to be a little
tense as the club had issued only sketchy details of the day. Therefore, when I
got the message on Friday afternoon that I was playing, I ignored the
torrential rain and made plans to travel.
I’d
played at Greenside last year when we only had 10, crumbled to 57 all out and
were back home for 3pm or thereabouts. It was a relief to see a stronger
batting line up this week and two or three times, just as partnerships were
building, we looked to be set to post a decent score. Sadly, wickets fell
regularly and, at 106-9, I strode to the wicket. I was determined to do better
than last week and, in a fashion, I did alright. Young Adam Tugby farmed the
bowling and kept me away from strike, hitting a glorious 6 to get us a third
batting point, which had been my minimum requirement on coming in to bat. My
own run was a lofted hit over the bowler towards long on, but I sort of spoiled
things by getting myself run out, attempting a suicidal second run, when all I’d
needed to do was to face one ball to keep Adam on strike. Sorry lads, though I
doubt I’d have been able to hang around for another 9 overs or even contribute
the 18 runs needed for another batting point.
The
tea at Greenside was magnificent; I think I’ll book their caterers for my
funeral. Superb plate pie, hearty ham and pease pudding stotties and cream
cakes for dessert. Just what the athlete needs. I could have done with a kip
rather than going out to field, but I didn’t do bad at my usual spot behind
square. It got a bit tiring with Davo being a proper cricketer and insisting we
swap when a left hander came in, instead of me proving how good I am at point.
Anyway, we lost, but at least I’d managed to get my strides dirty with a diving
stop that saved a boundary. If only Dan Storey had been there…
A
quick pint later and we all headed up to The Hill to cheer the 1s on to an
absolutely vital win by a narrow margin. It was good to catch up and especially
humbling to be congratulated on Shelley and my engagement from Poll, Sean, Ben
and several others. The 3s may not have had the right result, but I had
probably my best day of the season thus far. Let’s hope we can win away to
Civil Service next Saturday, whether I’m in the team or not.
