On a day of contrasting fortunes for Tynedale Cricket Club's senior teams in the North East Premier League, the 2nd XI moved up to second place in Division Three after winning a thrilling match at Priors Flat by one wicket against their Shotley Bridge counterparts while the 1st XI suffered a third defeat in a row at Castle Eden.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Shotley Bridge looked set a big total after good knocks from Jack Temple (59) and David Walker (52) took them to 108-1. The score then progressed to 186-5 before a dramatic collapse saw them all out for 189. Most of the damage was done by Matthew Platts (5-31 off 8.1 overs) and Josh Wallace (3-14 off 9 overs). In reply, Paul Scandle (55) and Ben Griffiths (32) shared an opening stand of 72 before Platts (37) and Will Ainsley (30 not out) kept the hosts on track for victory. A mini-collapse from 174-6 to 174-9 put the pressure on until Ainsley and last man Isaac Prentice (8 not out) added the required 16 runs in four overs to get them across the line.
Tynedale 1st XI had a day to forget at Castle Eden where they were dismissed for only 61 in 24 overs after being 46-3 at one stage. The last seven wickets were all taken by J.Malkin who finished with impressive figures of 7-14 off nine overs. The hosts coasted to victory by 10 wickets in 8.3 overs.
In Division One of the O'Neill Richmonds West Tyne Senior Cricket League, leaders Riding Mill scraped home by one wicket in a high-scoring match at Belsay against South Northumberland 1864. The hosts posted a challenging total of 182-8 from the allotted 40 overs with opener Will Garside (70) top-scorer. In reply, Riding Mill were indebted to Michael Thompson (67) and Aadi Bethanabatla (35) before eventually reaching their target with only seven balls to spare and the last pair at the crease.
Nearest rivals Haydon Bridge won by 45 runs at home to Benwell Hill, while Chris Wilkie (58 not out) and Srikanth Reddy (36) starred with the bat for Newton who posted an impressive total of 200-7 against Belsay in their belated first home game of the season at Mowden Hall. Reddy and Andy Jones both claimed three wickets as the visitors were dismissed for 72. Haltwhistle enjoyed a comfortable home win against Humshaugh by 67 runs. The hosts reached 184-8 thanks mainly to Alfie Dodd (45), Callum Snowdon (42) and Philip Thompson (32 not out) before Humshaugh slumped from 81-3 to 117 all out in 27 overs.
The midweek action featured the quarter-finals of the Division One KO Cup which resulted in wins for Humshaugh, Benwell Hill, Belsay and Haltwhistle. South Northumberland 1864 batted first at Humshaugh, with opener George McConnell (24) top-scorer. His side were going well on 60-2 before slipping to 60-5 and the innings closed on 103-8 from the allotted 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers were Whitley Bay footballer Luke Parkinson (3-10) and Andy Crawford (3-19). In reply, Humshaugh were in trouble on 14-3 before Parkinson (30) and Jack Garrett (24 not out) added 52 for the fourth wicket. They reached their target off the penultimate ball of the 18th over with five wickets in hand. The visitors' hopes had been kept alive by some great bowling from Gregor Pearce (3-5 off four overs).
Wylam recovered from 9-2 to reach 109-3 against Benwell Hill with valuable contributions from Greg Brown (51 not out) and Andrew Paton (20 not out). In reply, Jayem Patel (39) and Andy Dawson (28 not out from 21 balls) helped Benwell Hill across the line with four balls remaining and five wickets in hand.
Belsay opener Nuwan Liyanage (33) top-scored in their total of 114-9 at home to Newton, with Andy Jones (3-12) the pick of the bowlers. A one-sided contest saw Newton dismissed for only 68. In the other tie, Riding Mill were restricted to 87-7 after being put in to bat at Haltwhistle, with impressive bowling figures returned by Dan Heppell (3-11), Alfie Dodd (2-12) and Archie Richardson (2-13). The South Tyne side reached their modest target off the first ball of the 19th over with five wickets in hand.
The semi-finals take place on Wednesday July 3 at 6.00pm with Humshaugh at home to Benwell Hill, while Haltwhistle travel to Belsay.
In Division One of the Northumberland and Tyneside Cricket League, Ponteland came out on top by 4 wickets at home to Stocksfield in a match where almost 500 runs were scored. The visitors' star batsman was Luke Doneathy (124 from 131 balls) in their total of 245 all out. In reply, Ben O'Brien (92 from 81 balls) and JD Mirza (58 from 69 balls) led the way as the hosts reached their target with almost seven overs to spare.
League leaders Matfen and Corbridge both enjoyed big wins in Division Two. Corbridge won by 250 runs at home to bottom of the table Percy Main who remain the only team without a win this season. Marcus Sewell (129 from 114 balls) and Daniel Owen (48) were the main contributors in Corbridge's impressive total of 273-9, and the visitors then collapsed from 21-5 to 23 all out in only 12 overs with the damage done by Corey Dover (4-13) and James Percival (6-10). Matfen are 26pts ahead of nearest rivals Ryton after winning by 200 runs at Seaton Burn. Ananth Jegadeesh (128 from 101 balls) and Mohsin Iqbal (122 not out from 113 balls) were in great form as Matfen reached 386-3 in their allotted 50 overs. The hosts were always behind the required run rate and closed on 186-9.
In Division Three, Charlie Blacker top-scored with 101 in Allendale's total of 207 all out at Alnmouth & Lesbury. In reply, the hosts were dismissed for 161 with the bulk of the wickets taken by Jake Reed (4-49) and Elliott Birkett-Jones (5-27).
Despite the best efforts of Lawrie Cope, Stocksfield 2nd XI lost by two wickets at home to Kirkley 1st XI. Cope top-scored with 79 in his side's total of 161 all out before recording figures of 2-14 off five overs.
In Division Six South, Matfen 2nd XI remain top of the table despite suffering only their second defeat of the season at home to local rivals Hexham Leazes. The visitors' top-scorers were Tim Griffiths (64) and Stephen Donnison (47) in their total of 192 all out, with Justin Dempsey (4-44) and Toby Pilkington (3-13) the pick of the bowlers. In reply, Matfen No.8 Paul Wright top-scored with 51 before they were dismissed for 152 as all five Leazes' bowlers claimed wickets.
Corbridge 2nd XI won by nine runs on the road against Newcastle Super Kings 2nd XI. The bulk of the runs in the visitors' total of 210-3 came from Dave Smurthwaite (79) and Matt Thompson (79) before they dismissed the hosts for 201, with F.Burrows (3-19) and Chris Jowsey (3-19) doing most of the damage with the ball.
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