Barnard Castle CC
A WICKET here, a wicket there and Barnard Castle would be top of the NYSD League by now. Instead, for the third time this season they were held to a draw on Saturday by resolute batting and find themselves third.
Against Thornaby in April they needed one wicket to win, against Middlesbrough in May it was two and now against Normanby Hall they were again left one wicket short. In all, it has cost them 28 points.
It is always a risky proposition to bat first when it is necessary to take all your opponents’ wickets to win the match. But as Barney have discovered twice in their league winning seasons of 2016 and 2018 it is necessary and worthwhile.
They were probably worth the maximum 25 points on Saturday after a splendid batting performance which saw them reach 265-7 from only 47 overs.
Normanby were never truly in the hunt but hung on grimly after being 94-7 and narrowly survived on 225-9 with their veteran professional Usman Arshad seeing it through with an unbeaten century.
The day and the pitch were made for batting and Barney duly obliged. First, though, they had to contend with Yorkshire bowler Dominic Leech, back for a day with his hometown club.
Leech will be by some distance the quickest bowler Barney’s players have faced this season and at around 80mph he demanded careful attention.
His radar was not fully intact but it is to the credit of openers James Clarkson and Owen Peddelty that they were not perturbed by the pace and steadily built the innings. Clarkson went on, Peddelty, to his annoyance, did not, for with the hard work done he hit a long hop to point.
There followed a lovely partnership for the second wicket between Clarkson and captain James Quinn. Clarkson was watchful but always ready to keep the board ticking over. Quinn took a while to find his timing but when he did he was dominant.
They put on 149 in 23 overs before Clarkson misjudged a drive and was caught and bowled by Arshad. The innings never fully regained its serene momentum afterwards.
Quinn, within seven runs of a glorious and deserved hundred, called Samarth Seth for a quick single which probably was not there and scrambled in vain to regain his ground when sent back. His 93 took 88 balls and contained five sixes and eight fours.
Seth looked briefly determined to make up for this loss but again flattered to deceive, caught at deep square leg the ball after hitting Leech for six and attempting to repeat the feat. It was left to Karl Carver to ensure that Barney did not waste their advantage with a quickfire 38.
Normanby were circumspect from the start and when they lost both openers with the score on 17 the slope to safety became significantly steeper. Arshad showed no inclination to do anything but stay around and kept losing partners. Rob West took two wickets in successive balls, Carver was probing.
Arshad needed someone to stay with him and Carl Chillingworth was that man. The pair took the score from 94 to 184 and used up 12 overs. Quinn changed his bowlers, tried attacking and defensive fields but the pitch was having the last word.
When Chillingworth was bowled by Dixon, determinedly bowling as straight as he could, and Carver took the ninth wicket there were still seven overs left.
A huge lbw appeal against Chris Witherley first ball which would have secured the points was turned down. But Barney to win now surely?
Arshad, however, sensed survival now and began enjoying himself in the sunshine. His first 50 took 79 balls, his second 38. Somehow, Barney had been repelled.
This Saturday sees Barney head to Richmond.
Barney
J Clarkson c&b Arshad 52, O Peddelty c Rehman b Witherley 12, J Quinn run out 93, S Seth c Rashid b Leech 21, K Carver not out 38, F Usher c Rehman b Arshad 2, R West c Witherley b Akhtar 6, J Bousfield b Akhtar 9, R Watson not out 12, Extras 29 Total (47 overs) 267 for 7 dec
Bowling: D Leech 10-1-48-1, Abdaar Ishaq 8-0-34-0, C Witherley 9-0-42-1, Asim Akhtar 7-0-48-2, Usman Arshad 9-0-56-2
Normanby Hall
Waleed Rehman c Watson b Dixon 9, J Leech b Bousfield 5, Usman Arshad not out 109, Rashad Rashid lbw Bousfield 17, D Leech c Peddelty b West 7, A Vaughan c Clarkson b West 0, Jawaad Ahmed b Carver 2, Asim Akhtar b Carver 11, C Chillingsworth b Dixon 38, Abdaar Ishaq lbw Carver 1, C Witherley not out 0, Extras 26, Total (53 overs) 225 for 9
Bowling: J Bosufield 11.3-2-34-2, R Dixon 10-3-45-2, K Carver 16-3-48-3, R West 7.3-1-24-2, R Watson 6-0-45-0, F Usher 2-0-15-0
Match drawn
Barnard Castle v Stokesley
MacMillan Cup semi final
BARNEY cruised through to this Sunday’s final with a convincing seven wicket win with more than six overs remaining. Barney were in the driving seat from the moment Josh Bousfield removed Johnny Weighell for a duck and skipper James Quinn affected the run-out of Shanuka Vithanawasam for 18 off ten balls.
The bowling was tight and the wickets shared around as Stokesley were restricted to just 100-9 off their 20 overs.
Barney’s reply was built around a stand of 56 between Quinn and Samarth Seth before both were dismissed in the 20s, leaving Karl Carver and Rob West to see the side home with a minimum of fuss. In the other semi-final, Thornaby saw off Richmond’s challenge by 24 runs.
The final takes place at Thornaby on Sunday, with a 4.30pm start.
Bedale v Barnard Castle II
IN the crazy world of Barney second XI anything is possible. Having beaten clear Division Two leaders the previous week they went to bottom-placed Bedale full of confidence. Naturally they lost.
Batting first Barney lost wickets regularly as soon as the prolific openers were parted. Cameron McKnight played a few crunching drives, captain Richard Stanwix added a late gloss but they hardly had enough.
Barney used five bowlers but Bedale romped to victory.
Barney 108 all out (28.2 overs, C McKnight33, R Stanwix 27no, Z Johns 3-10, J Hughes 3-26); Bedale 110-4 (23.5 overs, J Heads 43, A Langhorne 19, D Watson 2-31)
Bedale won by six wickets
