IN a thoroughly engaging match, Barnard Castle juniors won the NYSD North knockout cup last Wednesday. They proved slightly too strong and canny for a skilful Seaton Carew team and won by 19 runs.
Led smartly by Finn Usher, who barely missed a trick, a fielding position or bowling change, it was a hugely encouraging performance. The player of the match was Daniel Watson who scored a dominant unbeaten 43 from 29 balls to give the innings some important late impetus and then bowled four overs for 13 runs.
But there were other extremely rewarding individual displays which added up to a grand collective effort – from the Usher brothers, Finn and Oscar, Theo Truss’s leg spin (how he welcomed a warm night keep the circulation in his wrist and fingers) – to top notch fielding, in which the outstanding moment was Liam Rusk’s direct hit.
Barney used seven bowlers in all. Seaton played their full part with bat and ball on a lovely evening which made it possible to think that cricket could yet still have a bright future.
Barney will play the Palliser Cup Final next month to decide the overall NYSD under 17 champs.
Barney 121-3 (20 overs, D Watson 43no, F Usher 39no, O Usher 14); Seaton Carew 102-7 (20 overs, J Bell 38, J Parker 19, F Usher 2-23, T Truss 1-12, D Watson 1-13) Barney won by 19 runs
Barnard Castle CC
FOR the second successive weekend all three of Barney’s senior teams lost. It may be slightly premature to suggest, as did one supporter, that the wheels are coming off, but the tyres could do with pumping up quickly.
The shortage of players – some on holiday, others involved in different activities, some injured – was a major factor in all the defeats.
With many of those returning this week there should be relief – and at least there cannot be a trio of treble losses since the second XI are without a game because of the club’s Bands Day.
There were moments on Saturday when the first XI looked as though they would make light of their weakened state.
Opening bowlers James Wainman and Josh Bousfield were both missing.
Wainman was in Canterbury, about to make his first-class debut for Warwickshire against Kent in Division One of the County Championship while Bousfied had injured a shoulder. With Mike Dixon also absent it made for an unfamiliar XI.
Barney used their fifth different pair of opening batsmen in the nine league matches they have played with Owen Peddelty coming in for his Premier Division debut. He acquitted himself well as he and Giles Creedon gave Barney a solid start.
The loss of Creedon, caught behind, caused a stutter. Hashan Dumindu was out for his second consecutive duck and then Peddelty became the first victim of Thornaby’s professional spinner, Sagar Udeshi.
However, Barney’s best two batsmen captain James Quinn and Richard Borrowdale effected the necessary revival. Both played with care and caution on the low, slow surface and a competitive total of around 180 looked likely.
Borrowdale decided it was time to accelerate and having hit sixes from the first two balls of an over had designs on doing likewise to all six. His ambition foundered on the third ball when he slightly under-clubbed and was caught at long off.
Barney capsized thereafter and lost their last six wickets for eight runs to a combination of Udeshi and Lewis Harper as Quinn, unable to farm enough of the bowling, was left stranded.
The total still looked reasonable given the surface and despite a flurry of runs at the start, Thornaby were forced into playing with extreme patience.
When three wickets fell for two runs, Rob Dixon and Creedon deservedly reaping the benefits for their accuracy, Barney’s prospects took a turn for the better.
But Harper and Jeremy Boyle were rarely troubled afterwards. They put on a trouble-free 104 for the fourth wicket and were equal to all the bowling changes that Quinn made. By the time Boyle was lbw to the excellent Dixon the game was up for Barney.
Barney
O Peddelty b Udeshi 19, G Creedon c Boyle b Harper 7, H Dumindu lbw Metcalfe 0, J Quinn not out 47, R Borrowdale c Ward b Beaumont 59, P Roberts b Udeshi 8, R Watson lbw Udeshi 0, F Usher st Boyle b Udeshi 3, P Merryweather c Coverdale b Udeshi 0, A Smith b Harper 1, R Dixon lbw Harper 0, Extras 6, Total 150 all out (47.5 overs)
Bowling – L Harper 11.5-2-35-3, L Metcalfe 14-8-24-1, S Udeshi 14-3-44-5, D Wade 2-0-14-0, L Beaumont 6-0-32-1
Thornaby
N Coverdale lbw Dixon 4, D Seymour c Borrowdale b Creedon 24, J Boyle lbw Dixon 50, K Ward c Quinn b Creedon 2, L Harper not out 61, S Purcifer not out 5, Extras 5, Total 151-4 (47.5 overs)
Bowling – G Creedon 15-3-32-2, A Smith 2-0-17-0, R Dixon 14.5-4-40-2, F Usher 7-0-29-0, R Watson 7-1-16-0, J Quinn 2-0-12-0
Thornaby won by six wickets
Barney II v Guisborough
IT was not the ideal fixture for Barney II XI to be fielding quite such an unrecognisable side.
Many of their players, untroubled for several summers by the varying fortunes of cricket, had to forage in their attics for kit.
They were up against the Division Two leaders with a crack bowling attack.
Ian Swinburn took the game to the opposition from the start, hitting seven fours in his brief but spectacular occupation.
It probably could not last and did not, and when it was over into the attack came Muhammad Zahid, scourge of Premier Division sides for many years.
His brand of mischievous spin, veteran though it is now, was altogether too much for an untried side whose relationship with a bat had not been close for some time.
Guisborough started poorly as Barney refused to go quite as quietly as might have been imagined but it was done and dusted by the 14th over of the innings.
Barney 56 all out (16.5 overs, I Swinburn 34, M Zahid 6-9, C Matthews 3-21); Guisborough 60-3 (13.1 overs, T Gittins 30 no, H Bowman 21no, T Hutchinson 2-25)
Barney III v Redcar III
ALTHOUGH they were bowled out for less than three figures, six of Barney’s vastly inexperienced third XI reached double figures on Sunday.
None quite went on to build a substantial innings but Ross Hutchinson’s nine ball cameo for 19 – three fours and a six – warmed peopled up on a cold afternoon.
One of Barney’s team, Phil Baxter, had not played for a 40 years.
Defeat came quickly but there was some tidy bowling and fielding on the way.
Barney 93 all out (24.3 overs, R Hutchinson 19, L Jopling 15, J Watson 4-44, A Wetherell 3-20); Redcar 94-3 (17.4 overs, M Brown 39, J Rayner 19, S Mullery 2-31) Redcar won by eight wickets
Darlington and District Cricket League
RABY Castle leapfrogged above Barningham to second place in the table after cruising to a six wicket win on Saturday.
On a hot afternoon when most captains would have had little hesitation batting first, Raby’s Joe Dent stuck to his tried and tested formula and inserted the hosts after winning the toss.
It was a wise move. The rain from earlier in the week meant the wicket offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers in terms of movement off the seam plus variable – and sometimes steepling – bounce.
After the loss of two early wickets to some accurate bowling from James Forster and especially Joe Beadle, Stuart Laundy and skipper Rob Stanwix set about rebuilding the innings.
All was going well until Laundy’s lapse in concentration saw him stumped for 21 while awaiting the umpire’s decision on an LBW appeal.
Stanwix was the only batsman who came to terms with the conditions, lashing a boundary-laden 50 before he offered a catch.
There followed a clatter of wickets which left Mark Thompson, coming in at number six, stranded on eight not out as Barningham were bowled out for 119 – well below par.
Simon Lee extracted plenty of spin and finished with 4-7 from 5.5 overs and there were two apiece for Forster and Dan Lee.
Raby’s run chase was aided by yet another plague of dropped catches by Barningham’s fielders. An oft-occurring problem, this week four chances of varying difficulty were grounded.
Simon Lee, Peter Forster and Matt Dent all hit 30s to punish the hosts and reach the target in the 25th over.
Despite a scoreline which may suggest otherwise, East Cowton posed few problems for leaders Haughton after being bowled out for 53.
That Haughton lost six wickets in the chase owed more to a reversal of the batting order than anything else.
Nunthorpe are in fourth after a nine wicket win at home to Middleton St George.
The wickets were shared around as Middleton were bowled out for 114.
Brett Roberts led the reply for Nunthorpe hitting an unbeaten 76.
Aldbrough got back to winning ways with a six wicket success at Richmond School – and all this without the bowlers taking a single wicket.
Richmondshire IV made 195-1 in their 40 overs,with Clive Layfield unbeaten on 80 and Andy Dade run out for 55, thanks to good work from Brian Jones. Tom Spensley was unbeaten on 42.
Aldbrough’s successful chase was built around Matthew Brown’s 72 and skipper Tom Pickering’s unbeaten 62, with the win achieved in the 31st over.
West Park RA claimed a much needed win at home to Cliffe, whose first four wickets went down in the blink of an eye before James Bendle hit 39 to take his side to 99 all out.
With RA wickets tumbling in the face of some good bowling from Ben Howe and Richard Jameson, West Park were thankful for Rakesh Ambasaria’s unbeaten 26 to get them over the line with seven wickets down.
Barton remain rock bottom after defeat at Spennymoor. Andrew Carrick hit 82 and Andy Collinngwood 42 in an incredible innings in which they were the only two batsmen to reach double figures and which also included 52 extras.
James Frankland was the pick of the Barton bowlers with 5-20 in 5.5 overs.
However, Barton’s struggles with the bat continue. Simon Macrury made 43, but that was as good as it got in an all out total of 110, with James Rhymer taking 4-29.
In the B division, the evergreen Anth Coatsworth hit 58 as Middleton-in-Teesdale posted 182-8 against leaders Cockerton, whose openers then both hit half centuries to secure a seven wicket win.
Dave Black hit an unbeaten 81 and Mark Butcher 56 as Middleton tried seven bowlers as they went in search of wickets.
Elsewhere there were wins for Witton-le-Wear at Barton II; Catterick Village at Cliffe II and Richmondshire V at Oxbridge.
In the C division, Spennymoor II were only able to field eight players and were bowled out for just 19 at leaders Lands who lost two wickets reaching the small target.
Etherley scored a good win against East Cowton II, posting 150 before bowling their opponents out for 62.
Durham Cricket League
IT was difficult afternoon at the Randolph Social Welfare ground as Evenwood’s young team slumped to a 59 run defeat at the hands of Brandon.
The visitors, featuring former Durham star Gordon Muchall, won the toss and batted.
However, they were pegged back by an early run out and an excellent spell by Regan Maughan.
When Muchall fell for 31, it was left to the middle order to build a total which could be defended.
Maughan finished with 3-29, Rhys Peairs took 2-16 and pro Muhammad Yasin chipped in with 3-37 as Brandon were bowled out for 155.
Evenwood’s reply began well before opener Andrew Rowell was caught and bowled for 17 with the score on 31. Thereafter there was little resistance and once Thomas Teesdale was out for 36, the game was all but up.
Evenwood were eventually bowled out for 96.
On Saturday, Evenwood travel to Kimblesworth hoping for an upturn in fortunes.
