Sep 16, 2021, 4:44 pmThe return of the match report!!
It appears the 1st XI match reports peaked when everybody was slaughtered for their efforts in the victory over Whitley Bay six weeks ago, much to the enjoyment of the readers and then they since ceased. However, in the meantime we have actually been playing some competitive cricket so before we dive into the last report of the season, here’s a little recap of the weeks leading up to this point.
14th August – We made the travel north to sunny Berwick in the eagerly anticipated top of the table clash and arguably one of the biggest games of the club’s history knowing a win would be a massive step towards becoming league champions. That morning brought a few trips to the toilet, nervous poo’s and all that but what would follow was an excellent team effort. Bowling first, Cory spearheaded the attack and was pretty much unplayable ripping through the Berwick top order with a spell of 4-20. Greaves picked up where Cory left off claiming 3-17 in no time and with Marky Lawrence nicking a couple at the other end and Berwick were all out 84. In our reply, Colin Thornton batted through finishing 25 not out while successfully boring the bowlers to death, whilst partner Chris Harwood flayed a pleasing 27. Lewy Tanney would see the side home blasting a quickfire 16 to see us win by 7 wickets and pick up max 30 points! Four games to go, 3 wins needed….
21st August – Nine regular 1st teamers had spent the previous two nights getting tanked up in Liverpool on Scotty Maddison’s stag do and as the train departed for central station at 6:35am Saturday Morning, not one of them was in a fit state to play cricket. (James Richards was exempt as he’s a mince and only drinks orange juice on nights out). Much to the delight of the lads, it was chucking it down with rain and the whole weeks fixture list was washed out. If there is a cricket god out there he was definitely watching over us. 5 points picked up.
28th August – Allendale CC v ARCC. First of all, we must say what a pleasure it was to play at such a picturesque ground on a beautiful summer’s day. Skipper Dent chose to bat first and we were in trouble early doors when Matty Tanney and Colin were removed by the unsettling pace of Tom Scott leaving us at 16-2. Dent himself followed the same route soon after playing a shocking shot across the line and was bowled with the score on 30. Power trio A. Peacock (32), Lew Tan (33) and Cal Milburn (28) rebuilt the innings but when they all departed and the score sat 122-7 we were a long way short of a good score. Enter the trio we all needed – Scotty Mad, James Richards and star batsmen Dean Greaves who showed real grit and determination to battle out the remaining 12 overs and push the score up to 168. Greaves and James putting on 39 for the final wicket. With the ball in hand Cory and James both picked up an early scalp but Allendale fought hard and had us on the back foot at 73-3 until the king of swing Greaves entered the fray and reaffirmed his status of club legend. A spell of 5 wickets for 9 runs in as many overs was exactly what we needed and he was well supported by Lawrence who grabbed another 3 to add to his growing seasonal tally and bring home the victory. A huge 29 points and now one win away from the title!
4th September – The day of destiny – Stocksfield 2’s were the visitors to The Rec and the equation was a simple one.. 28 points and the league title was ours! The team was at full strength with the exception of regular wicket keeper Matty Tanney who was ably replaced by Andrew Raine behind the stumps. Asked to bat first on a typical flat deck, David Dent finally manned up and opened the batting and proceeded to blast a barrage of boundaries in an enterprising knock of 42 until in typical Denty fashion he played a honking shot and was caught. Colin and new man in Peacock then bored everyone in the vicinity of the rugby club to death with some ultra defensive batting. (Adam’s 8 month old son cried for an hour straight watching his dad bat for the first time). Adam was clean bowled with the score on 104 trying to inject some much needed energy into the innings. (N.B. Colin was 17* off 104 balls at this point) bringing run machine Lew Tan to the crease. After Lewy gave Colin the no talk death stare they both played a flurry of shots and a 75 run partnership saw the final score land on 183-2 for max batting points. Shout out to Cal Milburn for another afternoon spent with pad rash watching people block balls he reckons he could reverse sweep for six.
Needing only six wickets to secure the required points we got off to the perfect start when Cory clean bowled Catnatch in the first over. James Richards struck early from the other end removing Wraith caught at mid off and then having Kingman snicked off to 1st slip where Captain Symbols actually caught one. Cory followed up beating page all ends up with a slower ball and Stocksfield were reeling at 32-4. Enter the resident wicket Burglar Mark Lawrence here to clean up the tail… N. Numan took a liking to some of Mark’s early pie chucking and was granted a lifeline when a skied shot to cow corner was headed towards Callum only for him to still be sitting in a huff about not getting a bat and a simple chance was squandered with him getting nowhere near it. Safe hands Cory made no mistake next time around Numan offered a catch and the end was in sight. Lawrence picked up a cheeky 4-21 and the title was secured when Colin took a sharp chance at midwicket to send the crowd wild. (The crowd was made up of Bernie, Shaun and David Tanney). WE ARE THE CHAMPIONSSSS!!
Now if anyone is still reading here’s what happened when we hosted Corbridge CC on the final game of the season.
Believe it or not and contrary to the scorecard this game was pretty much a damp squib. The title was in the bag, the opposition were hoping it was cancelled due to lack of players and our lads just wanted to crack on with the club BBQ. There was no toss and Denty let Corbridge bat first so they could leave early (sure I seen Corbridge captain Fowler slip him £20). Anyways, Cory removed the first three batsmen in quick succession with Jamesy clean bowling another to have them 24-4. When Milburn picked up another it looked for all money he’d get a 5for but he bottled it completely and was blowing out his arse after 5 overs. FINE! After begging his best friend for a bowl Mark was introduced needing 4 wickets for 50 in the season – the pitch was turning and Mark had no clue what to do when the Corbridge middle order who had previously looked out their depth starting hitting out. Mark dropped an easy caught and bowled blaming it on the sun even though he was wearing sunglasses?? Rachel turned up to open the bar so Greaves came into the attack to finish the job taking 3 wickets for 0 runs like an absolute boss! Corbridge all out 37.
Both sides wanted the runs knocked off as quick as possible we sent our two most attacking batsmen in Matty and Colin. The lads had to do a double take when Matty slapped a boundary in the first over but he was soon castled by a youngster who was struggling to land it on the strip. (Highlight of the day was Matty telling the umpire it kept low only for him to laugh and inform Matty it was actually just a terrible shot). Colin attempted a shot other than the dab through gully and missed a straight one to succumb LBW. Score 20-2. Cal Milburn who was pushed uncomfortably high up the order to 3 and whacked a meaty straight six. With 2 runs needed he tried to end it in style but got nowhere a slog and we ended winning with 2 byes. Village cricket at its best.
…aaaaand EXHALE! The final word is just to say a massive thank you to all those who have sponsored us throughout the season, those who have came up and supported us and a huge congratulations to all the lads involved in making history and achieving our end goal. We look forward to the challenge of Division 2 next year.
See you in 2022! OVER AND OUT..
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