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Club has another sign up takes us to the magic 10, we are hoping for some more following more networking with our Rugby Club mini section. 

We go live on Tuesday 15th May 6pm till 7pm.

Benwell & Walbottle were relegated from Division 2 last year and we knew we would have to be right on our game against a side accustomed to playing at a higher standard. With David Dent unavailable through work, Michael Adamson came up from the second team. We were otherwise unchanged from last week’s victory at Whickham.

Skipper Peacock lost his first toss of the year and Benwell unsurprisingly chose to bat first on a flat deck and a gorgeous day for batting. The changing room was livid at the prospect of bowling first in the mid-day heat, Mark Lawrence immediately began applying a vast number of sun tan lotions to protect his pale skin. Apparently applying factor 50 twice and then a top layer of 20 gets you factor 120 protection.

With Dent unavailable, James Richards took the new ball alongside stalwart Greaves. It was Richards who got the first breakthrough trapping Tomlinson lbw to a beauty which nipped back and trapped him in front of all three. Richards was now hitting his stride and had clearly found his line to the left hander, number 3 Denehy was fortunate to survive a number of close appeals before succumbing in identical fashion.

Lead by Reed, Benwell went on the counterattack in an attempt to alleviate the pressure, reed hit a number of fine cover drives off Greaves and the away side recovered somewhat to 20-2. Other than some movement through the air with the new ball the pitch was offering very little to the bowlers but we managed to contain the run rate through some good work from our opening bowlers.

Not to be left out Greaves soon got in on the action, taking the big wicket of Reed trapped LBW for 11. Lawrence came on for Richards who finished an impressive spell returning 10-13-2, such a big boost to have him back firing on all cylinders again.

Lawrence came into the attack looking to build on his 2-123 from last week…his troubles seemed long forgotten as he quickly settled into a rhythm. An aggressive line and consistent accuracy soon yielded results as Birrell fell LBW for 8. Lawrence was incensed a few balls earlier when he was convinced he had his man LBW, the umpire quite rightly turned down the appeal. Birrell was about 10 feet down the wicket on a sweep to a ball that hit him on the top of the knee roll, not out Mark.

Opener Bartram had dug in well amongst the fall of wickets at the other end, before a lapse in concentration lead him to go for a sweep shot to the shorter boundary and he was bowled for a structured 32. Bartram was visibly frustrated with himself as he made his way back. Benwell were 60-5 at this stage and well behind the curve on a flat deck.

With the more recognised batters back in the hut Lawrence & Cory Milburn continued to push home the advantage. Cory was bowling with good pace and getting a good response from the hard wicket. Harrington fell caught behind to a ball that grew on him and just caught the outside edge. A sharp catch from non-keeper, non-batsman Peacock.

Into the 40^th over and Scott Maddison picked his bottom lip up off the floor to come and join the party. Cory had bowled well but wickets had dried up and the skipper brought on Maddison in an attempt to close out the innings. The two combined as Maddison pushed one past the right hander and Cory made an absolute meal of the easiest catch you will ever see at first slip. Cory a few overs before had dropped a chance to Lawrence which subsequently cost him a 5 wicket hall, Cory used to be our best fielder, used to.

Benwell closed on 89 all out which was a way behind par, credit to all of our bowlers who were superb when conditions were against them. Our batters now had a real opportunity to go out and win the game and take us to 3 from 3.

A special shout to Lewy Tanney who was outstanding in the field at mid-off, throwing himself around and probably saving 15-20 runs just on his own back. No doubt the pressure he managed to build helped our bowlers take those wickets. I don’t know whether it was the thrill of his new house or the new £2.50 sunglasses he was wearing, but more of the same next week please!

Peacock’s much better half got a hero’s welcome when she turned up with team ice lollies at half time. Good job James Richards was batting 10 as he had eaten 13 calippo’s and it wasn’t even 4:30pm.

Callum Milburn needed to leave early to make a night shift so was sent up the order for some licensed biffing alongside regular opener Harwood. The pair wasted little time, Harwood set the tone with a slashed drive for 4 off the first delivery.

The pair raced to 30-0 off 4 overs and the game was pretty much over as a contest. Callum (44 off 36) was in his winter net batting mode where everything he faced was getting carved up and over to the boundary. Luckily for everyone our captain is sensible enough not to let anyone see his winter net bowling mode, which consists exclusively of either half trackers / life threatening beamers. It was great to see Harwood back in nick also as he hit an equally fluent 37 off 47 balls, with some fine shots of his own. We chased the required 90 run target 0 down off 14 overs.

A great win but counts for very little at this stage. Another huge game next week as we travel to Blagdon who have also had a good start to their season.

A very big thank you to Ant Elliott and Michael Mitchell who secured our club an 8 match ball sponsorship deal with Castle Scaffold Northern Limited.

Give Michael a ring for anyone who requires scaffolding on 0191 259 1670.

We travelled to Whickham looking to make amends for our miserable performance their last year. We won the toss and chose to bowl first, looking to get any benefit from bowling first on a reasonable looking deck. Same team as the week before.

Greaves & Dent opened up and were right on the money from ball 1, it was a cagey start as the opening batters dug in against the new ball. Both bowlers were giving very little away hitting a good area repeatedly and scoring was difficult early on. Armstrong looked particularly assured hitting some nice shots off the back foot when the bowlers strayed from their length, but had to remain patient as opportunities were limited.

Greaves was denied a seemingly obvious LBW appeal early on, Ainley turning round and chuckling to the slip cordon saying he would have been happy to walk. Whickham reached 18 off 14 overs before Greaves made the breakthrough trapping Armstrong LBW for 14. At 38-1 off 22 overs the rain came, a short break meant both teams lost 2 overs a piece.

Interestingly it was still raining when both teams were brought back out to play, the new rules apparently state it is the umpire’s discretion and play can resume whilst raining, this differs from our past experiences. Our bowlers struggled with a wet ball and the break somewhat halted our momentum, Whickham took full advantage and got themselves right back into it with a strong 30 minutes. After a shaky start Ainley was now batting really nicely, with some lovely shots through the leg side punishing new signing Lawrence who was missing his areas (a lot) early doors.

Cory Milburn came into the attack for his first bowl of the year and rewarded the decision with a few quick wickets both caught off a leading edge in the ring. He also got papped for a 34 meter 6 off Richardson to the short boundary much to the crowd’s delight, there was a little tension in the air at this point as Richardson had the over before nicked off the umpire not hearing the nick. ‘Hit the ground’ apparently..

Shortly after, James Richards, bricking himself managed to just hold on to a simple catch to help remove skipper Hargreaves for 7, displaying the perfect crocodile downwards palm technique, Matthew Tanney shedding a tear of admiration from mid-wicket. The game then stopped again as we went off for another short break, game reduced to 46 overs.

De-Ja vu as the home side came out firing after the break, Mark Lawrence continued to bowl pies and continued to get dispatched all over. The score began to move quickly and with Rodger now at the crease they moved swiftly past the 100 mark.

Making amends Lawrence managed to claw back some momentum by removing Ainley for a fine 68, Ainley also being a fine wicket keeper looks to be a very good player. By this point we were into the last 10 overs and found it difficult to contain scoring on a small ground. The tailed wagged for the home side and alongside some good striking from Rodger Whickham reached 184-7 off their allocation.

It was great to see James Richards back bowling for his first full game in 12 months, he returned tidy figures of 2-32 off 7, with all his overs coming near the death. He was probably our best bowler on the day.

J Richards 2-32

C Milburn 2-41

We had the worst possible start to our chase, Rodger removing Harwood to what looked a high LBW. Peacock was removed shortly after to a ball that nipped back and caught the inside edge, Ainley taking a fine one handed catch low down to his right. We were reeling at 3-2.

Rodger is a fine bowler and we’ve struggled with him both times we played Whickham in the league and he was once again giving us issues. Dent & Callum Mliburn dug in and rebuilt for a period halting the collapse. For someone who is a natural ball striker it was good to see Callum really dig in for the team. Callum later spent all evening telling every man and his dog about the ‘nonchalant’ cover drive he apparently hit for 4.

Callum was bowled for 13 off Rodger, the score now 29-3. Lewis Tanney picked up where Callum left off and alongside the ever dependable Dent the pair put on a crucial 75 run partnership to get us right back into it. Life became slightly easier once Rodger had finished his spell and the pair began to up the scoring. L Tan hit a fluid 28 before being caught behind by….Rodger, yes this guy again! Good work by skipper Hargreaves bringing his strike bowler back to halt the momentum.

We needed 50 off 9 overs with 5 wickets in hand and it was now anyone’s game. Lawrence & Cory both contributed but each time we looked like getting ahead Whickham would claw back momentum by taking a wicket. 16 needed off the last 18 balls with 2 wickets in hand. Denty with only the tail end for company.

Rodger in his last over bowled Richards for a duck, Scott Big-Nuts Maddison saw the over out admirably. We only managed 1 off the over so 15 was needed off the final 12 balls and the game was now in the home sides favour.

Yet again the game was turned on its head as we managed to score 9 off the penultimate over. Dent nicked the most beautiful ball through slip and down the hill for 4. 6 needed off the last over and the atmosphere was tense to say the least.

At this points our hearts were all racing and the crowd came out from the bar to witness the finale to a pulsating game of cricket. Scott Maddison showing nerves of steel hit a couple of 2’s off the bat and we crawled over the line with only a ball to spare. A brilliant end to a yo-yo game of cricket, a superb advert for the league.

I haven’t mentioned him much in the commentary but David Dent was utterly superb as he finished 86 not out, he marshalled our innings and stood up to be counted when it mattered most. A mature control of the scoring rate combined with some lovely stroke making it one of the finer knocks this writer has ever witnessed.

In previous years we would have folded at 3-2 and would gone down with a whimper and been 40-50 all out. Credit to our batsman who each dug in and ground it out.

Ashington Rugby CC – 27 points

Whickham CC – 8 points

Newly promoted Whitley Bay travelled to the rec for the first game of the season, having played them in the past we knew they can often be an unpredictable side depending on who they have available so we took our preparations seriously.

A big thanks to our neighbours Morpeth CC for allowing us to use their astro turf nets, we had a great practice session on Thursday night and the guys managed to shake off any rust having not netted for the best part of 3 weeks.

An even bigger thankyou goes to our Groundsman Paul Milburn, chief support Bernie Tanney and the other lads who gave up their time. They worked tirelessly throughout the week to help get the game on and the ground was in good nick by the time we got to Saturday morning. People reading this will be aware of the result, but the pitch was in good condition considering the weather and was dry with good colour.

Newly appointed skipper Adam Peacock won the toss and elected to bowl first, a big sigh of relief from the home team batters but also the vice-captain David Dent. Adam is a very open supporter of bat first, eat big tea, let the bowlers win the game whilst said tea digests in the afternoon sun – so Dent was pleasantly surprised that his skipper had actually made a rational decision at the toss.

Andrew Storey was unavailable due to family & work commitments and we welcomed James Richards back into the team after a year out recovering from an ACL injury incurred in the warm up of last year’s pre-season friendly. With the addition of new signing Mark Lawrence form Blyth CC, we now have a team full of competition in both the batting and bowling departments.

Swing duo Dean Greaves & Dent took the new ball as the skipper looked to get all he could out of an early season wicket. Things got off to a great start as Greaves removed Mark Harris in the third over of the game caught well by Peacock off a cut shot to a ball that nipped back. The next over Dent removed Peter Mcleod to a regulation caught behind and Whitley bay were 0-2.

The ball was moving through the air and was causing big problems for the opposition who were adjusting to division 3 cricket. Dent soon got the big wicket, removing last year’s top scorer Craig Sample with a ball that would bowled the pope, swinging away and hitting top of off stump. After that wickets fell at a rapid rate and Whitley Bay collapsed to 6 all out. We haven’t had any confirmation but we would be surprised if that wasn’t some sort of North East record, never mind a record for our league.

The 11.3 overs were as much of a blur to us as I’m sure it was to the opposition, you couldn’t help but feel for them slightly as batsman came and went. We’ve all been in those scenarios where your team collapses and it’s sometimes hard to stop the rot. Credit must go to our opening duo who didn’t bowl a ball out of place and did their jobs superbly. Dean Greaves threatens to retire every season but at this rate we will be extending his contract to 2025. 

Dean Greaves               6 overs, 6 wickets for 3 runs

David Dent                    5.2 overs, 4 wickets for 2 runs 

Never has a man been more nervous than Chris Harwood as he went out to open the batting, Harwood has had a few ordinary seasons by his high standards and rather than offer support the lads were mercilessly laying into him as he sat shaking trying to lace up his pads.

Both batsman played and missed several times before Harwood hit a boundary 4 over mid-wicket and then Dent nicked through the slip’s to win the game by 10 wickets.

With the game finished at 2:15pm , rugby on at the club and the sun shining, I joined others in texting the other half to tell them that we were chasing 280 and probably wouldn’t be home till 8/9pm, beer o’clock it was!! This was until Cory Milburn foolishly tweeted the result and gave away the game…a few were swiftly dragged home by their collar to do family stuff and go on a nice walk somewhere pretty (Denty).

Next week is a big game as we travel to Wickham hoping to make up for our dreadful performance their last year, whilst Stuart Rosser’s 2^nd team begin their campaign at home to Kirkley 1^St X1 in the newly formed Division 6 North. Following this weeks cancelled away game at Wooler. 

Our club has signed up to the All Stars program this season and we are really looking forward to seeing young children using our facilities.

We have a number of playing members along with our coaches who want to become activators to help run the 8 week program.

With the help from the Northumberland Cricket Board we will be hosting a free taster session on Tuesday 1st May starting at 6pm till 7pm.

Our 8 week program then starts Tuesday 15th May starting at 6pm till 7pm running up to and including 3rd July.

By registering for All Stars Cricket, the children will be guaranteed eight weeks of jam packed fun, activity and skills development.

The programme is suitable for all children aged 5 to 8, new to cricket and sport as the sessions are designed to teach the basic skills of the game. Every child will earn stars as the weeks progress that match the skills learned during the programme:  

• Batting – hitting a moving ball
• Throwing – underarm and overarm
• Catching – small and large balls
• Bowling – overarm
• Running – lots of movement
• Teamwork – fun games with friends
• Communication – the basics of cricket
• Spirit of Cricket – how to respect others

N&TCL Fixture Postponement Saturday 14 April 2018

As stated in yesterday's email, Executive Committee members have greatly appreciated the feedback received from member clubs.  All club's responded to the Committee's request and from this it was evident there was an overwhelming mandate to postpone Saturday's fixtures.

Accordingly the fixtures due to played on Saturday 14 April 2018 are postponed and the season will start on Saturday 21 April 2018.  For players suspended from the start of season their suspension will also begin on Saturday 21st April 2018.  

The postponed fixtures will all be played on Sunday 1st July 2018.

There is, however, one qualification to this decision. If the North East Premier League and North East Pyramid Management Board make a change in their arrangements for 2018 it would then be possible for this League to extend its season.  In those circumstances the postponed fixtures would then be played on Saturday 15th September 2018 (rather than 1st July).  It is thought likely that we will know whether such a change has been made by the end of this month and clubs will be informed immediately.

Clubs will have an opportunity at Thursday's Management Committee meeting to raise any questions they may wish.  

The newly formed Northumberland & Tyneside Cricket League is due to start on 14th April, not a hope at our ground see the pictures below, taken 2nd April at 3pm.

Our groundsman said we are approx 2 to 3 weeks behind in preparation from where would expect to be, he has managed to do 16 cross over rolls to our cricket square just before the next lot of rain landed.

The square is still protected with chicken mesh, the square fertiliser has not full taken, we cannot get machinery on to the outfield due to all the water laying at the side and the bottom end towards the rugby club house. The water table is so high our outfield is saturated.  

Before we can start to look at preparation of cricket wickets or outfield the rain needs to stop, all the water needs to drain away and even then the water table is so high it needs to reduce a lot, then we need some dry weather sun and wind would help and then and only then can we look to start work on the ground.

Our club has 6 All Stars Activators trained who attended a recent course at Ashington Leisure Centre.

We also have children signed up to the All Stars program to our club, which is great news.

We are hosting a free taster session for children on 1st May at 6pm till 7pm, before our full program goes live on 15th May same time.

MANAGED MIGRATION

Dear all

In response to recent changes in Home Office policy which affects all clubs seeking to utilize an overseas based player at your cricket club, we felt it worthwhile to provide some help and guidance on what you should do when trying to organize an overseas based player to come and register with your club.

The League is not responsible or liable if problems occur within the clubs in this matter, the responsibility lies with the clubs themselves and the Home Office will deal with the clubs directly. The ECB currently support this position also.

However, we want to help our member clubs avoid problems if at all possible, and member clubs should take some simple steps to help if they wish to:

1. Look very carefully at the accompanying Home Office Immigration Rules for Cricket Overview and be aware of its implications

2. Do some basic research on the player via internet searches on the playing history, newspaper reports, agent connections etc.

3. When applying for League Registration for an overseas based player you must also send an email to The Registrations Secretary Aidan Berry via aidan.berryntcl@outlook.com  The email should include answers to these questions to be answered by the club and player such as:

Has the player been paid for playing cricket at any stage of his career YES / NO

If yes please provide details

Type of VISA or method of entry to the UK

The latter question is critical as clubs and leagues should know just what is or isn’t allowed under that visa and enables further research to be undertaken if necessary. If YMS, SVV or NVN are detailed then that player must be an amateur and must not be paid in any way by the club. (Note – NVN terms are the same as for SVV and you should check with the Home Office for their meaning)

1. We will also require separate emails from both the club and the player to be sent to aidan.berryntcl@outlook.com with the following statement

We hereby certify that we have verified and are completely satisfied that all relevant external regulations have been complied with by both the player and the club, and we confirm that he/she is legally entitled to be in the UK and able to be registered to play cricket on an amateur basis for our club.

NB –

• If clubs are in any doubt as to player eligibility, then they should seek guidance from the Home Office prior to undertaking any such arrangements. Should they experience any issues when contacting the Home Office then the club should let the ECB know.

   

• Clubs found to be in breach of the visa regulations could be subject to the highest level of sanctions available for breaching Home Office Rules.  

Below is some general guidance to help you comply with the information on page 1

General:

There are restrictions on players from outside the EEA entering the UK using the Standard Visitor Visa, the Youth Mobility Visa or as a Non-Visa National. In particular, these visas only allow a player to join an amateur team or club to gain experience in a particular sport if they are an “Amateur”.

The three mentioned visas cannot be used by someone deemed to be a ‘professional sportsperson’.

In addition to the ‘player pathway’ criteria adopted by the Home Office in 2017, the definition of which is: A player may be considered to be on a “Pathway” and therefore classified as a “Professional Sportsperson”, if that person has played cricket above U17 at state/ province/ territory level (paid or unpaid) in any country.

The Home Office have now, in addition to the player pathway criteria, confirmed that

a) the payment of a player’s airfare or accommodation and/or

b) the use of an agent to promote the availability of players

is likely to increase the prospect of the Home Office considering the player to be a “professional” and, as a consequence, the risk of that player being deemed ineligible to participate in accredited ECB Leagues.

Amateur definition

The term “Amateur” is defined by the Rules as:

“a person who engages in a sport or creative activity solely for personal enjoyment and who is not seeking to derive a living from the activity. This also includes a person playing or coaching in a charity game”.

Professional sportsperson

The term “Professional Sportsperson” is defined by the Rules as someone, whether paid or unpaid, who:

“is providing services as a sportsperson, playing or coaching in any capacity, at a professional or semi-professional level of sport; or

being a person who currently derives, who has in the past derived or seeks in the future to derive, a living from playing or coaching, is providing services as a sports person or coach at any level of sport, unless they are doing so as an “Amateur”.”

The Home Office has advised the ECB that it would consider that the following are likely to be included in the definition of “professional sportsperson”:

* players who have played for professional or semi-professional clubs at junior levels, which may include under 19s teams, whether they were paid or not;

* coaches of junior teams of professional or semi-professional clubs, whether they were paid or not;

* former professional sportspeople who have formally reverted to amateur status according to the rules of their sport; and

* players who have played representative sport for their state, country, or territory, whether they were paid or not.