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Match Report Blagdon CC 2^nd XI vs Ashington Rugby CC 2^nd XI September 11^th

A warm and sunny September afternoon greeted the 2^nd team on arrival at the Blagdon Estate on Saturday ahead of Captain Stu Rosser playing his final game, his final toss was a loosing one and he was strangely asked to bat with the conditions looking great for batting.

When the out of form Harwood was gone cheaply after only 9 balls it could have been one of the collapses that the 2nds have been so good at recently but today was to be Captain Rosser’s day, he scored 54 from 83 balls featuring 8 fours backed up by Milburn 37 & Hetherington who fell just short of 50 himself run out for 47. After a cameo from Jobson of 12 from 14 balls the rugby boys closed on 200 for 6 this always looked like a winning total, but it was to prove to be harder than expected to close this game out.

After opener Mathew Glennie had to retire hurt fellow opener Mathew McAuley 59 was joined by Elliott Leybourne 85 and they steadily set about the run chase and with Haram pulling his hamstring and being rendered immobile gaps were appearing in the field until Chris Mason arrived to watch the last 20 overs in the sun only to be thrust a pair of white trousers and T shirt by the injured Haram. He almost immediately began to make a difference energetic in the field and sometimes even making his young son 28 years his junior look slow but enough about that back to the game which began to swing in the rugby boys favour as the veteran Mordey ran out opener McAuley.

Having his dad on the pitch must have woken up young Owen Mason as he removed 2 more wickets in just 2 overs both clean bowled and the fire in his eyes had the whole team on the up as Milburn joined in removing 3 more 2 of them with great catches in the field from first Jobson and then on the boundary by Gibson. Milburn’s 3^rd wicket was a smart stumping from Captain Rosser who also had the gloves on for this game it looked to me like it had hit Stu’s pads and rebounded on to the stumps, but he told me that it was a great stumping and I guess they all count, and I was glad to see the umpire raise his finger and say out. Needing 11 from the last ball the game was safe great bowling at the death from first young Mason and then Milburn saw the rugby boys home.

The push that Blagdon had made to chase this total (192/6 from 40 overs) was a great effort, but the rugby boys had come to life in the 2^nd 20 overs in the field and deserved to win this Captain Stu Rosser’s final game. After the game was over it was a very classy touch to see the Blagdon team join our lads to give a guard of honour to Stu as he left the pitch and the night got better as news filtered through that this 28-point win had allowed the 2^nd XI to sneak into 3^rd place by one point keeping us above our local rivals Ulgham in the league which is great. On balance after all the ups and downs this summer is probably a very fair reflection of where the 2^nd XI are right now onwards and upwards to a new era next year and thanks very much Stu for the role you’ve played leading the 2^nd XI for the past few years.

Blagdon CC 8 points

Ashington Rugby CC 28 points

Big thank you to Steve Richards for being the match ball sponsor.

Our website has now had over 127,000 hits since it was launched in April 2008.

Both 1st and 2nd team games against Cramlington were a wash out with heavy rain Friday night and all day Saturday, no games played.

Thank you to our match ball sponsors

1st Team David Secombe

2nd Team Mellys Carpets & Beds

Awaiting match report for 1st team who won a very important top of the table clash with Berwick which also saw our club gain promotion to Division 2 fantastic result.

Big thank you to our match ball sponsor Heather & Dave Peacock

Match Report Ashington Rugby CC 2^nd XI Vs Morpeth CC 2^nd XI

With ongoing availability issues troubling the 2^nd XI and a string of defeats behind them it would be easy to look at the outcome of this game alone and say that the rugby boys were well beaten, but that was not the whole story this was a game that could have had a very different ending. On what was a glorious sunny afternoon stand in captain Adamson was deputising for Rosser who was called into the 1^st XI for the crucial game away at Berwick won the toss and had no hesitation in asking Morpeth to bat. After 19 overs that looked like a masterstroke as some great bowling from first the experienced Mordey (9 overs 3 wickets for 45 runs) and then the raw pace bowling of Gibson (9 overs 3 wickets for 28) played a huge part in reducing the then struggling table toppers to 93 for 7 and they were on the ropes. What was to follow was a fight back worthy of champions with the opener Travers still at the crease and batting well Morpeth still had hope and when he was joined by Wetherburn a partnership began to form which would prove to be unbreakable. The weakened attack of Ashington was soon stretched as Mordey, Gibson and Mason were now bowled out and the Morpeth batsmen made the best of this scoring runs freely against the part time bowlers Jarvis and Adamson Jnr who gave their best but were no match for Travers (134 no) and Wetherburn (56 no). Even when captain Adamson asked the injured Jobson if he could have a bowl there was no stopping Travers who scored runs all over the field and as a result Morpeth closed on 253 for 7, 190 of those runs coming from the two not out batsmen who both batted very well indeed.

By the time that the second innings began the mood had changed drastically from an hour and a half earlier chasing down 254 seemed extremely unlikely and that proved to be the case as batsman after batsman seemed to get a start only to fail to go on and build a big score. Stand in openers Mason (4) and top scorer Hetherington got off to a steady start but when the patient Mason attacked a bouncer from Lawn and saw the resulting top edge caught by the bowler it was a sign of things to come. Lawn finished with figures of 8 overs 4 wickets for 23 runs as he next removed Little (0) and then Hetherington (30). Captain Adamson (18) and Mathews (17) tried to steady the ship, but neither could go on to build a big score as Morpeth used their strong bowling attack to take regular wickets. Big hitter Gibson the only other rugby batsman to cause them any trouble with one of his trademark big 6’s in his total score of 14, after only 30 overs though the run chase was over and the 2nds had finished 119 all out and fallen to another defeat on a day that at one point had promised something special it proved not to be.

Morpeth will probably go on to become champions so the boys that contested this match should take great credit even though it’s a defeat that’s hard to take from where they were at the halfway point this is a 2^nd team that has done so well for so long in what is their 1^st season in division 5 and nobody should feel too down about this result. We tested Morpeth and gave them a real scare onwards now with your heads held high to Cramlington on Saturday and the last 4 games of the season with the challenge to re group and push for as high a finish as we can.

Big Thank you to match ball sponsor Tom More (when he eventuallys pays up)

Ashington RCC 5 points

Morpeth CC 30 points

1st Team v Whitley Bat at the Rec

I re-read a couple of our match reports recently (because I have no life) and they’re starting to read like actual match reports. There’s far too much intricate detail about the game itself and that’s not what we set out to achieve as a club, we’ve strayed too far from our original aim. So this week I’m just going to lay into everyone and touch lightly on the game specifics.

This was an important game, made more so by the apocalyptic weather conditions forecast by the BBC & Met office and the potential scenarios that threw in the air. You could guarantee as well that in the microclimate of Costa Del Berwick it would be 38 degrees and clear blue skies so it was imperative we got a game in and a win to stay level with them at the top of the table. Chris Harwood was holidaying in Berwick in his pikey wagon and on hand as undercover reporter and local weather liaison for the day.

Scott Maddison was unavailable this week due to work commitments, he’s extremely private and rarely divulges much about his personal life so we don’t know exactly where he works, we think it’s a car manufacturer in Washington but couldn’t be certain. Owen Jarvis was double promoted from non-playing specialist ball sponsor to first team number 9 and we were happy to welcome him back.

Captain David Dent rudely interrupted the lads Love Island conversation to bring us in for a team talk, we were right in the middle of denouncing Faye for her utter trash behaviour towards Teddy so weren’t overly please to be interrupted mid flow. But Denty rarely does team talks & when he does they are deep, intense, scary, motivational & arousing in equal measure so we thought we best give him our full attention. Clear message, Whitley Bay have won the toss and chose to field, we know it’s going to rain at some point so the instruction was to get to 180-200 as quickly as possible and declare to give us the best possible chance of completing the game.

Matty & Colin opened up and raced to 20 off the first 8 overs, I say ‘raced’ with obvious sarcasm but you have to appreciate their typical opening partnership operates at around 0.5-1 runs an over and completely destroys crickets soul. Rumours are that the ECB brought ‘The Hundred’ in purely because Colin & Matty’s batting was driving youngsters out of the game at an unsustainable rate. No such complaints this week and the tempo felt clearly more positive to be fair to them, Matty was unlucky to sky a leading edge to the keeper early on and he departed for 12.

This brought in form chubster Adam peacock to the crease. After an early scratch around where he made Ian Pratt look like Mitchell Johnson he soon got into his groove and upped the tempo, taking Thompson for 16 off one over to move the score onto 50/1 off 15. Colin was batting ‘patiently’ at the other end content with Peacock doing most of the scoring

Peacock reached his half century and was out soon after for a fine 71 off 62 deliveries with Ashington now 104/2 off 25, the partnership was 84 of which Colin had contributed 11 of 63 deliveries. Colin must have missed the earlier memo about a quick declaration and was instead just having his Saturday graze out in the middle completely oblivious to Denty’s instruction. At the fines meeting he later protested his innocence and stated that he was merely setting the foundations for everyone else to do the hitting. The only problem though is he spent that long building the foundations that the year is now 2357, a giant asteroid has crashed into planet Earth and it’s been reduced to a barren apocalyptic wasteland completely devoid of life. Colin’s foundations are still there, but what use are they to anyone? He batted slowly is the point I’m trying to make but you get me.

Dent was hiding himself down the order this week so Lewis Tanney was the next man in. Lewis was clearly in no mood for messing around and began bashing the Whitley Bay attack to all corners of the ground, he bludgeoned a quick fire 40 off 29 balls before being bowled looking for the big hit. It was the perfect innings and exactly what the team needed. He also took home Vivo shot of the day with an utterly dismissive tennis style over hand serve through mid-on for 4.

Lewy, a man of few words must have death stared Colin into action as he soon began hitting it to all parts to the inner circle at the other end. Colin finished 46 not out off 96 balls, his last 34 deliveries yielded 35 runs which was much better!

With the score 181-3 there was just enough time for Callum Mliburn to come in and get us quickly to the declaration. He hit 15 off 8 balls. What you won’t be able to tell from the scorecard is that the little mince bag patted down an over of 36mph chest high full tosses that he should have hit over the estate and through the newly built porch that he crashed into a few years earlier. Instead though he indefensibly patted them all back and then criminally left the ones that did pitch sail straight through to the keeper for dot balls. Shakes head.

We reached 201/3 off 35.3 overs and with the skies grey and rain definitely in the air Dent signalled the declaration. I’ve personally never seen a declaration in real life before and it seemed to take everyone by surprise, not least the umpire who had to consult the league handbook to determine the second innings overs. Whitley skipper Hugh Thomson brought the team in for a deliberate huddle on field. We weren’t privy to the details but imagine it followed 1 of 2 scenarios.

A)     These lads think they’re class, that declaration is an insult to each and every one of us. I want us to go out there, chase down this target and show them up for the fools they are!

B)     These lads think they’re class, that declaration is an insult to each and every one of us. I want us to go out there and block the living bejeesus out of it in the hope that the rain comes early and washes the game out. Viva la Berwick!

We’re hazarding a guess it was more akin to option B. I can’t entirely blame them, maybe if we were a nicer bunch of blokes on the field (we’re nice off it by the way) then they’d have played normally and tried to win the game but realistically we didn’t expect any favours. We’ve had much worse done to us in the past mind you, we’d be in division 2 by now if it wasn’t for one unnamed team that blocked from ball 1 to deny us bonus points on the last game of the season once. Not that we’re bitter about it.

Cory & James opened up and it was Cory who struck straight away bowling the clearly terrified Harris for a 4 ball duck. Cory is quicker than most in the league but Harris made him look like Dale Steyn and nearly stepped on the square leg umpires toes as he backed away. Cory is in the form of his life at the moment, settled off the field and thriving on it. The extra pounds clearly proving the difference and laying waste to the old adage that you need to be in good shape to achieve optimal performance. Makes me think actually, Peacock is batting better than he’s ever done as well and he’s put loads of weight on since COVID hit. Joe Wicks is out there telling you all to exercise in your living room when all you really need to do is settle in with your snacks and watch the weight pile on. ARCC diet plans available on request.

James had Brandon out caught at gully by Mark Lawrence soon after to leave Whitley 17/2. To be honest we’re surprised as you are that Mark actually took a catch, he currently has the worst drops to catches ratio in the 1^st XI and we put him at gully simply to hide him in the field. James had already turned round back to his mark and shouted ‘never mind, chin up, you’ll get the next one’ and had to stop in his tracks when he heard the elated screams from the utterly flabbergasted ARCC fielders. James was in a good rhythm now and wicket keeper John Douglas was inexcusably making his piddly little dibblers also look like Dale Steyn, the only difference being that James is about 40mph slower than Cory. Denty dropped another slip catch to make it 6 drops in 5 games, his once fine slip reputation now lies in tatters

Whitley Bay went into hermit mode leady by a very patient 15 off 78 balls from new signing Warren. Peacock had entered his petty childish mode and was standing at close mid-wicket chipping away with his horrendous chat. Some sight to put the batsman off his lunch with Peacock blocking all fielding positons from mid on the square leg with his ‘chunky’ frame. He also bravely dived out the way of one with his retractable claw which at least shamed him into shutting up for a period.

Matty Tanney was having a bit of an off day behind the stumps with a couple of sharp chances going a miss including a missed stumping off Warren. Matty is now well indoctrinated into the wicket keepers union and whenever he lets a bye through he immediately tells everyone it should have been called a wide and says it loudly enough so the umpire can hear his disgust. Nice try Matty, they’re all clear byes and no one is buying it!

Nik Nak legs Mark Lawrence got into the action and took a few quick wickets to reduce Whitley Bay further to 91/6 off 37 as the rain started to come down with purpose. Fair play to the umpire who persevered through a few showers and kept the players on the field, the rain did ease off eventually but in previous years some umpires would have taken us off and that would have been all she wrote. Whitley Bay to their credit didn’t kick up too much of a fuss and continued to play on.

Dent was using all his experience now and brought part time spinner Callum Millburn into the attack to rattle through some overs, he went for a little tap but did his job perfectly as he raced through 6 quick fire overs of loopy off spin. Scotty Maddison watching on nervously from the side-lines as he has now adds yet another challenger for his cherished 3^rd change bowlers spot.

Ashington breathed a huge sigh of relief as Whitely Bay eventually closed on 130/6 and we got the game finished before the rain came down. We took home 28 points and stay top on bonus points only. Huge game next week as we travel to Berwick, we’re missing a few players and will need people to stand up with big performances.

Cory – You’re one of the few people that will read this drivel all the way through & I’ve just noticed you went for 3 boundaries in the 45^th over so we short changed you on fines, extra £1 next week please.

Big thank you to Paul Richardson our Match Ball Sponsor

Match Report Ashington Rugby CC 2^nd XI Vs Tillside CC 2^nd XI

The Rugby 2^nd XI made the long journey to Tillside on Saturday looking to get their stuttering season back on track and despite most weather forecasters predicting rain and even lightening the game took place in dry conditions. Five changes from the XI that started the game last week were enforced upon captain Rosser as availability issues blighted the selection committee, but it only served to show the strength in depth of the club overall that a full complement of 11 men took to the field. Captain Rosser lost the toss and was asked to have a bat, so he and young Mason who again stood in as opener for the unavailable Harwood took to the Middle hoping to set the foundations, but it was not to be as the pitch soon started to play games with the batsmen some deliveries staying low then out of nowhere one would bounce up and shoot through to the keeper. It did not take long for a delivery that swung and stayed particularly low to do for Mason bowled for only 4.

Rosser was joined by Adamson Snr but they both toiled finding the irregular bounce hard to predict and even harder to score runs from and Adamson soon joined Mason back in the pavilion bowled for only 3 runs. Milburn joined Rosser at the crease but not for long as moments later another low bouncing delivery had Rosser clean bowled for a 54-ball score of only 10 with the scoreboard showing 25 for 3 our weaker than normal middle order was now exposed, and you could sense that Tillside could smell blood. Wicketkeeper Hetherington came to the crease next, but he too did not hang around for long out caught behind as the ball bounced up on him for only 2 runs then the very next ball big hitter Gibson looking to take on the bowling the only way he knows with a lusty blow edged directly into the wicketkeepers gloves for a golden duck the rugby boys really were in trouble.

Top Tillside bowler on the day Farr (7 wickets for 8 runs) was at this point on a hat-trick and contemplating glory but new man at the crease Newman had other ideas having had a few knocks in the midweek side recently Newman had mastered his forward defensive and showed it off to great effect first foiling the Farr hat-trick attempt getting forward well and blocking with aplomb and then with a lovely shot off his legs slapped away for 4. By the time Milburn, Adamson Jnr, Elliott, Mordey & Haram had fallen without troubling the scoreboard the stubborn Newman had ran out of partners and the innings collapsed to a score of only 47.

With a score of only 47 to defend it was going to take some special bowling and fielding performance from the rugby boys and when Mason skittled the stumps of Tillside opener Dawson for a duck in his second over and then Mordey trapped Farr lbw for 16, a score of 2 for 28 offered some hope. By the time Gibson removed Skeen for 7 and Hetherington run out Mcgregor for 6 the scoreboard read 38 for 4. The experienced Mordey was at this stage exploiting the pitch and he struck again Mcarge lbw for a duck, the score was now 40 for 5 the rugby boys only had 8 runs to play with but two new batsmen in the middle and the tail exposed there was real hope.

Unfortunately though that was as good as it got for the rugby boys after a flurry of dot balls kept the pressure on Tillside but Gilchrist smashed two fours in two balls and it was all over 48 for 5 in less than 15 overs giving Tillside a 30 point win. The unlikely push for the title now seems a distant memory as the 2^nd XI sit only 4^th in the league after 3 defeats in a row seem to have squeezed the life out of a side that not so long ago looked unstoppable. The real positive to take from this defeat though was the overall strength in depth of the club as a whole and a never say die attitude that will be needed as table toppers Morpeth CC are the next visitors to the Rec on Saturday.

Big thank you to Mellys carpets & Beds for being our Match Ball Sponsor

Ashington RCC 1st XI v Alnmouth & Lesbury 2nd XI Match Report

Following on from last week’s shock but deserved first defeat of the season to a resolute GEMS side the 1st XI were on back on the road to face Alnmouth 2’s in a game of high importance as we looked to get back to winning ways and maintain our position at the head of the table. Two changes to the side saw star batsmen and last week’s centurion Adam Peacock miss out for a family trip to Tesco to be replaced by a better looking, slimmer and more popular left-hander in Chris Harwood and debutant Andrew Raine took over the gloves from Matty Tanney who was on a stag do and no doubt being his usual pest of a self. Note; Rainey hadn’t donned the gloves in over 15 years….

We arrived at the ground to find it in fine shape even with the previous days of rain and it was game on. Umpire Watson flipped the coin and skipper Dent called tails, of course it landed on the queen’s head and Alnmouth elected to bat first. After playing the previous 3 weeks as a specialist fine leg fielder and non batsmen then being removed out the attack for a barrage of beamers, Cory was returning to something near full fitness and given the new ball with James Richards. Greaves could feel slightly aggrieved having picked up 8 wickets in his absence. Opening batsmen McDonald took an interesting approach against Cory walking down the track to the first four balls only to turn his back on the ball and let his ribcage bare the full brunt of it. In the 5th over Cory eventually pitched one up and sent a Yorker crashing into McDonald’s stumps and it was 19-1. The very next ball was an absolute peach, pitching on middle swinging away and taking the edge of new batsmen Poole who could do little else with it only for it to evade both WK and slip and fly away for four runs.

James Richards had settled into a solid line and length at the other end and in the following over duly doubled our wickets tally when he had the dangerous Lee Marks (shot Leee) caught at midwicket by Maddison with the score on 23. (Scotty catching it at the 14th attempt... cue the Benny Hill music du du du du). Number four bat Moir arrived at the crease and although backing away to square leg looked solid enough in defence and began to frustrate both bowlers with a number of close misses. With the ball swinging both ways, Milburn’s patience looked to have paid off when Moir thick edged a cut shot straight to Dent at 1st slip only for captain symbols to shell yet another chance. If anyone knows of a decent slipper please feel free to contact the club page! Greaves replaced Cory and with almost immediate effect clean bowled Poole (4) and the same fate awaited for teammate Brooks (18), who played one shot too many and left the gate open for a big inswinger.

Nik Nak legs Mark Lawrence replaced Richards (figures of 10-2-19-1) and much to his and everyone else’s surprise found a bit of purchase from the pitch. Obviously not knowing what he was doing, Lawrence went back to his stock ball the low full toss and burgled his first wicket, Jonathan McNickle caught again at midwicket this time to a decent catch from Maddison. Never has there been a worse bowler/fielder combination to get out to! Durham women’s cricketer Harriet Robson was next to the crease and played with positive intent against both bowlers crashing Greaves for a flurry of boundaries before lobbing a simple catch to square leg off Lawrence and departed with the score on 93-6. At this point, number 4 batsmen Moir was still batting and had been given a number of lifelines which included Richards running in from cow corner to get his hands in a right mess and knee the ball over the line for a boundary four. He should have warmed up!! Moir fell shortly after though for 47 to a quick reaction catch from Dent and Alnmouth found themselves 114-7.

Scotty Mad was introduced into the attack once Greaves had bowled out and started really well with an over of probing deliveries. Its been a while since the ‘spin twins’ had bowled in tandem with Scotty struggling to persuade the captain to let him bowl even when we’ve been short of frontline bowlers. I guess urinating on the captain’s bathroom floor after the team trip to The Mason’s obviously didn’t help his cause. In need of 3 wickets to pick up full bowling bonus points Milburn was brought back into the attack in the 41st over and swiftly picked up Tunstall (13) caught well by Lewis at Mid off and when Scotty bowled Batey (0) it was almost job done. However, a couple of lusty blows off Scott’s bowling from the Alnmouth number 11 propelled them to 159. On the 3rd last ball of the final over, Anderson was dropped caught behind off Cory but Denty picked up the ball taking dead aim at the stumps and running him out. Great darts Rob Cross!

Special mention must go to Rainey who kept very impressively behind the stumps and stepped up to help us out when in need of someone in what is a specialist position. See you next year mate!

Harwood and Thornton opened up for the Rugga Boys and with the side probably a shade light on batting it was crucial we negotiated the new ball period and made a steady start to our chase. Cameron Batey and Oli Tulip both started well with the ball, Batey bowling a nagging line and length and Tulip getting a bit of variable bounce out of the surface. Harwood found the off side boundary fence a couple of times but with the score on 30 Tulip struck removing Colin caught behind off the glove, the ball rising sharply and there wasn’t much could be done with it. Dent joined good friend Harwood at the crease but the partnership didn’t last long as frustration grew from a couple of mis timed shots which brought on a lapse in concentration with Harwood shouldering arms to a ball crashing into the top of middle/off stump and hearing the death rattle. Score 32-2.

Early season superstar Lewis Tanney was the next man in and a big partnership was desperately needed with us still requiring 130 to win. Dent and Tanney saw off the opening bowlers and when Alnmouth turned to change bowlers Poole & Robson they began to up the ante. Denty hanging back on the back foot to the spinner and crunching a number of boundaries through mid off and extra cover in commanding fashion whilst Lew Tan dispatched of some short pitched filth from Poole to bring up a 50 run partnership. With the score on 88 and Lewis looking in superb touch disaster struck when he clipped a full ball down the throat of the loud mouthed Moir. Cal Milburn was the next man in much to the delight of the lads sitting in the dug out who were sick of listening to him tell the same stories over and over again about his Friday night antics.

Denty keen to keep his foot on the accelerator continued punishing the bad ball whilst Cal safely negotiated his first few deliveries rotating the strike well and the scoreboard was trending in the right direction. Anyone who has seen Cal bat knows he only has two gears; Gear one and Gear 10 and with some painfully slow off spin being thrown down he engaged top gear whacking a couple of boundaries back down the ground. At 129-3 we looked in a great position until Denty flicked an easy catch to square leg then what happened next the least said the better. Cory went in and was out 3 balls later playing the worst shot you’ve ever seen. Max fine incurred. Moving on..

Mark joined Callum at the crease needing 26 runs to win and knowing if we lost anymore wickets full bonus points would slip away from us. Dark clouds appeared and rain drops began to fall. Taking the initiative Cal launched a six over square leg (however far he says it went deduct at least 30 yards off it) and a couple more boundaries. Alnmouth introduced Anderson into the attack with the score on 150-5. Steaming in off all of 3 steps and built like an Argos pen you’d have thought Mark was facing Steve Harmison with only a toothpick as a bat, almost taking guard in the farmers field having been bounced first ball. Check your kegs! As the heavens opened fully needing 3 to win Mark slapped a four back down the ground and it was game over.

Another 30 points which was much needed to get us back on track with Berwick also doing the same. 7 points is the difference at the top with the big crunch game looming in two weeks’ time, but first we host bottom side Whitley Bay next week.

Big Thank You to Solo Fittness for being the match ball sponsor.

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Match Report Ashington Rugby 2^nd XI Vs Ulgham 1^st XI Saturday 31^st July 2021

News filtered through early on Saturday morning of the cancellation of Alnmouth & Lesbury Vs Morpeth at Howick due to the recent wet conditions this gave everyone involved in the crucial derby game against Ulgham a huge boost and dangled a massive carrot of the chance to return to the top spot which the 2nds have called home for most of this season. After an incredible afternoon of cricket on the rec in front of a larger than average crowd it proved not to be a return to the top spot this time but if this squad of 2^nd teamers continue to show the fighting spirit on show in this game the race for the top spot will surely go down to the wire.

Two changes to the team that lost at Warenford last week with Harwood on 1^st team duty in came Jason Little to boost the batting and Jonny Acaster came back into the bowling attack in place of Evan Lonsdale. Conditions were not the best with dark grey skies above and the risk of showers captain Rosser lost the toss and the 2nds asked to have a bat. With Harwood not involved today the innings was opened by Rosser and young Owen Mason who Rosser later confirmed was confident and hungry for a chance at the top of the order and he certainly did take that chance. After the early loss of Rosser for just 8 and the arrival of Adamson in the middle young Mason took control of the game with an assault on the bowling of Dodds who he smashed for 20 in just one over Dodds had no answer as his attack of short balls was simply slapped to the boundary by Mason. Ulgham switched up the attack at that point and introduced Stenberg who slowed the flow of runs at one end but at the other end Loxham was now misfiring with one over taking 10 balls to bowl. Just as things were looking very steady in the middle for the 2nds disaster struck as Stenberg first snared Mason lbw for a very promising knock of 33 his best yet for the 2^nd team and then clean bowled Adamson for just 6 things were starting to look dodgy for the rugby boys when Milburn came and went for just 2.

A good middle order partnership was needed and that’s exactly what Little and wicketkeeper Hetherington provided before this though Ulgham bowler Stenberg retired hurt with an ongoing problem he is thought to be carrying which looked to be a boost for the Rugby as he had taken crucial wickets and stopped the flow of runs. Little & Hetherington spent a productive 45 mins at the crease together adding 23 and 29 to the total. The game at this point looked to be going the way of the rugby again as became the case throughout this derby match but this was a game full of surprises and just as they looked in total control Harrison caught and bowled little then up popped the Ulgham Sub fielder on for the injured Stenberg to take the catch that was the end of Hetherington this all happened in the space of 5 mins. Soon after this with new batsmen in the middle Jobson & More it was mix up after mix up with More trying his best to get run out scrambling back in without a bat after slipping then moments later slipping again only to sneak back again. He was not to be let of the hook a third time though as the sub fielder struck again as More looked for quick runs to fire up the stalled scoreboard the ball was stopped quickly then fizzed back in to the stumps for a sharp run out of More who knew it was time to walk by the sub fielder who was playing an important part in the Ulgham attack.

The big hitting tailenders Gibson and Acaster took their turns to come and join the steady Jobson out in the middle, but both fell to soon and it was left to experienced Mordey to join Jobson in the rear-guard action with 9 overs to go and together they batted out all but one of the available overs to push on the score to a respectable team effort of 165.

Defending 165 never looked easy with the batting strength of Ulgham evident only last week when they scored 290 but the Rugby boys made a early start as Jobson had Haygarth caught by wicketkeeper Hetherington and as ever in the opening overs he was bowling well and teaming up with Mason who was also firing in some great deliveries and after 12 overs the score was only 34 and the Rugby boys looked to be turning the screw. Tait and Lambton though had other ideas and as the bowling change was made to Acaster & Gibson the batsmen looked to push on the scores quicker but just as he was getting going a great run out saw Tait gone for 35 then 3 mins later new batsman Burns caught twice in three balls but after a controversial decision the 1^st time only given out the 2nd time, he was not happy, but he had to go caught and bowled by Acaster and the rugby boys tails were up. Acaster soon struck again with a superb diving one handed catch from his own bowling to dismiss Lamb for 0.

Now this is where the match turned against the 2nds as first the injured Stenberg decided to have a bat after all then Acaster limped off the field injured with a pulled hamstring that stopped him in his tracks down to 10 men and with the constant Lambton moving past 50 despite all the efforts of the Rugby boys the pendulum was swinging again in favour of Ulgham until Mason was brought back into the attack hit for four on his 1^st ball back it did not take long for him to strike clean bowling the very well set batsman Lambton for 67 bring Dodds into the middle who managed to bash 22 runs onto the total with the limping Stenberg who did not seem to need a runner the glue sticking the innings together at the tail.

The match seemed to be slipping away before Jobson removed Dodds and back into the attack Mordey took two more quick wickets, Jobson had bowled out his allowance and with 2 overs to go Ulgham needed only 8 to win so captain Rosser called upon Gibson who not known for his death bowling produced a decent over going for only 7 which with the gaps in the 10-man field being found by the batsmen and tired legs starting to show after what had been a titanic tussle. So it all came down to the last over for the 2nds to try and rescue a draw and the responsibility was in the hands of the veteran Mordey the task was simple we needed a maiden from him which after 5 fantastic balls it looked like he was going to do it. By the time the final ball was delivered the batsman was first interrupted by the chants of MORDEY MORDEY MORDEY from the crowd of rugby supporters that had amassed outside of the clubhouse to watch the finale and then by a taxi that had stopped just to the side of the sight screen to drop off two elderly guests heading to a wedding reception. After all the tension and disruption Mordey delivered the crucial final ball only for the batsmen Craig to block the ball down and just run to the other end with the injured Stenberg somehow finding the strength to scamper through in the other direction to pinch a quick single the game was up for the 2nds it was a cruel 1 run loss after what was a pulsating cricket match.

There was a lot of positives to take from this game not least the never say die attitude shown during the latter stages of the 2^nd innings the season still has a way to go yet and no doubt will provide more twists and turns along the way next weeks game at Tillside now surely a must win.

Big Thank You to Owen Jarvis for being the match ball sponsor.

Ashington Rugby CC 8 points

Ulgham CC 30 points

The 1xt XI welcomed GEMS on Saturday in a competitive fixture as 1^st played 4th, anyone who has played GEMS will know how dangerous they are and this was a real live opponent. Scotty Maddison was away at a wedding (fine) so Owen Jarvis stepped up for the day. Cory wasn’t quite at full fitness so was only available to bowl if absolutely required, with Scotty & Cory missing we were deinfately a bowler or two light and could only hope that wouldn’t come back to bite us later in the game.

GEMS won the toss and chose to bowl first as they had several players needing to leave before the close of play due to work commitments, we were fairly happy as conditions were clearly in favour of the batsmen and the pitch looked a belter.

Mirza Baig took the new ball along with ARCC nemesis & creator of nightmares - Amir Mukhtar. The innings got off to a slow start as Colin and Matty both struggled to cope with the new ball spells, neither Batsmen was able to find any scoring shot of note and the pressure quickly built as the dots stacked up. The score was 11 off 13 overs when Matty was out caught & bowled off Mukhtar for 6. Colin followed moments later for 8 and we were 17/2 off 12 and in trouble.

With both openers spelled Peacock got the scoring going with a couple of boundaries off Alam, including a lovely push through mid-wicket towards the clubhouse. Callum Milburn was looking good at the other end and despite nearly being out first ball he’d found his groove with a boundary of his own and we’d recovered slightly to 32/2.

Just as momentum looked to be turning in our favour Callum was bowled by Zohaib Shahid, followed moments later by Lewis Tanney LBW for a 2 ball duck off the same bowler. Both batsmen were clearly told to watch out for the massive inducker, only to be put out by…you guessed it…the massive in ducker! Lewy Tanney nearly bringing the club into disrepute with an angry reaction being given out, Lewy claiming he hit his delivery. The writer can confirm he stood on it, was hitting base of middle & his bat nowhere near it. Never has a delivery been more out in the history of cricket. He then proceeded to nibble at the umpire for the rest of the game who took it in good jest and started winding him up any time one hit the pads. Ashington 44/4 off 17 and reeling!

Peacock meanwhile was carrying on undeterred amongst the chaos and hit several boundaries off Shahid as he got comfortable and used to the swinging ball. Dent had faced a few overs at the other end and looked to be getting used to conditions as we mounted another mini recovery to 60/4 off 22.

What followed was 2 really poor cricket shots from 2 very good players. First Dent had an almighty howk at one and was easily caught at mid-on for 6. Cory a few overs later being caught at mid-off, this time going for a massive shot and then pulling out last second only to hit it tamely to the fielder (lack of minerals). Both will be disappointed as it was a great chance to get a score on a good batting wicket. Tommy no spine, Mark Lawrence was then in and out before he had time to break a sweat and we were in disaster zone at 105/7 with 14 overs still left to bowl. Peacock was 70 not out at this point and was continuing to score boundaries and keep things ticking, he’d taken a liking to new bowler Javed hitting a few overs for double figures to keep some respectability about the innings.

With Owen Jarvis in as a genuine tail ender and 14 overs left to bat Peacock went into marshal mode and was now looking to face as many balls as possible, he did this with great effect navigating the next 6 overs almost exclusively, well backed up with some excellent running and commitment from Jarvis. Not perfect however, Peacock misjudged a 2 to the boundary and had to selfishly sell his partner out so as to stay in the game. Jarvis out for 2 runs which was worth more like 30, well done Jarv!

Best buddy Richards joined Peacock and they continued much in the same vain, making it all the way to the 43^rd over before Peacock was eventually out caught for an outstanding 103 trying to slog a few extra runs. It was a marvellous innings and a real solo effort, o other batsmen passed double figures on the day and excluding extras, he score 103 out of 151 runs total.

Greaves provided some light entertainment near the end with a cracking cover drive to finish and ARCC posted 162/9, the wicket was a belter and we were at least 40 short, if not more. GEMS don’t pay attention to totals and play in full attack mode so wickets were the key if we had any chance of defending our total.

Greaves & Richards took the new ball for the home side, after 3 quick boundaries and brief moments of terror from the entire team we were very much relieved when Greaves got Mukhtar for 13 in the 6^th over, caught nervously by Cory at mid-wicket who took a good catch in the end but you could smell the fear as the ball went his way!

Wicket keeper Faizaan Ahmed was chancing his luck at the other end and narrowly survived several shots chopped on, which then missed the stumps and made their way down to fine leg for 4. Mixed in amongst the luck he played a number of good shots through cow corner and overall it was a very even battle as GEMS reached 60/2 off 20 overs. We had a number of close catches put down put they were all tough chances and none you would consider to be sitters by any stretch.

Key man Shahid who earlier took 2/48 was now starring with the bat as he took the attack to change bowlers Dent & Lawrence, the game was still under control until he spanked 32 off 4 overs including a lovely 6 off his legs. Denty fuming and the vein at full throb. Mark provided a much needed breakthrough as he bowled Hussain for 10, the score 117/3 off 34. As expected at the start, runs were no longer the issue and it was wickets that were required if we were to have any chance.

With desperation setting in and wickets urgently required Dent had no option but to bowl Cory even though not quite at 100% fitness. Cory started with a no ball beamer and there was big concern his side strain had gone immediately. Cory stuck his hand up in a big way and turned the game completely on its head with 3 quick wickets as the extra pace clearly unsettled the GEMS batsmen. The highlight was a lovely ball that nipped back and took the top off Baig’s off stump. Dent also picked up the wicket of Quereshi with Callum Milburn taking a catch of the season contender running back over his head at full speed, then diving away from his body to take it at full stretch. Big up to the warm ups before the game for live scenario practicing, run by coach Peacock. Paid sessions available..

GEMS were 139/7 now off 39 and the game looked like it was going right down to the wire until Cory bowled his second beamer and had to be replaced, he felt his side a little and pulled out of a Yorker which then slipped out over head height, nothing malicious in it but a consequence of us taking a risk to try and win the game. Dent fumbled a live run out chance and Greaves put down a sharp chance at point towards the end but with Cory out the attack GEMS cruised home and won the game with 4 overs to spare.

A disappointing day but a really competitive game of cricket in which we never gave up and there can be no complaint about the effort from any of the lads. We remain top by 7 points only and will need to regroup quickly ahead of Alnmouth away next week with a few players missing.

Big thank you to the Rugby Club Junior Section who sponsored the match ball.

Ashington Rugby CC 7 points

GEMS CC 28 points

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2nd Team

On a sunny afternoon in Warenford Stu Rosser won the toss and put the opposition in to bat only 2 changes to the team that overcame Bedlington last week debutant Evan Lonsdale replaced Jonny Acaster and Paul Milburn came in for Owen Jarvis who was on 1^st team duty. It was a tight opening to the game with the pairing of Mason and Jobson keeping things under control early on with only one lapse of that control when Warenford opening batsman Michael Thompson clubbed Mason for a 6 onto the nearby A1.

After 12 overs the score was only 32 this allowed the rugby to bring the left arm spin of young Lonsdale into the attack on his debut with Gary Mordey joining him at the crease it still looked like the rugby were on top with the score only 54 through 18 overs but still no wickets had fallen and the two Thompsons were starting to look in total control moving on to 72 but then in the 22^nd over after the pace of Ricky Gibson was brought into the attack the breakthrough came with Adamson taking a good catch and claiming the wicket of Michael Thompson for 22.

The same pairing of Gibson and Adamson would claim the only other wicket to fall when they combined to take the wicket of Kevin Wilson for 32 but Brian Thompson was moving through the gears and his stroke play was starting to look fluent after a shaky start he was very patient and never panicked, he would ultimately take the game away from the rugby but fall just short of his century ending the innings on 96 not out setting the rugby an unlikely target of 190 to win.

After loosing Harwood early on Rosser and Adamson added some needed runs steering the score to 37/1 through the 1^st ten overs but it did not take long for Warenford to take total control getting the wickets of Rosser and Adamson just as they were getting going. The recalled Paul Milburn came to the crease and would ultimately top score with his knock of 43 but wickets continued to fall all around him with only the big hitting Ricky Gibson troubling the scorers with his power hitting at one point seeing a one bounce four smash into the sightscreen. Ricky could not stick around for long as he was soon run out chasing a quick single time was up for the rugby lads run chase when Milburn eventually fell for his 43.

All out for 123 after only 31 overs A third loss this season was going to see the top spot in the league surrendered and with crucial games to come against Ulgham next week and then new table toppers Morpeth the 2nds have to regroup fast.  

Match Ball Sponsor Ricky Gibson

Ashington Rugby 4 points CC points

Warenford CC 30 points

On Wednesday 21st July we hosted Northumberland v Derbyshire over 50's.

First time we have had the honour in holding such a game. 

Northumberland posted 151 for 6 in their allocated overs, but that was chased down with 12 overs to spare from a good Derbyshire side losing only 3 wickets. 151 never looked like a good total on our wicket which was an absolute road to bat on.

Our club had a member playing in the match Paul Milburn his 8th year of playing for the county.