Ashington Rugby Cricket Club
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Saturday 10th July
Jul 12, 2021, 5:19 pm

The 1st XI entertained Benwell & Walbottle on Saturday hoping to continue the momentum ahead of some key fixtures over the coming weeks. Mark Lawrence returned to the side having served his COVID isolation, contributing £15 to the fines pot in the process as was stipulated prior to the season. Ben Lawrence on the other hand was far less fortunate and no sooner had he left the house and gone to school he got hit with a 2nd isolation (stick in Ben!), Kelly kindly stepped up from the seconds to score the book.

Captain Dent won the toss and despite a baking hot morning, road of a wicket, clear blue skies and a batting line up completely starved of any time in the middle....he decided to bowl first..again..6 out of the last 7 games, but who’s counting. Cory Milburn was suffering from a side strain and playing as a specialist batsman only so Greaves & Richards took the new ball for the home side.

The opening exchanges were well matched as both bowlers enjoyed mixed fortunes with the new ball, Michael Birrell looked in especially good touch as he punished some loose early deliveries with several crushing drives through cover, Gavin Brown at the other end was very much in anchor mode playing much more tentatively. After a bright start Birrell soon began to struggle as the bowlers quickly realised that his only scoring shot was through the off side and when bowling straight he had very little to offer. Greaves soon struck as a shorter ball found Birrell’s inside edge and crashed into middle stump to leave the away side 30/1 off 10 overs.

Frisken was next in, he had batted 11 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season so there was some initial surprise to see him in at 3. Our surprise was quickly dispelled as he went into attack mode, he took a particular liking to Greaves and dispatched him for a huge 6 over long on. Having denied Richards a wicket with a bad drop, Peacock was quickly back in the game taking a good catch above his head at Mid-off to remove Brown for a patient 11. Both openers bowled out

J Richards 10-3-22-0

D Greaves 10-3-27-2

In the classic U13 captains approach of batting & bowling yourself where you want, David Dent brought himself on 1st change much to everyone’s surprise. Poor Scotty Maddison resigned yet again to bowling 3rd change, Scotty can take solace from Luke Shaw vs Mourinho and just needs to outlast Dent before he gets his true chance to shine.

Despite hoping Dent would get some tap, he quickly settled into a rhythm and the Benwell bowlers struggled terribly against his dibbly out swingers. He soon accounted for the dangerous Frisken (17 off 21), Lewy Tanney taking an excellent catch running back over his shoulder at mid-off. Frisken’s wicket started a collapse as Rahman, Bell & Ali all departed in quick succession without troubling the scorers. Ali, who had been extremely vocal on the side lines celebrating edged singles through slip as though he’d personally won the world cup went for a 2 ball duck and took home Vivo IPL worst shot of the day with a horrible howk that looped straight to mid off.

Dent more than justified his lofty bowling position in the end finishing with figures of 7-2-22-4 and decided to spell himself early to give the other bowlers some much needed overs, which is pretty selfless I suppose so we’ll let him have that one. He could have easily have had PB figures on another day had Mark Lawrence not dropped 3 simple catches at 1st slip, rather than stand still and lean forward Mark went with the rather bizarre technique of diving backwards and proceeded to shell each catch in identical fashion. Cory reaffirmed his status as the league’s worst slip fielder with a drop off Dent to end his spell, this one going straight in and out of his ever growing kite.

Spin twins Lawrence and Maddison both picked up a wicket in largely uneventful spells, Scotty bowled a long 3.5 over spell and had to be carried off the pitch on a stretcher with a severe nosebleed.

Stephen Reed who had been batting well to this point pulled a hamstring trying to run a quick single and was unable to run, Ali refused to go in as a runner because he’d done legs the day before and wanted to save his hamstrings for his bowling (we overheard that bit) so Frisken was sent in as a runner. Frisken was possibly a little too over excited as the innings finished with 2 run outs, both taken really well by Callum Milburn at cover. TFC supreme Callum at least contributing to justify his half day holiday from work, £8 subs & £6 max fine!

Benwell asked for a fielder as Reed wasn’t fit enough to take the field, it must have been an extremely sever hamstring pull to not be able to stand at slip but then again we once saw someone ring an ambulance at Kirkley for the same injury so all is fair game. We did the noble things and obliged the request but that’s not to say we didn’t bitch and moan amongst ourselves as we were already supplying an umpire and we’re a naturally selfish bunch of individuals, just to make that clear. It was however made a little harder to stomach as Reed sat supping Moretti’s and they had a 12th man who was also ‘injured’ but was later seen dribbling a football round the outfield!

Matty & Colin can feel slightly aggrieved that I’m going to gloss over the batting innings but there really isn’t much to write about in all honesty. Other than to say both batters continued as they have done all season making easy work of a modest total, Colin played the anchor role and Matty the aggressor as they knocked it off with relative ease. Colin was out towards the end caught at cover. Matty finished 59* off 76 balls with 8 fours. He is now the clubs highest run scorer and 2nd overall in division 3 with 388 runs @ 48.5, he’s in a real purple patch and it’s lovely to watch.

Ashington Rugby CC took home the full 30 points and stay top of the league. A big weekend next week as we travel to Blyth in a big local derby whilst Corbridge entertain Berwick as 2nd play 3rd.

A huge thank you to David Tanney for sponsoring the match ball

Ashington Rugby CC 30 points

Benwell & Wallbottle CC 2 points

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Monkseaton 1st 150-8 (9 pts)      ARCC 2nds 151 All out (28pts) (C Harwood 42, O Mason 27)

ARCC 2nds travelled to Monkseaton on what turned out to be a glorious day looking to recapture there early season winning form and prevailed in a nail bitter.

Monkseaton won the toss and had no hesitation in asking ARCC 2nds to bat on a very green soft looking wicket. Harwood and skipper Rosser opened up the innings knowing that a good platform was a must. With the score at 40 off 12 overs, ARCC 2nds lost there first wicket which then started a change reaction of batsmen getting starts and out until young Owen Mason came to the wicket and with a cameo which included 2 sixes, ARCC 2nds posted a total of 151 all out with Mason contributing 27. This was a respectable target on a wicket that was difficult to judge the pace and bounce on.

ARCC 2nds knew that 151 was a competitive total but knew that they would have to bowl well and boy did they pull it off. Skipper Rosser opened up with his normal pair of Jobson and Mason who had obviously wiped the previous week from there memories as they both put the Monkseaton batsmen under pressure and eventually getting there rewards with the wickets of both openers. With the game in the balance at the have way point, ARCC 2nds then went to sleep allowing easy singles which allowed Monkseaton to keep up the rate but eventually recaptured the drive and desire to win. Wickets starting falling at regular intervals but runs where still flowing, ARCC 2nds now had to turn the screw. Skipper Rosser then brought back his opening pair to try and wrestle the win out of the claws of defeat with Monkseaton needing 24 off 8 overs and boy did they deliver. Young Mason started ramping the pressure up with his last 4 overs going for 9 runs and Jobson last 2 going for 4 runs including 2 run outs which restricted Monkseaton to 150 meaning that ARCC 2nds won by a single run.

ARCC 2nds would like to thanks todays match ball sponsor – Owen Jarvis and look to continue the drive for promotion by welcoming Bedlington 2nds to the Rec next week.


Saturday 3rd July
Jul 12, 2021, 5:17 pm

ARCC 2nds 192-6 (6pts) (M Adamson 62, S Rosser 55, J Little 37no)          

Rock 1st 193-3 (28pts)

ARCC 2nds welcomed Rock 1st to the Rec looking to bounce back to winning ways after there first loss but unfortunately there was no bounce.

After 2 weeks inactivity due to the weather for both sides, Rock won the toss on a day where showers was forecast and asked ARCC 2nds to bat. Skipper Rosser and run machine Harwood opened up the innings looking to set a platform for the middle order to push on from but the early loss of Harwood in the 4th over added further pressure to the middle order. Michael Adamson joined Rosser at the wicket and shared a stand of 104 to put ARCC 2nds into a solid position at the half way point. ARCC 2nds looked to push on but the run rate slowed with the loss of Adamson and then Rosser but a cameo 37 not out by Jay Little pushed the total to 192 for the loss of 6 wickets.

ARCC 2nds knew that 192 was going to be difficult to defend knowing that Rock had a couple of players that could score lots of runs and that’s how it turned out. ARCC 2nds bowlers delivered what has to be there worst performance of the seasons as a collective unit which the Rock batsmen took full advantage of and punished them at every opportunity. Runs flowed in all directions, to all parts of the ground and sometimes out of the ground. In amongst the carnage, the was some fine efforts by some of the younger players in Owen Mason and Matthew Adamson with the later taking his first 2nd Team senior wicket with an excellent turning delivery. This was a disappointing performance considering the position the team was in but one the lessons must be learned from and fast.

ARCC 2nds would like to thank todays match ball sponsor – Anthony Elliot and will look to continue the season with a difficult trip to Monkseaton where they will be looking to get back to winning ways.

 


Saturday 26th June
Jun 28, 2021, 2:46 pm

Match report for Corbridge CC 1st XI vs Ashington Rugby CC 1st XI

Match ball very kindly sponsored by The Unit Gym Ashington.

After last week’s 140 run victory at Stocksfield which included some memorable individual performances, we were back on the road travelling to an in form Corbridge side whom over recent years had become quite the bogey side for the Ruggaz. This fixture was the half way point in the season and a victory would see us sitting top of the tree and unbeaten in the league. One change to last week’s team saw the run machine Chris Harwood drafted in to replace fellow left hander Adam Peacock who was attending a friend’s 30th birthday party…. Good luck in playing musical chairs Adam!

With bad weather forecast for most of the North East and sitting around all day with little to no cricket a distinct possibility, we arrived at the Stanners Ground to find that Corbridge seemingly must have its own micro climate and it was now a case of what time we’d start and not if. Skipper Dent won the toss and elected to field first hoping for early breakthroughs and not wishing to be shafted by the league rules of batting first in rain affected games. The match was reduced to 40 overs.

Fresh off the back of last Saturday’s heroic figures of 9-30 and confidence levels sky high, Cory, was again thrown the new ball to get us underway and regular new ball partner James Richards would follow suit from the other end. After some tight early exchanges and both bowlers hitting good areas it was Cory who made the breakthrough in the 5th over disrupting the timbers of the dangerous Ross Atkinson with the score on 12. No.3 batsmen Thomspon arrived at the crease and was greeted by Milburn with some accurate back of a length bowling. Having worn one in the ribs and unwilling to get on the front foot, he too, was the next to hear the death rattle turning round to see his off stump pegged back by Milburn. Corbridge 20-2. Opposition captain Fowler strode out to the wicket and in his usual manner looked to play shots from ball one. Cory had other ideas however, and with his tail up ensured his innings lasted no longer than necessary and induced a healthy outside edge with wicketkeeper Tanney obliging behind the stumps. Fowler departed without troubling the scorers and Corbridge found themselves 20-3.

Special mention to James who bowled superbly at the other end without much reward yet providing the perfect back up. Opening batsmen Percival couldn’t lay willow on it for James’ entire 9 over spell and barring one uppish cover drive which saw a Paul Collingwood-esque one handed dive from Cory only for it not to stick, could have had a hatful of wickets on another day. Cries of ‘stop keeping all the wickets for yourself’ reverberated around the ground. Cory finished with figures of 9-3-18-3 and James 9-5-7-0. The king of swing Greaves and the ferret Mark Lawrence were introduced into the attack. Mark seemingly wishing to undo all the hard work done from the openers started with a flurry of full tosses which were duly dispatched to the fence in nonchalant fashion. To his credit, Lawrence struck back trapping the large frame of Rowell in front LBW for 7. Some say Mark has made a career out of bribing umpires into giving him horrific LBW decisions and Rowell was certainly banging on the same drum claiming bat first and then pad. The less said about that the better…

Greaves buoyed by a compliment from an elderly female Corbridge resident who compared him to her immobile and aging Jack Russell dog with ‘you both look very old and cuddly’ was steaming in from the Pavilion End. With the score on 38-4 in the 21st over, Percival who by this stage had mastered the Chinese cut was bowled in comprehensive fashion by DG for 20. Father and son Andy & Corey Dover looked to rebuild but with little to no avail. Dover Snr was dismissed walking past yet another Lawrence full toss to be clean bowled and having been given a lifeline earlier in the over when Lurpak Lawrence shelled a catch at gully off Dean, Dover Jnr was then caught by the very man under a skying ball with the score on 54-7. The entire Garret-Jowsey family then one by one made their way to and from the crease in an attempt to move the score on for Corbridge, but with tight bowling from at the end from Lewis Tanney and Scott Maddison, they ultimately ended their innings with the score on 85-9.

Usual opening pair of M. Tanney & C. Thorton were entrusted with setting a solid foundation for what could have stood for a tricky run chase with dark skies closing in and a skilful new ball bowling pair for the opposition. Unlike recent times, Matty didn’t last long and after some probing line and length bowling from Dover Jnr he was soon walking off bat under arm having been caught behind for 4. The fall of the first wicket saw ‘The White Lara’ Chris Harwood joins Colin at the crease and the pair negotiated a tricky opening affair looking solid in defence and Chris quick enough to punish the rare bad ball on offer.

Corbridge, knowing they need early wickets to stand a chance of winning with only 85 on the board grew frustrated as the rugga boys kept the score ticking over and saw off Dover Snr who had bowled his allotted 9 overs straight through with no wickets. Harwood who has came back to form with a vengeance this season and seemingly now only knows exclusively where the middle of the bat is had decided it was time to put the foot on the gas. Corbridge introduced man mountain Rowell into the attack and he began by hitting the bat hard. Harwood, though, keen to assert some alpha male dominance in the heat of the battle was cashing in by carving a quintet of boundaries over backward point propelling us towards our target. Colin, undeterred as always by his ever-decreasing strike rate was providing ample resistance at the other end rotating strike where possible.

With the score on 73, Chris on 46 and dying for a pint of Moretti, he decided to play an ungainly howk across the line chasing a half century and was bowled by off spinner Jowsey. In typical ARCC fashion there was more wickets to come. When Colin fell foul to a quick stumping from keeper Atkinson for a hard grafted 17 and skipper Dent was caught behind for a 3rd ball duck the scoreboard read 73-4. BOOM BOOM Milburn or Dr Snaffle (Cal Milburn), only a few of the nicknames he gives himself, was sent in to get the job done and with younger brother Cory at the other, he punched a straight drive back down the ground for four and we wrapped up victory in the 32nd over.

Another quality all round team performance which saw us pick up a crucial 29 points and negotiate our first 11 games of the season unbeaten. Closest challengers Berwick also managed to get played and pick up 27 points but the gap at the top only widened.

Next week we make the short trip to sunny Stobswood.

Big Thank You to The Unit Gym for being the match ball sponsor.

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2nd team game at home against Blagdon CC was called off due to the weather.

5 ponts each.

Big thank you to Ricky Gibson for sponsoring the match ball.

 


Saturday 12th June
Jun 28, 2021, 2:43 pm

Alnmouth & Lesbury Howick vs Ashington Rugby Cricket club 2nd XI

Howick – 12th June 2021

Matchball kindly sponsored by Ant Elliott (current player)

On a glorious day in the glorious setting of Howick CC skipper Rosser won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a decent deck a sensible decision it would seem.

Once again Harwood and Rosser opened up and made steady but unspectacular progress against the Howick opening attack and had put on 73 when Rosser was trapped lbw by Riley for 21.  Usual no. 3 Adamson was in and quickly away before he too befell the same fate with the score on 107.  In the meantime Harwood had brought up his 50 with a six over long on and was joined by Milburn who established himself at the crease and had begun to attempt to accelerate the score toward 200 on a pitch that was a showing some uneven bounce when we were struck down by a succession of blows.

1st Harwood was bowled by Riley who had settled into an impressive spell (finishing with 4 for 19 off 7) for 77, then Hetherington was trapped lbw in the same over for 0.  A couple of overs later drama queen Milburn was shot in the calf by a sniper in the trees and needed a runner to continue all but losing any momentum we had built up.

Tom More then Acaster along with the stricken Milburn scrambled to get us to 170 for 5 but at 140 for 2 with 7 overs left 200 looked possible.  Credit to the Howick bowlers who stuck to the task and with Riley impressive could be pleased with their efforts.

Usual opening pair Mason and Jobson for once didn’t quite get it right and the Howick openers reached 50 without loss relatively untroubled.  However we still had the man in form Gary Mordey and the returning Jonny Acaster at our disposal and Rosser made a double change which paid dividends almost straight away.  Mordey picked up three quickly then Acaster struck to leave Howick 54-4 having been 50 for 0.

With Acaster drying runs up at his end, Mordey despite an attempted counter attack picked up 2 more during his spell to complete another 5 for with Howick slumping further to 72-6.

Acaster 1 for 25 and Mordey 5 for 20 bowled out but earlier tormentor Riley and opening bowler Marley had established themselves at the crease and the game was certainly not over at this point.  Mason and Jobson returned and bowled well but couldn’t find the breakthrough.

The game came down to the last 4 overs with Howick needing 44 from 4 overs with 2 set batsmen at the crease, More and Jarvis the men tasked with finishing the job.  Despite picking up a wicket and a further run out neither could quite get it right and along with a few misfields/over throws Howick got home on the last ball to inflict our 1st defeat of the season.  Things didn’t quite go our way toward the end and we probably left 15/20 runs behind 1st innings as well as gifting a similar amount in the field.

As disappointing as it was (Particularly for Mordey who didn’t deserve to be on the losing side) credit should go to Howick who along with being amiable hosts had hung in when seemingly behind all game and in teenager Riley who added 49 not out to his 4 wicket hall had a matchwinner on the day.  We enjoyed a drink with them afterward and as we’d picked up 9 bonus points we are still top of the league so not a complete disaster

Despite the disappointment final word should go to Mr Chairman Paul Milburn who to his credit carried on having injured his calf to show his personal commitment but was unfortunately unable to field.  Enough of the platitudes however as half way through the Howick innings the game needed to be stopped to allow Alan Mason (70 odd year old grandfather of Owen) to carry his bag to the car while Paul followed limping comically like an injured puppy – needless to say maximum fines were administered

Ashington Rugby 170 for 5  (9 points)

Alnmouth Howick 174 for 8 (27 points)


Saturday 19th June - Cory Milburn's day with the ball
Jun 28, 2021, 12:06 pm

Our very own Cory Miburn topped the Northumberland Bowling figs for this week and he was second overall in the country with his 9 wickets for 30 runs from 9.2 overs.

 

Stocksfield 2nds vs Ashington Rugby CC

Stocksfield – 19 June

Matchball kindly sponsored by Shaun Cole Plumbing Services

Team News – Adam ‘Rakheem’ Peacock returned from a family holiday/weekend away with the Mrs and replaced Jay Little who dropped down to the 2nds.

Toss - Skipper Dent won the toss and after a ridiculous amount of deliberation on a hot day and decent looking deck decided to have a bat.

Usual openers Colonel skunt and Captain nurdle aka Matty Tanney and Colin Thornton strode out to the middle to face the new ball as ever looking to set us up for a big score.

And indeed they did albeit it unspectacular fashion with the 50 then 100 partnership coming up followed by 50’s for both batsmen with the highlight the rarely spotted straight 6 from Colin.  They continued untroubled until the score was on 121 when Matty spooned up a catch from the bowling of the experienced Thirlwell for a well made 59.  With the pitch being a little sluggish and low bounce often a concern this was a great start for us, since Colin’s arrival and Matty stepping up a level it’s been refreshing that in one or both have gotten a score in practically every game this season which has allowed the lads in the middle order to play their natural game.  

Rakheem was next to the crease (looking chunkier than a giant Toblerone) and had been his usual impatient self whilst waiting to bat, lamenting the scoring rate of the openers .  Fortunately for him he got himself in (Avoiding a full chapter dedicated to him and karma) and added a little impetus to the innings for a while hitting some pleasing boundaries but just as he was looking to go up through the gears as he has often done this season he offered a catch off Thirlwell and was on his way for 23.

Skipper Dent at 4…. The less said about this the better he got 12 off 29 balls (smashing it to all parts.. of the crease, his body, the ground) and was finally put out of his misery by a horrible lbw decision that hit him on the thigh pad.

Colin was the last man out for a well made 89 off 109 balls which in the conditions was a great knock especially as the middle order strokemakers had struggled with their timing and it was left to finishers Lew Tan and Boom Boom Milburn to get us past 200 and post a more than competitive 204 for 4      

Following tea it was Lord of the Dance Cory ‘Michael Flatley’ Milburn to take the new ball who despite issues with his run up has started to find his groove as the season has worn on, the hotstepping at the start making way for a smooth last 8-10 steps and it was no surprise when he struck in the 1st over sending Page back lbw for nought.

His opening partner this season James Richards has provided good support to Cory so far and despite not having the wickets he perhaps deserves has regularly beat the bat and been miserly (& a misery) while at the same time building pressure and surely a big haul is only round the corner.  Well today all that can be scratched off, he went for 21 off 4 struggling to hit grass and was hauled off by skipper Dent and replaced by Lawrence.  By now though Stocksfield were 5 down all falling to Cory with James claiming his spell was part of a grander plan.

A nice cameo of 26 from Tobin was ended by Cory once more and another soon followed.   However at this point, Lawrence who clearly hadn’t got James memo cleaned up Thirlwell to leave Stocksfield 64 for 8 and deny the chance of a 10for – top man Mark.   Then in the following over Cory knocked over the final 2 wickets (The 2nd a superb catch from sibling Callum who has now added the Moniker ‘Dr Snaffle’ to his self-anointed repertoire of aliases) to finish with 9 for 30 – remarkable spell. 

The winning margin 140 runs and another 30 points in the bag but the day belonged to Cory who had produced the 2nd best figures in the country on the day with honourable mentions to Colin and Matty.

Additionally with the 2nd team being postponed due to COVID issues with their opponents it was nice that Cory’s old man as well as a few of the 2nd team lads were present to witness a milestone day for a popular member of the club and all round good egg.

Next week we look to round off the 1st half of the season with a difficult trip to Corbridge where we traditionally struggle but with form on our side there’s optimism we can get the job done and take another step toward promotion. 

Stocksfield CC 2 points

Ashington Rugby CC 30 points

      

 Colin Thornton apperas at 12th position in Northumberland on the highest runs scored at this weekend.

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Our 2nd team home game was cancelled by Alnwick CC 

Ashington Rugby CC 30 points

Alnwick CC 0 points 

Match ball sponsor Owen Jarvis


Saturday 5th June 2021
Jun 8, 2021, 9:38 am

After last week’s statement victory against fellow league contenders Berwick, Ash Rug travelled to Cramlington looking to keep the momentum going. Matty Tanney’s quad was ‘severely injured’ in the mid-week game and then miraculously better again just before the start of play when he realised Peacock might take the gloves off him. Dodgy quad aside we had everyone available and were at full strength.

Captain Dent won the toss and chose to bowl first, a slightly odd decision given a week of pure sunshine and a dry forecast, however we arrived to a heavy looking outfield and several large divots in the wicket. The top 6 wanted absolutely nothing to do with a minefield and there weren’t too many grumbles as we made our way out to field.

What followed was one of the worst fielding performances your likely to ever witness on a cricket filed. Now I could sit here and attempt to creatively write each dropped chance and miss field woven intricately into the storyline of Cramlington’s batting innings. However my writing skills are decidedly average and not up to much, you’ll have noticed I struggle sticking to 1st/3RD person & past/present tense so I’m clearly not up to the task of telling this story properly. In a change of approach I’m going to list the errors and guilty parties and will instead make reference to them where they fit the story. Here goes:

1)     Mark Lawrence dropped an absolute sitter at Gully off James. Hit him in the nads though which made us all feel better about it.

2)     David Dent dropped an easy chance off Pullman at slip (who went on to get 55*) off James

3)     Adam Peacock dropped one low down off Pullman at slip off James

4)     James Richards missed a half chance at slip off Cory

5)     James Richards dropped a caught and bowled

6)     James Richards dropped a sharp chance at cover off Greaves

7)     Mark Lawrence intentionally dived the opposite way and missed a catch at Gully off James

8)     Scotty & Peacock combined for a ‘he said, she said’ dropped catch that landed in the middle of them.

9)     Callum & Greaves combined for a horrific 4 runs overthrow. Greaves 70% to blame

10)  Scotty Maddison dived out the way of one at mid-on, nee minerals

11)  Greaves tripped over the ball at fine leg and kicked it for 4

12)  Callum did 10 laps of the cricket ball before eventually escorting it over the boundary for 4

13)  Even the mighty Lewy Tann failed to stop a drive through mid-off which went for 4

On another day Cramlington could have very easily been 50 all out and back in the bar for an early finish but we were the masters of our own downfall and the game in reality was an extremely competitive affair for the most part.

James & Cory took the new ball and the pair were absolutely superb. James had the ball on string and it’s no exaggeration to say he could have legitimately had figures of 5-0 in the first few overs if we could have held our chances. He was swinging the ball away from the right handers whilst also managing to nip the odd one back to keep LBW in the equation. James would usually have blown his top and laid into the lads but after the 3rd chance went down in only the second over I honestly think we broke him and he entered into a blissful state of tranquillity, every chance that went down only seemed to further calm him as he accepted his fate.

I don’t usually write nice things about bowlers but Cory was equally superb at the other end, he was bowling quick, accurate and on a good length and the Cramlington batsman didn’t know what to do with him in the early exchanges. He proved far too much for Barnes (Aka Adam Peacock stunt double), bouncing him out with a simple catch lobbed up to Dent at slip. As often happens with quicker bowlers at this standard Cory was dealt some harsh luck as Craddock edged a quick fire 20 exclusively through slip and 3rd man. We somehow found ourselves staring at 34-1 off 7 overs before Cory finally got his man trapping Craddock LBW. Cory ending with the best 6-40-2 your ever likely to see.

Greaves was brought into the attack to add some control and it proved a masterstroke as he began to halt Cramlington’s momentum. He started to dot up star bat Pullman, who until then had played positively including a lovely shot off James advancing down the track and clipping the ball through square leg for a sublime boundary. Mark came into the attack replacing the unfortunate James Richards 10-26-1. Cramlington were 78-4 and the game stood in the balance.

I don’t like writing nice things about bowlers, I especially don’t like writing nice things about bowlers called Mark Lawrence, but he was truly outstanding. His first over was a double wicket maiden as he trapped Ingram lbw (5) before bowling Evans (0) two balls later. Some debate as to whether it was a good delivery or simply a missed full toss, Mark insistent he chucked it above the eye line and it dipped back under the bat. Anyone who has watched Mark bowl can make their own conclusions on that one.

Greaves provided the control (10-13-1) but it was Mark who added the wickets as he continued to rip through the remainder of Cramlington’s batting order taking every wicket from 6-11. Dent took an absolute sorter at slip to atone for his earlier error and Mark finished with astonishing figures of 9-12-6.

Special mention to Billy Pullman for a fine 57* to steer Cramlington to 116 and keeping them single handendly in the game. 116 was by no means a certainty on a pitch that offered plenty of encouragement to the bowlers. We’d also like to know where he purchased his hamstrings as his technique of long smothered forward defence would have genuinely retired half of our batting line up.

There was some chat on the circuit that if you could get Peacock early then the rest of the team would soon fold, that’s possibly a criticism you could label in previous seasons but 5 minutes on play cricket would have told you differently. Dent, L Tanney, M Tanney & Callum were all averaging over 60 and had important runs this season already. Colin Thornton has had a quiet start by his standards but let’s stop and put some respect on the name please, 1 minute on play cricket show’s he’s scored 7,000 runs @ an average of 43, also bear in mind he played 55 seasons prior to Play Cricket even existing, or the internet, or electricity for that matter!

Those assertions of depth and strength were quickly put to the test as Ash Rug found themselves in a spot of bother at 21-3. Colin was caught behind off fellow wise old fox Livingstone before the very same bowler soon removed Peacock for a second ball duck as he pulled a short one straight to Ingram at square leg who took a fine catch high to his right. Dent (1) soon followed as Dominic Hall got one to spit off a length and he was caught a gully, Hall was impressive throughout and bowled with good zip making the most of a lively wicket.

Tannfastics Lewy & Matty started the rebuild and batted well for a time combining proactive running with solid shot making as they moved the score onto 50-3. Matty was tramped plumb LBW to Livingston for a well grafted 25 to bring the partnership to a close. Lewy meanwhile had the bit between his teeth at the other end and was going along nicely on 21, having earlier survived a review for a catch at short leg. The 3rd umpire correctly spotting a clear gap between bat and bad, decision overturned and Ash Rug retained the review.

We really enjoyed Callum getting some early chirp as he began his innings, Craddock buoyed by his earlier 21 was laying into him from point with good effect ‘you’ve stood at Cow Corner for 40 overs and now you’re chewing up dot balls for fun, some game you’re having’ , standing ovation from a supportive away side! The chirping had the opposite effect however as Cullum’s ego fired him into action and he went about taking the attack to Skirpan & Ingram who had come on to replace the opening bowlers. Callum hit four 6’s in a quick-fire 38 and swung the momentum in the away side’s favour. There was one pull shot off Skipran which would have legitimately reached the top tier at the MCG, no doubt we’ll hear about that for many years to come. He still tells us about a 6 he hit at GEMS in 2008 and the time he played against Yorkshire U12’s for the county. Callum fell just before the finish as he missed a straight one (fine for repeat dismissal).

Lewy Tanney finished on 44* and made a legitimate claim for stealing man of the match from Mark, he steered a side on the brink of a collapse at 21-3 to a comfortable 5 wicket victory with 15 overs to spare. In previous years we would have lost that game but it’s testament to a growing maturity from Lewy that he took the game by the scruff of the neck to see the side home. He’s scored 176 runs @ 88 so far this season, including another match winning 51* against Blyth.

Ash Rug took home full points and remain unbeaten at the top of the league in our strongest ever start to a league campaign. We host Allendale at home next week.

Big thank you to Match ball sponsor Ken & Heather Ward

Cramlington CC 4 points

Ashington Rugby CC 30 points

---------------------------------------------------------

Ashington Rugby 2XI vs Cramlington 2XI

Saturday 5th June – Ashington Rec

Matchball kindly sponsored by Ken & Heather Ward (Ken a former player)

With the weather set fair and the pitch looking a belter all that was required from skipper Rosser was to win the toss and have a bat unfortunately (as usual) Stu lost & Cramlington skipper Parker obviously had the same idea and we were asked to bowl to collective groans from the home players.  Jonny Acaster was unavailable this week and was replaced by Owen Jarvis in the only change from the win at Morpeth.

As usual Mason and Jobson opened up and were on the mark from the start and despite a couple of boundaries the run rate was stable at 2 an over, when with the score on 18, Mason bowled Davison and Simpson in consecutive balls to cement our good start the 2nd one a jaffer. 

From here we lost our way to an extent and allowed 1st Bramley then Langley to get on top while opener Parker was solid at one end and despite Mordey removing Langley for 17 Cramlington progressed to 91 for 3.  We were  in need of a boost and once again it arrived in the shape of a Gary Mordey hot streak, he proceeded to rip through the Cramlington middle order with 3 wickets in quick succession and with ‘Golden Arm’ Milburn removing Parker from a full toss for a patient 31 the away side had slipped to 98 for 7.

Milburn was bowling steadily and the Cramlington lower order did well to see off Mordey who couldn’t find the fifth wicket that his spell probably deserved meaning Rosser passing on the responsibility of cleaning up the tail to Owen Mason, safe in the knowledge he’d regularly produced the goods at the back end already this season.  Unsurprisingly he was up to the challenge and removed Heads and Bradley in the same over and just as thoughts turned to the 15 year olds first senior 5for Milburn took the final wicket to leave Cramlington 126 all out.

Despite having a 10 over period where we went off the boil a little this was a pretty good outcome on a hot day on a good deck, however it should be said fines were dished out to several players for being distracted by the ladies rugby that was ongoing on the adjacent pitch. 

 

After tea regular openers Harwood and Rosser strode out to face the Cramlington attack with plenty going on around with both the mens & womens rugby in full swing and the smell of Greek and Mexican food wafting across the pitch.

With Langley bowling economically from the rugby club end despite both batters warming the hands of the fielders with well struck drives, it was Harwood who got stuck into Doyle from the other end with several offside boundaries to get the score moving.  Rosser was steadily accumulating at his end looking solid while Harwood looked to attack.  Parker was brought on to replace Doyle who had gone for 24 off 3 and despite Harwood hitting him over both long on and off he managed to stifle the flow of runs.

At this point it should be said Cramlington’s number 3 (who had been knocked over 1st ball) had been a bundle of energy in the field (other descriptions available) encouraging the bowlers and irritating the batters in equal measure despite his own failures which lead to some light hearted banter between the sides.  However to his credit he persisted with his batting critiques and certainly got under Harwood’s skin who fired back some advice of his own.

Langley finished his 9 over spell with the admirable figures of 0 for 7 and despite the partnership now progressing past 50, runs had become a premium and Harwood who had been bogged down despite a bright start advanced down the pitch to Parker and was stumped for 29.  Adamson at 3 came in and looked assured from the off hitting a couple of pleasing boundaries and Rosser joined in having faced the majority of the accurate Langley before Adamson was caught well by (ironically) Cramlington’s batting coach for 14 off the bowling of Heads.

Cool hand Paul (Milburn) was in at 4 and as ever in a run chase was quickly into his stride and both batsmen were now comfortable since Parker (1 for 26) had bowled his allocation.  The scoring rate began to rise and we cruised home with 4 overs remaining with Stu finishing with a well judged 46 not out and the Chairman 29 not out.

A good win set up by the Bowlers and finished off by the batters leaves us still top of the league, special mention to Owen Mason and Gary Mordey with outstanding bowling figures once again.

Cramlington 126 All out (4 points)

Ashington Rugby 130 for 2 (30 points)          


Match Ball Sponsorship
Jun 2, 2021, 12:27 pm

Big thank you to Melly's Carpets and Beds for sponsoring some of our match balls.

 

Melly's is located on the Ashington main street, next to the Town Hall.

 

 

 Special thank you to Michael Adamson for brokering the deal.

 


Saturday 29th May 2021
Jun 2, 2021, 10:36 am

Ashington Rugby CC 1st XI vs Berwick CC 1st XI

Match ball kindly sponsored by Matty Tanney.

Following on from last week’s comprehensive 136 run victory at Whitley Bay, Ash Rug welcomed a bang in form Berwick side to The Rec in an top of the table clash with both sides coming into the this week’s fixture unbeaten. Only one change to the side saw keeper Tanney replace 2nd XI captain Rosser; however, we did also benefit from having a ‘extra man’ this week as Cal Milburn who last week arrived looking like an intoxicated Marv off Home Alone was fresh this week off night shift and raring to go.

Vice captain and stand in Mark Lawrence flipped the coin and in no real surprise we yet again lost the toss with opposition skipper Keenan opting to bat first on a track that was soft in places and looked like it could offer some assistance to the new ball early doors. Captain Dent arrived for the start of play and after snubbing vice vice vice vice vice vice captain and maverick Peacock’s cry for a team huddle, the ball was thrown to Milburn to get us underway. The opening exchanges offered little in the way of chances to both sides until in his 3rd over, Cory struck by trapping Beveridge plum LBW in front after beating him for pace with the score on 15. James Richards shared the new ball from the Rugby Club end and soon began to find his straps tying the new batsmen in knots, as he continually played and missed making it seem like he had left his willow in the changing rooms. It was however star player Scott Middlemiss (32) who was the next to depart with the score on 42-1 as Richards induced a hefty outside edge and M.S Tan standing up behind the stumps took a potential match changing and cracking catch.

Boosted by that wicket the ruggers began to eek out a little more energy and started to turn the screw on Berwick’s middle order who’s scoring options were rapidly drying up, evidenced by some suicidal running only to be let off the hook. Club legend and the man whose varicose veins resemble an AA Road Atlas map Dean Greaves was brought into the attack for Cory who’s 6 over audition for Happy Feet was curtailed with figures of 1-20. Greaves not to be outdone by G. Mordey who was cleaning up at Longhirst, looked dangerous from the off with the usual late in-swing and also managed to produce an absolute seed that even the Pope would have struggled to play. Shukla (17) was tempted into a booming cover drive only to find the hands of Richards at cover then Hush (0) was trapped LBW and when Thompson (0) also spewed up to cover off gold finger Mark Lawrence Berwick found themselves at 77-5 off 29 overs.

When Greaves 10-2-20-2 was bowled out and replaced by 1st choice spinner Maddison, opposition skipper Keenan, with seemingly little faith in his lower middle order began to pick up the rate with attacking shots aplenty and connecting with a few lusty blows that sailed over the ropes to the joys of a raucous Berwick team. It turned out to be one shot too many though and Scott got his man when Keenan hauled out to Ruben Loftus Cheeks (Lewis Tanney) at long on for 55. Berwick’s tail wagged and despite death bowler Milburn unleashing his array of slower balls and some tidy stuff from Lawrence, Berwick finished on a respectable 162, yet gifted us full bowling points when the number 11 decided to take on noodle arms Cal Milburn at deep square leg only to be left 12 yards short of his ground.

This week’s tea interval highlight was our very own ‘Fat Hippo’ Adam Peacock seen salivating over captain Dent’s option of loaded fries from the aptly named street food vendor parked by the Rugby Club.

Usual opening pair of Thornton and M.Tanney were entrusted with setting the foundations of a very important run chase for the ruggaz. To the absolute astonishment of the lads, Matty crunched the 1st ball of the innings for four when opening bowler Thompson over pitched and was cover driven to the fence. However, it wasn’t about to be all plain sailing as Colin outside edged Thompson to 1st slip, and thinking he was safe, turned around to see a much leaner looking Middlemiss dive low to the right taking a one-handed absolute snorter. (Note. After failing miserably at warm up drills Colin’s best contribution of the day was collecting the boundary flags in).

This brought to the crease Adam Peacock and the number 3 was swiftly reminded from the Berwick lads that plenty of runs were required to make up for some atrocious ground fielding earlier in the day and dull sledging. That noise soon became muffled though as the fielders found themselves watching the new ball cross the white line all too often. Peacock who spewed a ton last week (77) was not about to let lightning strike twice and was looking imperious punishing both good length bowling and the buffet bowling which was on offer. Matty doing as Matty does, occupied the crease well and rotated the strike whilst never offering a chance. Peacock brought up his half century with a glorious cover drive and soon after with the score on 115-1 the partnership was trending towards 100.

With the opposition bowlers looking deflated and there being little to zero chat out there the boys cashed in. Tanney swept Middlemiss for back-to-back boundaries, although at times found strike hard to come by as Peacock who resembles Rakheem Cornwall was turning down twos to the long boundary and hogging strike. Now engaging ‘top gear’ Peacock had turned his attention to personal milestones and with 28 needed to win needed 18 himself. Shearer (unfortunately not Alan) was brought back into the attack and was immediately dispatched for three sixes by the lefty to bring up yet another club Ton. Superb to watch!

Matty on 47 himself, with two needed to win was not to be outdone and on what turned out to be the final ball of the game pushed one onto in the gap and screamed three. Peacock who at this stage was in desperate need of an iron lung set off and miraculously made it back for three, Matty went full David Warner mode and celebrated with a leaping fist pump. A fine knock in its own right and not one to be overshadowed.

A convincing win over a full-strength Berwick side with all the lads contributing was great to see. Next week we travel to Cramlington looking to cement our position at the head of affairs.

Ashington RCC 30 Points

Berwick CC 5 Points

---------------------------------------------

Morpeth 2nds vs Ashington Rugby 2nds

29 May 2021 – Longhirst

Matchball kindly sponsored by Kevin Hetherington 

After promotion from Division 6 in 2019 Stu Rosser’s side had managed to win all 5 of their Division 5 fixtures to date in what had been an exceptional start from a newly promoted side.  However as Morpeth had also done the same and the feeling being they were operating at least a division below their level with the resources at their disposal this promised to be a severe test of our credentials as early season pace setters.

With what has seemed like weeks of incessant rain in the lead up to the game and some alleged draining issues at Longhirst the game was in doubt however 2/3 days of dry sunny weather had done enough to allow the game to go ahead despite the inability of the groundsman to cut the outfield before the game (was ok for after though) meant that conditions weren’t ideal but at least we were playing.

Paul Milburn had come into the side from the win at Bedlington to bolster a batting line up that had looked flimsy, at the expense of the unavailable Jamie Parker.

Stu Won the toss and asked Morpeth to bat, a sensible choice as it was difficult to ascertain what a good score would be under the circumstances and as usual Craig Jobson and Owen Mason took the new ball looking to make an early breakthrough.  Both were superb in reducing Morpeth to 22 for 3 with Jobson picking up 2 and Mason the other.

Morpeth skipper Concannon who had already hit a couple of pleasing boundaries was joined at the crease by Byatt and with some good strokeplay and aggressive running the pair were able to progress the score onto 60 when Acaster who had been introduced after Mason had bowled out had Concannon caught by Milburn to end a partnership of 38 that in the conditions had become a concern for the Ruggaz.

Acaster, took an over to find his range after not having had a bowl for a few weeks but settled into a lovely spell making scoring difficult and fashioning a further couple of chances that we failed to take and finished an excellent spell of 1 for 26 off his 9.  In the meantime Jobson had bowled out finishing with 2 for 35 off his 9 which could have been 3 as a sharp chance was spilled in the gully by Midge (who’s vision was perhaps obstructed by the long grass in the outfield) off his last ball.

However we need not have panicked as we still had an ace up our sleeve in the form of Gary Mordey, the man, the legend who despite his advancing years was having an excellent season that was about to get better. 

With Morpeth on 77 for 4 on a pitch (and outfield) where anything over 100 would seem to be a decent score, Mordey grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to rip through the Morpeth batting line up.  Bowling with skill, determination and a decent amount of pace, belying his age he ended with figures of 5 for 13 off 5.5 overs (4 bowled & 1 lbw) to leave Morpeth 87 all out – remarkable stuff.

Tea was the usual CO-OP meal deal for most but the re-introduction of changing facilities and showers was a welcome addition and hopefully a step forward toward normality

After tea usual duo Harwood and Rosser strode out to face up to the Morpeth opening attack knowing that despite being favourites it would not be easy on a tacky pitch and slow outfield.  It was Harwood who got us away with a succession of scoring shots through cover/point as the bowlers overpitched that would usually have been boundaries but were held up by the outfield and shortly afterwards he offered a caught & bowled chance to Byatt and was on his way for 10 with the score on 13 – not ideal but we had a start.

Midge was next man in and he knuckled down to see off the opening bowlers alongside Rosser but scoring was difficult and he eventually lost patience and was caught at mid-off for 4 attempting to break the shackles bringing to the crease Milburn.  He & Stu settled things down and patiently scored where they could knowing that we could only lose by being bowling out and the score progressed to 57 before disaster struck.

With the Morpeth fielders seemingly starting to lose interest Rosser having just hit a boundary knocked one out to the leg side and jogged/waddled through for an easy single, however a mis field prompted Paul to call for a second and Stu who wasn’t backing up was run out by a mile.  A calamitous moment with Stu visibly furious having worked hard for his 15 off 84 balls and looked set to see the job through despite constant sledging from fielders some of whom’s voice were yet to break and Stu unable to respond or risk a brush with the child welfare officer. 

Back to the run out, who was at fault is open to debate but the fines master was unmoved after the game, issuing maximum fines to both who should know better given the amount of experience they have.

This wasn’t the end of the Milburn related drama however, not content with giving his team mates 1 heart stopping moment, as shortly after the run out attempted to go big over cow perfectly picking out the fielder but luckily for him it was put down.  A couple of further boundaries followed until he was trapped in front for 27 which in the context of the game was a valuable knock despite the drama to leave us 13 short.

Any nerves still jangling were swiftly dispelled by Jay Little in at 5 who stroked the ball around beautifully to get us over the line finishing 15 not out with Tucker 1 not out.

A great win that left us clear at the top of the table and another example of our growing ability to grind out a result.

Final word should go to G. Mordey (Mordey Shore/G spot/Mordretti) who was simply outstanding on the day and the difference between the sides.  A breath of fresh air since he joined both on and off the pitch whose enthusiasm rubs off on everyone at the club and still celebrates a wicket like it’s the 1st (Not one of 1500 plus) – take a bow sir outstanding.

Morpeth 2nds  87 all out (3 points)

Ashington Rugby 2nds 88 for 4 (30 points)

 


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