News

The 1^st XI made their 1^st ever visit to Wardley on Saturday to play GEMS at the infamous Wardley Cricket Ground.

Upon arrival there was some conjecture as to whether the strip actually measured the standard 22 yards. However everyone could agree that should we win the toss then due to the condition of the track (irrespective of it’s length) bowling would be the only option.

Having lost the toss & unsurprisingly being asked to bat Harwood flicked the 1^st ball of the innings for 4 before pushing the 2^nd for 3 as Storey also got off the mark with little fuss. Unfortunately (for us) the wicket began to play up as expected & Storey got a lifter he could only fend to square leg & Harwood dragged on a slower ball from way outside off stump off Alam’s bowling leaving us 2 down with not many on the board. Matty Tanney making his seasonal debut & the consistent Milburn decided attack was the best form of defence but despite a couple of boundaries Milburn was soon on his way for 6 bowled off a grubber & Tanney soon follwed well caught in the deep for 14.

The Returning Dean Hardy & Michael Adamson came to the crease with the innings teetering but both were willing to knuckle down & work hard for the cause picking up what they could & progressing the score to 88 for 4 in the chase for a score of 140+ that would prove difficult given the conditions. As is the case in such conditions 1 wicket usually brings 2 & Hardy was caught off a skyer for 24 & Adamson bowled by 1 that kept low (even by his standards).

This signalled another collapse in which we were eventually dismissed for 107 with Lewis Tanney’s 10 the only resistance in the lower order. Alam ran riot for GEMS picking up 7 for 31.

GEMS unsurprisingly attacked from the start looking to hit anything not short back past the bowler. Runs came quickly so did wickets though with Greaves & Spiers opening the bowling picking up a wicket each & Milburn bowling off a long run proving a handful as the game hung in the balance.

Eventually the GEMS batsmen wrestled the initiative & despite a couple of wickets for Milburn & 3 for Greaves GEMS won by 4 wickets with Alam fittingly hitting the winning runs.

Had it not been for another middle order collapse then it was likely the forecast of 140+ would have resulted in a win.

 The 2nds at home to Bomarsund meanwhile were blown away by a Ryan Bell century who dominated Bomar’s 219 for 8. David Wanless Jr was the only wicket taker returning outstanding figures of 7 for 38 off his 10 which included a hat trick.

Despite 48 from Maddison & 47 from Fox the 2nds could only muster 178 for 9 in reply to lose by 41 runs.

After the weekends disappointments Wanless merry men carried on their winning run beating Alnmouth by 8 wickets.

Wanless Jr & Lewis Tanney took 4 wickets apiece as Alnmouth were shot out for 78 & Kevin Hetherington cracked 45 not out to seal a comfortable win.

A good week for all 3 sides resulted in 4 wins from 4 games.

The 1^st XI won their Derby match against Stobswood at the Rec by 4 wickets after skipper Dean Greaves superb opening burst of 6 for 13 aided by Lewis Tanney’s 3 for 33 had reduced Wood to 47 for 9. However last wicket pair Beverley & Patterson put on 71 for the last wicket batting well throughout several rain interruptions. The visitors were eventually dismissed for 118 with Davey Wanless Senior picking up the final wicket.

The reply started badly with Storey being dismissed for 2 & Hardy 0 both wickets falling to Richard Watson bringing together Harwood & Milburn who had batted well when the sides met previously. A cautious Harwood (who was given a life on 3) allowed Milburn to play his shots as usual & the score began to creep toward Stobswood’s total. Milburn was eventually given out lbw for 34, Patterson the bowler, off what appeared to be an inside edge having survived an earlier appeal for caught behind which produced some unsavoury moments as the Stobswood bowler made his frustrations clear.

Adamson came to the crease & played some pleasant looking shots helping move the score to within 10 of the target. Harwood now decided it was now time to end the game early, however all he succeeded in doing was end his contribution early as he was bowled by Wingfield for a gritty 29. Adamson soon followed for 22 then Tanney 1^st ball both to Wingfield costing the home side 4 batting points. Rob Clarks 8 not out eventually secured the win.  

Meanwhile Matty Tanney’s heroics gave the 2nds a much needed win at Blue Flames. Chasing an imposing 214 for 6 Tanney smashed 92 inside 15 overs to put the 2nds off to flyer. They eventually won by 5 wickets in only 33.1 overs as Scott Maddison 32, Callum Milburn 34, Ian Fox & Johnny Hope (23 each) all made telling contributions.

Moving on to Wednesday & Old Wanless Midweek side were involved in a last ball thriller against Cramlington at the Rec.

The home side notched 115 for 8 off 20, Scott Maddison scored a patient 32 & Lewis Tanney a brisk 28 not out. However 37 from Billy Pullman left Cramlington needing 3 off the last ball bowled by Kevin Hetherington. The veteran held his nerve & Cramlington only managed a scrambled single ensuring a 1 run victory.

On the Thursday the 2^nd XI entertained Clara Vale in the Beverley Smith Cup Quarter Final.

Despite losing Callum Milburn 1^st Ball of the innings brother Corey (48) & Matty Tanney with another half century helped the home side to an impressive 166 for 7 of their 20.

A spirited reply from Clara in which Mulligan scored 40 saw them always in the hunt with the help of 29 wides, however wickets fell regularly & Tanney’s 3 for 20 off 5 left the 2nds victors by 13 runs. Chris Gray & David Wanless Jr also picked up 2 Wickets.        

Another first for our club, Paul Milburn was selected to play for Northumberland Over 50 team. Paul was quick to point out that he was selceted for the over 50's as he was in his 50th year as he is still holding on status as being in his 40's.

His first game was 18th May Derbyshire away game played at Braisldon CC, Northumberland lost to a strong Derbyshire side which had 3 players from the first class county side who played in their younger days. Derbyshire won by 9 wickets with Northumberland posting 233 for 8 and the home side got to 234 with 4 overs left with one of the openers scoring 100 not out to see home his side after losing only 1 wicket which Paul took with a LBW. His figures were 1 for 40 off 8 overs.

25th May saw Northumberland away to Cumbria, Northumberland won the toss and elected to bowl on a damp track at Carlise CC, the home side could only muster 115 for 8. Paul took 2 wickets for 27 from 8 overs, he did not bother the scorer when he went out to bat. Northumberland made hard work of the total losing 7 wickets chasing the small score with only 3 overs to spare, with our side led home by its captain scoring 44 not out.

Our club would like to thank UK Coal for their support from the Potland Burn Community Benefit Fund. We used the money to purchase much needed mobile cricket covers for our square from manufactures Stuart Cavans.

The covers have saved games already this season when we would have had to abandon them in previous seasons.

On behalf of all of our members thank you UK Coal we could not have purchased the covers without your support.

The 1^st XI visited a quaint Kirkley ground on Saturday but left empty handed as they were well beaten by an experienced Kirkley side despite racking up 226 for 9 off their 50 overs.

Skipper ‘Big’ Mick Nicholson won the toss for the home side & asked Rugby to bat on a decent looking track in bright & breezy conditions. Openers Harwood & Maddsion were soon back in the hutch dismissed by Harry Robertson leaving Duncan Storey & Paul Milburn to cautiously rebuild the innings. These two increased the scoring rate & added 89 before Storey was caught on the boundary trying to up the pace.

Spiers joined Milburn at the crease & these two continued to build until Milburn who had brought up his half century was dismissed by the slippery Walton for 67 & was soon followed by Clark for 1. After this set back Kirkley juggled their bowling & never let the scoring rate get out of hand & although the score progressed the carnage skipper Greaves would have liked to have seen in the closing overs never materialised. Adamson 16, Hetherington 24, Tanney 14 & Greaves himself 10 not out batted well but were pegged back in particular by Robertson’s 4 for 47 & Jason Ritchie’s 5 overs of spin for only 9 runs.

At tea (Thanks to the tea ladies) both teams seemed happy, Kirkley knowing a good start was needed & the Rugby Club knowing they would probably need to bowl Kirkley out to win the game, however having bowled out all of their opponents so far this season were confident they could get the job done.        

Rowe opened the innings & hit a couple of boundaries before he was well caught at 1^st slip off Greaves with the score on 10. Opener Howey was yet to score & was joined by Ball who drove his 1^st ball for 4 prompting a counter attack from this pair. 58 was added in no time until Trev Elliott trapped Ball lbw for 33 as he attempted another big shot.

Howey continued the carnage & was joined by the more sedate Farrelly as Greaves shuffled his bowlers in a vain attempt to stem the runs. With the score on 135 (Howey having since brought up a dominant 50) Elliott got one to bite in the pitch & a sprawling Hetherington bagged the catch to dismiss Farrelly for 30. Nicholson joined him at the crease & pummelled his 1^st ball for 4 into the leg side boundary & continued unabated despite a dropped catch & a couple of close calls.

With the end in sight & any hope of victory gone Greaves introduced Storey’s off spin into the attack to try to buy the wicket that would bring an extra bonus point & a ball after Howey was dropped (for the 3^rd time) Midge Adamson took a sliding catch to finally dismiss him for a classy 78 (Made all the more remarkable by the fact it was his 1^st game of the season).

From their Nicholson continued his attack bringing up 50 which included 5 sixes to close the game off & was joined by Dave Douse who made it through to the close & a six wicket win in only 33.2 overs.

Despite the result the performance wasn’t at all bad with bat or ball, however Kirkley were able to flex their Premier League muscles in the batting department giving us a lesson on how to bat on small grounds but the sour point that once again catches went down (5 in total) which could/would/should have had an effect on the game.

At the Rec The 2^nd XI lost to Blagdon by 7 Wickets Skipper Henderson made 25 & Wanless Jr 37 not out in a final total of 145 all out. Despite 2 wickets from Pringle. The visitors eased home with 9 balls to spare.    

In a quirk of the fixture list saw all 3 of our sides take on Blyth over the space of 5 days with varying results.

On Saturday the 1^st XI were well beaten at the rec by their Blyth counterparts despite restricting them to only 138. Wanless senior was the pick of the bowlers taking 4 for 47 & Trev Elliott (3 for 33) was also among the wickets. An apathetic fielding display in which 2 of Blyth’s main contributors were dropped on nought was compounded by former player Wab Barakat top scoring with an agricultural 37. In total 6 catches were dropped & Blyth should have been bundled out for less than 100 on a dry pitch that was difficult to bat on.

The reply started well with a partnership of 32 between Harwood & Maddison; however Maddison’s dismissal was soon followed by Storey, Milburn then Harwood for an innings top score of 37. Surj Singh & Blyth captain Lawrence had been introduced into the attack & Lawrence in particular proceeded to rip through the Rugby lower order finishing with innings figures of 5 for 6 including a hat trick of lbws in a paltry total of only 71.

Meanwhile the 2^nd XI faired slightly better in the reverse fixture but still ended up disappointed despite some impressive bowling by Chris Gray. The big seamer took 3 for 17 off his 10 but 80 from Blyth no. 3 Coterill propelled Blyth to 163 off their 40. Ryan Pringle 3 wickets & Corey Milburn 2 also bowled well.

The reply never really got going, Hudson with 20 & Tanney 28 made contributions leaving Richards, Barrass & Gray to wag the tail in a final total of 139 all out.           

Fast forward to Tuesday in the Dr Tom Barlow Cup, the 1sts amassed 92 for 8 off 20 on the same dustbowl once again struggling against a strong Blyth attack. Harwood made a brisk 16, Adamson 16 & a composed 28 not out from Stu ‘Cream Bun’ Spiers held the innings together as wickets fell regularly, Thompson 5 for 25 & Lawrence 3 for 9 were the main Blyth protagonists.

Blyth’s reply started badly with Lawrence being caught at square leg 1^st ball & wickets continued to fall Greaves bowling through taking 3 for 22 & Spiers 2 for 29. With the game in the balance & big hitter Kemp at the crease a long hit to cow found Lewis Tanney but the youngster’s usual safe hands deserted him & the chance went begging. Tanney himself was brought into the attack & his 1^st 3 balls went for 4 from his nemesis Kemp before the 4^th struck him on the head as he bravely tried to stop another exocet from the now rampant Kemp. He bravely got up & carried on & avoided further damage to his figures & person for the rest of the over.

Milburn was bowling well from the other end off a short run & a creaking Wanless Sr was introduced at the expense of Tanney. Wanless bowled Kemp with a grubber & panic set in to the remaining Blyth batters. Wanless picked up another & 3 for Milburn who had found some demons in the pitch left Blyth all out for 84, 8 runs short. Ironically the final catch was taken by Lewis Tanney who had the last laugh after a traumatic period earlier in the game.

A tremendous battling display in the field saw us through to a home semi final against Monkseaton after another below par batting display. League results so far would suggest the competition is anyone’s to win & hopes are high it could be our year.

After Tuesday’s drama the Midweek’s won comfortably by 49 runs to ensure that honours were even between the two sides over the four games & ensure back to back wins for Old Wanless men.

Kevin Hetherington struck an unbeaten same both ways (69) & Scott Maddison & Rob Clark also contributed in good total of 132 for 1.

In reply Blyth could only manage 83 for 9, Wanless with 3 wickets & Ryan Pringle continued his good progress taking 3 also while Lewis Tanney (1) & Scott Barrass accounted for the rest.

The insurance company eventualy gave the go ahead, to start and repalce all the damaged ceilings, plasterwork, lights, carpets etc, following our break in. The work will hopefully start within 2 weeks, the contractor has indicated that he will start in our kitchen and tea room first, so we should be up and running in around 4 to 6 weeks time fingers crossed. 

The 1sts travelled to Stobswood on Saturday and produced a superb all round performance to defeat their local rivals (and the Weather) at the Welfare Ground on Saturday.

Skipper Dean Greaves won the toss & asked Stobswood to bat in overcast conditions with the threat of rain not far away. Key opener Ian Watson was 1st out in the 2^nd over caught & bowled by Lewis Tanney who had been promoted to opening the bowling with Greaves & further rewarded his skippers bold decision by removing Dale Townsley LBW soon after.

Rookie change bowlers Wanless Sr & Elliott replaced the luckless Greaves & bowled out Tanney & really began to apply the breaks removing Dan Watson then Wingfield respectively. Stefan Townsley joined Marshall & began to take the attack to the veteran pair looking to fetch most things from off to leg until the weather intervened & an early tea was taken.

Persistent throughout the next 90 mins had the skippers considering calling it a day but a gap in the weather allowed the covers to be removed & play to recommence. Wickets fell regularly despite the conditions stifling the earlier swing allowing Wanless (3 Wickets) & Elliott (1) to complete economical spells putting the powerful Stobswood lower order under pressure.

Run Outs of Black & Townsley, who had completed a patient half century, by Harwood & Adamson (Direct Hit), a wicket for Greaves & a third for Tanney left Stobswood 142 all out & well below par on a good track.

A quick turnaround saw Harwood facing the 1^st over bowled by Mick Beverley having failed to successfully navigate his 1^st six on 2 occasions last season. However a single 2^nd ball left partner Maddison to see out the rest of a probing over from the medium pacer.

Another single left Maddison facing Stobswood captain Richard Watson & this was as far as it went for the youngster. A short of a length delivery aimed at the hip made contact with something & following a raucous appeal Maddison was sent on his way by umpire Lockey without scoring. Dean Hardy made his way to the crease to face the Stobswood bowlers whose tails were up now & despite a couple of nice shots was on his way for 7 caught behind to leave the innings on a knife edge at 16 for 2.

Enter Mr Consistent Paul Milburn who ‘like a fine wine’ gets better with age & along with Harwood began cautiously rebuilding the innings against the guile of Beverley & Aggression of Watson. These 2 rose superbly to the challenge & as the hardness wore off the new ball & the sun came out the scoring rate began to rise.

Time was of the essence & 50 runs were needed from the final hour Harwood brought up his 50 off 54 balls with 10 fours & continued unabated as Milburn went into full attacking mode being particularly severe on anything full around off stump. Despite some comical attempts at time wasting (we would do the same given the situation) the Rugga Boyz cantered home in only 28.5 overs with 20 mins remaining. Harwood finished unbeaten on 76 which included a mighty six & Milburn 47 to once again show he is the man to remain in calm in a run chase.

A maximum points hall to leave Ash top of the league after only 2 games but if performance levels can be maintained then the focus will surely be at the top of the league this season rather than the bottom.