BULLS TITLE PUSH THWARTED BY THE WEATHER BUT RETAIN RUNNERS UP SPOT IN                                                               DIVISION 2.

13th Sep 2022

               NEPL Division 2, Sat 10^th September, SNCC v Hetton Lyons (a)

Hetton Lyons 78-3 (17o) Miles Birbeck 28, Steven Errington 38*: Gavin Paton 0-21, Ben Hobbs 1-25, Sadiq Khan 2-19, Alan Roskilly 0-9.

Match abandoned rain: SNCC 6 points, Hetton Lyons 5.

Before start of play the Bulls knew that the top of the table clash at Langwell Crescent between Ashington & leaders Tynemouth (by 12 points), had been cancelled. So, a win & 20 points would see the Bulls as champions of Division 2. Twas not to be as rain curtailed the match after 17 overs.

Winning the toss, the home team were invited to bat. Birbeck & Moulder faced the seam of Paton & Hobbs. A wicket for Ben from his second ball as Moulder (0) was nicely caught by Charnley, head high in the gully, 4-1.

Birbeck & Errington took advantage of variations of length to boost the score. Sadiq's leg spin entered the attack in over 8. Gavin's 6 over spell included 2 maidens, Ben overpitching, was more expensive in his 3.

44-1 after 9 overs, 14 off Sadiq's 2^nd but revenge in his third as first Birbeck (28, 5x4) was adjudged lbw & next ball Tomys (0) dragged on, 64-3. Alan Roskilly's 3 overs went for only 9 but the rain set in & the players left the field at 78-3 after 17 overs. The match was abandoned 40 minutes later.

45 wickets for Sadiq in the season when his leg breaks achieved greater consistency & threat. Nathan's stellar batting.... inns: 7 no: 5 runs: 422 (100x2, 50x3), avg: 211.00... impressive but many important partnerships.

Second place for the Bulls on 383 points , 11 behind Tynemouth. A most creditable conclusion after losing three of the first four games, with memorable wins against Newcastle (a) chasing 277, Tynemouth (h) & Benwell Hill (h), when both were leading the table.

SNCC 2022 - NEPL Division 2 highlights:

Runs: Ru 477, Nathan 422, Alex C 394, James 320, Alex W 290, Nick 261, Angus 224 Parth 196.

Centuries: Nathan (2), Ru (1), Alex W (1).

Wickets: Sadiq 45, James 22, Allan 18, Gavin 18, Ru 12, Will A 10, Ben 9, Will H 9, Sree 7.

5 wickets: James 5-46 v Ashington (a), Will A 6-48 v Tynemouth (h), James 5-28 v Castle Eden (a), Sadiq 6-37 v Sunderland (h)

Catches: Sam 12/2, Parth 6, Ru 6, Alex W 6, Allan 6, Alex C 5, Ryan 5, Gavin 4, Jacob 4, Sadiq 3, Angus 3,  Nathan 3, James 2, Will A 1, Will H 1.

Partnerships:

133 Alex W & Sam 5^th wkt v Whitburn (h)

110 Nick & Ru 3^rd wkt v Sunderland (h)

105 Alex C & Nathan 2^nd wkt v Chester-le-Street (a)

103 Ru & Alex C 1^st wkt v Sunderland (a)

103 Ru & Nathan 2^nd wkt v Gateshead Fell (h)

98 Ru & Alex W 4^th wkt v Castle Eden (h)

97 Nick & James 3^rd wkt v Benwell Hill (h)

94 Nathan & Gavin 10^th wkt v Hetton Lyons (h)... record.

88 Alex C & Parth 3^rd wkt v Chester-le-Street (a)

85 Parth & Alex C 1^st wkt v Tynemouth (h)

84 Sadiq & Jacob 8^th wkt v Ashington (a)

83 Nathan & Angus 3^rd wkt v Newcastle (a)

82 Ru & Alex C 1^st wkt v Benwell Hill (a)

80 Alex C & Nick 2^nd wkt v Washington (h)

80 Nick & Angus 4^th wkt v Sunderland (h)

80 Angus & Alex W 4^th wkt v Whitburn (h)

....wow.... partnerships matter !

Duncan.