STRONG PERFORMANCE SEES 1864'S DEFEAT 4TH PLACED HALTWHISTLE                                   

25th Jun 2023

WTL Division 1, Sat 24^th June 2023:1864's v Haltwhistle (h) 40/40

SNCC 1864 189-7 (40o) Ben Sidney-Wilmot 73, Will Carr 18, Simon West 26, Patrick Hatcher 16, Josephine Nkomo 12*: A Richardson 1-26, A Dodd 2-23, R Graham 1-18, D Heppell 0-19, O Birkett 0-28, J Wallace 1-41.

Haltwhistle 177ao(39.1o) J Wallace 15, R Graham 34, A Richardson 54, D Heppell 30: Josephine Nkomo 2-39, Joe Dresser 0-18, Simon West 2-21, Patrick Hatcher 1-19, Belinda Wewalage 2-23, Alan Roskilly 2-35, Will Young 0-17.

SNCC 1864 won by 12 runs - 20 points, Haltwhisltle 8.

A warm day at Belsay, a used pitch, the 1864's won the toss & chose to bat. Belinda Wewalage & Jack Netts faced the experienced seam attack of Richardson & Dodd. Belinda (0) succumbed first ball as a full pitch from Richardson trapped him lbw. At 26 Jack (5) was caught at point by Snowdon off Dodd.

The bowling was tight, the odd ball popped a bit but Ben Sid & Will Carr batted sensibly & wickets were intact until, at 76, an important partnership of 50 ended when Will (18,36b,2x4) hit off spinner Graham to square leg where Birkett took a good, low catch. 

Ben & Simon fashioned another good partnership worth 69 when Simon (26,29b,2x4,1x6) was caught & bowled by Wallace, 145 -4. George (0) attacking, followed one run later caught at point by Snowdon off Thompson.

Ben had batted nicely, rotating & running well, accelerating late on, but at 151 he hit Thompson to cover where Marsh took the catch, a vital, bedrock innings from Ben. Another handy partnership of 26 between Patrick & Josephine ended when Patrick (16,21b,1x4,1x6) attacking, was bowled by Dodd, 177-7. Josephine (12*,21b,1x4) & Alan (8*,6b) scampered, seeing out the 40 overs at a defendable 189.

Wallace & Graham faced the right arm seam of Josephine & Joe Dresser. Bowling nicely, they restricted the scoring until at 22 captain Wallace (15) driving, played on to Josephine, an important wicket. 50-2 when Snowdon (12) was lbw to a Simon full delivery. 65- 3 when Marsh (10) sweeping, was lbw to Belinda's off spin.

A good spell from Belinda, 3 maidens in his 7 overs & another victim as Parker (3) hit to Josephine at deep mid-wicket & was caught, 80-5.

Richardson & Heppell then staged a fightback, both batting well putting on 72 for the 6th wicket until at 152 Richardson's emphatic contribution  (54, 42b,9x4,2x6) ended as he was caught by the best fielder of the day Will Carr, at point off Josephine, a vital breakthrough.

At 155 Thompson (1) risked a second run to Alan at long on & was beaten by a good throw, 7 down. Dodd (4) then hit Alan to deep square leg where Josephine took the catch, 8 down. On this occasion relying on experience at the death, Simon had Heppell (30,44b,2x4,1x6) edging an attempted cut to w/k Ben Sid at 177, 9 down. From the first ball of the last over Patrick, full & straight, bowled Birkett(3), all out !

A close game & a very good win by 12 runs. Sensible batting, good fielding, disciplined bowling, a blend of experience & youth, all of which sees the 64's in 5^th place in WTL Div 1, albeit having played one game more.

Onward to Sat 1^st July v Hexham Leazes (a), we hope you can be there to cheer the team on.

Duncan.