NEPL Round Up: Week 3

By Amy Hearn

South Northumberland and Chester-le-Street continued their unbeaten start to the season as the third round of NEPL fixtures took place on a rainy May Day.

In the Premier Division, it was business as usual for South Northumberland, who made a respectable 274/7 batting first against Eppleton. There were runs for Solomon Bell (61*)and Christopher Hewison (92), and wickets for Eppleton’s Kyle Davis (3/45). Eppleton put together a good batting performance, but fell 35 runs short.

Hetton Lyons registered their first win of the season, chasing 149 to beat Washington by 5 wickets. Openers Josh Wilson (38) and Christopher Hooker (29) top-scored for the visitors, putting on 72 for the first wicket, but an excellent spell from Jack Scott (4/8) triggered a collapse, and they were bowled out for 148 with 6 overs remaining. They reduced Hetton Lyons to 71/5 in reply, Graham Pickering (4/37) taking four of the five, but dynamic batting from Stuart Walker (49*) and Robert Talbot (44*) in an unbroken partnership of 82 saw the Lyons home in 32 overs.

Whitburn won the toss and chose to bat first at High Heworth Lane, but none of their batsmen passed 20 as impressive spells from Abdul Ameer (4/28) and Harry Munton (4/39) saw the visitors bowled out for 120. Felling made easy work of the chase, reaching their target inside 25 overs. Sean Dickson made an unbeaten 60.

Chester-le-Street continued their undefeated run, posting 270/7 from their 50 overs at Ropery Lane. There were runs for openers Jacob McCann (43) and George Harrison (58), who put on 88 for the first wicket, but Quentin Hughes (89) was the standout performer with the bat for the home side. Tynemouth got close, thanks to a super batting performance from their middle order, with runs for Michael Jones (61), Muhammad Saad (83), and Matthew Brown (50), but they were eventually bowled out for 242.

In Division 1, Castle Eden bounced back from a poor batting performance at Ashbrooke last week, posting 275/5 against Gateshead Fell. Opener Ben Simpson anchored the inning with a measured 113* (135), and Bilawal Iqbal provided the firepower, scoring 88 from 66 balls. Gateshead Fell were reduced to 15/3 in reply and they never recovered, despite Thomas Pinkney’s 67* (90). They made 202/9 from their 50 overs, handing Castle Eden a 73-run win.

Sunderland continued to dominate with the ball, dismissing Philadelphia for 152. There were wickets for Safyaan Sharif (3/29) and Joseph Stuart (4/33). The home side made easy work of the chase, despite Dan Shurben’s golden duck, as Greg Applegarth’s unbeaten 70 led Sunderland to a deserved 7-wicket victory.

Crook triumphed in a rain-affected game against Boldon, chasing 211 to win by 5 wickets. They restricted Boldon to 210/9 from their 50 overs, thanks to some good bowling from David Embleton (4/36) and Andrew Burgess (2/19). Boldon’s top order struggled to score, but they were indebted to a 106-run partnership between Karl Bellerby (55) and Riccardo Small-Boyce (61) for their defendable total. The home side made a better start with the bat – opener Steve Chapman made 76, putting on 136 for the second wicket with Stuart Newton (56), which set the platform for their eventual victory.

Newcastle were excellent with the bat once again, chasing a revised target of 263 to beat Shotley Bridge by 4 wickets at Jesmond. Despite three early wickets, the visitors put together an impressive batting performance of their own, as Durham’s Matthew Potts made an unbeaten 142 and Ross Burdon contributed 62. Ross Sinclair took 5/45, but Shotley Bridge showed resilience to post 270/8 (42). They were not resilient enough with the ball, however. The Newcastle top order delivered – there were runs for Ben Mussett (82) and Liam Trevaskis (75) as the home side reached their target with one ball to spare.

Lanchester won the toss and chose to bat against Ashington, but were restricted to 176/7 (50), thanks to an all-around performance from Ashington’s bowlers. Ben Harmison’s 70 (66) propelled the home side to a 5-wicket victory.

Where next?

NEPL Round Up: Week 5 After a wet and windy weekend last week, the North East Premier League teams were back in action on a sunny Saturday.
NEPL Round Up: Week 2 The second weekend of NEPL fixtures saw some exciting run chases, disciplined bowling, and appearances from some of Durham and England's best.

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