Sunderland win against Benwell Hill turns up the heat on rivals...
In the Dukes ECB North East Premier League, Sunderland had a nine-wicket win at home to Benwell Hill.
They found it tough going, as Kieran Waterson returned figures of 4-20 from his 15 overs. They eventually declared on 182-6 from 55 overs.
The Ashbrooke outfit then had skipper Greg Applegarth make 32 in a solid start, while Dan Shurben added a fantastic 93 not out from 109 balls, including 17 fours, and Ross Whitfield Junior 50 not out from 68 balls, including eight fours and a six, to see them victorious with a total of 183-1.
Sunderland remain propping up the division, but were grateful for the points that help them move a little closer to the teams above them.
Eppleton batted first at Hetton Lyons and made 183 all out in 58 overs, thanks to Sam Dinning 60 and Kyle Davis 40, as they got the majority of the runs, while Aaron Feroz claimed an impressive 6-58 in the bowling.
The Lyons then started well with opener Stuart Walker scoring 65 and Ben Mckinney 29, while Jarvis Clay added 35, in a final winning total of 186-3. This victory helped them to close the gap between themselves and South North, who dropped points when they lost away from home.
Chester-le-Street were 217 all out at Whitburn, in 52.2 overs, thanks to opener Jacob McCann scoring 37 and Liam Simpson 74, while Jonathan Shakespeare bowled well as he took 4-40. The home side then had opener Paul Shields in good nick as he made 54 in reply, leading them to 177-9 in their 57 overs, to give them a wellearned draw and a share of the points. Josh Wilson took 4-19 for the bowlers.
Newcastle were 204 all out in 55 overs after being put in to bat first by visiting Burnmoor. Ben Robinson hit a brilliant 102 from 141 balls, which included 13 fours and three sixes, as Craig Stephenson claimed 4-49 with the ball. The visitors then had Graham Clark in fine form, as he smashed 98 from 70 balls, which included 17 fours and three sixes. Ryan Pringle then cracked 51 not out from 25 balls, to help his team to a seven-wicket victory with a final total of 205-3.
Reigning champions South North were asked to bat first at Felling and but for Simon Birtwistle’s magnificent century (108no), which included 18 fours, they would have been in big trouble. Harry Munton with 4-41 and Paul Leonard 3-41 did the damage with the ball, as South North ended up on 164 all out in 51.5 overs. Felling came out and batted positively, with Sean Dickson making 73 and Waqas Ali contributing 50 not out in their winning total of 1673, to beat the league leaders and move themselves up to third place in the table at the same time.
Burnopfield piled up the runs at Tynemouth, finishing on 266-8 declared in 57.2 overs. Rhys Brown hit 61 and David Seymour 71, as they put on 134 runs for the first wicket, then Alasdair Appleby cracked 44 from 40 balls, as Esam Rahman claimed 3-56. The home side then started slowly, before building up a steady total in response. Matthew Brown scored 78 from 96 balls, including ten fours; Stuart Poynter added a brilliant 101 from 86 balls, including 13 fours; and Rahman contributed 28 not out from 36 balls, including three fours, to guide them to a winning total of 270-4. Burnopfield’s James Radcliffe was the pick of the bowlers with 3-54.
In Division One, Seaham Park were all out for 76, when they elected to bat first against visitors Philadelphia. Their batsmen struggled against the fantastic bowling of Adam McGuire with 7-31. Philadelphia reached 82-0 in only 13.3 overs, through Thomas Raine (20no) and Nikhil Gangta (48no).
Sacriston lost at Gateshead Fell after been put in
to bat and they were all out for 121. Their top scorer was Andrew Dixon with 28. Andrew Porter took 4-36 in the bowling. In reply, Gateshead Fell got off to a slow start, until Malik Javed boosted their total with 43, taking them to a winning score of 125-6. Christopher Rushforth was the best of the bowlers with 3-31.
Basement club Washington travelled to Shotley Bridge, but their fortunes remained unchanged, as they slumped to 49 all out, only one batsman reaching double figures. The team crippled by the bowling of
Oliver Gibson (4-12) and Reece Carr (4-20). Shotley Bridge reached 53-1 in only 11.4 overs, with 25 from Daniel Anderson and 26 not out from Ross Burdon.
Blaydon were put in to bat when they welcomed Crook to Denefield. They declared at 270-7, with contributions of 33 from Geoff Stewart, 83 not out from Joseph Reynolds and 41 from Jamie Wightman. Steven McTaggart took 3-65 with the ball. Crook got off to a good start with 47 from Andrew Pratt, Marc Boughey adding 56, but it was only enough to bag them a draw as they ended
on 194-8. Abdul Ameer shone for the bowlers with 5-33.
League leaders Ashington elected to bat first when they travelled to Lanchester and declared at 280-6, with contributions from Jack Jessop (65), Jack McCarthy (56), Younas Ahmadzai (40), James Harmison (42) and Sean McCafferty (27no). Pasindu Madushan performed best with the ball, taking 4-62. Lanchester were all out for 168 in reply. Their best batsmen were Ethan Connolly with 42 and Greg Patterson with 60. Mark Wood took a splendid 5-24 with the
ball.
Castle Eden are still second, after declaring with 244-9, when they visited Willington. Jonathan Malkin got them off to a good start with 47, ably assisted by Benjamin Simpson (34), Keith Bailey (50) and Bilawal Iqbal (40). Jake Pratt took 5-26 with the ball. Willington struggled to scrape together a total of 102 all out, the bowling of Bailey (4-46) and Malkin (4-33) keeping them at bay.
In the Readers Durham & North East Cricket League, Division One leaders Brandon piled on the runs at home to Hylton, with openers Matthew Brown making 40 and Chris Peareth 86, as they both put on 76 runs for the first wicket. Gordon Muchall then scored quickly making an excellent 128 from 95 balls, which included 15 fours and a six, as they ended up on 302-5.
Hylton then got off to a poor start when Gary Braithwaite retired on three runs. Shantanu Mishra pulled things back with 57 from 60 balls, but it was not enough as with little support from his team mates, they slumped to defeat with a final score of 132 all out in 34.1 overs. Jordan Grosert put in a good bowling display with 5-33 from nine overs, including one maiden.
South Shields totalled 211-7 at home to Littletown, thanks to Tharusha Fernando who made 83 and Bradley Skinner 33 not out. Despite an impressive 75 from Jonathan Davis, Littletown struggled to 161 all out. Alex Thompson bowled well with 3-25.
Boldon decided to bat first, at home to Seaham Harbour, and totalled 1769 in 42.3 overs. Chris Ellison made a useful 67, while
Quinton Boatswain added 32. Seaham Harbour came out all guns blazing with a reply of 180-2 in 27 overs. Steven Gale got them off to a winning start with 57 and Paras Dogra added an amazing 104 not out from just 67 balls, including 13 fours and five sixes.
Esh Winning had Jake Louth to thank, as he made an excellent 101 against Durham City. He scored this off 107 balls, which included 14 fours and three sixes, in a final total of 235-9, while Izaak Beck claimed 3-35. Durham City fell just short of their target with 233-8, their best score 76 from Callum Steel from 44 balls, including six fours and seven sixes. Louth was top of the bowlers with 3-31.
Ryhope were asked to bat first and made a total of 2329 against Dawdon Welfare. Paul Jenkin made a useful 57, Scott Lawrence added 31 and Liam Stores 44, while Murtaza Javed took 3-46. Dawdon struggled to a meagre 65 all out in only 17.3 overs, Craig Price their best with 21. John Errington put in a fantastic bowling performance with 7-29 from nine overs, including four maidens.