BIRTWISLE FINALLY GETS HIS HANDS ON T20 TITLE
Twenty20 is generally considered a young man’s game, but the veterans came to the fore as South Northumberland rolled back the years to be crowned NatWest Club T20 champions.
The Gosforth-based club were the first national T20 champions in 2008 and beat the 2012 and 2013 champions Wimbledon by seven wickets in this year’s final at Derby.
Simon Birtwisle, a member of Durham’ s originalacademy alongside Steve Harm is on and Micahel Gough in 1996, was the man of the match, taking 3-23 with his left-arm spin, then top-scoring with 47.
There were also crucial contributions from former Australia Test batsman Marcus North and another ex-Durham man, John Graham, as South North added the T20 title to the Royal London National Club Championship they won last September.
Birtwisle, whose father Peter was a regular member of Durham’s highly successful Minor Counties team in the 1980s, said: “I got to these finals three times with Chesterle-Street without winning, so it’s very sweet to win it.
“The North East has some really good sides who generally do well in these competitions.
“I played some Durham second team cricket with John Graham. He played brilliantly for his 56 not out in our semi-final win against Cannock and Rugeley Hawks. Character wins these games.”
Graham was awarded a full contract by Durham after playing for England Under19s on their tour to Pakistan in 1996. But recurring bouts of glandular fever prevented him from making a first-class appearance.
In the final at Derby, Wimbledon won the toss but struggled to 117 all out, with Jonny Wightman claiming 3-18 and North 2-20 with his off-spin.
North fell for 16 in the sixth over of the reply, but Birtwisle kept them on course, and wicketkeeper Rob Peyton steered them home with an unbeaten 37. Captain Adam Cragg applied a spectacular finish by hitting the second ball of the last over for six.
Durham hope to have Mark Wood available for their final home game of the season against Sussex, starting on Tuesday.
After starring on the second day of his comeback against Kent, with a careerbest 72 not out and three wickets, he failed to get through the final day because of a recurrence of the soreness in his heel.
Saturday’s NatWest IT20 between England and the West Indies at Emirates Riverside is now sold out.
The remaining tickets released last week were snapped up over the weekend and a capacity crowd of more than 13,000 will welcome the two sides to Chester-le-Street (6.30pm start).
“The North East has some really good sides who generally do well in these competitions.”
SIMON BIRTWISLE