2'S TRIUMPH IN NEPL T2O DEFEATS OF ASHINGTON & CHESTER-LE-STREET ON A MEMORABLE DAY.

16th Aug 2026

   Sun 16 Aug 2026 : NEPL 2^nd X1 T20 first s/f: SNCC v Ashington 13/13o

Ashington 77ao (13o) John Woolley 17, Adam Nichol 17, Lennon Harmison 11:Joseph Dresser 3-10, Will Phillips 2010, Danny Collins 2-22, George Gray 1-16, Nicky Phillips 1-12.

SNCC 81-3 (8.3o) Sam Ewart31, Angus Southern 26, Ben Hobbs 9*, George Gray 11*: Conn Sullivan 3-23, Matthew Potts 0-13, Luke Hetherington 0-19, Lennon Harmison 1-25.

SNCC won by 7 wickets- advance to the final.

The rain stopped to allow a start at 1032 but after 7 overs, when Ashington were 43-2, the rain became more persistent and after a 50-minute delay, the umpires, aiming to keep to the overall timescale of the day, recalculated & decided the match should be 13 overs/side.

Tough on Ashington who had begun well & clearly expected to get their full allocation of 20 overs, which at the beginning of the rain delay the umpires had said was their intention.

The Bulls won the toss & chose to field. Woolley & Robinson faced the seam of Dresser & spin of Will Phillips. 10 runs from the first but only & inthe 5th two wickets for Danny as Robinson (6) drove to Angus at long off & three balls later Woolley (17) swung to deep mid wicket where Joseph took the catch, 24-2.

The drizzle had returned as George & Danny bowled overs 6 & 7 the total rising to 43 after 7 overs when the players left  the field as the rain became heavier.

A 50 minute delay, no Duckwoth Lewis Stern available , so the match became a 13 over contest. Understandably the hosts not happy.

On resumption at 1150 a mix up between Nichol & Harmison (11) saw the latter run out, 46-3. In George's next the 10^th Nichol (17) advanced, missed & was stumped by Sam, 63-4 after 10 overs.

In the 11^th Pearcey (6) was stumped off Nicky, 69-5. In the 12^th two wickets for Will Phillips as Potts (5) was caught by Angus in the deep & Storey (6) bowled after hitting a 6, 76-7.

The last over was a personal landmark for Joseph as he took three wickets in 3 balls to end the innings. Hetherington (0) was bowled, & both Parkinson (0) & Thornton (0) caught neatly at backward point by Ben H. The hosts 77 all out, ruing their ill fortune.

In reply an eventful first over as Sam swung a 6 to mid wicket from ball 2, Nick (1) swept but missed & was bowled & from the last ball Angus cut past point for 4, 12-1. Potts conceded 10 in over 2 as Sam drove straight for 2 then 4 via a misfield on the boundary, 20-1.Hetherington conceded 19 in over 3 as both Sam 2 then 3 & Angus 3x4 to extra cover, long off & backward point attacked, 39-1 after 3 overs.

16 from the 5^th bowled by Harmison as 3x4 were despatched to mid wicket & backward square leg, 60-1 after 5 overs. Sam (31) swinging, was bowled by Sullivan in the 7th. Then a wicket maiden as Harmison had Angus (26) caught at deep mid wicket. 

In the next Sullivan returned & Will (0), aiming to go long off the back foot, skied to mid off, 61-4. Ben Hobbs (9*) & George Gray (11*) saw the Bulls home taking 11 from the 5 remaining balls in Sullivan's third over & 9 more from the first three balls of Harmison's third. A win by 7 wickets in 8.3 overs. The locals still not happy.

Clearly the rain delay had benefitted the Bulls who had a defined target to aim at but they did it in style.

                                NEPL T20 FINAL: SNCC v Chester-le-Street.

SNCC 149-8 (20o) Nick Tomlinson 16, Angus Southern 74, Will Phillips 26, George Gray 13: Josh Wilson 2-29, Gaby Hughes-Pinan 2-21, Liam Colledge 0-30, Josh Metcalfe 1-26, Harry Simpson 1-26, Matthew Burdon 1-17

Chester-le-Street 130- 5 (20o) Matthew Craston 76, Luke Allen 10, Josh Wilson 24: Joseph Dresser 2-19. Will Phillips 0-18, George Gray 0-30, Danny Collins 2-32, Nicky Phillips 1-29.

SNCC won by 19 runs. T20 winners 2026.

The rain had stopped the sun came out, the Bulls chose to bat . Nick Tomlinson & Sam Ewart faced the spin of Wilson & Hughes-Pinan. A wicket from ball 4 as Sam (0) was lbw to his first ball from Wilson, 3-1.

18 after 3 overs as Nick drove to long off & Angus drilled Wilson through cover. 36 from 5 overs as Nick picked up 6 to wide long on & Angus drove again through cover. Then in over 6 Nick (16) missed a sweep off Hughes-Pinan & was bowled, 43-2.

Colledge entered the attack in over 7, bowled a second in over 9 & conceded 30. Angus taking 1.2.4.4 then 6, Will complementing with a 6 amid 3 wides. In contrast Metcalfe bowled over 8 for 3. The slower bowlers were harder to get away. 76-2 after 9 overs.

Steady run scoring at 7's took the total to 106 after 13 overs as the spinners continued. A slice of fortune for Angus in over 14 as the long on fielder dropped a catch over the boundary off Metcalfe. Later in the same over Will (26) was lbw to Metcalfe ending a vital partnership of 72.

In the next Ben Hobbs (0) sacrificed himself to be run out after a mix up with Angus, 116-5. Joseph (4) was caught by Metcalfe at mid wicket off Hughes-Pinan in over 16, 125-5. Burdon (ob) bowled over 17 & Angus (74) was lbw attempting to sweep the first ball. An outstanding innings under pressure, 54 balls 5x4 3x6, 126-6.

In the chase for runs Ben Sid (4) was run out, George struck 2.4.6 off Burdon in his second over the 19^th before being bowled by Wilson in the last, Danny 4* Nicky 2* saw the Bulls total finish on 149-8.

Chester openers Allen & Cranston faced the seam of Dresser & spin of Phillips. At 17 in the third Allen (10) swung Joseph to deep backward square leg where Ben Hobbs ran along the boundary to take a excellent diving catch.

Will bowled 2 overs for 7. Cranston & Wilson put together a partnership of 65 in 11 overs but were always behind the rate. Then in over 14 Danny struck twice in three balls Wilson (24) was bowled & two balls later Simpson (0) feathered down the legside for Sam to take the catch, 83-3.

Nicky bowled two overs for 10. 103 after 15 overs. Will returned to concede only 5, then Nicky enticed Colledge (5) to swing to deep mid wicket where Will took an excellent overhead head catch close to the rope, 108-4. 

117 after 17 but only 3 off Danny's last & 4 from Joseph's 4^th which included the wicket of Cook (3) caught by Danny at deep square leg, 120-5, one over to go, 25  needed. Will conceded only 6 singles to confirm a final total 19 short. 

An excellent day, some attacking batting, some very good ground fielding on a bumpy surface,  some excellent catches taken , Ben setting the tone in over three, accurate bowling, only 4 wides in the final , a proper team performance..

So in space of two days the both the 1^st & 2nd X1's have bounced back from below par performances to show their true worth.

Onward to:

Sat 22nd Aug SNCC v Ashington (h) 1200 50/50 win/lose

Sun 23rd Aug SNCC v Chester-le-Street Banks 100 Bowl semi final from 1330 at Newcastle City.

We hope to see you there,

Duncan.