Over the past week South Northumberland have picked up two NEPL cups after winning the under 15s and 2nd team competitions. With the under 13s and Saturday third teams previously winning their respective competitions it has been another successful season despite the first team relinquishing their League Crown to arch rivals Chester le Street after a six year winning streak.
Although there is still the final fixture of the season to play for the first and second teams, against the Cestrians next Saturday, the fate of both leagues has already been decided as the gap between the two top teams in each league cannot be bridged.
Last Saturday the seconds only needed 11 points to wrap up the Championship for a second consecutive year and they wasted little time in polishing off hosts Gateshead Fell to pick up another maximum 30 points.
Batting first Gateshead Fell were dismantled by the accurate bowling of John Harbottle (5-9) and Tom Seymour (3-18) on a pitch that was damp and heavily favoured the bowlers as the ball popped off a good length making batting a precarious occupation. After 25.3 overs the hosts were reduced to 65 all out and despite the early loss of John Harbottle, gritty batting from Michael Harbottle and Howard Sidney-Wilmot followed by some lusty blows from Tom Seymour saw the Bulls home and dry in less than 20 overs.
It was a fine achievement by the second team which for the first time this year took on the mantle of developing the club’s younger players and in every match played between three and six juniors. Credit must go to the captain and senior players for their role in helping the younger players in the development of their cricketing talent.
The first team polished off Gateshead Fell in equally convincing style thanks to Richard Brook’s 5 for 31 ensuring the visitors failed to reach a hundred and with Adam Heather (32*) leading the reply the first team were home and dry by tea time.
The Sunday thirds were again the victims of the weather as rain curtailed the game midway through South Northumberland’s innings. Well set at 119-5 from 33 overs thanks to Jack Jessop (55) and James Hutton (41) the rain forced an early finish to what has been a very successful year for the thirds made up nearly entirely of junior cricketers as they look to finish in second place. Along with the midweek development team and Saturday’s West Tyne League third team the junior players have been able to gain far more experience and put themselves in a far better position to push on to the higher levels of senior cricket.
The under fifteens have been major benefactors of this policy of playing the juniors in senior cricket as they lifted the NEPL title by beating Tynemouth at Tynemouth despite the absence of the top three batsmen and the wicketkeeper.
Batting first on a lively pitch South Northumberland were in trouble at 22-3 but Andrew Doig (30) and Jamie Guy (29) rescued the situation with a mature half century partnership and Richard Clifford weighed in with a valuable 26 towards the end.
In reply Tynemouth reached 43 without loss but it took them over a third of their allotted overs due to accurate bowling and when the wickets began to fall there was no stopping South Northumberland as Adam Pearson (4-17), Owen Hollins (2-21), Cameron Mackay (2-11) and Man of the Match Andrew Doig (2-7) ran through Tynemouth’s batting to give the Bulls a deserved 40 run victory.