SOL SHINES, ADAM SWEEPS, AS SHEFFIELD SUFFER IN THE SUN.

18th Jun 2025

       SOL SHINES, ADAM SWEEPS, AS SHEFFIELD SUFFER IN THE SUN.

Sun 15th June 2025: ECB National Club Championship Group 2: Round 3             Regional Final: SNCC v Sheffield Collegiate CC (a) 40/40 from 1300.

SNCC 258-4 (40o) Sol Bell 111*, Chris Hewison 37, Adam Cragg 82: Rob Shaw 1-62, Tom Currie 1-39, Shaaiq Chowdhry 1-42, Rubaiyat Abrar 0-18, Tate Miller 0-46,  Dan Longley 0-41.

Sheffield Collegiate CC 191 ao (32.2o) Jack Timby 18, Abdul Faseeh 60, Dan Old 27, Sam Meadows 28: Jonny Wightman 1-35, Cody Hoffmeister 1-42, Will Alexander 2-37, Oli McGee 2- 22, Tom Jones 1-31, Gavin Paton 2-13.

SNCC won by 67 runs- Round 4 v York (h) Sun 6^th July 1300, 40/40.

An early 0815 start in Gosforth, a helpful coach driver, a stop at Skelton Services led to arrival at 1115. A sunny day in South Yorkshire, a welcoming Sheffield Collegiate CC, a flat wicket & a fast scoring outfield at Abbeydale Sports Club for round 3, the regional final of group 2 in this year's National Club Championship. Travelling supporters gathered to watch.

Winning the toss the Bulls chose to bat. Tom Jones got the nod, David Edwards was 12^th man with Harland his faithful friend. Sam Ewart & Sol Bell faced the left arm seam of Rob Shaw (scoreboard) & right arm seam of Tom Currie (pavilion).

A 6/3 field for Shaw & a  7/2 field for Currie as Sol stroked past mid on in the second. Sam straight drove Shaw in the third & steered to fine leg in the 5^th as Sol drove through mid on & was then reprieved as a low drive, caught & bowled chance to Shaw was not taken. 28-0 but in the 6^th Sam (12) drove Currie to deep mid on where Faseeh took the catch. In the next over Will Alexander's (0) optimistic call for a single was refused & retreating, he could not beat the throw from mid wicket to the w/k, 32-2.

Chris Hewison & Sol then faced the sla of Chowdhry & Abrar. Hewi swept Chowdhry fine & following a missed run out chance with both in the middle of the wicket, drove him high & straight for 6 in over 15; 81-2, Sol 34* Chris 27*. Although some variable bounce & slow turn for the spinners was evident, playing off the back foot for singles, when possible, seemed risk free.

Another maximum followed in over 19 but two balls later Shaaiq straightened one to hit off stump. Hewi 37, (34b 3x4 2x6.) Enter Adam Cragg, 20 over drinks were taken at 106-3 just as Sol reached 50* with a single.

The sla of Miller, two overs from Shaw & then the off spin of Longley between overs 21 -30 saw the score rise to 158. 24 singles, 3x3, 2x2, & 2x4, 1x6 over long on to Sol, as Sol & Adam ran wonderfully.

100 runs came from the last 10 overs, Adam reversing merrily. On a warm day, in over 31, 3 x 2 were run...... breathless ! Sol 84* Adam 29*. Currie could not hang onto a sharp c & b chance in over 34 off Adam (37*). Sol pulled to mid wicket , dabbed for 1 & moved to 99 at the end of the 35^th ,195-3.Adam then reversed & cover drove for 4 & Sol got the single he needed to get to a second hundred in two days!! Applause from the boundary !! From the last ball Adam reversing, 50+ yards, was dropped on the point boundary, 207-3. 

Adam reached 50 in the next & then launched Longley for 6 to square leg. Shaw returned but suffered - no ball one, 1,2,1,4,4,4, as Adam reached 70*. In the 39^th only 5, but in the last 1,4 (a remarkable reverse hook!), 4 no ball, 2 before Adam was bowled by Shaw for a magnificent 82 (68b,10x4,1x6).  An outstanding partnership of 152 for the 4th wicket featuring some of the best running & inventive shot making you could ever see.

Gavin (0*) 'scampered' a bye from the last delivery. 258-4.... defendable ! Sol finished undefeated on 111* (115 balls, only 7x4, 1x6) showing remarkable placement & stamina, his second century in two days, remarkable!

Any thought of a straight forward second innings was swept away by Timby (rh) & Faseeh (lh) who raced to 76 off 10 overs. Faseeh, a former Pakistani U19 international, hooked & drove 50 from 30 balls with 5x4 & 3x6.  5 penalty runs as the ball hit the w/k's helmet & another 5 for using saliva on the ball did not help. Will suffered in his first two overs (8 &10) from over the wicket, going for 19.

Timby reversed Oli for 4 in over 11 but in attempting to do the same one over later was lbw for 18, 92-1 at the beginning of the 13th. In the next, from around the wicket (the umpire confirmed that) Will took three away from Faseeh but then brought one back to remove middle stump! Faseeh 60, (45b 5x4 3x6) a sparkling display, fast feet & innovative shot selection, an important wicket, 96-2.

In Will's 4^th Chowdhry (7) gloved to w/k Sam as one bounced a little, 103-3 & in the next Oli pinned Ali (0) lbw. Drinks were taken at 129-4 after a run out chance at the bowler's end was spurned, Old (14*), Currie (9*).

Tom Jones began a spell from the scoreboard end but it was Cody full & wide of off stump tempting Currie (10) to drive & edge to w/k Sam, 135-5. Two overs later Old (27) was unlucky to be bowled by Tom with one that crept!  Sol, sweeping the cover boundary, then capped his perfect day by swooping  & diving forward to catch Abrar (1) in Gavin's second, the 26^th, 155-7.

In Gavin's 4^th Longley's call for one to mid off was beaten at the bowler's end as Tom's direct hit defeated his dive, 177-8. Wighters returned from the scoreboard end but it was Gav again who persuaded Shaw to edge to w/k Sam 185-9. Gavin 2-13 in 5 overs, putting it there. In the 33rd Meadows (28) launched Wighters towards deep mid on for Cody to take the catch & bring cheers from the travelling support.

A win by 67 runs & a 4^th round tie with York on Sun 6^th July at home, 1300.

Thanks were given to the supporters & to the Sheffield club for their hospitality & good wishes for the season. Celebrations included handicap sprint racing on the outfield which also featured Harland, won by Sol with minor placings to Gav, Tom & Cody.

The coach arrived back in Gosforth at midnight with some weary but happy players. Onward to the next round but important league games before then. A magical weekend for Sol who batted so well on both Saturday & Sunday. May there be more to come.

Duncan.