Darlington Building Society NYSD League
Rare outbreak of sun brings out run fest
BATSMEN, with the rare opportunity
to have the sun on their
backs, revelled in the helpful conditions
as five centuries were
scored.
Blackhall's formidable opening
pair, Warren Swan - the
club's new South African professional
- and the ever-reliable
John Darby put together a nearrecord
first wicket stand of 214
while Rob Nicol (Marske), Thara
Gunerathne (Hartlepool) and
Chris Batchelor (Great Ayton)
were the others to have the scoreboards
racing as they each completed
notable hundreds.
Batchelor, who made an undefeated
110 out of 231-6 as Ayton
looked to have scored enough for
victory, could count himself the
unluckiest as he finished on the
losing side as Guisborough hit
form to polish off the runs.
They lost just four wickets in
the process. New Zealander,
Gregg Todd, their new pro, led
the way by smashing 69 to all
parts of the village ground while
Graham Murray (47 not out),
Ryan Murray (43) and Saul Clifford
(43) kept up the momentum
despite facing a formidable pace
attack spearheaded by Riaz Afridi.
The Ayton professional, delayed
by paperwork problems in
Pakistan, returned just in time
for the game but got no sympathy
from his opponents for any travel
weariness. He spent 22 hours
on a flight due to take eight
hours, failed to take a wicket and
conceded 95 runs and was out
without scoring when he batted.
Guisborough's success moved
them into third place behind
Richmondshire, whose third win
kept them in pole position two
points ahead of Middlesbrough.
Richmond discovered a new
bowling star in 19-year-old Mike
Cunnachie (4-55 from 15 overs)
against Marton for whom Graham
Shaw (45) and Chris Veazey
(45 not out) proved their in-form
pair. Michael Layfield (45),
Shanuka Dissanayake (38), and
Andrew Fleming (35 not out )
found little in the bowling to
worry them and in reaching 187-
5 won convincingly and with
overs to spare.
Middlesbrough won by three
wickets but it was one of their
more hard-earned results as Redcar's
professional, Tariq Aziz (65
and 4-26 in 15 overs) made a real
fight of it. The Seasiders faced 15-
year-old leg spinner Whalid Gul
(3-20) for his first overs of the season
and with Chetnya Nanda (3-
26) contributing well, they could
only muster 154.
When Boro reached 60-1 they
looked set for another easy romp
but Aziz had other ideas. Once
James Lowe (40) and Jon Spillane
(34) were out, there were nail-biting
moments for the visitors.
Marske continued their excellent
start to the season with 16
points from a draw at Hartlepool
where they were the day's highest
scorers. Nicol's first ton included
a spectacular fourth wicket
stand of 182 with newcomer
John Meredith (69 not out).
Nicol hit 11 fours and three
sixes in his 136-ball knock and
was also partnered by Gary
Lynch who made 50 from 33 balls
including 40 in boundaries.
The Seasiders finished with
254-3 and declared to give themselves
an extra two overs to bowl
out Pool. But Thara Gunerathne
made up for the loss of key players
by making 101 with eight
fours and four sixes to earn a
draw. He faced 156 balls for his
hundred.
Darlington and newly promoted
Billingham Synthonia were
evenly matched as they drew at
Feethams. The Synners finished
just 15 runs short of their first
win but Quakers had the man-ofthe-
match in Doug Mulholland
(63 not out and 4-60 from17 overs).
Billingham's pro, Sri Lankan
Nisal Randika impressed with
four wickets from 20 overs.
Bishop Auckland's loss of
form saw them beaten for a
fourth time with Northallerton
celebrating a first win. Jon
Barnes (5-41 from 25 overs) made
sure Bishops slumped from 98-3
to 133-8 before he led his side
away from danger with an unbeaten
56 to win by three wickets.
The Swan-Darby batting duo
at Blackhall was followed by contrasting
fortunes when Normanby
Hall responded to their target
of 232-1. Darren Hickey rattled
off five wickets and the Colliers
looked guaranteed winners until
Keith Martin, batting as usual at
No 11, joined professional, Duminda
Perera - and they played
out the last 12 overs together.
Martin made just three from 31
balls as Perera completed an unbeaten
half century. It was the
third time they had come together
to save or win a game.
In the first division, more big
scores were a feature including
137 for Anthony Parsons for Guisborough's
second team against
Stokesley.
9:45am Monday 12th May 2008
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