Evenwood CC
IT was a mixed weekend for the Gaunless Valley side who played two league games in two days.
With players missing on both days, makeshift teams performed well, winning at Silksworth on Saturday but coming up second best at Dawdon on Sunday when a familiar face returned to haunt them.
Skipper Luke Bannister had no hesitation in batting first at Silksworth on Saturday on what looked to be a bowler-friendly spongy surface.
Pro Muhammad Yasin dug in and battled for 43 but the defining knock came from second team captain Adam Martindale, who had been drafted in to the firsts.
Where others had struggled, he found his timing and played some flamboyant strokes in his unbeaten 31 as Evenwood pulled out on 140-9.
This proved to be more than enough as Thomas Teasdale and Regan Goundry set about the Silksworth batsmen.
Teasdale took three early wickets and returned for a second spell to pick up another two, finishing with 5-14, while Goundry impressed with figures of 3-16.
Sunday brought another trip, this time to Dawdon, made all the more difficult with six first team players unavailable.
The hosts batted first and were quickly reduced to 24-3 before ex-Evenwood all-rounder Faz Hussein hit a half century without giving a chance to help his side to an imposing 198-6.
In reply, Evenwood lost two early wickets before Thomas Teasdale and Muhammad Yasin steadied the ship.
Teasdale was run out and Yasin given LBW to check the side’s progress before Adam Irvine hit 41 and Luke Bannister 25.
However, when Bannister was seventh out, the game was up and Evenwood subsided to 139 all out.
This weekend, Evenwood host Brandon at the Randolph Social Welfare ground.