Barnard Castle leads the charge

Macmillan Cup, round one Rockliffe Park v Barnard Castle

Barney began their defence of the Macmillan Cup with a seven wicket win at Rockliffe on Monday evening.

Due to the weather, the number of overs was reduced and, batting first after losing the toss, Rockliffe managed 58-6 off ten overs.

Tom Hodgson made the early breakthrough, bowling opener Sam Telford for one. Suminda Lakshan then took the first of his three wickets when he trapped Aaron Fernando (14) leg before wicket.

Three balls later he claimed another wicket when keeper Max Martin stumped Jed Clarkson for a duck.

Another Martin stumping, this time off Finn Usher’s bowling, accounted for Matthew Wheeler (14) and Rockliffe were reduced to 39-5 when Jack Platt was bowled by Karl Carver for a duck.

Isaac Tate was caught by Rob West off Lakshan (3-7) in the following over and the home side eventually posted 58.

Like Rockliffe, Barney didn’t find the pitch easy to bat on and Martin (9), Usher (9) and Lakshan (5) all fell for single figures.

However, Ed Barnes bucked the trend, smashing 32 off 20 balls including five fours and a six.

Captain Carver hit the winning runs in the seventh over of Barney’s reply to earn a second round tie at Middlesbrough.

Rockliffe 58-6 (10 overs) lost to Barney 60-3 (6.3 overs) by 7 wickets

ECB National Club Championship, group one, round two York v Barnard Castle

Barney were agonisingly eliminated from the National Club Championship at York.

Batting first after winning the toss, the visitors made a poor start to their innings. The entire top five failed to post a significant score as Barney slumped to 37-4 and 80-5.

However, Ed Barnes (61) hung around to score a crucial half century and, batting at nine, Rob West hit an unbeaten 37 off 38 balls to nudge Barney’s total to 172.

If the batters had generally failed to fire, the bowlers kept the team’s hopes of progressing alive in a tense run chase.

Opener Dan Skipworth was run out by Karl Carver for two and when Tom Loten (14) was caught behind by keeper Max Martin off Ed Barnes, York were 27-2 and wobbling.

Then West broke through, removing the dangerous Finlay Bean (35) – who was caught by Finn Usher – and trapping Luke Kilby leg before wicket for 13 to leave the hosts on 71-4.

South African Breidyn Schaper took the home side to the brink of victory with a match-defining knock of 72 before he was run out at the start of the final over by Martin.

That left York on 170-6 needing three runs for victory with five balls remaining. But Barnes (3-39) struck again with the next ball to blow the tie wide open, bowling Nathan Johnson for a golden duck.

Pandemonium broke out when Barnes then bowled Tom Brooks for another golden duck!

Suddenly, York were 170-8 with a new batsman facing a fired-up Barnes with three runs still required off three balls.

But Tom Bates scrambled a single off his first ball to bring Harry Sullivan on strike and he hit a match-winning boundary to win the tie with a ball to spare.

Barney 172-9 (49 overs) lost to York 174-8 (39.5 overs) by 2 wickets

NYSD Premier Division Middlesbrough v Barnard Castle

Batting proved to be hard work at Acklam Park as both Barney and Boro struggled for runs.

Karl Carver won the toss, elected to bat and, initially, it looked like he may have made the wrong decision.

The openers fell cheaply and the skipper could only manage 14 before he was dismissed to leave Barney on 59-3.

A careful 39 off 91 balls from James Quinn helped push Barney towards a potentially defendable total and 37 from Suminda Lakshan came in useful as Barney finished on 143 all out off 48 overs.

From what looked a precarious position at the halfway stage of the contest, Barnard Castle bowlers came to the party to claim Boro’s top five at a cost of just 19 runs.

Skipper Carver led by example, taking three wickets with a devastating opening spell of 3-13 off seven overs with Tom Merryweather the fielder who snaffled the catches. Rob West also achieved two run-outs to leave Boro on the brink.

Then Sri Lankan all-rounder Lakshan stepped up to wipe out the tail, finishing with 5-31 as Middlesbrough were skittled for 80 inside 29 overs.

Barney 143 all out (48 overs) bt Middlesbrough 80 all out (28.2 overs) by 63 runs

Division One Barnard Castle II v Guisborough

Barney may have lost to Guisborough but it was a game Joe Rutherford will long remember.

The 16-year-old ended the encounter having claimed his first hat-trick in a five-wicket haul for the seconds at Vere Road.

Joe ended a match-defining 210-run partnership between Liam Kennedy and Matthew Bell with a two-wicket blast with his final three deliveries in the 46th over.

Kennedy (101 off 102 balls) was first to go when he was caught by Phil Merryweather. The next ball was nudged for a single, bringing Bell on strike and he was caught by Robbie Walker for 114.

Two more wickets with the first two balls of his next over ensured Rutherford completed his hat-trick and took his tally to four wickets off five balls.

Lawson was caught by Tom Brooks for three and Colin Murray was Joe’s third victim in three balls when he was caught by Rory Metcalf to register a golden duck.

The teenager wasn’t finished because he took his fifth wicket in the final over when Brett Roberts was caught by Rob Dixon for 27 and, off the final ball of the innings, James Dickinson was run out by Jack Bailey.

Chasing down 284 to win was always going to be a tough task, and so it proved, though Archer Byrne scored 50 off 35 balls to finish as Barney’s top scorer.

Guisborough 283-7 (50 overs) bt Barney Seconds 160 all out (48.4 overs) by 123 runs

Sunday Conference North Bishop Auckland III v Barnard Castle III

Toby Gent top scored for Barney Thirds, who batted first at Bishops but could only manage 126 all out inside 36 overs.

The keeper/batsman scored 43 but none of his team-mates could stick around long enough to forge a significant partnership.

The home side needed just 23.5 overs to knock off the required runs.

Barney Thirds 126 all out (35.5 overs) lost to Bishop Auckland 131-2 (23.5 overs) by 8 wickets.