Barnard Castle Cricket Club win cup for third time

NYSD Kerridge Cup final Barnard Castle v Richmondshire

Barnard Castle have won the Kerridge Cup for the third successive year following a fine victory over Richmondshire at Hartlepool Cricket Club.

Barney skipper Karl Carver, who’s hoping to guide his side to the Premier Division title once again this season, won the toss and decided to field.

Disciplined bowling ensured Richmond weren’t able to build hugely damaging partnerships on a day Finn Usher (4-32) picked up four crucial wickets including both openers Gary Pratt (21) and Joe White (7).

Richmond had three batsmen who reached the 30s – Robert Carr (31), Owen Kelly (32) and Sam Wood (39) – but none were able to push on and make what could have been a match-defining innings in a final score of 188-8. Still, chasing down 189 wouldn’t be straightforward against a quality side.

Barney openers James Clarkson and Finn Usher (43) put on 83 for the first wicket to give their team a solid foundation. No3 James Quinn and Clarkson were only able to add another 13 runs to the total before the latter was bowled for 39 by Lalith Mohan Akkaraju (3-41).

Quinn and Karl Carver put on 53 to take the score 159-3 and when Quinn was stumped by Dan Hodgson for 46 at the start of 31st over, Barney needed an eminently gettable 29 runs from 53 balls.

Carver was caught behind by Hodgson off Akkaraju four balls later to increase the nervous tension among the watching Barney supporters. But Shubham Lakshan and Ed Barnes knuckled down and took their team to within nine runs of victory when Barnes (10) was bowled by Josh Dowson.

The scores were level when Lakshan (13) was caught by Akkaraju off Max Percival when he attempted to hit the winning runs but Rob West secured victory by belting the next ball for a boundary in the 38th over.

“It was the perfect day in the end,” Carver told the Mercury. “You couldn’t have asked for anything else, it was a really good day out from our side of things.

“That’s three on the spin in the Kerridge Cup, it’s a competition we love to play in and we’re delighted to have retained it.

“We pegged them back all the way through and kept control by picking up big wickets at key points,” he added.

“It was a really good bowling performance and one of the best fielding performances we’ve had all year as well.

“Then the lads gave us an unbelievable platform putting on 80-odd for the first wicket and we kicked-on from there.”

Richmond 188-8 (40 overs) lost to Barney (192-6 37.3 overs) by 4 wickets

Premier Division Barnard Castle v Middlesbrough

The gap between leaders Barnard Castle and Richmondshire is down to four points ahead of tomorrow’s potentially decisive Premier Division showdown at Hurgill Road (Saturday, noon).

Both teams won at the weekend but while Richmond took the maximum 25 points from their 130-run victory at Darlington, Barney had to make do with 20 after beating Middlesbrough by four wickets at Vere Road. That enabled Richmond to close the gap with four fixtures apiece remaining.

Skipper Karl Carver won the toss and asked Boro to bat but, frustratingly, his team couldn’t bowl the opposition out.

Middlesbrough went into the 48th over seven down but Rob West (2-60) bowled Jake Whittle for 35 and Ahsan Shrindle was caught behind by Max Martin off West’s bowling three balls later.

That left Barney two overs to claim the 10th wicket but Boro managed to hold out. An unbeaten 59 from Carver and 54 from Richard Borrowdale helped Barney knock off the runs.

Middlesbrough 222-9 (50 overs) lost to Barney 224-6 (48.3 overs) by 4 wickets

Division One Guisborough v Barnard Castle II

When he eventually returns to his native Australia, Archer Byrne will have a nice little tale to tell his mates.

The all-rounder took 3-63 and one of his wickets was a cleaned bowled which saw the stump cartwheel out of the ground and snap in half!

Guisborough 239-9 (50 overs, B Roberts 56; L Rokk 3-59, A Byrne 3-63) drew with Barney Seconds 176-8 (50 overs, W Poole 40; S Donlan 4-33)

NYSD Women’s Hardball 100 Barnard Castle v Norton

Barney had to settle for a very creditable runners-up spot in their Women’s Hardball 100 group.

However, they now progress from the group stage to the semi-finals along with leader’s Norton.

Barnard Castle will play either Hartlepool or Rockliffe Park on Sunday (2pm) at Vere Road for a place in the final., which takes place at Middlesbrough CC on September 6.

Norton had a game in hand on Barnard Castle when the sides met at Vere Road last week and both teams went into the game having won every match they’d played in the competition this year.

It was Barney’s final fixture and they knew victory would guarantee them top spot in the table. Likewise, Norton knew that if they overcame Barnard Castle and then beat Marton in their game at the weekend they would be champions, and that’s what happened.

Barney lost the toss and were asked to bat, a decision that Norton backed up with some impressive bowling. Dani Howson top scored with 20 while Bailey Wanless took 3-15 and Nell Heslop took 2-9.

Norton then knocked the runs off for the loss of just one wicket and Katie Thompson finished on 56 not out.

Barney 91 all out (94 balls) lost to Norton 95-1 (90 balls) by 9 wickets.