Barnard Castle widen gap over rivals

Premier Division Barnard Castle v Saltburn

Barney’s bid to retain the Premier Division title received a huge boost following the latest round of fixtures.

After slipping up by only drawing against struggling Bishop Auckland Karl Carver’s side bounced back in style beating Saltburn comprehensively last weekend.

Meanwhile, title rivals Richmondshire were surprisingly beaten by Stokesley, enabling Barney to open up a 30-point lead with six fixtures remaining.

Saltburn elected to bat and stalwarts Karl Carver and Suminda Lakshan took the lion’s share of wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 152 inside 43 overs.

Captain Carver finished on 3-25 from 11 overs while overseas all-rounder Lakshan took 4-61. Credit also goes to Finn Usher, who claimed the wickets of two of Saltburn’s top three and ran-out the third.

Barney knocked off the required runs in 36 overs, with opener James Clarkson scoring an unbeaten 75.

Saltburn 152 all out (42.2overs) lost to Barney 158-3 (36 overs) by 7 wickets.

Division One Stockton II v Barnard Castle II

There was a remarkable climax to Barney Seconds’ fixture at Stockton. The home side were chasing 224 and were nine down with three more runs needed to win into the 49th over.

Tail-ender Zidan Mustafa ran two off the second ball but with a single still needed, he was bowled by Peter Stanwix for his side to be 224 all out.

Earlier, skipper Richard Watson (62) followed his century from the previous match with a half century, while Chris Dodson (52) also passed 50. Leo Rokk had an outstanding match and was the pick of the Barney bowlers, claiming 4-19.

Barney Seconds 224-9 (50 overs) tied with Stockton Seconds 224 all out (48.3 overs).

Sunday Conference North Barnard Castle III v Stockton III

Max Riley-Fox scored a remarkable 126 off just 68 balls for Barney Thirds at the weekend.

Sadly, his outstanding innings didn’t result in a victory as Stockton batted out their overs to draw.

Nevertheless, take nothing away from Riley-Fox’s innings, which included 11 fours and eight sixes. Joe Rutherford chipped in with a useful 44 and Barney were eventually bowled out for 262.

Riley-Fox’s afternoon wasn’t over, however, as he took 3-22 with the ball while Matthew Thornton claimed a 2-9 off four disciplined overs but Stockton finished on 143-7.

Barney Thirds 262 all out (39.5 overs) drew with Stockton Thirds 143-7 (40 overs).

Division One 100, semi-final Bedale v Barnard Castle II

Barney Seconds came agonisingly close to reaching the final of the Division One 100.

Batting first, Barney scored 145-9 with veteran opener Ian Swinburn hitting 57 off 44 balls.

Openers Luke Ward (46 off 26 balls) and James Kelly (50 off 26) Bedale were up against it as they went into the final five-ball over, which Tom Brooks was bowling.

Then Alexander Sizer was run out as the hosts tried to run a second single off the penultimate ball of the over to leave Bedale on 143-9.

Adam Langhorne needed to score three off the final ball to secure victory and, unfortunately for Barney, he went one better, hitting Brooks for four to earn his side place in the final against Thornaby.

Barney Seconds 145-9 (100 balls) lost to Bedale 147-9 (100 balls) by 1 wicket.

Women’s Hardball 100 Whitby v Barnard Castle

Clara Tudor hit 42 off 29 balls and Emily Lawson (59) scored a half century as totalled 137 from their allotted 100 balls against Whitby.

The home side made a decent fist of their reply with Danielle Walker (61 not out) and Maisie Shaw (25no) taking their side from 35-3 to 124-3 before running out of balls.

Annabelle Tiplady took 2-15 for Barney, who won by seven wickets and are second in the table behind Norton, but have a game in hand on the Teessiders.

Barney 137-2 (100 balls) bt Whitby 124-3 (100 balls) by 7 wickets.

Women’s Hardball 100 Hartlepool v Barnard Castle

Barney recorded their first ever away win over Hartlepool.

The visitors won the toss and elected to field, with Hartlepool scoring a 122-2 from their 100 balls.

It was a potentially daunting chase, especially after losing both openers cheaply, but an impressive 87-run third-wicket partnership made major inroads into the target.

Clara Tudor, a 14-year-old Barnard Castle School and Durham County U15 player, hit 54 runs off 40 balls to notch her first senior half century, while skipper Libby Merryweather added 33 runs from 28 balls.

Emily Lawson (10no) and Beth Poole (7no) finished the chase in style as Barney reached their target with five balls to spare and remain unbeaten in the competition.

Hartlepool 122-2 (100 balls) lost to Barney 123-4 (95 balls) by 6 wickets.

Junior Division U17 (West) – Barnard Castle v Darlington

The future’s bright at Barney with the club’s next generation of players clinching the league title this week.

Barnard Castle overcame Darlington at Vere Road to secure top spot in the NYSD Junior Division U17 (West).

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat but Barney’s outstanding young bowlers made them soon regret that decision.

Leo Rokk took 3-18, Will Poole 2-23, Finlay Kirkup 2-5 and Oli Greves 1-14 as Darlington were bowled out for 81 inside 17 overs.

Following an early wobble, Barney knocked off the runs without too much trouble as Poole (43 not out off 28 balls) and Tony Gent (18no) took the home side from 30-2 to victory with an unbeaten 52-run partnership.

Following their win, the victorious players were presented with the Junior Division trophy by Barney’s president Stephen Brenkley.

Darlington 81 all out (16.5 overs) lost to Barney 82-2 (9.2 overs) by 8 wickets.

Junior 100 (U17) quarter-final Barnard Castle v Norton

Barney are one game away from the Junior 100 (U17) final.

Victory over Norton in the quarter-finals last week earned Barnard Castle a last-four showdown with Rockliffe Park at Vere Road tonight (Friday, 6.15pm).

Norton won the toss and elected to field.

The home side took full advantage and posted a total of 152-4 from 100 balls with telling contributions from Jack Dalton (43), Will Poole (34) and Oli Greves (27 not out).

Norton couldn’t get near their target thanks to tight bowling from Barney. Joe Rutherford took 2-16 and Poole (1-12), Leo Rokk (1-13) and Finlay Kirkup (1-9) also played a key role as the visitors ended their 100 balls on 90-5.

Barney 152-4 (100 balls) bt Norton 90-5 (100 balls) by 62 runs.