North East premier leauge

Jul 14 2008 The Journal

ON another weather-blighted day Sunderland were the only team to emerge with a victory, two games failed to start and the others ended in rain-affected stalemates which meant little material change to the standings.

The day’s major honours arguably went to Norton as they gave leaders South Northumberland a scare at Station Road before both sides settled for a draw. Sri Lankan Chanaka Wijesinghe provided the bulk of the home team’s batting with an undefeated century, the landmark achieved just as Norton closed on 198-8.

It then looked like business as usual as Adam Heather (40), skipper John Graham (57) and Nicky Peng (32) gave the champions the best of starts when they set off on the run chase. It was fourth change bowler, Peter Armstrong , who altered the course of the game with a spell in which he claimed five victims to leave the visitors stranded on 180-7.

South Shields looked in control of their shortened game at Jesmond after posting a score of 201-5, during which Geoff Cullen starred with an unbeaten century. Matthew Muchall (3-16) then gave a further exhibition of his talents, but Sean Adair (43no) looked to be coping as Newcastle ended on 104-5.

A couple of wickets each for Tom Cant and Rob Frylinck hinted at better things for Benwell Hill as Tynemouth closed on 152-6, but Benwell found it an uphill struggle when they went to the crease as Grant Lindsay (3-29) had them toiling at 78-5 when the rain returned to end the game.

Runs were hard to come by at Maiden Castle where the normally free-flowing Durham Academy failed to chase down a weak looking Sunderland effort.

Despite 32 from Ashley Thorpe and Imran Shah, the Wearsiders could only muster a score of 117 as Chris Harding (4-28 off nine overs) and Scott Borthwick (3-18 off five overs) had them in all sorts of bother.

But any notions the Academy had of breezing to victory were blown out of the water by Chris Rushworth and Ian Stephenson, and they collapsed for a meagre 65.

Rushworth’s 10-over spell returned him figures of 5-21, while Stephenson picked up 3-7 from his six overs. The innings and the game ended in pain for Harding, a hero earlier in the day for the Durham youngsters, as he suffered a broken nose and was unable to continue.

The games at Blaydon, where Stockton were due, and Gateshead Fell, where Chester-le-Street were the visitors, were called off without a ball being balled with both grounds heavily waterlogged from the previous day’s rain.

CHRIS WEST