Norton pull off shock of the day
Jun 29 2009 The Journal
THERE were dramatic developments at the foot of the Dukes NEPL table on Saturday with Newcastle plunging into the bottom two following wins for the Durham Academy and Norton.
Durham starlet Scott Borthwick was in superlative all-round form for Tynemouth, picking up three wickets in an extended spell of bowling, and then leading his side to victory over Newcastle with a batting flourish.
Newcastle skipper Richie Evans led from the front with a battling 43 but with South African Terence Davis-Taylor picking up four for 25 in 14 overs, and Borthwick three for 48 in 16 overs, the visitors were pinned down to a score of 164 in 51 overs.
Borthwick then marched in at the fall of the first wicket to crack 13 fours and one six in a scintillating unbeaten knock of 85 that saw his team through to a six-wicket victory in just the 39th over.
With Norton pulling off the shock result of the day by walloping Sunderland, and bottom club Stockton crashing at home to the Academy, the Tynesiders slipped into the second-bottom slot, although they still have 26 points to spare over the relegation-threatened Teessiders.
At the opposite end of the table, Chester-le-Street clocked up another win to enhance their own championship prospects, at the same time putting a major dent in South Shields’ title ambitions.
It was a long slog for the Shields batsmen as the previous day’s downpours made batting an arduous task. Chris Dorothy (28) top scored with a knock that included three boundaries.
However, with the bowlers holding sway Shields’ total of 124 took almost 52 overs to put together.
Andrew Bell proved virtually impossible to get away, with eight maidens in his 15 overs as he returned figures of 3 for 18.
And with Quentin Hughes nipping in to grab four for 18 there was just no let up for the visitors.
When the Cestrians responded there were a few tremors when they lost their first two wickets with just 16 on the board, but a third-wicket stand of 51 between Andrew Smith (23) and Richard Waite (22) calmed the nerves before Tony Birbeck (30) made sure of the vital victory with the top score of the day. Chester won by four wickets.
That win, coupled with South North dropping points in a drawn game at Gateshead Fell, meant that the Bulls’ lead at the top of the table was trimmed to just 13 points in what now looks like a two-horse race.
Geeth Alwis (4-44 and 43) was the Fell star against the frustrated champions, while in the game at Denton Bank the home team collapsed to a 69 run defeat at the hands of Blaydon, Graeme Bridge (70no) and Craig Knox (5-36) proving the undoing of Benwell Hill.
CHRIS WEST
