Tuesday 7 July 2009

Away vs Ugthorpe 4 July

Castleton travelled to Ugthorpe with the loss of key player and skipper Richard Thompson still ringing in their ears, yet had the return of their talismanic all-rounder Tom Hepburn to compensate the blow. Vice-captain Andrew Watson won the first battle of the day and decided to bat first on a soft and slow wicket, making batting a little tricky first up. Openers Hepburn and James O’Donnell strode out to the middle hoping to reignite their successful opening partnership from last season. They responded with a 50 opening partnership, until James gave his wicket away with a shot he will still be having nightmares about. Ben Sherwood joined Hepburn and the runs started to flow, Hepburn reaching his 50 soon after with a 6, and going on to make 70. Sherwood carried on to make 41, and with new keeper Lenny chipping in with some useful runs, Castleton mustered 156 all out from 34 overs.

Castleton knew they needed to remove the Sri Lankan opener sharpish if they were to have a fighting chance, yet a rabbit was pulled out of the hat by Hepburn, Dave Heldt snaring a good catch at mid-off. Castleton knew they were in the game and kept taking regular wickets, but runs were still flowing from the blade of the Ugthorpe batsmen. Andrew Watson bowled manfully in his second spell, Rob Thompson also pulling off a miracle catch, but it was Ben Sherwood who produced the performance of the game, taking 6-37 and securing a 10 run win, the last catch being taken by Matt Jackson to cue jubilant scenes among the Castleton fielders.

Castleton won by 10 runs

MoM - Ben Sherwood for a superb all-round performance. 41 runs and 6 wickets says it all.

Sunday 20 July 2008

Henry Flintoft Cup Final

The final produced a very exciting game between Chop Gate and Kildale. Chop Gate batted first and posted only 76 all out in a 30 over game. In response kildale looked to be cruising at 40 for none but hit the winning runs with 9 men out.

Best performances

Chop Gate

Mike Burton 21

Ian Vout 6 for 24

Liam Prosser 3 for 29

Kildale

Charlie Johns 22

Dan Bowman 5 for 38

Les Sunley 4 for 35

Monday 30 June 2008

Eskdale League - June 28

Away vs. Mulgrave
Lost by 287 runs

Castleton made their way to Mulgrave's new ground hopeful but not expectant of a competitive performance. Superb facilities and a rock hard pitch greeted them which meant batting would be a treat.

Mulgrave won the toss and elected to bat, signalling the start of a long day for Castleton, depleted to ten men. No bowler came out with much credit, and Mulgrave posted 383-6 (not a mis-print). Rob Thompson came into the attack late-on and took 3-35.

Castleton's innings was a non-event, yet Tom Hepburn and James O'Donnell put on 50 for the first wicket. Castleton then collapsed to 96ao, with James making 46 of them.

Mulgrave 383-6 40 overs Castleton 96ao

MoM - James O'Donnell - provided some resistance with the bat.

Thursday 26 June 2008

Evening League - June 25

Away vs. Goathland
Won by 8 wickets

Castleton travelled to Goathland in search of a victory to extend their unbeaten run to four games in the Evening League. A pitch with plenty of grass greeted the players which indicated it could be tough to bat on, and Goathland chose to have first use of it.

Goathland started well, capitalising on some short bowling from the opening Castleton bowlers. Paul Lawton and Richard Thompson then made some key breakthroughs to restrict the scoring, and it could have been even better if Graeme Thompson had held on to a sitter from Ray Annis, who went on to make 45. Goathland ended on 117-6 off their 20 overs.

Tom Hepburn and James O'Donnell started their reply off well reaching Castleton's 50 within 8 overs, and they were well on track to make the total without losing a wicket until James departed for 26 with the score on 71. Yet Richard Thompson continued to make good progress as Tom reached his 50. With only 5 runs needed and two overs left, Tom departed for a composed 61 and it was left to Jonny ‘Wildman’ Williams to hit the winning runs.

Goathland 117-6 20 over Castleton 121-2 18 overs

MoM – Tom Hepburn – a match-winning 61 steered Castleton to victory.

Monday 23 June 2008

Eskdale League - June 21

Home vs. Danby
Won by 3 wickets

There was much doubt to whether the game would go ahead, with continuous rain causing the playing area to be soaking. Castleton won the toss and captain Lee Nesfield decided to bowl first for the first time in 5 matches.

On a pitch favouring the bowlers, Castleton picked up regular wickets to keep the scoring rate down to minimum. Paul Lawton picked up four, Andrew Watson three and Richard Thompson two, whilst the big wicket of Paul Snaith was taken by a superb run out by Matthew Williams. Danby finished with a below-par score of 90ao from 29 overs.

Castleton lost the early wicket of Shaun Dowson in reply, but Lee Nesfield steadied the ship with a gritty 19. He was joined by Rob Thompson who, after Lee had fallen, led the team home with an excellent 31 not out. Andrew Fowles hit the winning runs as Castleton made it home with 6 overs and 3 wickets to spare.

Danby 90ao 29 overs Castleton 92-7 34 overs

MoM - Rob Thompson - Led Castleton home with an unbeaten knock of 31.

Thursday 19 June 2008

Evening League - June 18

Home vs. Egton
Won by 56 runs

It was a surprise to everyone that the game went ahead as rain had been pouring all day and the field was soaked, yet the captains decided to give it a go and Castleton decided to bat first on a very greasy pitch.

James O'Donnell and Tom Hepburn opened, and after a quiet first couple of overs, Tom really started to let loose, and while James was fairly sedate down the other end, Tom reached his 50 within 7 overs. James then departed for a supporting 19, which started the usual Castleton collapse, going from 88-1 to 146ao. Yet this was still a very good score where running between the wickets was difficult.

Egton never really looked like getting their target after they were restricted to 9-1 off the first 5 overs, with Richard Thompson and Tom Hepburn keeping it tight. The scoring rate did increase slightly, until Graeme Thompson came on and took 5 wickets, 3 of them a hat-trick, to finish the game off for Castleton.

Castleton 146ao 20 overs Egton 90-9 20 overs

MoM - Tom Hepburn and Graeme Thompson - scintillating 77 from Tom and two wickets, and Graeme took 5-10 off 4 overs including a hat-trick.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

Eskdale League - June 14

Away vs. Goathland
Lost by 3 wickets

Castleton made their way to a windy and wet Goathland looking for a victory in the Eskdale League. On a bumpy pitch Goathland won the toss and decided to bowl first, which is exactly what Castleton would have done.

The innings started badly, with Shaun Dowson departing with only 2 runs on the board. Paul Melling came in at No. 3 and proceeded to hit his first legitimate ball for 6. Wickets steadily fell at the other end as Castleton struggled to cope with Chadwick's pace. Paul then took a blow to the face and had to come off the field for a short period to recover. The rest of the players weren't far behind as tea was taken early as the heavens opened. When Castleton resumed Paul fell for a excellent 49 and some good batting down the order from Rob Thompson and Aaron Watson brought the total to 103ao.

Goathland started their chase steadily, and Castleton knew they had to take wickets if they were to stand any chance of victory. Wickets steadily tumbled, with Richard Thompson grabbing three, James O'Donnell two and Andrew Watson and Tom Hepburn taking one apiece. Yet 103 was never enough and Goathland crawled over the line with three wickets in hand.

Castleton 103ao 34 overs Goathland 104-7 31 overs

MoM - Paul Melling - 49 held the innings together