Lee Weldon’s weekly round-up from the wicket…
Saturday 24th April – NYSD Division 2
Newton Aycliffe 1st XI v Norton 1st XI (match sponsored by J&C Coaches) – weather was sunny and mild. Norton won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Newton Aycliffe 1st XI 209 for 7 after 50 overs
Chris Palmer 59, Jack Slatcher 50 not out and Luke Telford 34
Norton 1st XI 211 for 8 after 47.2 overs
Patrick Howe 3 for 21, Luke Telford 2 for 15 and Jack Slatcher 2 for 19
Aycliffe first team put in a much improved performance and were unlucky to finish with a two wicket defeat against Norton in a thrilling game at Moore Lane.
Chris Palmer (pictured above) rolled back the years with a vintage innings, top scoring with an aggressive 59 from just 50 balls faced. The Aycliffe club stalwart hit 11 boundaries and a huge six in his eye-catching innings.
Special mention must also go to all-rounder Jack Slatcher (sponsored by Tina and Dean Greaves) who scored his first half century for four years when he finished on 50 not out and he then also chipped in with two wickets for just 19 runs in the Norton reply.
Saturday 24th April – NYSD Division 4
Stockton 2nd XI v Newton Aycliffe 2nd XI – weather was sunny and mild. Newton Aycliffe won the toss and chose to bat first.
Newton Aycliffe 2nd XI 73 all out after 28.2 overs
Thomas Dearden 34, Sean Morgan 10 and Jai Sander 7
Stockrton 2nd XI 75 for 2 after 18.1 overs
Will Dearden 1 for 6 and Leo Mercy 1 for 20
The 2nd team set a new club record when they took to the field with the youngest ever team in the history of the club with an average age of just 17 years per player when they travelled to championship favourites Stockton 2nd XI in the NYSD 4th division.
Fourteen-year-old Thomas Dearden (sponsored by Kevin Burton) again shone with the bat and for the second consecutive week and set a new senior career best when he top scored with 34 from 68 balls.
However the Aycliffe youngsters were no match for their experienced counterparts and Stockton coasted to victory by 8 wickets to further extend their 2 year unbeaten run.
This week’s senior cricket fixtures:
Saturday 1st May at 1.00pm – NYSD Division 2 – Northallerton 1st XI v Newton Aycliffe 1st XI
Saturday 1st May at 1.30pm – NYSD Division 4 – Newton Aycliffe 2nd XI v Richmond 4th XI