Shildon Railway 1st XI visited the beautiful Park Drive to play Hartlepool in the North Yorks & South Durham Premier Cricket League Division 2, and having won the toss, chose to bat. Skipper Greg Upton, with Loyd Horner, again started well, putting on 66 before the latter fell for 39, reports John Brennan.
Upton followed shortly afterwards for 37, leaving the Railwaymen at 82 for 2 from 20 overs. Steve Forster (69) and Bret Upton then took control and raced the innings along to 219 by the 40th over, when Forster was out. With the score on 270, Bret was finally out in the 46th over, for a hard-hitting 105. The Railwaymen ended their innings at 295 for 6, with Ben Ryan undefeated on 26. This total would have deterred many a team but not this Hartlepool side.
The game went down to the wire and with two balls to go the home side reached 297 for 9, with number 4 batsman Thomas Stones on 107 not out. New signing David Robinson was the pick of the Shildon bowlers with 5 for 63 but there was concern within the Shildon camp as Aussie Ben Ryan, the league’s leading wicket taker, was unable to complete his spell of bowling due to illness. Overall, a disappointing day for the Railwaymen, who remain in third place but are now effectively out of the promotion race.
The 1st team progressed to the semi-finals of the N.Y.S.D. 100 Cup Competition after a comprehensive win over Northallerton. Batting first, Shildon got off to a flying start, as Steve Forster (59 from 32 balls, including nine 4s and three 6s) and Loyd Horner, quickly put on 41 for the first wicket. The innings then slowed in momentum, but 19 not out from Tom Wickins helped take the total to 151 for 9 after 100 balls. Replying, Northallerton struggled from the start and were all out for 64 from 86 balls. The successful Shildon bowlers were Ben Ryan 4 for 16, Shane Rowley 2 for 10, Dan Nelson 2 for 2 with Phil Garbutt and Tom Wickins helping themselves to one wicket each.
As The Crier goes to press, the side hosts Yarm in the semi-final. The Finals Day will be held at Marton, starting at 12.00 on Sunday 25th August – hopefully Shildon will be there.
The 2nd XI was due to host Catterick Village in the Darlington District Cricket League Division B, but sadly the fixture did not go ahead, as the visitors conceded the game. An easy 20 points for the Railwaymen, which keeps them top of the division. Not the way in which we’d like to gain a win, and frustrating too, after the time spent on preparing the wicket and outfield. But we understand that all teams experience difficult spells, when they have trouble turning out teams. We’ve been there ourselves and it isn’t nice. We wish Catterick all the best and hope that they can pick up and continue to play regularly in the league,” said a club spokesman.
In their mid-week fixture, the team travelled to Haughton in the Fenwick Cup and lost a close encounter by 9 runs. The home side was put into bat and, thanks to a fine 84 from opener Craig Edwards, made 164 for 6 from their 20 overs. In reply, the Railwaymen fell just short on 155 for 6, Dan Nelson top scoring with 49.
Saturday sees the 1st team at home to league leaders Richmond, whilst the 2nd XI travel to Haughton for their next league fixture.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
