Match Reports

Saturday 12th July 2003

Newcastle 1st XI vs Philadelphia (Away)

After the close match the previous weekend against South North Newcastle were looking forward to a match against the out of form Philadelphia. Danny Law was unavailable and Kingers stepped down to the seconds to make way for School Boy & the returning Captain Ritzema.

Ritzy lost the toss and we were inserted on a pitch with a generous covering of lush greenness. We got off to a poor start losing Ritz LBW early and Stonno dubiously caught behind. Matty & Ryan looked to steady the innings before Matty was needlessly run out for 18. Ryan soon followed falling to a good caught and bowled for 20, leaving Newcastle struggling at 60 for 4. Things got worse when Will and then Joel (24) where both out LBW before lunch, leaving Newcastle with a lot to do at 100 for 6. After lunch Nicky T played some nice shots but soon lost partners Alex and Keith Brown, both to poor shots. When Nick was out for 32 Newcastle succumbed and were all out for a less than respectable 153.

Phili started their innings well and rode their luck before Joel removed their opener LBW. They continued to score at a good rate mainly due to their pro and wickets from an out-of-sorts Alex and Paul Lyndsay stemmed the flow of runs for a while. However the Newcastle target was comfortably reached with 4 wickets down and only 32 overs used and their pro unbeaten on 114.

This was a performance that was a long way below the standards that we have set ourselves over the season so far, Newcastle slipping to a second successive defeat for the first time this season. Although the disappointment was evident, we put the overall performance down to a 'bad day at the office'. This was illustrated by an all-together different performance on the Sunday against the same opposition, Newcastle taking revenge over Phili in the Just Sport Trophy, beating them comfortably by 6 wickets. This gives us the chance to play Durham CA in the ¼ final and means that we can take some confidence into the NEPL game next weekend against local rivals Benwell Hill.

Newcastle 2nd XI vs Philadelphia (Home)

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