Whitby Gazette Cup - May 20

Home vs. Westerdale
Lost by 35 runs

In the first round of the Whitby Gazette cup, Castleton faced Westerdale looking for first victory against their rivals for a long while. Vice-captain Andrew Watson lost the toss as Castleton were made to field first.
Castleton made several early breakthroughs through their stand-in skipper, but Westerdale kept scoring runs at a fast pace, with several big 6s into the river Esk. Castleton’s fielding was exemplary, with Aaron Watson pouching 3 catches, and Richard and Rob Thompson catching tough ones. Yet the best was reserved for Andrew Fowles, who caught a spectacular one-hander above his head. Westerdale eventually finished their innings on 111ao.
Castleton started their innings poorly with Shaun Dowson falling without a run on the board and Andrew Fowles falling shortly after. At the other end, Tom Hepburn celebrated his 18th birthday by hitting his first ball for 4, and didn’t look back as he made 38 while wickets were tumbling at the other end. At one point, as James O’Donnell joined Tom in the middle, Castleton had a sniff of victory, but this was snatched away as James was stumped with 9 to his name. Then when Tom Hepburn left with 56 on the board, the innings started to unravel. Castleton finished with only 76ao, which could be attributed to the 4 ducks they suffered.

Westerdale 111ao 19 overs Castleton 76ao 18 overs

MoM – Tom Hepburn – signalled a return to form after two successive ducks.