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

Tuesday 10 June 2008

Eskdale League - June 7

Home vs. Fryup
Lost by 9 wickets

Fryup were the visitors as Castleton looked to build on an encouraging win the week before at Ugthorpe. Damp weather the day before caused the pitch to look quite soft, but this didn't put off Castleton as they opted to bat first.

The innings started steadily if unspectacularly, with Shaun Dowson and Lee Nesfield putting on 22 for the first wicket. Yet when Shaun departed, the famous 'Castleton Collapse' was set in motion as wickets continued to tumble until the team ended up with just 46 on the board. Andy Raw was the destroyer-in-chief, picking up 7-16 off 11 overs.

Fryup were in a hurry to finish this game, and in particular Andy Raw, who smashed 17 off Richard Thompson's first over. A run out didn't break his stride as Fryup made their to the target within 4 overs, Andy Raw finishing with 45 not out out of 47.

Castleton 46ao 28 overs Fryup 47-1 4 overs

MoM - No one deserves it as Castleton were severely outclassed.

Henry Flintoff Cup - June 6

Home vs. Farndale
Won by 98 runs

Castleton faced Farndale in the quarter-final of the Henry Flintoff Cup having received a bye earlier in the week as Rievaulx failed to provide any opposition so had to pull out. Castleton chose to bat first in what was to turn out to be a cold and wet evening.

Lee Nesfield and Shaun Dowson opened the innings but both weren’t there for long as Castleton fell to 2-2. That brought James O’Donnell and Tom Hepburn to the crease where they rebuilt the innings with a partnership of 46, with James facing the majority of balls and doing most of the scoring. Tom lost his wicket which brought Rob Thompson out to the middle to build another good partnership with James as Castleton raced towards a big score. James finally fell for a superb 62 and some big late order hitting from Andrew Watson brought the score up to a commanding 140-5 off 20 overs

Farndale’s innings quickly fell apart in the drizzle, as Andrew Watson and Paul Lawton strangled the life out of Farndale as they were bowled out for 42. Andrew Watson could’ve had a hat-trick to go with his five-wicket haul, but dropped a chance off his own bowling on the hat-trick ball.

Castleton 140-5 20 overs Farndale 42ao 13 overs

MoM – James O’Donnell and Andrew Watson – a superb 62 from James was complimented perfectly by a five-wicket from Andrew to set up an excellent win and secure a passage into the semis.

Thursday 5 June 2008

Evening League Team Photo







Top from left - Andrew Watson, Jonny 'Wildman' Williams, Richard Thompson (c), Matt Jackson, Ben Sherwood, Shaun Dowson


Bottom from left - Andrew Fowles, Matthew Williams, Aaron Watson, Tom Hepburn, James O'Donnell

Evening League - June 4

Home vs. Grosmont
Won by 33 runs

Castleton hosted Grosmont looking for their second win of the Evening League season. Captain Richard Thompson chose to bat first, hoping to put a large total on the board and put Grosmont under pressure.

Castleton started steadily with James O’Donnell and Tom Hepburn opening the batting. Yet this pair batted superbly to take their partnership to 90 from 16 overs. James took most of the strike, with Tom at one point going 3.4 overs without facing a ball. Tom was the first to go for 27, and Jonny ‘Wildman’ Williams following straight after. It was left to Shaun Dowson to pile on the runs with James to take Castleton up to 120. James finished unbeaten after a superb 68.

Grosmont started their innings at snail pace, losing a wicket in the second over to Tom Hepburn as they compiled 8-1 after 4 overs. A run out followed and Castleton looked to be on the winning track, but two expensive overs from Andrew Fowles gave Grosmont a hint of a chance, but this was taken away by James O’Donnell, Ben Sherwood and Andrew Watson, who all bowled superbly. Grosmont were left unable to get the victory and finished on 87-6 after 20 overs.

Castleton 120-2 20 overs Grosmont 87-6 20 overs

MoM - James O'Donnell - Third 50 in a row for the man in form

Booth Cup - June 2

Away vs. Fryup
Lost by 8 wickets

On a fine evening in Fryup, Castleton faced the home side in a Booth Cup game, which 16 8-ball overs were to be bowled per side. Castleton chose to bat first on a pitch that was quite damp from the rain the previous day, but they would need a big score as the small boundaries of Fryup lend themselves to fast scoring.

Castleton started off slowly, James O’Donnell departing for 0 and Shaun Dowson batting out two successive maidens from the top end. Tom Hepburn got the innings started with two 4s and then two successive 6s, but then two balls later was run out after a direct hit from Andy Raw. Castleton were scoring quickly but losing wickets, and despite a big 6 form Andrew Watson, Castleton’s total of 81 was unlikely to be enough.

Fryup made their way to the target steadily at first thanks to some tight bowling from Richard Thompson and Andrew Watson, and when Richard Thompson picked up the Raw brothers and Andrew Watson snared another wicket, Castleton had a sniff. Yet Fryup continued without losing another wicket to make it home within 9 overs.

Castleton 81ao Fryup 82-3 9 overs

MoM – Richard Thompson – took the wickets of two good batsmen and wasn’t hit for a 6 on a tiny ground.

Monday 2 June 2008

Eskdale League - May 31

Away vs. Ugthorpe
Won by 16 runs

Castleton travelled to Ugthorpe on the back of three straight defeats, and were looking to beat an Ugthorpe side that boasted a Sri Lankan import in their ranks.

Captain Lee Nesfield decided to bat first on a sunny and windy day, and Shaun Dowson and the skipper made a healthy start, moving to 22 for no wicket. But then Lee departed and Castleton then stumbled to 66-4 after 23 overs, meaning a score of over 100 looked unlikely. Then Tom Hepburn came to the crease and, with able support from Rob Thompson and Andrew Fowles, hauled Castleton up to a respectable 121-7 after their 40 overs

With the pitch behaving unpredictably, Castleton stood a fair chance, but they had to remove Perera quickly, as he has shown in other games that he can be exceptional with the bat. Yet Andrew Watson pulled a rabbit out of the hat, as he had Perera caught at mid on by Tom Hepburn for a duck. After a poor start at the other end by Richard Thompson, he turned it around and captured 4 wickets in his first spell. Wickets kept tumbling, but runs kept coming as Ugthorpe made their way within 17 runs of their target before Richard Thompson returned to capture his fifth wicket to bowl Ugthorpe out.

Castleton 121-7 40 overs Ugthorpe 105ao 35 overs

MoM - Tom Hepburn and Richard Thompson - 35 crucial runs and two catches for Tom, while Richard captured his first five-wicket haul of the season.

Evening League - May 28

Away vs. Sleights
Lost by 6 wickets

The Evening League took Castleton to Sleights this week, as new Captain Richard Thompson took charge for his first game. Richard opted to bat first on what was a fine evening.

Tom Hepburn and James O'Donnell opened up for Castleton, and Tom fell early to an outswinger. This meant Jonny 'Wildman' Williams joined James at the crease, and he showed what he was about by hitting two big 6s. He fell soon after for 19, and it was left to James to sail the innings home, which he did in fine style. He made his way to 50 in the last over in the best way possible, smashing three 6s in four balls. His average suffered though when John Liddle, making his debut, ran him out off the last ball, costing James a not out. Castleton eventually mustered 121.

Sleights began their reply slowly from one end, and fast from the other, as Richard Thompson was miserly, yet Ben Sherwood and James O'Donnell were haemorrhaging runs. Gordon Bland got stuck into the bowling and made a damaging 50. They kept up with the run rate all the way, eventually needing 8 off the last over, and then 4 off the last ball. Yet they managed to strike a 6 and leave Castleton beaten.

Castleton 121-8 20 overs Sleights 122-5 20 overs

MoM - James O'Donnell - A scintillating 60 from the man in form.

Dorman Cup - May 27

Away vs. Stafford Place
Lost by 7 wickets

Castleton travelled to Stafford Place looking for a second round place in the Dorman Cup. The chances of this happening were severely reduced thanks to Ian Cook and his questionable sense of direction, meaning Castleton arrived nearly an hour late and the match was reduced to 15 overs per side.

Castleton batted first and gave a poor showing against some excellent bowling. No-one really got going, shown by the joint top scorers, Tom Hepburn and Andrew Watson, only managing 14. Boundaries were scarce and the innings finally ending as Castleton were bowled out for 45.

Stafford Place got off to a good start and carried it on all the way through to reaching their target for the loss of just two wickets after only 8 overs.

Castleton 45ao 13 overs Stafford Place 46-2 8 overs

MoM - No standout performers in this match