Senior Season Review

A great season for the senior sides finished with the Second team winning away at Backworth to secure the B2 league title, having won an amazing 17 games out of 22. The First team also completed their season with a win, to finish in a highly credible 5th, for their first season back in league A1.

Highlights of the season for the Firsts was the bowling of Reagan, Mikey Craigs, and Jack Palmer. In terms of the batting everyone contributed, with out one particular batsmen going on to have an outstanding 500 run plus season. The season marks the changing of the captaincy as Chris Reagan leaves for Australia to return home after 6 successful seasons at Morpeth. His consistent performance's with the ball, wickets and captaincy will be missed as he leaves with all the best wishes of the club.

In the seconds the stand out performances were spread through out the team. In the bowling, Kurran Dhugga and Tom Wright fought it out right till the last game of the season in terms of leading wicket taker. Kurran prevailing by one wicket with 34 for the season. Although Wright's accuracy and economy rate led to a fantastic average of under 15. In the batting Jonny Wailes led the way with 657 runs, including three centuries, and was well supported by Stephen Cowell who amassed 464 runs in a very fruitful opening partnership. Support came from the middle order with the hard hitting Poxton and Meikle both scoring 300 plus runs for the season. In terms of the all-rounder's, Brown contributed 200 runs and 20 wickets and Goodings and Harbottle shone with Bat and Ball regularly to turn games Morpeth's way.

The midweek C team had their most successful season ever, having only won one game last year when finishing bottom, as they went on to finish 3rd in the league with an excellent 10 wins from 16 games. The captaincy of Ali Clow and the support of all his players contributed to this great achievement. All bowlers chipped in with wickets, and the younger members including U13's Callum Lawn and Chase Evans look great prospects for the future. In the batting Nick Forster when available, Sandy Meikle and Paul Wonders all made good runs.

12th September - 2nd XI - Champions!!!

5th September - 1st XI - Shotley Run Through Morpeth

5th September - 2nd XI - Masterful Wailes Harpoons Seaton Burn

Morpeth went into their final home game of the season sitting pretty on the top of the league having beaten rivals Lanchester the previous week to seal their promotion to the top tier of the second team league for the 2010 season. With a slender lead at the top of the division, however, they were determined not to slip up in their bid to win the title to round off a fantastic year for skipper Chris Maxted’s outfit. The six wicket hero from the previous week, Paul Jackson, had returned to the rugby field, and his accomplice Kurran Dhugga, with 4 wickets, had been drawn back to the floor for his rhythmic gymnastics debut. Therefore, Morpeth turned to David Harbottle and Ben Jones to bolster the bowling attack.

After a terrible week of weather the sun was shining on Saturday morning, and despite a slightly damp outfield the wicket still looked good prompting Maxted to show no hesitation in batting first. Jonny Wailes and Stephen Cowell resumed their opening partnership looking to continue the fine form they have enjoyed over the course of the season, but no-one would have been expecting the ensuing onslaught Morpeth’s premier pair would serve up. A year on from the infamous flooding of the town, the floodgates would open again, but this time it would be the Seaton Burn bowlers rather than the residents of the Low Stanners and Middle Greens who would be suffering.

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29th August - 1st XI - Morpeth Make Hard Work of Stumbling Over the Line

29th August - 2nd XI - Dhugga and Jackson Set Up League Topping Win

22nd August - 1st XI - Firsts Back on Track

22nd August - 2nd XI - Morpeth Hold Their Nerve

15th August - 1st XI - Pai to Much for Morpeth to Swallow

15th August - 2nd XI - Ponteland in Sand as Max Crashes the Castle

8th August - 1st XI - No Revenge for First Team

8th August - 2nd XI - What a Hangover!

1st August - 1st XI - Captain Fantastic

1st August - 2nd XI - Max-imum Points

It was another successful day for Morpeth seconds on Saturday as they made light work of wrapping up another win and with it 20 points to aid their promotion push. Following heavy overnight rain and persistent showers in the morning, the game did look in doubt. However, with all of the team mucking in the Longhirst covers were soon cleared of water and removed from the pitch as the sun broke through. The pitch looked an absolute classic, hard and fast, with just enough in it for the bowlers. The Ryton skipper, Stevens, won the toss and had no hesitation in batting.

Stevens strode out to start the innings with Nattrass, while Morpeth turned to Tom Wright and Nick Rose to open the bowling. Following a couple of tidy overs to start the break through came, with Wright bowling Stevens for nought with one that was just too quick for the batsman. One quickly became two, as Nattrass attempted an expansive cover drive but could only nick it through to Ali Clow behind the stumps, another victim for Wright. Harrison was joined by Eddy and the pair looked vulnerable but they were able to get the scoreboard ticking with some leg side shots.

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25th July - 1st XI - Swalwell Gain Revenge

25th July - 2nd XI - Morpeth Take Derby Honours

Saturday brought enough respite from the downpours and showers for Morpeth Seconds to travel up the A1 to meet the old foe, Alnwick. Despite the heavy rain and thunder on Friday evening, the pitch looked firm and hard, and Morpeth welcomed back Paul Jackson, Steven Quince and Michael Elliott to the starting line up. Maxted won the toss and decided to make first use of the wicket and bat.

Wailes and Cowell began the innings for Morpeth with steadfast defence and caution as Straker, the Alnwick opening bowler recently recruited from Shilbottle following their demise, bowled a tight line with some prodigious swing movement. The runs could have been scored against the other opening bowler, Guy, unfortunately most of these deliveries were so far down leg side the proverbial barge pole would have been needed to connect with them.

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18th July - 1st XI and 2nd XI - Matches Abandoned - Rain

11th July - 1st XI - Pencil Writes His Own Script

11th July - 2nd XI - It's Much A Do About Winning!

After the heavy rain earlier in the week, Saturday brought a bright sunny day to the Longhirst cricket field. Morpeth were on the back of a 3 game winning streak, during which the batsmen had been dominating opposition attacks. The Longhirst wicket was good, if a little soft on top, but the experienced members of the second team realised it would be another good batting track. Fortunately for Morpeth, Dominic Quinn the visiting skipper, had failed to read the pitch or the form book, and on winning the toss invited Morpeth to bat first.

Jonny Wailes and Stephen Cowell strode out to the middle to resume what has been a very productive opening partnership this season, totalling 478 runs in 9 attempts at an average of 53. The Consett bowlers started well and were finding some prodigious swing movement in the air and a good deal of assistance off the deck. The Morpeth openers were watchful and attempted to put away the bad ball when it was presented by the bowlers.

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4th July - 1st XI - Craigs' Boys Build Total for Success

4th July - 2nd XI - Batsmen have a Waile of a Time

Morpeth faced a short trip to Cowgate on Saturday with a couple of comprehensive wins under their belts in recent weeks and the sun shining down on a balmy summers day. They arrived to find a damp square, due to a lack of covers, and the Cowgate skipper rolling the wicket furiously! The efforts proved fruitful as the couple of wet patches were quickly covered up and the game got underway on time, with Morpeth captain Maxted losing the toss and being inserted on a soft and green wicket.

The anticipated seam movement was there from early on for the Cowgate opening pair of Latif and Crawford. The Morpeth opening pair of Wailes and Cowell knuckled down and tried to avoid the good balls around off stump. Latif in particular was bowling with great control and no shortage of away cutters to beat the opening pairs outside edge. It wasn’t long before Wailes was up and running, with a delicate flick to the fine leg boundary followed by a rasping cut shot to the offside fence.

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27th June - 1st XI - Ashington v Morpeth - Rained Off - 5 Pts Each

27th June - 2nd XI - Harb's Destroys Backworth

20th June - 1st XI - Weather and Shotley Leave Morpeth Glum

20th June - 2nd XI - Morpeth Beat the Showers and Seaton Burn

13th June - 1st XI - Horner Unloads on Percy Main

13th June - 2nd XI - Morpeth Left Punch Drunk by League Leaders

6th June - 1st XI - Leadgate v Morpeth - Rained Off - 5 Pts Each

6th June - 2nd XI - Magnificent Wez and Hat-trick Brown See Morpeth to Win

Morpeth claimed victory against Chopwell thanks to star performers Lawrence Brown and Jonny Wailes.
Wailes hit a tremendous century to ensure the home side set a defendable total, then Brown took a hat-trick and six wickets in total to help secure the win.

Batting first, Morpeth looked to start on the front foot and Wailes quickly got into his stride, with the boundary rope being hit on many occasions. At the other end, Stephen Cowell provided solid support until he was caught on 14. Jimmy Ingram was next man in and he scored ten, then Brown hit 15 runs before being caught off the bowling of Holt.

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30th May - 1st XI - Morpeth Take the Win from Last Ball

30th May - 2nd XI - Derby Goes to the Wire

As far as local derbies go, you couldn’t have wished for a better occasion than Saturday’s match up between Morpeth and Ponteland which provided a spectacle that would have had Sir Allen Stanford watering at the mouth from his Texan prison cell. The two sides went into the game in 2nd and 3rd place, but with Ponteland holding a 17 point advantage over their rivals, defeat for Morpeth would almost certainly have paid rest to promotion hopes for another season. The weather was glorious, with unbroken sunshine for the entire day, and the track looked a batsman’s paradise. It was a crucial toss to win, and fortunately for the boys from Longhirst, Maxted called correctly and duly instructed his boys they would be batting first. Let the games begin!

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23rd May - 1st XI - Sticks and Stones!

23rd May - 2nd XI - Back in the Winning Habit

After the debacle last weekend against Ryton, Morpeth’s second string were in a determined mood to get their season back on track. The side was boosted by the return to the side of Stephen Cowell, Sandy Meikle and Loz Brown to bolster the batting line-up, while David Harbottle and James Craigs came into the squad from the first side to add depth to the batting and strengthen the bowling outfit which struggled for wickets the previous week. The weather looked slightly inclement at the toss, but with the pitch in decent condition Maxted opted to bat after finally winning a toss for only the second time in the season.

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16th May - 1st XI - Back to Earth with a Bang!

16th May - 2nd XI - It's All a Bit Farcical!

Morpeth’s second string suffered an unexpected defeat to end their unbeaten start to the season to a side that had only won one previous game in 15 months. To compound matters further they were up against a Ryton outfit who could only muster 8 players for the tie, and the game was marred by a series of interventions by the umpire over the on-field conduct of the Ryton ‘village idiot’. Morpeth were put into bat by the home side, who had prepared a pitch which would often be referred to as a ‘pudding’, however in this instance the comparison would serve a great injustice to spotted dicks and banoffee pies everywhere.

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9th May - 1st XI - Morpeth Sink Champions

Morpeth CC travelled to Swalwell on Saturday, the home of the current Northumberland and Tyneside Division A1 league champions. Swalwell had started the season unbeaten in their first 3 matches.

Morpeth went into the game welcoming back Darren Leason to the side to open the batting; however they had lost their two opening bowlers, Mark Turnbull to work commitments, and Jack Palmers wife was giving birth. Skipper Chris Reagan lost the toss and Morpeth were asked to bowl on what seemed to be a hard track, albeit in blustery conditions.

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9th May - 2nd XI - Clark Stars as Morpeth Have too Much for Alnwick

Morpeth’s fine unbeaten run to the season continued as local rivals Alnwick were comfortably despatched in a rain-affected game at Longhirst. Morpeth were looking for revenge against a side who had unexpectedly beaten them in the corresponding fixture the previous season, which had ultimately played a vital part in Morpeth missing out on promotion. The wicket was a batsman’s dream, and it was unsurprising when Maxted opted to bat first, following his side’s 200-plus run chase the week before.

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2nd May - 1st XI - Morpeth Power to Victory

2nd May - 2nd XI - Poxton Strokes Glorious Ton to Send Seconds to Win

A belligerent century from Andrew Poxton saw Morpeth record their second success of the new campaign on a fantastic afternoon of cricket down in Durham. The left-hander was at his imperious best on his first appearance of the season to ease Morpeth past Greenside’s total of 209 with 10 overs to spare. Chasing an impressive total set by the home team Morpeth’s number 3 was ably supported by Loz Brown who put in another fine knock to continue his own impressive early season form.

After losing the toss Morpeth were unsurprisingly sent out to field for the second week in a row, and despite being unable to penetrate the Greenside top order, Morpeth openers Wright and Maxted again bowled with good discipline to keep the run rate down in the early exchanges. Only one wicket fell in the opening 20 overs, with Wright striking early in his spell to clean bowl the opener before a period of consolidation for the home team. Opener Turnbull, who had batted with great patience, eventually provided a self-inflicted breakthrough when he slogged across the line to Jones.

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25th April - 1st XI - Morpeth Fail to Build Partnerships

After a promising start to the season with a comprehensive opening day victory at Benwell and Walbottle, Morpeth’s first XI took on a strong Tynedale outfit on Saturday in their first home game of the season.

On a sunny April day the wicket looked white and hard for April and having won the toss Tynedale’s skipper Richard Darling had no hesitation in choosing to bat first. Mark Turnbull took the new ball and nearly got a breakthrough with the first ball of the game with Tynedale opening batsman Clark nearly chopping on and it was Turnbull who made the first in roads in to the Tynedale batting line up when he had fellow opening batsman Hunter caught by M Craigs for 6 after some very unconvincing shots through the slip cordon. Turnbull then picked up his second wicket when he had Clark caught brilliantly by Jonny Craigs who took a diving catch to his right in the gully.

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25th April - 2nd XI - Seconds Not Singing in the Consett Rain!

Morpeth second string travelled down to Consett looking to make it two maximum returns on the trot, and in the knowledge they had comfortably done the double over their opponents the previous season. Having lost the toss skipper Chris Maxted led his side out on what looked a decent batting track, on a gloriously sunny afternoon. The Consett opening pair got away to a bit of a flyer, but once openers Wright and Clark found their rhythm it suddenly became a very stale and dogged batting display by the home team. Wright beat the outside edge on numerous occasions and after seeing 2 edges fly through gully, a simple chance was put down at first slip and the opening pair continued to survive the new ball attack.

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18th April - 1st XI - Morpeth Start New Season Confidently

Morpeth 1st XI started the 2009 campaign in the top tier of the Northumberland and Tyneside Senior League having been promoted the previous year. Their first call of duty was played on Saturday away at Benwell and Walbottle who had managed to escape relegation from the division on the last day of the previous season. On paper this fixture was therefore a game that could ease the 1st XI into life in the top division and it proved to be very much the case.

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18th April - 2nd XI - Morpeth Snatch Victory from the Jaw's of Defeat!

Morpeth’s second string began their 2009 campaign on Saturday with high hopes for the season ahead, having been dealt the bitter blow of missing out on promotion by a solitary point in 2008. The depth of the Morpeth squad for the new season was underlined as regular first team players such as Jonny Wailes and Paul Elliott lined up for the 2nd XI in a strong side, which also included new signing Khurran Dhugga who has joined the club from South Northumberland.

Skipper Chris Maxted confidently assessed his team’s chances for the upcoming season stating, “with the quality of players we are able to select from, if we apply ourselves properly throughout the course of the season there should be nothing stopping us from going one better than last year and getting promoted.”

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Club Shop is Open Again!!

The club shop is open again, reachable through the link at the top of this page. The club shop is where you can renew your membership's for the 2009 season and where club clothing can be purchased. There is an excellent selection of playing wear, including sweaters and shirts. There is also training and casual wear which includes tracksuits, polo shirts, and fleece's. All of the clothing is embroidered with the club logo and current sponsors logo.

All older club news is stored in the News Archive