2nd XI - Alnwick swept aside as Morpeth roll on
 

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.

The home side started at a good pace, with Wailes and Cowell reunited at the top of the order, and both men played positively and hit boundaries in the early exchanges. However, the substantial opening partnership the team would have hoped for failed to materialise, both openers departing with the score barely past 30. The early wickets brought Clark and Meikle together at the crease and it was this partnership which built the foundations for the Morpeth innings. Meikle looked in fine form, and played the shot of the day to get off the mark with a glorious on-drive which raced along the deck for four back past the bowler. The pair rotated the strike well, and while the boundary hitting was left to Meikle, Clark anchored the innings superbly and accumulated his runs with shots around the ground. Just when the innings seems to be getting a head of steam, the rains came and for a long time it looked like the game would struggle to resume.

Following an early tea and reduction in overs to 36 per side, Morpeth continued, but lost the vital wicket of Meikle for 32 immediately after the restart. This buoyed the opposition and runs began to dry up, but Clark and Brown dug in to prevent the kind of collapse which has beset the team in the past. Clark eventually brought up his half-century to continue his fantastic early season form, and carried his bat to see Morpeth finish on 154-4.

Skipper Chris Maxted was confident his troops would be able to defend the total in the evening sunshine, but it was the captain himself who took the bull by the horns by ripping through the opposition top order to put his team in the driving seat. He clean bowled two of the top order and trapped a third with his customary leg-before, and bowled with great tightness at the top of the order to restrict the visitors to a paltry run-rate of about 2 per over. Following this start they never looked like getting towards the total, and the change bowlers of Clark and Dhugga shared 6 wickets between them, with Dhugga picking up another 4 to put himself right at the top of the league averages. Clark bowled to good pace and great accuracy, suggesting the young gun has more to offer than just his fantastic batting.

Morpeth tied it up with Wright taking the final Alnwick wicket, leaving the visitors 60 runs short of the Morpeth total. Next week sees a trip to Ryton, and in this sort of form they will be looking for another maximum return to keep their early-season form going.
 

Man of the match: Jack Clark

Match Report: Tom Wright

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