The overcast, humid atmosphere made for difficult batting conditions and resulted in some low scoring games in the NYSD Premier league on Saturday.
This was certainly the case at Normanby Hall where Richmondshire 1sts were playing.
Put into bat Richmondshire made an unusually cautious start, so when Tom Dowson was trapped LBW in the seventh over he had made only two runs.
His opening partner Bob Carr remained resolute as other batsmen struggled and his 97 contributed over 50 per cent of the final total.
Late flourishes from Matty Cowling (27) and Sam Wood (30) got the score to 197 for nine when Richmondshire declared after 48 overs.
The Normanby Hall innings began disastrously with the opening batsmen unable to cope with the spin of Ajay Mandal (four for 13).
He took the first three wickets with only 17 on the board and when Shaun Charlton weighed in with another wicket it was 19 for four.
The lower order proved rather more resolute and it took until the 47th over to finally bring the innings to close on 131.
Gary Pratt with three for 33 and Harvey Websdale, two for 13, in only his second first team game mopped up the tail.
Another 25-point win ensured Richmondshire stayed top of the table with Hartlepool losing out in another low scoring game at Marton.
With 25 points for Marton and only six for Hartlepool, Marton move up to second in the table 13 points behind Richmondshire. 25 points for Barnard Castle left them level with Hartlepool 21 points behind.
The second team had an emphatic win over Great Ayton 2nds by 112 runs.
A third wicket partnership between Sam Winter and Clive Layfield laid a solid foundation and Joe Shields added a whirlwind 62 from 30 balls including 5 sixes.
The total of 271 for six was always likely to be too much for Great Ayton and they fell well short with 159 all out after 38 overs.
With three for 28 from Jonny Carr and Joe Shields adding to his contribution with four for 11.
When planning for the season the NYSD made a provision for games being called off due to Covid issues.
The fixtures are declared void and those divisions affected convert to an average points per game format.
This was the fate of the 4ths game against Preston Park. Richmondshire remain second with an average of 18.09, with Stockton top on 18.17.
The 5ths had an excellent win against second in the table Haughton, with a side containing five Under 13s beating all adult opponents.
A feature was the catching with all five catches given being taken. Batting first they made 141 for 7 with an opening partnership of 57 for the first wicket by Mike White (29) and Harrison Girot (35)
When junior Eddie Player caught the opener and captain for a duck in the second over and another junior Joe White took two wickets Haughton were reduced to eight for three.
With Vital Raj taking four for 15 and Joe White two for 12 Haughton were out for 65 in 23 overs.
The 3rd team’s game on Sunday at Wolviston was granted an earlier start to ensure everyone was home in time for the Euro’s final.
Richmondshire pulled off a shock against the second in the league, coming away with much needed 25 points winning by 51 runs. They remain in the relegation places but with some hope of escape before the end of the season.
