EVERYTHING was on song for Morpeth on Saturday as they cruised to a ten-wicket victory over Chopwell.

The home side batted first and began well, but the turning point came when openers Veitch (37) and Hornby (30) were dismissed by Chris Horner.
Wickets quickly fell afterwards and only Innes (26) and Fellows (14 not out) put up any major resistance. Horner picked up another two wickets to finish with figures of 4-55, while Stuart Hills bowled excellent spells and he ended with 4-29.

Chopwell were 153 all out and while the visitors expected to make the runs, the manner in which they did so was very impressive.

Darren Leason and Blake Reynolds were composed and hit some wonderful shots as they both passed 50.

They managed to stay unbeaten right the way through and Morpeth reached their target of 154 with Leason 78 not out and Reynolds 74 not out.

• On Sunday, Morpeth went through to the final of the Wellstream Trophy with victory against Ryton in the semi-final match.

The hero was Blake Reynolds, who blasted 163 not out as Morpeth finished with a score of 284-5.

Despite knocks by Brown (76) and Rowell (47), Ryton were bowled out for 204. Paul Elliott was Morpeth's top wicket taker with figures of 3-52.

Morpeth II v Chopwell II

AN excellent bowling performance gave Morpeth Seconds a comfortable victory at Longhirst.

After winning the toss, the home side decided to bat first but were soon in trouble when Jimmy Ingram was bowled for just three runs.

Three more wickets fell cheaply but Jack Clark joined Sandy Meikle in the middle and the pair steadied the ship.

They both reached their half centuries, as did Paul Wonders later in the innings, and their combined knocks (Meikle 63, Wonders 57 and Clark 52) were crucial in giving Morpeth a decent total to protect.

Ben Jones (18) and Chris Maxted (13 not out) chipped in at the end as Morpeth were all out for 238. Meadows (4-58) was the top bowler for Chopwell.

In reply, Meadows opened the batting and scored a useful 33 before he was caught and bowled by Jones, who bowled the other opener Fellows.

Paul Jackson (two) and Nyland were the other wicket takers, but the star of the show was Richard Embley, who achieved a five-wicket haul.


The spin bowler dismissed Dean Owen when he was on 37 then set about the tail end, finishing with figures of 5-16 after 7.2 overs. The visitors were all out for 132 and Morpeth won by 106 runs.