Bates Cottages CC enjoy mixed fortunes in busy weekend of action

Bates Cottages First XI hosted Corbridge on a cold and damp day on Saturday, with jumpers retrieved from the bottom of bags and hand-warmers in pockets.

The home side lost the toss and were put into bat, setting a steady pace from which they could have pushed after some good starts. Martin Golightly and Ryan Coetzee anchored the innings with 64 and 56 respectively to finish on 174 all out in the 39th over.

After tea, with the covers removed again, Bates Cottages took to the field and - with a great performance making the opposition fight for every run - restricted Corbridge to 111 all out in the 39th over. Elliot Ashburn took four wickets, and Ryan Coetzee and Liam Khan took two each.

Elsewhere, Bates Cottages’ Second XI travelled to Wooler, and with both teams in great form, it promised to be a good game despite the weather. The visitors won the toss and elected to field.

Bates Cottages took until the 10th over to claim their first wicket, with Sam Morgan making the breakthrough, and the second didn’t fall until the 22nd with 82 on the board for the hosts. After that, however, the away side made regular inroads to keep the score to 151/8 from their 40 overs.

Batting, Bates Cottages made a slow but steady start, building a solid base before losing some wickets in the middle order which slowed the rate. The away side ultimately finished 20 runs short, 9 down from their 40 overs.