Bates Cottages CC suffer narrow loss in Blaydon CC thriller

Bates Cottages CC’s first XI hosted Blaydon CC on Saturday afternoon, coming up marginally short in a great match for the spectator that went all the way to the penultimate over.

Blaydon won the toss and put their hosts in to bat, making early inroads as they limited Bates Cottages to 27/3 before captain Liam Khan steadied the ship, along with Pavi Selva. Khan was climbing up into the 80s when Selva was removed for 47, and when the next three batters fell with only six runs added to the total, it looked like he may be left stranded without a partner.

Elliot Ashburn and then Sarah Vince would go on to play the supporting role, however, holding up one end while Khan pushed on from the other to clinch his century, finishing on 107. Bates Cottages would end on a total of 212 all out in the 47th over.

After the interval, Bates Cottages took to the field looking to claim early wickets, and indeed, Ashburn struck in his second over to remove one of the visitors’ openers and then again in his fifth to dismiss another. The homes side kept taking regular wickets to keep the run rate down, and Blaydon were left requiring 23 runs with just one wicket left. Unfortunately for Bates Cottages, however, they couldn’t find the pivotal delivery they were searching for, and Blaydon subsequently hit the winning runs in the 49th over.