PUTTING on 134 runs for the third wicket, teenager Ollie Fletcher and James Rainford got Tynedale back on track after three successive defeats.

A day after losing to title hopefuls Shotley Bridge, Fletcher and Rainford starred as they made it 12 games without victory for bottom club Ponteland.

From 78-3, their partnership took Tynedale to 212 and their struggling guests were nowhere near in reply as the home side cranked up the heat.

Batting first, Tynedale made a high total of 240 despite losing Jamie Crichton and Tom Cant early in the innings.

Sam Mannion, who looked in control with seven fours and a six, had his innings guillotined early with the score on 78.

But the pairing together of Rainford and Fletcher spearheaded Tynedale’s challenge, Rainford reaching his third 50 of the season as he faced 101 balls while Fletcher made his first senior half ton from 90 deliveries.

Jonathan Appleby played a role in getting them both out, Rainford caught off the bowling off David Waters while Fletcher, after seven fours, was run out by another great piece of fielding.

With time against them, Euan Stephenson hit two big sixes for 15 off six deliveries and Hedley Renton hastily made seven before trapped by Iftikhar Fazal.

Chasing a big total, Ponteland were in trouble from the beginning of their reply as they suddenly found themselves on 43-5.

David Newton and Cant ripped through the top order and they were backed up by some excellent fielding, Newton having Paul Lindsay, Hassan Raza and Fazal caught and Cant seeing Daniel Wright and Ryan Gerrard both caught.

It looked like it would be an early finish but Ponteland held out as Ben Harris and captain Appleby stuck around, both seeing out more than 60 deliveries and putting on 75 runs to nudge Pont towards the 150 mark.

After Harris was run out by Cant for the sixth wicket, though, it was only a matter of time before the match finished as Stephenson took a wicket and Sam Peter two, which included the final wicket of Appleby who sliced a catch to Josh Renton at deep gully.

The victory followed defeat to Shotley the day before, a valiant effort against their high flying guests only for the lower middle order batsmen to fail to take their chances.

Tynedale looked to captain Cant as they took to the batting, and he didn’t disappoint as a watchful innings saw him finish on 96 not out.

It took him 60 balls to reach 26 runs, but a more swashbuckling array of straight hitting which led to four sixes and one four from his final eight deliveries faced saw him accelerate the run rate.

Cant was brought to the cease after Crichton mistimed an offside drive which looped into the hands of Shotley captain Stuart Graham, and the Tyne skipper was dropped on eight with the score on 13-1.

He and Mannion took Tynedale’s score to 45 before the latter was trapped lbw by former Tyne pro Graham for the second wicket.

Tynedale’s most productive partnership came when Rainford joined Cant at the crease, but their 48 run pairing was ended when Graham took his second wicket.

Stephenson batted well but Fletcher, Hedley and Josh Renton caused little headwind to Shotley, before David Newton scored an important 20 from 16 balls to take Tynedale to 198. After Phil Brown went to a catch by Rainford off the bowling of Peter, Kieran Milburn was expansive as he was joined by Paul Greenwell.

However, a 77 run knock between Mick Allen and Lewis Hall took the game away from Tynedale and saw Bridge to a big 19 points in the race for top spot.

l Live radio coverage of Tynedale’s games, both home and away, can be found online.

From 2.30pm each Saturday, Matty Erskine describes the play at spreaker.com. www.spreaker.com/user/cricketwesttyne.