REMARKABLE bowling from 50-year-old Dean Greaves saw the West Tyne League’s annual challenge in the inter-league Wilkinson Cup fall at the first hurdle.
The Ashington Rugby player was in devastating form as he claimed 7-31 for the Northumberland Cricket League, earning his representative an 101-run success.
West Tyne skipper Alex Rayner (Wylam) lost the toss and was put into the field, Northumberland making steady, if unspectacular, progress as Backworth's Ben Sutton (56) and Tillside's Jake Birkett (44) contributed.
They were removed by Dan Kirkup (Haltwhistle) and Tim Raglan (Allendale) respectively, with Ross Laidlaw (Allendale) returning to take 4-39 to spearhead a mini collapse from 158-5 to 159-8.
A stubborn last wicket partnership between Blue Flames' James Morgan and Greaves saw the score to 206-9 at the end of 40 overs.
A wily spell of left arm swing bowling from Greaves ripped through the West Tyne order with the first seven batsmen falling to him, leaving the score on 50-7.
Haltwhistle duo Joe Barber (33) and Kirkup (30) were the stand-out contributors with Barber his typically classy self and Kirkup hitting two sizes in a defiant spell as the team bowed out on 105.
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