Saturday 1st XI - Tanworth & Camp Hill CC 2nd XI
Norton Lindsey 1st XI opened their 2025 campaign in style with a convincing 82-run victory over Tanworth & Camp Hill 2nd XI in a pre-season friendly marked by chilly weather and a challenging wicket that offered unpredictable bounce throughout. Captain Dellow lost the toss and Norton batted first.
After the first few balls from TACH, being quite short, D. Fell was able to pick up some confident boundaries. The pitch proved to be a testing surface with the ball regularly keeping low or rearing awkwardly off a length. Despite this, a composed and resilient innings from D. Fell (33) & R. Beaty (28).
With M. Reading to the crease, joined by C. Green these two were able to steady the ship. C. Green was bowled after contributing 19 Skipper A. Dellow then began with his usual manor of dispatching a well struck boundary back over the bowler's head, together with J. Rushton dispatching back-to-back 4s, before being given out LBW, the runs were steadily increasing. With T. Wilcox & O.Watson finishing up & bringing Norton' Score to a respectable 192.
Match Tea was sublime as per, with Norton' reputation being upheld for a fantastic spread put on for both teams.
In reply, TACH 2nd XI found the going even tougher with the bat. S. Bliwert (8-1-18-0) and S. Webber (5-4-2-3) led the charge, with accuracy being a key factor from S. Webber he was able to rip through the top order of TACH. Supported by spells from M. Reading (8-2-13-3) and O. Watson (6-0-37-0). Reading was able to consistently hit a length that left the batsmen no other choice, but to create their own shots & leading to the bails being removed.
With the final few overs being bowled by T. Wilcox (6-0-23-0) and A. Dellow (7-1-12-0) keeping things tight at the end, leaving the hosts with no real chance of catching the score. No batter from TACH managed to settle, with the side eventually finishing on 110-6, sealing a comprehensive 82-run win for the hosts.
