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Genetics defeat Humshaugh in thriller

A close encounter at Heaton saw Genetics defeat Humshaugh in the final over of the match. Batting first, Humshaugh were restricted by some tight bowling from Chris Mee and Brian Taylor. An accelaration in the final 5 overs saw Humshaugh post a respectable 100 for 5 in 14 overs. An eventful first over in the Genetics innings saw the loss of Jon Robinson for a duck, and it set the scene for what was to be a rollercoaster ride towards the finish line. Although wickets fells regularly, runs flowed freely, and in a team effort, Genetics crossed the line in the final over of the match. Top scorer Mike Gardner won match of the match with 29, and was well supported by Peter Minnikin with 17, Deon Krishnan 16, Andy Goulding with 12, and Chris Mee chipped at the end with an unbeaten 10. Brian Taylor was the best of the bowlers with 2 for 19 off 4 overs.

Victory at Clara Vale

Genetics continued on their merry winning way with another win at Clara Vale on Wednesday, this time at the expense of Merz McLellan. Winning the toss, we sent the opposition into bat and Genetics initially found wickets hard to come by. However, some excellent fielding including a superb running catch at long on by Andy Goulding meant that Merz were restricted to 99 for 6 in their 16 over, Gary van Doorn getting 4 wickets.
In reply, Genetics rattled off the necessary runs in just over 10 overs, Steve Kent making a brisk 10, Andy Goulding scoring 34 not out in 15 balls, and man of the match Mike Gardner making a superb 49 not out. With 5 runs to get to win, Andy and Mike were told that Mike's half century was imminent, whereupon Andy blocked the next ball, then a took a single off the last ball of the over, and hit the next ball for 4 to win the game. There is only one way to describe this behaviour, "jug avoidance".

Cup run continues...

Genetics won their second round cup match against 3rd division side at Heaton last night. Winning the toss, we asked Park House to bat, but it was not until the last ball of the 7th over that the breakthrough was made, birthday boy taking the vital wicket. Bowling superbly, he was unlucky not to take more, and managed to beat the outside edge of the same batsman 5 times in a row. Some excellent fielding saw Park House restricted to 72 for 7, Grant Mason also bowling well with 3-18, and Gary van Doorn chipping in with 2-16. The highlight of the fielding was Steve Kent picking the ball up and with one fluid movement running the batman out at the non-striker's end. He claimed it was deliberate, and the opposition were suitably impressed! With only 73 to win, Steve Kent and Andy Porteous batted very sensibly, and managed to polish off the total in 12 overs without losing a wicket, Steve making a solid 25 and Andy returning back to form with an excellent 45. They looked so good out there, that the next batsman, Deon, decided to go and put his kids to bed when the score was about 50. Steve was heard to call Andy through for a quick single with the words "Come on Mike, there's one there", so maybe Mike's position as permanent opener in under threat. The next cup match is also against 3rd division opposition at Kibblesworth.

Young Travellers side succumb to Genetics

Genetics racked up another win against a very young Travellers Rest side at Heaton on Tuesday night. Many of their team were under 15 and I am sure that Mike Garner would have missed his wife Julie's birthday had he known. Electing to bat after winning the toss (I don't think we've won a toss all season) Travellers lost a wicket in the first over to Chris Mee, and struggled to post a respectable total. Only Mal Alderson stood between Genetics steamrollering the batting with a valiant 57 before being well caught by Davy Heslop. Mark Buckley put in a good performance behind the stumps, and Gary van Doorn wrapped up the tail taking 4-15 in 4 overs. In reply, Genetics were always in control, although Steve Kent did his best to keep things interesting with a pain-staking 13, including 14 consecutive dot balls. (A roar went up from the vast crowd when he finally broke the shackles to score). Deon, enjoying one of his best years since last year top scores with 47 not out, to confirm his jug avoiding tendencies. So another win, and next game sees us playing Park House in the second round of the cup at Heaton on Tuesday.

Ponteland win easily

Ponteland taught the Sunday Genetics team a cricket lesson as they recorded an easy 81 run victory at Heaton. Batting first, the Ponteland openers found it tough going against the opening combination of the “Terrible Tims”, (Hall and Davies), but they accumulated the runs steadily, and then scored more heavily against the lesser bowlers. Tim Davies was the pick of the bowlers with 4-31 off his 8 overs, but Ponteland still managed to score 208-8 off 40 overs. In replay, Genetics always struggled, losing wickets steadily, and only Mike Gardner, playing on his beloved turf of Heaton, could manage anything respectable with 40. Failure to play out the full 40 overs cost us dearly, and 127 was the final total.