Whitby CC 1sts stay up after Blackhall concede

Whitby Cricket Club 1sts secured their NYSD League Division One safety for another season when their opponents Blackhall conceded the final match of the season

Whitby CC 1sts skipper Kai Morris said: “This years been a challenging one, there’s not getting away from that.

"But taking into account the players we’ve lost in recent years, and the fact the league is just getting stronger each year, managing to avoid relegation is a really good achievement for us this season.

"The first half of the season we were nowhere near the kind of cricket we’d have liked to have played, but second half of the season I actually think we’ve played really well at times and we’ve managed to get stuck in and get the points and results we needed to survive, which didn’t look likely a couple of months ago.

"The lads have stuck together well all season and given 100% every time we’ve walked onto the field which has been the most pleasing thing for me.

"Theo Clarke has been particularly impressive with the bat this season and has again proved how good a player he is, along with really important contributions from lads like Lewis Brearley, myself and Paul Buck.

"With the ball we’ve struggled at various stages but Ricky Hall has been excellent and managed to pick up a lot of wickets and Mark Jackson has come into the team and bowled really well without the rewards he’s deserved at times.”

Morris has already started his plans for the 2023 season in the NYSD League first division.

He added: "Looking forward to next year we’re obviously delighted to have secured our Division 1 status and we’ll be looking to improve and go again next year.

"We’re already in discussions with a potential overseas player for next summer which is looking really promising, plus I’ve had tentative conversations with a couple of other players and coming to the club.

"So hopefully we can bring a few lads in to compliment what we already have and the young lads we are bringing through, and I’m confident we can be really competitive next year.

"I couldn’t be prouder of the team for the effort they’ve put in this season and how hard we’ve worked to ensure we avoided relegation.”

Whitby 2nds also stay in Division Three after their game at Rockliffe 2nds was rained off with the hosts on 123-3, while Whitby 3rds won by seven wickets at Marske 3rds, Jack Cairns taking 4-18 and Tom Steyert hitting 48.