Skipper Kai Morris delighted by Whitby CC 1sts’ first NYSD League Division 1 victory of the season

Whitby CC 1sts earned their first win of the season at home to Darlington on Saturday. PHOTO BY BRIAN MURFIELD

Whitby CC first-team skipper Kai Morris was delighted with his side earning their first North Yorkshire South Durham Cricket League Divison One win of the season against sixth-placed Darlington on Saturday.

The basement club still have a mathematical chance of beating the drop, but they would need to win their two remaining games to give themselves a chance of playing Division One cricket next season.

Openers Tom Steyert (30) and Lewis Brearley (29) sharing a stand of 57 to give the home side a solid start, and, despite slipping to 73-3, Whitby rallied thanks to committed batting from James Fawcett (51) and Morris (31).

Debutant Charlie Parker then helped Whitby post a decent 234 all out with two balls remaining, his undefeated 48 keeping the hosts in contention.

The visitors also made a steady start to their run-chase, but superb bowling from Ricky Hall – who snapped up 4-3 in his four overs - saw Darlington slip from 91-3 to 123 all out in just 25.5 overs. The star bowler in the early overs was Tom Steyert with 3-49.

Morris said: “It was really pleasing to finally get over the line on Saturday and there was a huge feeling of relief amongst everyone.

"We played really well from start to finish with Tom and Lew getting us off to a great start and then James holding the inning a together with an excellent 51, along with contributions from myself and a superb 48 not out from Charlie Parker on his first team debut.

"Charlie’s a great lad with a lot of ability so all the lads were buzzing to see him do so well. Him and Woody’s partnership of 50 odd was crucial in getting us up to 234 because when they came together we’d lost a couple of quick wickets and the game was pretty well in the balance.

"In the second half we bowled really well and managed to take wickets regularly throughout.

“However the most pleasing aspect was that we got into a position of strength, which we’ve done several times this season and then we were able to take advantage of that and not let them back into the game.

“Hopefully we can take plenty of confidence into the last couple of games and play with lots of enjoyment and positivity and see where we can end up.”