Records tumbled on Saturday as Whitley Bay thumped ORP in emphatic style. Whitley's captain, Sean Took, won the toss and decided to bat in the sunshine but with rain clouds looming the match was reduced to a 40 over affair. Batting star Uzair Afaq opened the innings with John Douglas and set the tone from the first ball, despatching a short delivery for a boundary in front of square on the leg side. A flood of boundaries followed, both openers keeping pace with each other into the mid twenties
Afaq, former first class all-rounder of Karachi and PIA, began to pick up the pace smashing fours and sixes at will as a dejected ORP attack began to crumble under the weight of runs the Whitley pair were amassing. Both openers grew in confidence each passing fifty as the field spread to protect the ropes.
This did not deter Afaq who launched a blistering attack to bring up his first century of the season.
He continued in fine style to pass the club record for an individual first team score previously held by Nicky Boje of South Africa, then passing 150 with yet another maximum. Nursing a lower back strain Afaq went for one big shot too many and was caught having made 152 in less than 30 overs. Whitley's first wicket going down with the score at 242.
A mini collapse followed with Garry Benns out cheaply playing on, and the experienced all rounder Ivan Pearson caught in the gully having played a couple of classy looking shots. Left hander James Morton joined Douglas at the crease to restore the Whitley advantage, both players pushing the ball into gaps with relative ease.
Having anchored the innings Douglas eventually brought up his maiden hundred in the penultimate over piercing the off side field to find the boundary with consecutive balls.
Morton was dismissed shortly afterwards having made 21 of just 20 balls and taken Whitley passed their highest first team total of 271 for four. Simon Moody joined the Centurian at the crease and was still there at the end.
Douglas however found the fielder with the last ball of the innings but with the Seasiders' total at 317 it would be of little importance. Skipper Took looked to his new ball bowlers, Mark Ewen and Chris Mason, for early wickets.
However after just one over from Ewen the heavens opened and the players were forced to leave the field. Play eventually resumed but the weather lurked ominously around the HCG. Mason and Ewen responded in the best possible way taking wickets at regular intervals.
With wickets tumbling, ORP looked to the heavens but the result never looked in doubt as rangey paceman Ewen blasted out the ORP batsman ending the day with six wickets for only nine runs including a superb hat-trick.
Mason too lent his support taking the remaining three wickets in his tidy spell. Morton and Took bowled a solitary over each as the Ewen claimed the final wicket with the rain falling.-PR
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