Durham Women played their final game of the season at Boldon CC knowing they had to win to clinch promotion to Division three of the LV=CC Womens County Championships.
Durham needed to win the game and secure a maximum of 15 points to be crowned champions.
Hertfordshire won the toss and decided to bat on a very windy day and following the heavy rain of the previous day. Jane Riddell set the tone for the game by bowling her 10 overs for 10 runs and taking 4 wickets.
She was ably supported at the other end by Lucy Pringle 4-2-4-2 and Caroline Jamieson 10-4-20-1. Lynn McDonnell took over from Riddell to keep the runs down with figures of 5-1-8-1. The bowlers were supported by some close catches taken by Catherine Chapman which saw the Hertfordshire team all out for 47.
Having taken their 4 bowling points the batters knew they had ample time to secure the batting point they needed. Early wickets for Hertfordshire saw Hayley Falla and Catherine Chapman come to the crease to finish off the game. Falla (20*) Chapman (15*) saw the team through to finish on 48-3 and pick up 2 bowling points.
The team is now promoted to Division three of the Women’s County Championships and will be playing against Devon, Wales, Staffordshire, Lancashire and either Worcestershire or Scotland.
The management team for the Womens squad were delighted with the performances of the team and the manner in which they played throughout the season. A fantastic team spirit was the basis of the season and with the second goal of winning more games in 2011 it naturally followed that the final goal of promotion was achieved.
Personal achievements during the season saw Jane Riddell as the leading wicket taker (28) in the Country, Catherine Chapman finish with a batting average of 60 as well as taking 10 catches and Hayley Falla in her first year as captain achieve promotion.
The U17 girls have finished second in division two of the North, covering teams from as far North as Scotland down to Staffordshire and Leicestershire.
It is a difficult time for the girls to play cricket during their exams but the team has completed 5 of the 6 games possible.
Personal performances from Laura Ellison (85), Rachel Petherick (42) and Beth Webb (40) with the bat saw the Durham girls win four of their games while they were supported by the bowling of Rachel Hook, taking wickets in all but one of the games played.
The difference between winning and being runners up came down to 0.2 of a point.
The U15 girls also finished second in their division, after Yorkshire claimed the title, winning four of their 8 games.
Exceptional bowling performances throughout the season from Athena Fernyhough 8-2, 7-5, 8-2 and 13-2 and Emily Sampson-Barnes 32-2, 6-5, 3-1 and 6-3 shows the improvement the girls have made and the hard work they have done during the winter. Rachel Petherick supported the bowlers with batting performances of 55* and 27.
Durham Cricket Board would like to thank the women, girls and their parents for their support throughout the season. The squads could not perform throughout the year without the support of the team managers Paul Carrick (U17), Andrew Burgess (U15), Nikki Dodds (Women) and the coaches Darren Brown (U15/17), Pauline Peel (Women). A final thank you must go to all of the local clubs who hosted County matches and the umpires who officiated on the day.