PLAYING their first home game of the season - the previous two having been rained off - Dolgellau defeated Northop by 26 runs in the North Wales Cricket League division one last weekend.

There were two stand out innings as Mark Edmondson hit 66 for Dolgellau in their total of 175 for 6, while opener Tom Blackwell made 74 for the visitors as they finished on 149 for 9 in reply.

The start of the match was delayed by 90 minutes due to rain and was therefore reduced to 37 overs a side, bowlers being restricted to 9 overs each.

Northop captain Mark Poynton won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the hosts to bat first, hoping for some bowling assistance from the wet conditions.

Openers Gareth Lanagan and Stuart Evans had a steady, watchful, in the first few overs scoring 36 off 12 in the face of some tidy bowling from Andy Poynton and Tom Blackwell.

On that total both were sent back to the pavilion, Lanagan chased a wide delivery only to see it settling in the hands of David Foulkes at backward point, in the first over of first change bowler Liam Moores. Evans was then caught in the slips by Harry Lewis off Blackwell for 15, Lanagan going for 13.

Two wickets also went down with the score on 48.

In the 17th over Gethin Edwards played on to Moores for 8 and in the 18th Sion Francis was adjudged lbw to Moores leaving it 48 for 4.

Mark Edmondson joined number four batsman Phil Leeds, and slowly but surely they began to dominate the bowling with a stand of exactly 100 for the fifth wicket, in just 13 overs.

Edmondson struck 66 from only 44 balls, plundering 8 fours and a six in his hard hitting knock, before falling to a well taken catch on the boundary by Matt Williams off Andy Poynton.

Dolgellau lost two wickets on 36, two wickets on 48 and also two wickets on 148!

Following Edmondson’s dismissal, the very next ball, Leeds, having crossed, hit the ball straight and hard back towards the bowler who took a spectacular one--handed diving catch to get Leeds out for 34, 6 fours.

Twenty-seven more runs were added from the last six overs for the loss of three wickets. Sam Williams scored 14 from 18 balls, caught by Harry Lewis off Mark Poynton; Jonny Harrison was well caught and bowled by Blackwell and skipper Rob Humphreys batting down at number nine, was bowled by Mark Poynton, as he attempted an audacious clip off his legs.

Richard Rees and John Paul Humphreys were the not out batsmen as Dolgellau closed on 175 for 9.

Four Northop bowlers shared the wickets; Moores had 3 for 53, Blackwell 2 for 33, Mark Poynton 2 for 37 and Andy Poynton 2 for 42.

Northop lost their first wicket at 15 in the 5th over, Harry Lewis being caught by Gethin Edwards from Edmondson’s bowling.

Fifteen runs later number three Matt Williams went to a brilliant catch by Sam Williams in the slips, holding on to the ball above his head as it came to him quickly off the edge of the bat, for Edmondson’s second wicket.

Opener Tom Blackwell was then joined by David Foulkes and together they put on 42 until Foulkes, 11, was caught by Sion Francis at first slip in spinner Gethin Edwards’ first over. It was then 72 for 3, but 21 overs had been used up, meaning the visitors needed 104 runs from 16 overs to win.

As Blackwell batted well at one end, wickets continued to fall at the other. It became 80 for 5; James Roberts was stumped by Humphreys as Edwards beat him in the flight, and Mark Poynton went the next ball caught in the slips by Francis.

Andy Poynton made 14 out of a stand of 40 fwith Blackwell who in the meantime had reached an excellent half century. Leeds ended the partnership by bowling Poynton, and then three wickets went down for 7 runs to make it 133 for 9, with three overs left.

Moores was caught and bowled by Edmondson and Blackwell’s fine stay in the middle ended on 74 when he was bowled to give Edmondson a 4th wicket.

Blackwell hit 7 boundaries scoring his 74 from 114 deliveries. Matt Price was the last wicket to fall run out by Stuart Evans, thereafter Danny Nicholson and Tom Sudder added a further 16 runs before the overs ran out, both batsmen ending on 7 not out - and the innings finishing on 149 for 9.

Mark Edmondson completed his man of the match performance with 4 for 33 from his 9 overs to go with his 66 runs. Edwards bowled well taking 3 for 29 from 9 and Leeds claimed 1 for 42, also from 9 overs. Dolgellau earned 12 points for their 26 run victory, while Nortop take 3 points.

Dolgellau will travel to play Chirk on Saturday.