ECB U17 Championship Hunts U17 (211-7) beat Northumberland U17 (194) on first innings Hunts – 16pts N land – 4pts A MAGNIFICENT innings of 93 from Godmanchester batsman Wayne Bradley steered his side to an impressive victory. This match was played at B

ECB U17 Championship

Hunts U17 (211-7) beat Northumberland U17 (194) on first innings

Hunts - 16pts N'land - 4pts

A MAGNIFICENT innings of 93 from Godmanchester batsman Wayne Bradley steered his side to an impressive victory.

This match was played at Benwell Hill Cricket Club in Newcastle over two days and Huntingdonshire made a good start in the field.

Charlie Kearns was the top bowler for the visitors, returning best-ever figures of 4-31 from 15 overs as Northumberland were restricted to 194 all out.

The home side had won the toss and elected to bat under heavy skies and were soon in trouble at 31-3 as Kearns and Mohammed Qadeer rattled early wickets.

Ramanpreet Singh, 32, batted well for the hosts as the middle-order restored some respectability in moving to 83-5, but once he was out, more wickets fell.

Only a late rally with the home side at 130-8 saved the innings with Matthew Brown and James Craigs adding important runs - their 50 partnership was the best of the innings.

Qadeer finished with 3-22, while Samuel Matcham and James Sykes were also among the wickets.

Hunts will have been pleased with their fielding, which saw seven catches held and seven wickets go to pace bowlers.

The visiting reply began in gloomy light, but Hunts had reached 82-3 by the close with skipper Michael Cafferkey anchoring the innings despite not being at his best.

Generally, the home bowlers struggled to make an impact, though off-spinner Tom Cant kept one end tied up with six consecutive maidens.

Cafferkey was eventually out for 40 on day two after a patient innings that included a fourth wicket stand of 73 with Bradley. Bradley then went on to dominate the innings before falling just seven runs short of what would have been a deserved century.

Rain eventually brought a halt to proceedings with Kumail Khaki on 14 not out as Hunts looked to secure a third batting point.

For the home side, Joe Mills was the most consistent bowlers, claiming 3-50 from his 15 overs.

Eventually the match did end prematurely when the Tyneside weather set in during early afternoon on the second day but by then, Hunts had a 17-run lead on first innings with three wickets in hand.

Hunts have made a fine start to this season's campaign by defeating Northumberland and Shropshire - last season's two relegated sides. Their successive away wins have seen them climb to second in the table.