COUNTY PRESS ARTICLES

Title for Northwood

[b]NORTHWOOD claimed the Harwoods Renault Indoor League Division 2 title at Ryde Sports Centre last Sunday, with an unexpectedly easy victory over third-placed Ryde Cavaliers Nomads.
Northwood, knowing defeat would hand the trophy to GKN II, took to the field determined not to slip up at the last hurdle. Sharp fielding quickly had Nomads in trouble and, despite a rear-guard action by last man Simon Bligh (22), the Nomads never recovered from four run-outs and were all out for just 58.
With little pressure on the batsmen, Northwood captain Gavin Paddock (30 not out) steered his team home in just 4.5 overs.

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Division 2 title in Northwood's grasp

NORTHWOOD moved one step closer to claiming the Harwoods Renault Indoor League Division 2 title at Ryde Sports Centre last Sunday, with a mauling of St Helens II.
Anxious to improve their run-rate in case of a slip-up, Northwood batted first and racked up 164-2 (Gavin Paddock 33 not out, Dave Neal 25 not out, Ashley Goldsmith 25 not out), a total St Helens never looked like chasing down, the innings drifting to 95-4 (Scott Wright 37 not out).

Northwood on course for title

NORTHWOOD remain in pole position in Division 2 of the Harwoods Renault Indoor League after a routine win over IW Health Associates.
With Division 1 completed, the focus now was on the title run-in at Ryde Sports Centre last Sunday.
Batting first, Northwood's Gavin Paddock (47) and Ashley Goldsmith (27 not out) were the top scorers as they posted 135-4, and after the same players restricted the Health Associates to just 16 from the first four overs, the result was never in doubt, the innings ending on 93-5.

In-form Brown is cut short by rampant Northwood.
NORTHWOOD maintained their hold on the lead of the first division of the Harwoods Renault IW league with a seven-wicket win over St Helens last weekend.
In a low-scoring tie at Park Road, St Helens opened the batting and were restricted to 175-8, Simon Goldsmith leading the attack with a super-economical spell of nine overs, four maidens and three wickets for just nine runs.
Lee Brown, a key figure in St Helens's line-up was the big scalp and went for 47, caught by wicketkeeper Mark Whillier off Steve Allwood's bowling.
Darren Plumbley posted the second-highest score with 20.
Northwood, in reply, made a solid start with Matt Heelan back on form with 86, before being caught by Hadleigh Carkeet. Gavin Paddock's 31 not out was the next highest score as they reached the total with several overs, and wickets, to spare.
INTER-CLUB CLASH SEES EASY FIRST TEAM WIN
NORTHWOOD'S first team skittled their own club's second string for just 28 runs in the Harwoods Renault IW League, Division 1 last weekend.
Northwood I reached a total of 236 from their 50 overs, for the loss of just three wickets, with Mark Whillier opening the scoring and reaching the highest total of 69, before being caught by D. Parker from M. Tuckwell.
C. Williams reached 53 not out by the innings' end, although Ryan Chessell had to retire hurt on 11.
Northwood IIs could find no reply to the bowling attack of the first's, with Tuckwell and C. Saltzer managing to top score with only five runs each.
Nathan Goldsmith pegged the best bowling score on the day, bowling five overs with two maidens and five wickets for just ten runs.
Northwood take league crown with game to spare
WITH one game in hand, Northwood steamrollered Newport to take the Harwoods Renault IW League Division 1 title last weekend.
The side went into the game with a seven-point lead over nearest rivals Newport and knew they had to get 14 points more than them to win the league.
Stand-in skipper Steve Allwood won the toss and elected to bat on a track described as a road. However, a road it was not and some good bowling from Harry Dye and Louis Payne restricted Northwood to just 20-1 off the first 11 overs.
However, Matt Heelan and Chris Williams started to push the score along, with the innings at 73-1 after 20 overs. Matt Heelan exited for 30 but this paved the way for Gavin Paddock, who signalled his intent by smashing a six off his first ball. He and Williams built a great partnership, hitting 73 off nine overs.
Paddock was out for 48, leaving the score at 150-3 off 30.
Williams reached his 50 in just 43 balls, including seven fours and a six. Hard-hitting from Allwood yet again increased the run rate but he fell to Sam Richards, his second victim of the day, for 35.
The run rate was then dealt a blow as Mark Reading and Harry Dye both picked up a cheap wicket each, leaving Northwood 219-6 off 40.
However, Williams (90) and Simon Goldsmith (21) kept going and the side finished on 260-8. Harry Dye finished with figures of 4-25 off his nine overs, in an impressive display.
A positive start from the Newport opener, Roshan Dias, left Northwood rattled but two wickets from Andy Ball settled the nerves. Simon Goldsmith and Allwood then joined the party as wickets continued to tumble.
Allwood bowled tightly and he finished with 5-21, his third five-wicket haul of the season. Goldsmith ended on 3-17.
Dias top-scored for Newport, with 23, and Harry Dye scored 21. However, no pressure was ever put on Northwood and they won by a big margin of 163 runs.
VENTNOR made light work of Northwood to retain the Island Webservices Senior Cup, at Newclose, on Sunday.
Northwood, perhaps still nursing sore heads from the previous day's league title celebrations, batted first and were ripped apart by Ventnor's bowling supremos Nono Pongolo and David Beven. Pongolo took 5-22, while Beven finished with 4-24, as Northwood were all out for just 76.
The holders knew they were on to a winner when they dismissed both Nick and Matt Heelan for just 16 runs. Only former Ventnor player Chris Williams could offer any resistance, top-scoring with just 19.
In reply, Ventnor wasted no time in reaching the target, scoring the required runs within 20 overs and play finishing inside three hours.
Ventnor and Northwood reach cup final.
THE finalists for this year's Island Webservices Cup were decided on a blustery Sunday, with Ryde sensationally knocked out by Northwood, and Ventnor coasting past St Helens.
In a low-scoring match at Hardingshute, Ryde were put into bat firsst and made a fairly bright start, bowler Blair Granger opening for the hosts with 25. However, thanks to the bowling attack of Ashley and Simon Goldsmith, with two and three wickets respectively, Ryde were extremely restricted. Top scoring was M. Oatley, who was run out on 29, as Ryde were bowled out for 140.
In reply, Northwood made a positive start, Nick Heelan reaching 43 before being bowled by D. Gordon. Several Northwood wickets fell cheaply, Mark Whillier out for eight, and Gavin Paddock caught by Andy Day for just three. However, contributions from Chris Williams (22) and Simon Goldsmith (18), together with 33 extras, saw Northwood home for a four-wicket victory.
Big-hitting Northwood record another rout
NORTHWOOD were again the biggest hitters in Division 1 of the Harwoods Renault IW League when they demolished West Island, winning by 224 runs.
Matt Heelan had a lot to do with Northwood's impressive innings of 316-3, hitting 171 of the runs himself. Brother Nick contributed with 53, while C. Williams struck 55.
There was little West Island could do when Northwood's bowling attack went into overdrive, with father and son Simon and Nathan Goldsmith picking up five wickets between them and Steve Allwood recording figures of 4-15, as the visitors fell for just 92, Graeme Gosden top-scoring with 22.
Across the road, at Cowes Centurions, Northwood's second team recorded victory by six wickets in Division 2A. Economic bowling throughout the Northwood attack, including 1-9 from five overs from Deanna Childs, and 2-10 off eight overs for Steve Lewis, restricted Centurions to 135-6, Scott Rice top-scoring with 62.
Solid scoring from Chris Perfect and Chris Martens ensured victory for Northwood, Martens reaching his half century in hitting the winning runs.
Meanwhile, general all-round good batting from Northwood helped them to a staggering 193-run win over Whitecroft, who were skittled for just 53.
All but two of Northwood's batsmen scored double figures, with Simon Goldsmith scoring 46 and Steve Allwood scoring 36.
Northwood were dismissed for 246, W. Chamire, Marc Younghusband and Andy Potts all getting two wickets and M. Fuller gaining three.
Allwood had the best of the bowling for Northwood, and for the day, grabbing six wickets for just 32 runs off eight overs. R. Laing picked up the remaining four Whitecroft wickets at the expense of just 21 runs of his nine overs. Top scorer for Whitecroft was Duncan Jupe with 15.
NORTHWOOD TAKE THE HONOURS
SUNDAY saw the semi-finals and final of the Harwoods Renault Knockout Cup at Sandown with what turned out to be three exciting, close-fought games.
In the first semi, Ryde Cavaliers opened with a fine 158-4 against GKN, with main contributors being A. Johns, 46no, and M. Sully, 28. Bowling honours went to J. Bartlett, 2-42, and L. Ringer, 2-36.
GKN, in reply, fought hard all the way through with D. Ringer, 38, B. Wadmore, 29, L. Ringer, 23, all scoring well. But the mainstay was Paul Hopcroft.
Having been left with a mammoth task of being the only batsman left with quite a lot of runs needed, Hopcroft was eventually caught in the final over just short of the target, leaving GKN on 152 all out.
The second semi saw Northwood held to 115-5 in 12 overs, thanks mainly to Jon Goldsmith, 54no.
In reply, Ryde found Northwood far too strong and despite 24 from M. Oatley, ended on 52 all out.
Best of the bowling went to A. Harrison, 2-16, and S. Allwood, 2-10.
In the final, Ryde Cavaliers, in a tightly fought game, found runs hard to come by ending on 107-6, mainly due to A. Johns, 36, and S. Bligh, 35. Northwood passed this total with eight balls to spare with 112-3 (J. Goldsmith, 26no, M. Whillier, 21no, C. Higgins, 2-39).
Thanks were expressed to Ray Tolley, the indoor competition secretary, who is standing down due to work commitments after many years.
NORTHWOOD GAIN FIRST-EVER VICTORY.
THE INAUGURAL final for first round losers for the Fred Winter Memorial Plate, between North-wood II and Ventnor III, was a high-scoring match.
Northwood batted first and made a steady start against Malcolm White eight overs for only 17 runs and Sam Downer who took the first wicket of Dave Witcombe for 20.
John Barrett was joined by Graham Holder and they took the score to 100, before the latter was run out for 43.
Skipper John Zacardi, came in with the intention of upping the scoring rate and in five overs smashed 56 runs. When Barrett was bowled by James Buckley for an impressive 80, Steve Lewis joined Zacardi, who was bowled by Tom Friend.
Nathan Goldsmith and Lewis saw out the 40 overs to set Ventnor 263-4.
In reply Ventnor opened with Rueben Friend and Joe Cotton and they pushed the score along at four an over. After Cotton had gone, Downer went for nought.
Friend was joined by veteran Nigel Cox and they put together a patient stand of 50 when the former was caught at deep mid-off by Keiran Tomlinson for a good 54.
Needing quick runs Tom Friend perished, caught by Lewis off Zacardi's bowling for six, and Steven Williams struck three good boundaries before he also went bowled by Nathan Goldsmith for 15.
Meanwhile young Olly Turpin was accumulating some steady runs. Nigel Cox was run out for 51 but Ventnor eventually ran our of overs and finished on 223-6.
The trophies donated by F. W. Winter and Sons were presented by Keith Newbery, a friend of the Winter family, who were unable to attend. The winner's cup was presented to Zacardi who also won the man of the match trophy for his 56 runs and two wickets.

NORTHWOOD CLINCH TITLE
ALTHOUGH with still a week to go in the Harwoods Renault Indoor League, Division 2, Northwood A were celebrating after they clinched the title.
They knew before Sunday's game against Arreton that victory would be good enough and they did not disappoint.
The champions-elect batted first and scored 138-3 (M. West, 45no, J. Goldsmith, 40, S. Goldsmith, 25no) before holding Arreton to 77-3 (J. Cullingworth, 21).
SENIOR CUP GIVES DOUBLE VICTORY FOR NORTHWOOD
NORTHWOOD completed the Island double with a victory over Ventnor II in the Senior Cup final on Saturday.
The Cowes side, having already sewn up the Harwoods IW League title.
Aussie Grant Collins was man of the match at Newport after hitting a quickfire 55 and taking two wickets for the Cowes side.
Northwood's total of 198-8 was a good all-round effort with several batsman providing back up to Collins including Dave Curtis-Botting with 30.
In reply, Ventnor lost openers Elite Mabhena and Dave Bevan early.
Despite 44 from Kiwi Josh Nelson and an unbeaten 50 by Mark Price, the Steephill men finished 33 runs short of victory.
Mark West took three wickets for Northwood and Simon Goldsmith bowled his nine overs for a miserly ten runs.
Young Ashley Goldsmith deserves special mention for his work as scorer alongside Brian Carter while Willie Creighton and John Bowra were umpires.
Roly Ringer, chairman of the IW County Cricket Association, presented the trophies donated by RCT Trophies of Sandown.
As the league season draws to a close, the race for the coveted County Press awards is hotting up.
In the batting category, Brading's Lee Hailes has scored 14 points followed by Australians Grant Collins and Michael Dwyer, both of Northwood who are just one point behind. On 12 points is Ventnor's Elite Mabhena. The bowling award looks straightforward with another Northwood player, Simon Goldsmith having taken five five-wicket hauls this season.
NORTHWOOD START NEW SEASON
Tomorrow (Saturday) sees the start of the 2003 season for Northwood with their first match against Godshill.
This season looks to be very exciting for one of the oldest clubs on the Island (formed in 1842), as there is an increased fixture list, including 26 touring teams from the mainland.
The club has over the last few years increased cricket membership and this season sees the arrival of David Curtis-Botting from Plessey, an Island regular in 2002 as wicketkeeper and batsman. Also two Australians from Queensland will be playing, Michael Dwyer and Chris Hadley.
Along with IW off spinner Simon Goldsmith, who played his 100th Island senior game last year, Steve Allwood, captain and best all-rounder in the Island team in 2002, club stalwart Mark Whillier and the hard hitting Dave Witcomb, as well as up and coming younger players such as Andy Harrison, the 2003 season looks to be an exciting one.
The second team, under the captaincy of Gavin Paddock, will be bolstered by Aussie Grant Collins and an increase of younger players from the growing colts section. The club will be entering the new Evening League and has a full Sunday fixture list, the first game against Ryde this Sunday.
Anyone wishing to join the club please phone Jon Goldsmith on 821872, all ages and strengths are most welcome. The club will also be hosting a number of representative games during the season, including the Under-14 and 16 Youth festivals.
Also on Tuesday, August 5 there will be a game in aid of local charities between a Simon Goldsmith XI and a Chris Sketchley XI. The club will be wearing their new playing shirts provided by main club sponsor Premier Heating.
SENIOR CUP VICTORY FOR NORTHWOOD.
A SUPERB 85 not out from Australian Grant Collins guided Northwood to a five-wicket victory against Shanklin in the Harwoods Renault IW Senior Cup competition.
Earlier, the visitors had been dismissed for 175 with Mark Ringer top scoring on 41. Collins also starred with the ball, taking 3-23 and Simon Goldsmith also finished with 3-22.
NORTHWOOD and Plessey produced a real nailbiting finish to their Harwoods Renault IW League, Division 1 local derby.
In a low-scoring game, Northwood batted first and a fine half-century from Luke Abbott saw them through to 129 with only Steve Allwood and Jon Goldsmith reaching double figures. Stuart Walton was the pick of the Plessey bowlers with figures of 4-26 from ten overs.
A superb opening stand of 84 between Dave Curtis-Botting and Kerry Rice appeared to put Plessey in the driving seat. However, fine bowling from Greg Collins, 3-35, and Simon Goldsmith, 3-16, had the visitors tottering at 127-9 but they eventually squeezed through with eight balls remaining.
CLOSE FINISH IN DIV 1 CUP MATCH
THERE WAS a tense finish to the Harwoods Renault IW Senior Cup game between Northwood and Newport, where the latter won by just eight runs.
Batting first, the Cowes side at one stage were struggling at 32-5 but good knocks from M. West, 29, Steve Allwood, 46, Jon Goldsmith, 28 not out and brother Simon Goldsmith, 23, saw Northwood to 161.
Newport batted steadily but at 142-6 suddenly lost their last three wickets for 11 runs and finished on 153-9.

Northwood charge led by Witcomb.

A knock of 49 from Dave Witcomb proved to be a match winner as Northwood dented Shank-lin's hopes of retaining the Harwood's Renault IW League title.
Witcomb's innings contributed to a Northwood total of 147 that saw Robert Snell, Charlie Freeston and Mark Ringer each take three wickets. Shanklin then failed to reach three figures, being dismissed for 98 with Aussie Grant Collins claiming four wickets and Steve Allwood three.

A WHISPER OF GLORY FOR IW CRICKET HEROES
TWO of the Island's best-known cricket figures have been presented with awards by former West Indian Test star, Michael Holding.
Jon Goldsmith and Billy Sampson were guests of the England and Wales Cricket Board at the recent one-day international match between England and India at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Goldsmith, who has played for Northwood for many years and is a long-serving committee member, received a certificate for services to cricket.
Sampson, the coach of the successful Island disability team, was honoured for winning the Hampshire and IW award for outstanding coaching achievement.
He is one of 12 regional winners and in January will be a guest at the ECB gala dinner, where the coach of the year for the country will be revealed.
Sampson said: "We had a great day at The Rose Bowl and we enjoyed meeting Michael Holding.
"He has never been to the Island and was fascinated to hear about the great strides being made by the sport over here."

GOLDSMITHS WIN BATTLE OF BROTHERS
TWO sets of brothers dominated the only game played to a conclusion on Saturday in the Harwoods Renault IW League, Division 1 clash between champions Northwood and GKN.
Batting first, the Cowes side totalled 226 all out with Simon Goldsmith scoring a superb 104. Brother Jon weighed in with the next best of 29.
Top GKN bowler was Liam Ringer with 3-12. In reply, Liam's brother Darren led the charge with a fine 58 but it was not enough as GKN finished on 119-8 with Jon Goldsmith returning figures of 3-30.
GOLDEN NIGHT FOR GOLDSMITHS
NORTHWOOD A continued their fine run in Harwoods Indoor League, Division 2, beating fellow unbeaten side Niton in the top game of the evening.
Northwood hit 151-3 (Mark West 35 n/o, Jon Goldsmith 26 n/o, Simon Goldsmith 27 n/o). In reply, Niton found the competition much too hard and were bowled out for 43 with the best of the bowling going to Jon Goldsmith (2-12) and Simon Goldsmith (2-3).

Brothers score big to end Northwood's season on a high
A CENTURY opening partnership from brothers Matt and Nick Heelan, and a stunning bowling display from Nathan Goldsmith, steered Northwood to victory in the last week of the Harwoods Renault IW League, Division 1.
The duo posted 54 and 50 respectively in a low-scoring match against Ryde Cavaliers.
Only Chris Williams (21) and Simon Goldsmith (20) made any additional impact for the visitors as they were all out for 191.
However, a brilliant 6-22 from Nathan Goldsmith reduced Cavaliers to a measly 65 all out, Mick Bartlett the highest hitter with just 20. Simon Goldsmith (2-7) and Ashley Goldsmith (2-14) completed the wickets.
Leaders leave it late to win
LEADERS Northwood left it until the second-to-last ball to beat Newport in a low-scoring affair in Division 1 of the Harwoods Renault IW League.
Newport batted first and made 139-8, with low scores throughout until a knock of 30 from wicketkeeper Kev Winchcombe. Steve Allwood was the pick of Northwood's bowling attack with 3-22.
Newport made a bright start in their bowling, dismissing Matt Heelan for 15 then his brother, Nick, for 24. It was left to captain and wicketkeeper Mark Whillier to steady the ship with 47 not out as Northwood won the game by the narrowest of margins.
In Division 2A, the clash between Northwood II and Arreton was won by the former, by 60 runs.
Helped massively by a majestic 107 from Gavin Paddock and with good contributions from Chris Perfect, Mark Tuckwell and Steve Lewis, Northwood reached 266-6.
In reply, Arreton made a steady opening, with innings in the 30s for Ben Gregory, Ralph Abbott and K. Cooper. A valiant 57 from Carl Prean kept the run rate up but it was not enough as the side finished on 206-6.
GKN skittled in opener
NORTHWOOD recorded a massive victory over GKN in the first division of the Harwoods Renault IW League on Saturday.
Thanks in part to a knock of 125 from Matt Heelan and 31 from brother Nick, the hosts reached 263-9, Pete England the pick of the GKN bowlers with 4-39.
However, in reply Andy Ball and Simon Goldsmith were brutal in their bowling attack, recording figures of 4-20 and 5-7 respectively as GKN fell for just 55.
HAT TRICK HERO
WITH enthusiasm in buckets and talent in spades, the future looks bright for cricketer Ben Duggan.
Spending every spare minute practising both his batting and bowling, Ben aspires to be the next Kevin Pietersen or Freddie Flintoff.
And those hours perfecting his action paid off last week when, playing for Northwood's midweek league side, he picked up three wickets for just 22 runs. And all this aged just ten.
"He plays for the senior squad on Sundays when they are short of players and for the midweek league team. He also plays for the IW Prison Officers' team too," said Ben's dad Jason. "You can't keep him away from cricket."
In addition for playing for those three adult sides, Solent Middle School pupil Ben also plays for the IWCB under-tens squad and is the opening batsman for Northwood's under-11, under-13 and under-15 teams.
"So far he's already taken about 20 wickets this season," said Jason, who has returned to playing himself, since Ben took up the sport aged eight. "And he loves to bat, he just wants to be the best all-rounder he can be."
Northwood carried on their title challenge with a comfortable win, passing Godshill's 85-4 without loss (Gavin Paddock 28 not out).