After being frustrated by the early season weather and condition of The Harraton Ground, Washington finally got underway for the 2016 season, away to Blaydon. Washington was forced into several changes in their line-up, with the loss of key players Martin Hubber and Melvyn Betts who returned to Sacriston and opening batter Matthew Potts to the Durham Academy, with injuries keeping Stephen Cuthbertson and Adam Randall out of selection.

Skipper Ash Thorpe worked incredibly hard to keep the club competitive over the winter and has brought some real quality players into the club. 5 new signings in all made their debuts on Saturday: All-rounders Josh Wilson from Chester-Le-Street, Graeme Race from Benwell Hill and former Chester-Le-Street wicket-keeper David Wilson out of retirement to play. Completing 4 & 5, Durham and Scotland international Gavin Main and opening batsman and young gun Adam Khan, from Annfield Plain.

Eventually, after a few hours of waiting for the ground to dry, we finally got underway at 15:45 in bright and sunny conditions, on a very soft wicket.

Due to the soft nature of the wicket, Blaydon captain Mark Drake after winning the toss had no hesitation inserting Washington to bat. Due to time lost Washington had 26 overs to set a score while Blaydon would have 23 in reply.

Given the unusual over split, Washington sent in regular opener Daniel Anderson and usual middle order batter Joe Thompson, to open the innings. Washington got off to a very slow start with the score at 24-2 in the eighth over, after the dismissals of Joe Thompson, for an 8 ball duck and debutant Josh Wilson, 8 off 13 balls. 7 overs later, Washington lost their third wicket, this time, overseas player Trent Mais, being dismissed scoring 9 off 20 balls, leaving Washington 51-3 after 14.4 overs.

His wicket brought skipper Ash Thorpe to the crease, which in turn completely changed the game. With some seriously good stroke play from Daniel Anderson and some serious hitting from Thorpe, the pair managed to increase the run rate nicely, at one stage Thorpe launching 4 sixes in 5 balls. The pair put together a strong partnership of 60, before Thorpe was caught in the deep after blitzing a quick-fire 38 off 18 balls, leaving Washington 111-4 with 5 overs to go, putting them in a good position to kick on and get a big score.

Two useful cameos from Andrew Ebdale scoring 17 from 13 balls and Graeme Race scoring 14 from 15 balls put Washington in a very strong position, posting 150-6 off their 26 overs. The standout performer in the innings was Daniel Anderson, with the 19-year-old scoring 54 off 74 balls with a very solid and professional innings. The standout bowler for Blaydon was Gary Stewart, grabbing 2 wickets for 27 runs from his 6 overs including 1 maiden.

Blaydon started their innings knowing they needed to score quickly to chase down the 151 they had been set within their 23 overs. The reply got off to a very similar start with Blaydon finding themselves 34-2 after 10.1 overs after the dismissals of Geoff Stewart, 15 off 25 balls and Paul Underwood 15 off 29 balls, both being dismissed by Durham and Scotland seamer Gavin Main.

Blaydon were then 37-4 after two quick-fire wickets, with Mark Watson dismissing Joseph Reynolds for a duck and then Josh Wilson dismissing Ray Marshall for 12, his first wicket for his new club. Wilson picked up another 2 wickets, and the hosts settled in to negotiate the last few overs ensuring a draw, with the only other batter making double figures, Philip Miller scoring 13 off 25 balls.

Blaydon finished on 64-6 after their 23 overs, leaving Washington feeling slightly frustrated not to have a few more overs to potentially push for a win. The stand out bowler for Washington was debutant Josh Wilson, the youngster picking up 3 wickets for 20 runs in his 6 overs including 2 maidens. A winning draw was the result picking up 12 points, while Blaydon took away 7 points.

Spotlight Session:

Stat Of The Day: Washington had 5 players on debut.

Shot Of The Day: A superb reverse sweep from skipper Ash Thorpe was arguably the shot of the day, in his explosive 38 run innings off just 18 balls. It had Fred Guy talking the Washington faithful through it back at the club. To impress Fred it's worth a mention!

Catch Of The Day: This one goes to Andrew Ebdale after he took a great one-handed catch at bat pat to dismiss Grant Nicholson off the bowling of Josh Wilson.

Delivery Of The Day: A Mark Watson leg cutter that moved as much as a Shane Warne leg-break.

Man Of The Match: With a score of 54 runs from 74 balls on a very bowler wicket this goes to opening batter Daniel Anderson, for his brilliant knock which was the foundation of the Washington innings.

Captain's Corner: "I was delighted to get the season going and in hindsight the delayed start was a blessing as the new lads got to know not only their new team mates but also the travelling away contingent. Dan picked up where he left off last year and played superbly to set a platform for the other players to work with him. Personally, it was nice to spend some time on the grass rather than net practice. Gavin Main and Graeme Race seemed to form a new ball partnership straight away and Josh Wilson adds a new dimension to the attack with his attacking off spin. Overall, to pick up 12 points out of a game that was impossible to win after losing the toss was a really positive result and reflective of the intent we played with." Ash Thorpe.

That’s all for this week’s match report. Come back again next week for next week’s match report when Washington take on Brandon at The Harraton Ground next Saturday.

Match Report was written by Michael Thorpe