Marton came to Hartlepool as one of the early season league leaders with a mixture of youth and experience. It proved too much for the home team as the batting faltered in almost perfect conditions.
Lee Hodgson with 3 wickets was the most successful bowler on the day as Hartlepool adopted an overly cautious approach which saw them go from 120 for 2 after 39 overs to 178 for 8 after 50 overs. Mark Symington fell one short of a half-century but was never able to push the rate along. Marton were content to keep it tight as a flurry of run outs saw the wickets tumble in the latter overs.
To compound a bad day with the bat the Hartlepool bowlers then proceded to spray it around as Marton raced to the total in only 33.4 overs with Chris Lane 83 not out dominating the reply to secure an easy 20 points. A day to forget for Hartlepool.

Down at Redcar Peter Rhoden survived one chance when 40 to go on and post a personal best with 134 in a massive total for the seconds. Hashin Ahmad with a half century and Chris Buttery with 30 took Hartlepool to 270 before dismissing Redcar for 170 to pick up 20 points. Rhoden and Ahmad dominating the match as they also took 4 wickets each.

So back to the drawing board for the 1sts and perhaps an opportunity for Peter Rhoden to finally step up and show that he has the appetite for Premier League with both bat and ball. It is a big gap between Division 2 and Premier League but players are going to have to make the transition and take on the challenge offered by bowlers if the season's good start is not to be wasted.
Hartlepool v Marton Redcar 2nds v Hartlepool 2nds