Hartlepool arrived at Park Drive on the back of three consecutive wins in the league against a Normanby Hall team who are battling hard in the face of adversity this season.  The Normanby club have been forced into playing all of their matches away from their Cricket Lane home because ground renovation work was seriously hampered by the downpours and floods last autumn.  The ground is now recovering but sadly the playing surface will not be ready for cricket during 2013 so the club's players are leading a nomadic life around the grounds of the NYSD League.

Hartlepool showed little sympathy for their oppent's plight by inflicting a heavy defeat up them.  Jon Rickard and Neil Coverdale built steadily and were just beginning to push ahead when Coverdale was adjudged LBW from the bowling of Tom Crown when reaching 35.  Jack Wilkinson also was adjudged LBW against Leigh Beaumont when many felt the ball looked to be too high.  There were no other shocks as Craig Symington joined Rickard in an attacking partnership that pushed the scoring rate above the 4 runs per over target.  Rickard displayed some powerful straight drives and excellent placement as the fielders retreated into the deep in an attempt to restrict the scoring.  Craig Symington was in audacious form with excellent placement and good running combining with innovative strokeplay, none better than the reverse sweep in the penultimate over. 

Rickard carried his bat for 92 not out and Symington fell off the final ball of the innings sacrifing his wicket in an attempt to push the total on and just failing to record what would have been an excellent half century.

Normanby Hall faced an uphill task to overhaul the 204 and faced a hostile spell from Callum Prosser and Marc Symington to demonstrate that Hartlepool were going for the kill.  After surviving that initial attack Normanby began to play some expansive drives but Marc Symington with 5 for 32, 2 wickets for Anthony Fawcett, returning from injury, 2 for Chris Smith and 1 for Rickard ensured that Hartlepool forced the win as the visitors were 99 all out.  Normanby took only 2 points from the match as they dropped into the bottom two with other results going against them this weekend.

When these two teams meet again the match will be hosted by Redcar

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