Following on from my previous blog post on my top five cricket grounds in the country,  I now take a look at my five favourite grounds in the North East which I have visited last season.

Middleton in Teesdale Cricket Club 

I have visited Middleton in Teesdale Cricket Club on two occasions, the first was in 2014 when Durham Under 15s were playing Cumbria Under 15s (my brother was playing this day) and last season when Durham Under 15s girls were taking on Lancashire Under 15s girls.

I find it hard to believe this ground is actually in County Durham, it really doesn’t seem like a cricket ground in Durham. Mainly due to the drive and the location, you are hidden away at the top of some hills.

The location is fantastic, Middleton in Teesdale is a very nice little village and the cricket field is adjacent to a primary school. The field and wickets are outstanding and this is mainly down to their fantastic groundsman and his team, the work they contribute to making sure the ground is looking fit and well really does show.

It is also different to the normal grounds I visit when travelling around the North East Premier League, one toilet, no bar and an old fashioned scoreboard. Just a typical village cricket ground.

South Northumberland 

South Northumberland is a club cricket ground like no other. I think you will struggle to find another ground across the country with facilities like the Gosforth club. The ground  backs onto the affluent Gosforth High Street and is close to Newcastle City centre.

Having it’s own indoor cricket centre, really does tell you what the facilities at South Northumberland must be like, with an up to date and classy bar you would really enjoy a day watching cricket at Gosforth.

The ground is known for it’s “road” of a wicket and there isn’t much of a surprise to see the captain who wins the toss likely to bat first. In the past, Durham County Cricket Club have also played Royal London One Day cricket here along with Durham 2XI and Northumberland minor counties playing at South Northumberland.

 

 

Eppleton Cricket Club

Despite this being my home club, and a ground which I spend most of my summer at, I particularly like Eppleton Cricket Club. The Church Road Ground is located in Hetton le Hole and is close to Houghton le Spring.

The ground offers lots of seating for spectators and this is something which I very much enjoy about Eppleton. Not many other grounds in the county have as many seats as Eppleton, which means you are guaranteed to find a good spot in the ground. On a hot summers day, visiting Eppleton is a must to watch a game of cricket, if you sit on the back row you will definitely catch a tan.

Whenever you come to Eppleton, there is quite often lots of runs scored, some Saturday’s almost 500 runs are scored. A highlight at Eppleton was back in 2014 when they chased down 340 to win against Newcastle in the Banks Salver.

The Racecourse Ground

What can’t you like about a cricket ground located in the historic city of Durham. The Racecourse Ground is one of my favourite grounds in Durham, and is situated in a perfect location. The ground is home to Durham University MCCU side who play their home games here, while Durham first class team have also played at the ground between 1992 and 1994.

The ground looks onto the riverbanks in Durham and you often see rowers paddling down the river during a game of cricket. The ground is surrounded by trees and grass hills and really is a nice place to watch a game of cricket during the summer months. The   cathedral in the distance is also nice to check out while on a lap around the field.

My first visit to the Racecourse Ground was in 2013 during the Bunbury Cricket Festival where I watched the North under 15s take on the Midlands under 15s.

Last year I also returned to the Racecourse ground to score my first MCCU game of cricket, Durham MCCU v Southampton Solvent MCCU. I scored for Southampton Solvent who were comfortable winners.

Newcastle Cricket Club

The final ground on my top five in the North East cricket grounds in Newcastle cricket club in Jesmond. For those of you not from the North East of England, Jesmond is a very nice part of Newcastle. I do like going to Newcastle for the cricket, and there was a great atmosphere when Eppleton played Newcastle two seasons ago in the NEPL T20 competition.  The wicket is also known to a be a road, so there is often lots of runs scored at Jesmond. As Eppleton scorer I visit Jesmond at least once a year, last year I scored Durham Under 17s against Newcastle Royal Grammar School and the game was abandoned due to snow!

I hope you all enjoyed reading my post on my five favourite North East grounds which I’ve visited as a scorer.  If you have a favourite North East ground please comment below. I would love to read them.