Wet weather casts doubt on Ashington Cricket Club clash with Tynemouth

Recent pictures showed the Langwell Crescent ground resembling more of a lake and although McCafferty says the surface water has gone, he reckons dry weather between now and Saturday is a must for the clash to have any chance of going ahead.

Speaking on Tuesday night, McCafferty said: “It’s not quite cricketing weather yet and we are struggling for Saturday. For us to have any chance, it needs to remain dry with no more rain.”

Jeremiah ‘Chilly’ Louis is returning to play a second season for ‘The Mighty Acorns’ after a successful campaign last year – and will arrive in good form.

“Chilly’s season with the Leeward Islands has just finished and he has done really well,” added McCafferty,

“He has been in good form with the ball being amongst the leading wicket takers in the league and we can’t wait to see him again.”

Ashington have lost the services of Ben O’Brien and Mitchell Killeen and McCafferty says the club are looking for a combination of the experienced players to step up and the younger lads to continue with their development.

“We’ve just had a chat after training tonight,” said McCafferty, “Last year, we weren’t far away from second place in the Premier League with a few weeks remaining yet a lot of our lads didn’t really hit their full potential with the bat.

"Consequently, we’re looking for the more experienced lads to take on a little bit more responsibility and step up to try and fill the void left by Ben (O’Brien) and Mitchell (Killeen) whilst we are also looking for the youngsters to progress and develop into first team cricketers,” he said.

Meanwhile Josh Robinson will again lead Ashington seconds who take on Tynemouth seconds at Preston Avenue.

Saturday’s matches are both scheduled to start at noon.