County Cup Giant-Killing: The Main Stun Newcastle City

Percy Main produced one of the great cup upsets on Monday evening, knocking out Newcastle City CC — a side whose first XI play five divisions above them in the NEPL Division 1 — in a pulsating Bobby Smithson County Cup tie at The Main. Chasing 164 in the T20 format, an electrifying 63 from just 27 balls by Anshad Pulayakalathil set up a three-wicket victory with five balls to spare, sparking wild celebrations.

Newcastle City Innings: McGhee and Dance Lead the Fight

Newcastle City won the toss and elected to bat on a muggy, overcast evening with a stiff westerly breeze blowing across the ground. Captain Alex Young opened the bowling but it was Nick Dodds who struck first, clean bowling Ehsan Mukhtar in the third over to get The Main on the board at 21 for 1.

The game's real turning point with the ball came in the sixth over. Max McGhee, introduced into the attack, produced a magnificent double-wicket maiden — bowling Sandeep Padmalaya for 16 and then having Sami Chaudhary stumped by Josh Jee for 6. From 33 for 1, Newcastle City were suddenly 34 for 3 and reeling.

Vedaant Gaggar and Shafeeque Seman counter-attacked brilliantly to rebuild the innings. Gaggar carved 37 from 25 balls with five crisp boundaries, while Seman was even more explosive — his 33 from 21 deliveries included two enormous sixes off Alex Young in the 11th over and another off McGhee. Together they added 54 for the fourth wicket before McGhee returned to have Seman stumped, ending a partnership that had threatened to take the game away.

James Dance then delivered a stunning double-strike in the 18th over, removing Ahmad Safi Abdullah and Hamzah Amin with consecutive deliveries to leave City wobbling at 154 for 7. John Allan chipped in with the wicket of Moiz Hussain soon after, and Sam Rathbone claimed the important scalp of Gaggar in the 16th over. Mohsin Mukhtar held things together for the visitors with an unbeaten 32 from 26 balls, but City's total of 163 for 8 — while competitive — felt just about chaseable on a good batting surface.

Pick of the bowlers: Max McGhee with a superb 3 for 25 from his four overs, and James Dance with 2 for 31. Nick Dodds (1-20), John Allan (1-13) and Sam Rathbone (1-26) all contributed in a disciplined team bowling display.

The Chase: Anshad's Fireworks Light Up The Main

If the first innings had been about graft and smart bowling, the second was about one man taking a cup tie by the scruff of the neck. Anshad Pulayakalathil walked in at 21 for 1 after John Allan's brisk 12 (8 balls) was cut short, and proceeded to play an innings that will live long in the memory of everyone who witnessed it.

His 63 came off just 27 deliveries — a strike rate of 233 — and featured seven fours and four towering sixes. The assault truly ignited in the seventh over of the chase, when he took Mohsin Mukhtar for four consecutive boundaries. He followed that by launching Abid Mukhtar for a massive six, and then in Vedaant Gaggar's first over, he carted consecutive sixes that sent murmurs of belief rippling through the home support.

Alongside him, Max McGhee played the perfect supporting hand. Fresh from his heroics with the ball, McGhee compiled a measured 24 from 25 balls with four fours, rotating the strike and letting Anshad cut loose. The pair added 87 for the second wicket, taking Percy Main from a slightly nervy 21 for 1 to a commanding 108 for 2, and the impossible was suddenly, thrillingly, within reach.

But T20 cricket rarely runs smooth, and when Anshad was trapped lbw by Ahmad Safi Abdullah for 63, it triggered a wobble. Liam Campbell (8), Harihara Subramanian (9) and Steven Knight (8) all came and went — Subramanian bowled by Ehsan Mukhtar, Knight caught behind off the same bowler in the same over — and from 108 for 2, The Main had slipped to 140 for 6. The nerves around the ground were palpable.

Dodds and Young Seal the Deal

When Harihara Subramanian and Steven Knight fell in the space of three deliveries in Ehsan Mukhtar's fourth over, the scoreboard read 140 for 6 and the chase was wobbling. Nick Dodds, who had arrived at the fall of the fifth wicket, was now joined by Alex Young with 24 still needed and only four wickets in hand.

What followed was a high-class display of calm heads and clean striking from the lower order. Young was off the mark straight away, nudging a single from his very first ball, and the pair quickly settled into their work. The defining over came from Abid Mukhtar in the 17th: Young cracked a glorious boundary off the second delivery to release the pressure, then turned the strike over with a smart single. Dodds took centre stage from there, launching two scorching fours in the same over — one through the off side and another dispatched with real authority — to plunder 14 from the set and all but break the back of the chase.

Young's aggression between the wickets was just as important as his boundary. In the 18th over he pushed hard to turn a single into two, hustling back for a sharp second that kept the scoreboard moving and the fielders under the pump. He fell shortly afterwards, caught off Omar Ahmed for a spirited 8 from 6 balls, but by then he and Dodds had added a quickfire 18 together and tilted the game firmly back in Percy Main's favour.

Josh Jee then entered the fray and announced himself with a crisp boundary from the final ball of the 18th over, taking the equation to just 4 needed from the last. And fittingly, it was Dodds who applied the finishing touch: a crushing four off the first ball of the 19th over to seal a three-wicket win. His unbeaten 14 from only 6 deliveries — three boundaries, all struck in the death overs — was a masterclass in finishing under pressure.

A Night to Remember

This was a proper cup tie — drama, momentum shifts, individual brilliance, and a raucous home crowd urging every run. To beat a club of Newcastle City's stature, with players drawn from the upper reaches of the North East pyramid, is a monumental achievement for this group. Max McGhee's all-round contribution (3-25 and 24), Anshad's breathtaking knock, and Nick Dodds' ice-cool finish were the standout moments, but every single player contributed to a famous night at The Main.

The Main march on in the Bobby Smithson County Cup. Whoever comes next, they have been warned.