Alan Tebbett and Harry Henderson came out on top at Park Drive on Monday (26 August) in the annual Ian Jackson Memorial Double Wicket Competition.

Every year cricketers come together to remember the Hartlepool Cricket Club favourite who sadly passed away in 2016, aged 47.

Thirty-two players competed in pairs with games of two overs per side apart from the final which was four overs per side.

Participants included several 1st team players including captain Gareth Shaw, Matthew Adamson, Harry Wiles and Ian Jackson’s son Max who is also a member of Durham Academy.

In a keenly contested final, club stalwart Alan Tebbett and Harry Henderson just edged out Jake Richardson and Matthew Guffick.

Batting first, Richardson and Guffick posted 25 runs but had 6 runs deducted after Tebbett claimed a wicket. Tebbett and Henderson both batted steadily to reach their target of 20 without losing any wickets.

It is the second time that Harry Henderson has lifted the trophy after winning in 2022 with Harrison Smith.

Semi-finalists in the competition were Max Jackson and Ben Blakey along with Jonny Callaghan and Alex Snowball.

Hartlepool Cricket Club Chair, Alan Jackson thanked Chris Cawson for organising the competition and described the day as “a great occasion”.

He added: “Once again, we’ve had a wonderful day at Park Drive in memory of Ian Jackson who was a brilliant cricketer and well-liked by everyone who knew him.

“There were some great matches in the competition and the crowd was certainly entertained. Alan Tebbett and Harry Henderson bowled well and batted sensibly throughout and are worthy winners.”

Alan Jackson also thanked fellow umpires Graham Shaw, Dennis Skilbeck and Phil Mole along with scorer Bob Cawson, barbecue organisers Brendan Baggs and Andrew Cameron and PA announcer Les Watts.

Ian’s wife, Louise, said: “There was a bit of rain on the day, but it didn’t but people off and it was great to see so many people at Park Drive.

“There was a fantastic atmosphere both during and after the competition and a fair bit of banter between the cricketers which Ian loved.

“The day means so much to all the family and I can’t thank everyone enough for their support.

“We had a bucket collection on the day for the Alice House Hospice and raised £543 which is amazing.”

Chris Cawson, the Club’s 1st team scorer and event organiser, said: “Once again we had a great turn out at Park Drive to remember one of the club’s most popular and talented players.

“This year we had significant number of younger players with 14-year-old Ben Blakey and 15-year-old Alex Snowball reaching the semi-final stage. This demonstrates the strength of the club’s junior set-up.”

Ian Jackson was a left arm pace bowler for the 1st team for many years, played at county level and was also a junior coach.