Sedgefield Cricket Club has made it back into the Premier Division of the North Yorkshire & South Durham League! Over the last few months, I've reported on the possibility of promotion and after a thumping victory away at Billingham in their penultimate match, it was in the 1st XI's hands to finish the job.

Not wanting to give the supporters an easy ride, the team put everybody through the wringer in the final game at home to Rockliffe Park, securing an incredibly tense two wicket win with only four deliveries remaining.

Cue ecstatic celebrations on the balcony, field and the clubhouse bar for many hours afterwards! Preparations have already begun for the step up to Premier Division cricket in 2027 with the club offering a range of sponsorship opportunities for local businesses which started with a very well supported get together in late September.

Elsewhere, Sedgefield Cricket Club's long-term future looks to be in good hands after the U13 team won their league with ease and after winning a league winners' play-off, were unlucky to lose the overall championship final to Marton. Meanwhile, many of the U13 and U15 boys also play for Sedgefield Community College, and have just been crowned winners of the school U14 Durham County Cup, with a dominant performance in the final.

And last but certainly not least, the club has its first ever women's team, who came third when hosting a tournament in September and will be joining the local league in 2027. This is great news for Sedgefield, creating a pathway for the girls' teams to continue playing beyond junior age groups.

The social aspect of the club is a vital part of its success and sustainability. In that respect the Sedgefield Winkers social cricket team make an important contribution, boosting the bar takings after (and sometimes before and during) their home games.

The team also perform very well on the pitch and were unbeaten this season, securing the North East Social Cricket League and Cup double. Sedgefield Cricket Club remains open seven days a week (weekday evenings and all day on weekends) during the close season.

As ever, the biggest regional running event in September was the Great North Run weekend. There were 24 senior Sedgefield Harriers in the main Great North Run field, and six juniors took part in the Junior and Mini Great North Runs.

In the world’s biggest half marathon, the first Harrier to finish was Sadie Abel in a very impressive time of one hour 27 minutes and 58 seconds.

Among Sadie’s clubmates in action on the day were Ean Parsons, who completed his 43rd Great North Run, and John Tomlinson, who completed his 45th – that’s all of them! Of course, there were also plenty of other people from Sedgefield who took part in the event, but are not Harriers, or members of any club.

Congratulations to everyone who made the annual pilgrimage from Newcastle to South Shields.

A little earlier in the month, four Harriers made a much longer journey, to Sedgefield’s twin town Hamminkeln, where three of them took part in a 10K race and one tackled a 5K Nordic walk.

As always, a visit to Hamminkeln was characterised by a warm welcome and great hospitality.

As autumn approaches, thoughts turn to the cross country season, which will start with the first fixture in the North East Harrier League, close to home at Thornley Farm.

So far, 23 men, 14 women and 15 juniors have signed up to represent the club in the league, which will involve seven fixtures around the region. Last season, the men earned promotion to Division 2 and hopes are high that a big squad can build on that success, while the women’s squad is also looking competitive.

Meanwhile, the club’s juniors achieved some very notable individual results last season, which they will hope to repeat over the months ahead.

Sedgefield boccia star Lee Maddison recently travelled to Stoke Mandeville for the Boccia England National Championships finals.

After progressing from the pool stage, Lee successfully fought through his quarter-final and semifinal.

The final was a hard and closely fought match, and the two players went into the last end tied at 2-2. Unfortunately it was not to be for Lee, and with a 3-2 score line he was runner-up, which is still a massive achievement at a national level.

As always, Lee is grateful to his support team of Chris Foster, Kalab Yohans and Lauren Kianchehr, for their dedication and hard work throughout the year.

Sedgefield Golf Society recently held a special event in memory of one of its members.

Organised by a team led by Lewis Archer and hosted by Knotty Hill Golf Centre, the Steve Dovaston Charity Golf Day was staged to raise money for Blood Cancer UK and proved to be a huge success, exceeding expectations on all fronts.

I will have a full report on the event next month, but can confirm that it raised almost £9,000 for the charity, which is a brilliant achievement.

Sedgefield Squash Club was recently able to secure some funding from Durham & Cleveland County to offer free coaching sessions for women who wanted to give squash a try. Three sessions were held in August, and the response was extremely encouraging.

The advertising around the centre of Sedgefield, plus mentions in August’s Sedgefield News and the weekly Sedgefield Round Up emails helped spread the word and secure this success.

The club will publish some photos on its website in the near future. If any women were unable to attend due to holiday or other commitments, the club will be running an England Squash Women’s Squash Week during the week commencing 21 September.

Anyone interested in participating, or simply joining the club, should contact membership@sedgefieldsquashclub.co.uk, providing your contact number for the coaches to have a conversation and provide more information.

The club’s investment in rebound walls and equipment will bring squash to Sedgefield’s two primary schools, with coaching sessions planned from the start of the new term.v September sees the start of the new season with County Cups, Masters competition, Women’s Squash Week and junior coaching commencing again. The club also looks forward to the ‘friendly’ competition between its members in the club’s internal leagues.