Sunbury head to final as Ashtead bow out

The cup run is over. Finals day had arrived, and Ashtead succumbed to a 9 wicket defeat by Sunbury, in the semi-final of the Edwards Cup, the Surrey Championship T20 competition.

Ashtead won the toss, and elected to make first use of a pitch that had seen Weybridge hit 150 earlier in the day. And it was a good start for the Stags, as Danny Miller and Conor Young tried to make the most of the early overs. Kevin Smith and Ishi Sohi, the Sunbury opening bowlers, bowled decently to begin with, and picked up the scalp of Young for 16.

Guy Harper then stepped up, and with Miller at the helm, the next few overs were pummelled for plenty of runs. The input of spin had mixed results, as Adam London was taken apart, but Vishal Manro fared considerably better. By halfway, Ashtead were 77-1 and cruising.

Straight after this came the loss of Miller, bowled by 27. This brought Ashtead’s form batsman, Stewart Cameron, to the crease, and he took the innings by the scruff of the neck. He bludgeoned his way to a quick half century, and a run a ball innings from Harper brought the Stags to 157-2 with an over to go.

This last over only brought 5 runs, and a pair of wickets, as none of the batsmen could find the boundary, and so Sunbury would be chasing 163 to win.

The Sunbury innings started well for the Stags, as Tom and Sam Homes both bowled their opening overs for not many. However, from there on, the Sunbury batsmen took the bowlers to the sword. Only Warwick Symcox could hold off the oncoming tide, including taking the wicket of Oli Roland-Jones for 13.

However, by the end of over 8, the opposition were right on the required rate, and with aplomb, Adam London and Sam Burgess took the game away from Ashtead, with boundaries aplenty and sixes into the pavilion on more than one occasion.

The winning runs were, eventually, sealed in fine style with a six for London, who finished on 91 from 56. Burgess finished on 46 from just 24 balls, as Sunbury entered the final with 29 balls to spare.

Sunbury then faced Weybridge in the final, and defeated them comfortably by 7 wickets with 15 balls to spare. They will be the Surrey Championship’s representative at the Regional Finals, to be held at South Wilts CC in Salisbury on 7th August.

The next game for the Ashtead Stags will be their final declaration game of the 2016 season, vs 9th placed East Molesey. The 50 over contest was won by Ashtead, with their final wicket in the last over, so a close game ensues. A win for either side will be vital to secure safety, and a place in the Premier League for 2017. Join us then.