Weybridge take the 20 as Stags struggle with the bat

Well, the league season’s back. And Ashtead came second in Round 1 of the 2022 Surrey Championship Premier Division, as hosts Weybridge ended up the victors by 50 runs.

With overhead conditions favouring swing, and rain in the air, Ashtead elected to field first on winning the toss. And that immediately looked like a good decision, as opening bowler Aaron Rose found his pace and rhythm and caused early problems. The early pressure told and, in just the 3rd over, he claimed the opening wicket of the match. Matt Breetzke, the Stags’ new overseas signing, joined Rose in bowling the early overs. Despite some initial trouble with the slope, he also found his line and soon struck himself. 29-2.

The constant in all of this was Ben Curran, the middle of the three brothers, and currently contracted at Northamptonshire. He showed precisely why he’s in the county game with some attacking strokeplay, capitalising on any width and change of length. In Ryan Sclanders, Curran found a more stable companion, and together they accumulated.

The introduction of spin so often works for Ashtead and is often the Stags’ strongest suit. And, once again, it told as skipper Tom Deighton snared Curran for 39. The very next over saw Sclanders go too, with quick bowler Jake Martin extracting the edge and Tom Laudy completing the job. 88-4.

The danger of Weybridge is that the batting order is long, and as the overs ticked by, the rebuilding work continued apace. Chances for the visitors were few and far between, and with ten overs to go, the hosts had reached 164-4 and had produced a strong platform for a flying finish.

Yet it would be the Stags that took advantage of the frantic finish to the innings, claiming the final 6 Weybridge wickets for just 10 runs. The chief architects of this damage were Tom Homes, who took 3 scalps (including a rather comical end for one batter that was bowled around his legs) and Breetzke, who returned for a fantastic diving catch off his own bowling. Senura Jayasinghe, fresh off a five wicket haul in last week’s cup game, picked up a single wicket and effected a sharp run out too.

180 was the target, but once again wickets would fall early. The exploits of former Stag bowler Harshil Patel, coupled with Dorset bowler Ben Ladd-Gibbon, proved difficult to withstand and by the end of over 12, Ashtead were reduced to 35-4.

The fightback came slow and steady, as Homes and Chris Douglas dug in and spent time at the crease. This proved a good strategy, and the runs began to flow. A judicious mind, some smart running, and playing for the gaps saw the total reach 66 by the time drinks arrived at halfway.

Losing Homes straight after the break opened the floodgates again, and all too soon the Stags were languishing at 78-7. Enter the lower order and the tail. The shots increased, as did the chances, but throwing caution to the wind was the only way to try and sneak an unlikely victory.

Sadly, it was not to be. The return of Ladd-Gibbon put paid to a fighting 21 from Rob Hendry and the return of pacer Brent Kay, economical but wicket-less, eventually saw the end. Ashtead were bowled out for 129 with just over 5 overs to spare, 50 shy of the target. Aaron Rose opened the day with the ball and closed it with the bat, top scoring with 22 not out.

This defeat leaves Ashtead 6th in the standings, leading the 5 teams that lost on the opening day. The next matches for the Stags are a double-header, with Reigate Priory visiting the Lane on Saturday and the critical cup match at Bexley on the Sunday.

A reminder that you can follow Ashtead CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter (@ashteadcc), live on our website (www.ashtead.play-cricket.com) or at our YouTube channel (Ashtead Cricket Club Live). We look forward to next Saturday! Join us then.