24 points for Ashtead as Esher fall short

This is what league cricket is all about. As the sun slowly began to set on a glorious, if windy, Saturday evening, Ashtead secured victory by just 15 runs over Esher in Round 6 of the 2022 Surrey Championship Premier League, in a match that swung back and forth throughout the day.

Ashtead won the toss (again – that’s 5 out of 6 times so far) and elected to bat first on a used wicket that seemed good for batting throughout the day, but could provide some spin later. And yet the early overs proved a challenge, with Ben Sidwell and then overseas pro Matt Breetzke failing early to the hosts’ initial barrage. 5-2, and the feeling that the fragility of the Stags’ order might be exposed again.

And yet, and yet. The rebuilding work began thanks to the return of young Surrey star Ragu Aravinthan, and the diligence of Ashtead stalwart Sam Homes, slowly accumulating (although the odd boundary raised a cheer from the Ashtead dressing room) and navigating a pitch that wasn’t quite so placid as it first appeared. A clear highlight from those overs was a tremendous six from Aravinthan, clearing the boundary and into the trees by some distance. Despite losing Ragu for 39, the Stags navigated their way to lunch without further incident. 79-3 off a length 32 overs.

Both Homes and his new partner Paul Harrison upped the rate after the interval, but losing both of them within a few overs stunted the charge. Enter Harry Williams. The young charger had moved up and down a lot thus far this year, but at 6 this time out he found his form. Alongside Dom Venn, promoted from the 2s, the run rate increased dramatically. Fearless batting became the order of the day, and as the total increased, so the bonus points came into view. A frantic final few overs saw Ashtead to 225-8, Williams out for a spectacular 64 in the penultimate over.

The Esher charge began quickly, with the opening batters taking 34 off the first 6 overs as the new ball proved a challenge to maintain. Spin, as it was in the first innings, would be the key to the Ashtead attack, and the introduction of Tom Homes immediately stemmed the flow of runs. By tea, Esher were 52-0 and looked on top.

The critical strikes would come straight after tea, as Homes claimed a pair of wickets (and took an excellent catch off Tom Deighton) to leave the hosts reeling at 76-3. Just like the visitors, however, the hosts were able to rebuild and, despite some extremely close calls with quick running, the total inexorably climbed. With 13 overs to go, Esher were just 83 runs from victory, with wickets in hand. The game seemed to be swinging back towards the hosts.

But you can never count Ashtead out. A crucial wicket fell when Paul Harrison took a good catch to remove the dangerous Nathan Roberts for 39, and the floodgates opened. The middle order provided little challenge, but spinner Freddie Harrison (who had already bowled 24 overs earlier in the day) came out swinging and suddenly the target read 37 to win off the final 6 overs.

Enter Ben Sidwell. After taking some initial hits off his bowling at the start of the innings, he stepped up and took 3 critical wickets to leave the Esher captain, Will Edwards, shepherding the final batter whilst attempting to finish the job. And it was fitting that it would be Tom Homes to make the final play, snaring a sharp caught and bowled to depose Edwards for a valiant 60. Esher ended up 15 runs short with just under 3 overs to spare.

That result, critical for Ashtead’s year, moves them up to 7th place in the standings, and deep into the midfield battle. Next week sees Normandy travel to Woodfield Lane, fresh off a superb performance against Weybridge this weekend. The timed fixture was rained off last year, but the Stags won a hard-fought limited overs encounter. The next fixture, however, is a T20 special against Beddington.

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 Thursday and to next week! Join us then.