Molesey walk away with 20 as Ashtead stutter slightly

The white ball is back – but, unfortunately, so was the losing feeling for the Ashtead Stags, as they were overcome by 5 wickets at East Molesey in Round 14 of the 2022 Surrey Championship Premier Division.

Ashtead won the toss, yet again, and elected to bat first on a surface that, while green on top, was as dry as anywhere else in the county. And, with wides aplenty in the early overs as the bowlers re-adjusted to the white ball conditions, it initially seemed like a good decision.

And yet, the sport can turn on its head in mere moments – and 19-0 became 34-3 as Toby Porter demolished the top order. Ragu Aravinthan, Matty Breetzke and Gareth James all departed for single figure scores and the plan needed adjusting fast.

Yet the match was not over, not by a long way, and the fightback began from remaining opener Damian Shirazi and the returning Conor Young. Safety became the order of the day, and together the pair began to put the runs on the board. Molesey rang the bowling changes but could not find a way through, and as drinks approached, a platform was being set for bigger and better things.

The change was stunted by the loss of Shirazi for 33 just before the break, but Young and wicketkeeper Paul Harrison continued the positive momentum. Ashtead reached the 150 mark, and the first batting point of the day, still with 4 wickets in hand and 11 overs to go. Ready for a blast and a defendable score.

That injection of pace stuttered when Young was out for 65, caught in the deep. Harrison kept pushing, but wickets kept falling until a cameo 18 from Ben Sidwell pushed the total past 200. The Stags would eventually finish on 212-8, Harrison finishing on a mighty 70 not out.

Early wickets would be vital to have any chance at all of snatching victory, and it would fall to the Stags’ prime quick bowler Ben Sidwell to open the account, trapping James Cake LBW for 14. Runs continued flowing, however, and as the total reached 80-1 after 17 overs, the game was slipping away.

But Ashtead weren’t done yet, and overseas pro Matty Breetzke was to rearrange the stumps of his opposite number, Mac Wright, for 33 – followed swiftly by skipper Tom Deighton snaring the dangerous Cole Campbell for just 2. This, this could be the moment that the Stags take another couple of wickets and make a real fightback.

Sadly, it was not to be, as Molesey skipper Nick Stevens and James Southgate made hay in the middle overs, and took the game out of reach. A couple of late wickets for Sidwell in his second spell (finishing with excellent figures of 3-42) brought the sides closer together, but Southgate and Matt Tigg finished off the chase with 10 overs to spare.

This result sees Ashtead remain in 7th place in the table, but with other results around them, there is clear daylight now to most of the teams both above and below them. Next week sees Esher travel to Woodfield Lane for the next 50-over contest. Ashtead beat the visitors by 15 runs in their first encounter in June, but Esher now sit 5th in the table and will be buoyed by putting 375 runs past their opponents in Round 14.

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.