Cranleigh take the points again

All good things must come to an end. And so it proved for the Ashtead Stags, as Cranleigh left the victors, with a 4 wicket win at Woodfield Lane in Round 8 of the 2017 Surrey Championship Premier Division.

Cranleigh won the toss, and elected to field, and this immediately paid dividends as Max Barson ejected Michael Sanderson without scoring. Barson was then to rip through the Ashtead top and middle order, claiming 5 wickets in his first 8 overs. Stumps were regularly splayed, and his 5-wicket haul was competed by a wicketkeeper catch. At 54-5 after 16 overs, a recovery was required.

The consistency through this tumult was ever-present overseas run machine Mahesh Rawat. He went for the ball early in his innings, and together with Tom Homes, up the order at 7, the recovery started. The pair pushed the score on, and none of the Cranleigh bowlers could find an answer. Rawat brought up his 50 off just 47 balls with the advent of the spinners. The pair then slowed the rate down to see through to lunch, which they accomplished. 113-5 after 33 showed a work in progress.

The pair continued to push on after the break, and the return of Barson produced runs, not the hoped-for wickets of his opening stint. Yet it would be a spinner, Jack Scriven, who produced the breakthrough, as Rawat departed for 92. This caused a second collapse, with four wickets falling for 18 runs. The last of these was Homes, who fell to a superb keeper catch for a hard-fought 48.

172-9 looked precarious, yet Tom Deighton and Nikhil Waugh spiced up the final chapter of the first innings with a rapid 39 run stand. When Waugh fell, caught and bowled for 22, the score had reached 211 and a measure of respectability. Early wickets would be a must.

Two wickets in the first ten overs gave some early hope to the Stags, with Lalit Bose and John Vaughan-Davies each claiming a dangerous opener. Tom Homes, having impressed with the bat, then impressed with the ball, claiming an early scalp shortly before tea. Tea came early for bad light as Bose dealt a painful blow on the helmet to the visiting captain.

After a lengthened tea interval for rain, runs came thick and fast. Then the wickets caught up, with 3 wickets over a 9 over period bringing the game back towards Ashtead. Both dangerous batsmen were claimed here, with Surrey star Oliver Pope deposed for a crashing 72. However, with 6 wickets down, it was too little too late, and Cranleigh cantered him with 3 overs and 10 minutes to spare.

This result leaves Ashtead in the middle of the table, with 4 wins from their first 8 games. Next week sees Sunbury come to Woodfield Lane. Sunbury currently lie 8th in the table, with just 2 wins on the table so far. Ashtead will be savouring the chance for another 24 points. Join us then.