Sunbury claims the points

Sunbury prove to be unbeatable again. The visitors to Woodfield Lane claimed the spoils by a narrow margin of 2 wickets against Ashtead in Round 9 of the 2017 Surrey Championship Premier Division.

Ashtead won the toss and elected to bat, on a wicket that looked good for runs and an outfield that would prove lightning fast. Despite an early wicket, as Guy Harper saw stumps uprooted for 8, Lalit Bose gave the innings some early fire. Sunbury captain, Kevin Smith, caused some problems running in down the hill, and would continue this throughout the day.

The introduction of spin claimed the second casualty, as Hayden Storey departed for 1 just before drinks. 64-2 after 15. However, this brought the number one run scorer in the Premiership, Mahesh Rawat, to the crease. Hopes were high of a big partnership. And so it proved.

No bowler could contain either of the two marauding batsmen. Cuts, pulls, drives and swipes abounded, as the ball flew to all parts of the ground – and in Lalit’s case, beyond on several occasions. Lalit brought up his 50 in 60 balls, and then went to lunch by hitting 20 off the final over to bring up his century, off 104 balls. At 172-2 off 33, a monumental score was in the offing.

Yet it didn’t prove to be quite so easy. Mahesh made his 50 just after the break, and then slowed down as wickets began to fall at the other end. Bose went for 123, and from there the batsmen kept on coming. Connor Caprano-Wint provided a few runs at the tail of the field to allow Mahesh to reach his second league century of the campaign. Ashtead declared on 282, just before 61 overs.

The Sunbury innings started relatively sedately, with Harshil Patel and Matt Friedlander causing issues. It was Patel with the first wicket, followed immediately by the second on the very next ball. The ship was steadied, significantly, and runs began to flow again. The introduction of spin via Caprano-Wint was initially ineffective, but Tom Homes found a crucial wicket in his first over to remove Nathaniel Gregory for 47. Tea was called with the visitors 93-3.

Two wickets for Friedlander immediately after the break seemed to put the hosts into complete control. But they hadn’t reckoned on the explosive talents of Ishi Sohi. He staked his intent by shelling Tom Deighton for three consecutive sixes in his first over, and then bludgeoning Homes at the other end.

Wickets continued to fall to Tom Homes, but it didn’t matter, as Sohi won the game almost single-handedly. The loss of the 8th wicket came with just 10 runs to win, and with a couple of shots to the boundary, the game was over. Sohi finished on an unbeaten 127 from just 88 balls, with 11 maximums.

This loss leaves Ashtead in the mid-table of the league, with both ends of the table a long way distant. Next week sees Ashtead back on the road, as they travel to East Molesey for their first encounter of the year. Last year’s game was thriller, won by Ashtead in the dark with just minutes to spare. Let’s hope for the same result again. Join us then.