4 in a row for the winning Stags

Four wins on the bounce. Ashtead continued their winning streak as they beat Wimbledon by 3 wickets at home, to stay in the top half of the Surrey Championship Premier League table.

Ashtead won the toss, and elected to field, on a surface that looked decent for batting, and an outfield that was as fast as lightning. Yet the opening bowlers, Harshil Patel and John Vaughan-Davies, caused tremendous problems in the early overs. Patel was bowling a beautiful length consistently, while Vaughan-Davies’ guile prevented many runs.

The first breakthrough came in the 4th over, as a sharp and accurate throw from Hayden Storey (aiming at one stump, no less) uprooted a stump for a run out. Two overs later, a sharp catch from Stewart Cameron. The next over, an excellent catch by wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat. Wimbledon were suddenly 5-3 off 7 overs.

The fightback began in the middle order, yet an excellent catch from Dom Sibley stunted progress. Once the seamers had been exhausted, in came spin in the form of Tom Deighton – who prompted claimed a wicket in his first over 29-5.

With the introduction of spin, the run rate quickened a touch, despite some extreme economy from Deighton. The important wicket, of Matt Spriegel, fell to Deighton in the 24th over. Niall Solomon, and overseas player Sanjaya Arachchige, managed to steady the ship and the score reached 72-6 at lunch.

It took just 8 and a half overs after lunch to finish the job. To start with, however, the runs seemed to start flowing, as both batsmen looked to score well. The introduction of Stewart Cameron initially raised some eyebrows, and it was Deighton with the first scalp after the interval.

This seemed to precipitate the tail to implode, as three wickets fell to Cameron in an over and a half. Wimbledon were bowled out for just 108, and Ashtead would have nearly 80 overs to find the runs.

The start could not have been worse in the second innings, as in-form batsmen Guy Harper edged to first slip for a duck. Following that, Michael Sanderson and Sibley put on nearly 50 runs off the next 10 overs, and a 9-wicket win seemed comfortable.

Ashtead never win games easily, and with the loss of Sanderson, wickets began to fall fast and furious. Sibley was ever-present, and reached his 50 with a large six to bring the scores level – and which point he got out. Two more wickets later, and with the hosts 7 down, it would be Vaughan-Davies who saw the Stags over the line to another 24 points.

This win moves Ashtead above Wimbledon to 4th in the table. Next week sees Ashtead play host to Cranleigh. Cranleigh currently lie above the Stags in the league table, and were 5 wicket winners when Ashtead visited them in Round 2 of this year’s Championship. Join us then.