Ashtead secure much needed win

DULWICH 147 ALL OUT IN 49.1 OVERS
ASHTEAD 266 ALL OUT IN 60 OVERS

RESULT ASHTEAD WON BY 119 RUNS

At last a much needed victory for an Ashtead XI which has been below par for most of the summer. On a lively Dulwich wicket, Ashtead won the toss and batted first, posting a highly competitive 266, which Dulwich failed to achieve by a substantial margin, 119 runs in fact. Dulwich will by now be sick of the sight of Tom Deighton who, having picked up 7 Dulwich wickets last season, added a further 6 on Saturday.

Once again, Dominic Sibley was the cornerstone of the Ashtead batting, opening the innings and contributing 89 runs. This time however, he at last found some partners as first Roberts (21) and then Lammiman (45) joined him for valuable partnerships. The partnership with Roberts added 82 for the second wicket, very valuable indeed, after Davies had fallen early for 10. When Roberts was out with the score on 92 and then Cameron and Vaughan-Davies fell in quick succession, the score had slumped to 102 for 4 and no doubt, there were some familiar jitters in the Ashtead dressing room. However, Lammiman and Sibley played with great maturity and confidence, adding 85 for the 5th wicket, before losing 5 wickets in an annoying cluster, which saw the total plummet from 186 for 4 to 225 for 9. However, Connor Young batting at 8 and Tom William at 11, rescued what would have been a disappointing finish, with a spirited partnership of 35 for the 10th wicket, with Young ending 46 not out.

266 in 60 overs was at least par for this wicket, probably more so, in fact. However, Mahey and Hudson, took a liking to the Ashtead bowling before tea, with Cope proving in particular to their liking. At 66 for 0, the Ashtead side found themselves in need of quick wickets. The introduction of spin did the trick, with Hudson being bowled by Deighton for 36, with the score at 72. When Mahey was trapped LBW for 42 with the score at 87, the fight seemed to go out of the Dulwich side almost immediately. Lewis, the overseas player, seemed completely out of sorts and fell to Sibley, following a fine slip catch by Roberts.

After that, it was really all about the Ashtead spin attack of Sibley and Deighton. Both bowled excellently, in tandem. Thoughts of a Dulwich run chase rapidly evaporated and the promising opening partnership rapidly seemed a world away. Backed up by good fielding and tidy work behind the stumps by Lammiman, both Sibley and Deighton enjoyed healthy pickings. Both bowlers bowled with good pace and flight, but it was the length which was also a feature, with 4 LBWs in the crop of wickets. A little over an hour and a half after tea, it was all over, with Deighton finishing with 6 for 47 and Sibley 4 for 39.

A much needed win for Ashtead, then, but with Farnham beating Cheam, there is still much hard work ahead. Ashtead take on Farnham at Woodfield Lane on Saturday for another bottom of the table tussle.