Ashtead stutter in local derby

A day that saw the momentum swing first one way, then the other, culminated in an extremely exciting finish, but Ashtead were denied the points by a strong Epsom side in the final 100-over game of the 2014 Surrey Championship Division 2.

Epsom won the toss, and elected to field, a decision that has become customary in the long format of the one-day game. With plenty of cloud cover overhead, and a good wicket that would hold up for the full day, it was going to be hard going for the visitors.

Jono Sole and Michael Sanderson had other ideas, though, as they attacked the opening bowling of Will Moore and Danny Secchi. Neither bowler could initially find an answer, as both batsmen quickly moved into the teens, looking comfortable and relaxed.

Cue Collapse 1. Four wickets were to fall in just 5 overs, as the decision to bring on overseas spinner Godfrey Stevens immediately paid dividends. Secchi was the first to strike, Sanderson caught at first slip for 17. Conor Young put away a couple of early deliveries, before falling the same way for 8. Two overs later, Danny Miller was bowled by a skimmer for a duck, and then Secchi completed the demolition job by removing Sole, caught again at first slip, for 22. 34-0 after 9 had become 51-4 after 14, and the Stags were in serious trouble.

Life got worse when John Vaughan-Davies was out, a smart chance taken at short leg for 6, and at 57-5, a score below 100 was looking likely on a pitch that seemed to have at least 200 runs in it. So the middle order dug in for the day. Stevens and Asim Zeb ground out the overs, as Paul Harrison and Andy Roberts soaked up the dots. The run rate slowed to a crawl, but at this stage, it wasn’t important. Holding onto precious wickets were.

Shortly after drinks, Roberts became Stevens’ next casualty, bringing Stewart Cameron to the crease. He performed much the same role as his predecessor, and as the overs ticked by, a late charge would be needed to provide a respectable total. 100 came up for the team after 43 overs.

The loss of Cameron shortly after this point brought Paul Cohen to the crease, but with 10 overs to go, time was not on the Stags’ side. This was, however, not accounting for the explosive nature of Paul Harrison, who swept aside his 37 from 100 balls, and proceeded to take both Stevens and Zeb apart. Cohen joined him in this venture, and when he fell for 21 in the 51st over, the runs were beginning to flow. The next two overs went for 30, as Harrison sent several balls over the fence. The innings was swiftly curtailed as the final two wickets fell in two balls to a returning Secchi to reduce the Stags to a below-par 183. It could have been much worse.

40 overs into the Epsom innings, and life has got much worse for the Stags. A wicket in the first over for Will Pereira raised early, but a strong performance from Stevens and Phil Edwards gradually took the game away from Ashtead. Stevens went for 45 to Cohen, but Edwards continued past 50 and Jonathan Wileman continued to pile on the runs. At 40 overs, Epsom were 165-2, Edwards on 77, Wileman on 33. 19 required, 8 wickets in hand, 13 overs to bat. What could possibly go wrong?

Cue Collapse 2. 7 wickets fell in 6.5 overs for 18 runs. Cohen took 4 of these to claim a grand 5-wicket haul, aided by 3 wickets from Tom Homes, who had an ineffective first spell, but came back strong. 4 ducks, 3 of them golden, saw the batting charge implode. From a commanding position, Epsom almost threw it away.

When the 9th wicket fell, Wileman finally departing for 44, the scores were level, and a tie was potentially imminent. However, a ball off the arm over Andy Roberts’ head sealed the win with a leg-bye. A valiant effort, but not to be.

Ashtead remain top of the table, with a draw between Chipstead and Walton, but the top three are separated by just 7 points with 5 games to play. Next week sees Ashtead travel to mid-table Chessington for a 50-over clash. The 100-over fixture saw Ashtead take a 3-wicket victory.