Ashtead fall short but positives abound in opening encounter

It’s back! After a very, very long winter, cricket returns. And Ashtead started their pre-season preparations with a visit to the reigning league champions, Sunbury, for a 40-over a side clash. And it would be the hosts that prevailed, by 126 runs, in the cold of an April day.

The toss was rendered unnecessary when Ashtead wanted to bowl and Sunbury wanted to bat, so the hosts had first use of a wicket that looked a picture, but with a short boundary prime for hitting. Sunbury opened with fast-charging hitters Sam Burgess and captain Rajan Soni, and together they dominated the early part of the innings. The Ashtead bowlers, whilst offering some troubles, were unable to make a breakthrough and boundaries flew thick and fast. By the end of the opening PowerPlay, the score read 65 off 8 overs. By the end of the 14th, it was 124-0, and rising fast.

The Stags’ fightback was slow to start with, but began to gain momentum when Harry Williams grabbed the first wicket of the new year with Burgess falling for 48. The relief was short-lived when Middlesex player Martin Andersson walked out to the middle and continued in the same vein as before. Soni was now the prime wicket, however, and would fall to Ashtead skipper Tom Homes for a brutal 91. At halfway, Sunbury had made 163-2 and were cruising to a huge total.

The pressure continued after the mid-innings drinks, but it would be halted by the new talents of Ragu Aravinthan. Known in these columns for his aggressive batting at the top of the Ashtead order, Ragu also bowls – and after a winter of practice in Australia, he cracked open the Sunbury middle order. Aided by the crucial strike of Sam Hunt to remove the dangerous Colby Dyer for 33, Aravinthan tore through the batters before him. His final bowling figures, of 4-38, could have been even better with a couple of tough catches – both his own work as well!

With Aravinthan striking hard, the runs dried up and the hosts found themselves crawling to the end of the innings, rather than the sprint they might have imagined. They finished on 281-8 off their 40 – still a huge total, but not quite as far as they might have hoped.

The Ashtead innings began spritely, with Aravinthan and Williams making early inroads in the first couple of overs. The pressure of the Sunbury bowling, and some wayward shots, proved irresistible and by the end of the 9th over, the Stags had fallen to 41-5 and hopes of the win were fading fast.

One thing you can rely on, however, is determination from the men in green and gold. The fightback came from the youngest member of the team, Theo, who started slowly but got into his stride. Alongside the experience of Tom Homes, and then Tom Dunn, the runs began to flow again – aided by the Sunbury bowlers offering a few too many wider deliveries than they would have liked!

By the time Dunn fell, in the 25th over, he and Theo had added 52 runs in their partnership and Ashtead had reached 116-7 – an air of respectability to their performance. The tail decided to have some fun, with Aaron Rose and the aforementioned Hunt taking Dyer for 22 off a single over, but the damage had been done. With a little more than 8 overs to spare, Sunbury bowled out the Stags for 155, completing a comprehensive victory. There were many positives, however, for an under-strength Ashtead side, to take into the rest of the pre-season schedule.

Next week sees a double-header for the Stags, both held at the home of local cricket, Woodfield Lane. Saturday sees the visit of Walton-on-Thames, who play in Division 1 in Surrey. Sunday is the return of the ECB National Club Championship, with Kent Championship (Division 1) side Whitstable visiting the Lane. Whitstable reached Round 2 last season (including defeating Reigate Priory) and will prove a good test of the Ashtead team.

A reminder that you can follow Ashtead CC’s 1st XI matches via our Twitter (@ashteadcc) and live on our website (www.ashtead.play-cricket.com), and watch our home games on our YouTube channel (Ashtead Cricket Club Live). We look forward to next week! Join us then.