The clouds parted and the sun shone – but sadly, not on a victory for the Stags as Wimbledon triumphed by 120 runs in Round 7 of the 2024 Surrey Championship Premier Division, as the red ball section of the season continued at Woodfield Lane.

Wimbledon won the toss and, interestingly, elected to make first use of a wicket that had a good covering of grass on the surface, and some overhead conditions that should have been helpful to the bowlers early on. And the early signs were that batting was going to be a challenge, with the visitors unable to make much headway against the barrage from Simon Keene and Sam Hunt. Pressure was building through the opening 10 overs, and eventually something had to give – which it did, with Keene being deposited out of the ground and then snaring a wicket with the very next ball! The other opener would depart soon after. 49-2.

That would be about as good as it got. The two batters now at the crease were Tim Lloyd, a recent Surrey junior, and overseas pro Jack Boyle. If anyone could score runs for Wimbledon, it would be them – and they didn’t disappoint. It was slow going at first, with Aaron Rose and Tom Homes now into the attack and continuing to cause problems, but the breakthrough just didn’t materialise. Drinks came and went and as lunch closed in, the milestones began to rack up. Still, 128-2 off 34 had honours fairly even.

The momentum was with the visitors, however, and the return of seam bowling saw a quickening of the rate. The genie was out of the bottle, and could not be returned. By the time a wicket finally fell, Boyle trapped LBW to Ashtead skipper Sam Homes for 85, the damage had been done and a partnership of 161 had forced the Stags’ hand.

The rest of the innings would be far faster and harder to contain, as new batters came and went while swinging hard at each and every ball. Lloyd would eventually depart for 96 as Keene returned to the attack, dismissed in a very unusual incident of stepping back onto his own stumps whilst playing a shot. Hit wicket in the scorebook, and another strike to Keene in what is becoming a fantastic season with the ball. Wimbledon would eventually finish on 306-7 off the maximum 66 overs.

Ashtead would have 54 overs to try and chase down the total, but that would take a substantial hit when Ragu Aravinthan chopped to point in the second over. The other opener, Jevan Kher, and Marcus Caprano-Wint set about dishing out some pain in the early overs. Marcus dealt almost exclusively in boundaries while Jevan showcased his now trademark shots against the short ball (including dumping a cricket ball into the next-door bowling green). While the partnership flourished, hope remained.

The fun was not to last, however, and when Marcus departed for a brutal 71, it started the slide that could not be recovered. A double strike from the Wimbledon spinners got rid of Sam Homes and the aforementioned Kher, and when Keene departed for a spirited 28, all thoughts turned to securing the draw and batting out the remaining overs. The visitors were not to be denied, however, and wickets fell regularly as the overs trickled down. With mere moments left on the clock, the game entered what should have been the last over – and in it, the final two Ashtead wickets would fall. Ashtead were bundled out for 186 with four minutes remaining.

This result sees Ashtead take four points from the fixture, and are now 6th in the Premier League as we near the halfway mark. Next week sees Ashtead travel to the current league leaders Reigate Priory, who are still just a win ahead of the Stags. Ashtead did the double over the Llamas in 2023, including a dramatic last-over victory in the long format fixture.

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