Another day, another draw – but this time, the Stags were in the ascendency. This was the story as Ashtead travelled to Guildford for the next of the 120 over matches, in Round 8 of the 2026 Surrey Cricket Championship. The visitors had high hopes for a win against one of the promoted teams.

Unfortunately, it was a crucial toss, and it would be the first time in 2026 (in league cricket, at least) that Tom Homes called incorrectly. Guildford, knowing the challenge of taking all 10 wickets in the second innings, chose to field first. The uphill battle would be on.

More promisingly for the Stags, the wicket was, as you might expect after a week of mid-30s temperatures, hard and flat – perfect for batting. And so the openers, Mark Stoneman and new Stag Joe Willis, proved in the opening hour. The seam bowlers were punished – hard – for any misses in line and length, and with an outfield like lightning, the boundaries flowed thick and fast. Willis took the aggressor role, scoring at more than a run a ball, while Stoneman consolidated and built a solid foundation (at a strong scoring rate as well).

Drinks came and went, and as the total neared the first batting point at 150 runs, all was set fair. Then the hosts roared back – first claiming Willis (for 74), caught behind, and then Adam Thomas LBW the very next ball. However, the depth in the Ashtead team lay in its batting prowess, and out strode Dorset batter Dylan Church. He and Stoneman settled in for the long haul – 161-2 at lunch.

By this time, the hosts had long realised that pace on the ball was not working at all for them, and had turned to their pair of frontline spinners. The over rate was rapid – with 22 overs bowled in the hour after lunch. That hour saw no wickets, and a more modest scoring rate, but at 239-2 with 15 overs left, the platform was set for a huge finish.

And so it came. Church was first to go, for a well-made 65, and Stoneman followed shortly after, but not before completing a well-deserved century. That left Dan Geddes and Conor Young to go on an all-out blitz, adding 73 between them as the Stags finished on 344-6, declaring with an over to spare.

Bowling Guildford out was always going to be the difficult part – and it would take 12 overs of the 55 available before Adam Thomas made the breakthrough, removing danger man Finn Gordon for 20. That seemed to open the floodgates, as two more Guildford men would follow in quick succession. 40-3, just after tea. The match would then settle down again, as new batters found their feet, and the Stags probed and tested. It would be another 10 overs before Thomas (yes, him again) struck once more, with Tom Homes following immediately behind, and then claiming another. 6 down. 18 to go.

And that’s where the fun ended. Ben Garrett and skipper Ollie Birts dug in and flatly refused to be tempted. The scoring rate slowed to a crawl but that was no longer important. The winning draw had been secured for the Stags a long time before. It was wickets they needed. And wickets they couldn’t get. Birts would finally succumb to the pressure, but with just 6 balls left in the match. Garrett saw out the final over to finish on 11 from 84 balls. Guildford had held on.

Those 13 points see Ashtead move out of the relegation zone (at Guildford’s expense) and, with other results, the middle and lower order of the league table looks ever closer. Next week sees the final game in the first half of the season, as Banstead come to Woodfield Lane. Some good results for Banstead have moved them up the table in recent weeks, but last year’s match saw a comfortable win for the Stags. However, before then, there’s the small matter of the T20 quarter-final to win, at Esher, on Thursday night.

You can follow the Stags on X (@ashteadcc), our website (www.ashtead.play-cricket.com) or on our YouTube channel (Ashtead Cricket Club Live). We look forward to next week! Join us then.