Weybridge the victors despite a Homes haul

The last of the long games. And perhaps a game to forget for the Ashtead Stags, as they suffered a 105-run loss at the hands of Weybridge in Round 13 of the 2019 Surrey Championship Premier Division.

Ashtead won the toss (that’s the 9th of the season in just 12 games) and elected to field on a pitch that looked pretty but might offer something for the seamers early on. And the going did indeed prove initially tough – but for the bowlers, not the batsmen. Ollie Mills was the main issue, as he immediately went on the attack. The first wicket turned up in the 9th over, Ben Sidwell snaffling a return catch for 8. 37-1.

Wickets, it would seem at this stage, would be hard to find and as the runs continued to pile up, the need for a breakthrough became ever more pressing. It needed a moment of brilliance. And one came. The batsman pushed into the leg side and attempted a quick single. Ben Geddes picked up, took aim and calmly shied at the stumps. Direct hit. Out. 77-2.

This proved the impetus for Tom Homes, twirling away with his spin, to produce the goods and claim a couple more wickets – including a super catch from Harri Aravinthan. At lunch, Weybridge had dropped to 108-4 off 31. Game on.

Harri would claim the all-important wicket of Mills shortly after the break, but while wickets fell, the runs continued to pile up. The lower order attacked hard and all too soon, the visitors had passed 200. Tom Homes was on hand to clear up the tail and finished up with figures of 6-40. 219 all out.

Ashtead would have 62 overs to attempt the chase but were derailed by the end of the fifth. By that time, the Stags were 3-3 and reeling from the attacks of former England youth player Jack Winslade. The top order were all gone, three of them for ducks.

Runs began to flow, eventually, but with Winslade’s fourth strike leaving Ashtead at 23-4, a tremendous rebuild effort would be required to salvage the innings. Hard work and lots of balls were taken up by that man Aravinthan, initially supported by Conor Young for a lengthy period and then by the lower order.

Winslade, having taken the first five wickets, stepped aside and the skipper, Phil Mann, stepped up. Once he started to take poles, they kept coming. His first was the erstwhile Aravinthan for 31, which began the inexorable tide towards a result. The lower order and tail fought valiantly, but in vain. Tom Deighton fired a sharp return catch to Mann to complete his five-wicket haul. Ashtead were all out for 114 with 16 overs still to play.

That result capped off a day for the league with wins for the top 5 teams and losses for the bottom 5. This means Ashtead retains 6th place in the table, well clear of the relegation zone but somewhat adrift of 5th placed Weybridge above them.

Next week sees a return to 50 over cricket, with the thrills and spills of the win-loss format. Ashtead travel to Wimbledon, who currently lie fourth in the table. The early season result was a tense and tight win for Wimbledon, with last year’s limited overs fixture a sizeable 182 run win for the hosts. Let’s see if Ashtead can turn the tables on this occasion. Join us then.